Temporary Business Support Officer I (Capacity Building) at International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology - ICIPE

TEMPORARY BUSINESS SUPPORT OFFICER I (CAPACITY BUILDING) (Ref. No. NRS/485/042022)

icipe seeks to recruit a Temporary Business Support Officer I (Capacity Building) for its Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (RSIF). The position is tenable in Nairobi at the icipe Duduville campus. This is a nationally recruited position. A competitive compensation package will be offered to the right candidate. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Overall Purpose of the job

RSIF is the flagship program of the African Government led Partnership for Skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology (PASET). It aims to address the human resource gap in the fields of applied sciences, engineering, and technology (ASET) by training high quality PhD and post-doctoral scholars and building research and innovation capacities in those fields in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). RSIF also supports the strengthening of research and innovation ecosystems at selected African Host Universities (AHU) by providing funding through competitive grants. RSIF supports training, research, and innovation in five Priority Thematic Areas:

• ICT including big data and artificial intelligence,
• Food security and agri-business
• Minerals, mining and materials engineering
•  Energy, including renewables
• Climate change.

icipe, the Regional Coordination Unit of the Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (RSIF), wishes to recruit a temporary staff to support scholarship implementation and administrative needs of the RSIF program. The Capacity Building temporary staff will provide critical support in the special RSIF scholarship call selection and award processes, as well as in the management of continuing scholars, working closely with the Capacity Building Officer (Doctoral Scholarships).

Specific Duties

The temporary staff will work with other staff in the RSIF Capacity Building team to provide support in the entire RSIF special scholarship call selection and award processes, as well as in the management of continuing scholars. The temporary staff will undertake tasks including and not limited to the following:

• Work closely with the Capacity Building Officer (Doctoral Scholarships) to support administrative needs of the RSIF doctoral scholarships programme in reviewing of applications submitted in response to the special call for application of RSIF PhD scholarships.
• Maintain communication to applicants of the special call, on the status of their applications and follow-up on responses from applicants, noting the declines and matching with reserve candidates.
• Support the award process for successful applicants, including disbursing of contracts and award letters,
• Provide support receiving and reviewing of signed contracts and accompanying documents and filing of successful scholar documents physically and online.
• Work with the communication team to develop and disseminate relevant materials to showcase progress and impact of the scholarship project, with particular focus on the special calls.
• Provide detailed analysis of the special call selection process to inform future selections.
• Contribute to preparation of a publication to document lessons learnt from the process.
• Perform any other tasks as may be required.

Requirements/Qualifications

• A diploma in Business Administration, Project Management or related field. A degree will be an added advantage.
• Six months of progressive work experience in research and project work at national and international levels.
• Experience in coordination, project management and reporting, basic financial management and budget monitoring.
• Advanced computer skills, including Microsoft Office suite.

Core Competencies

• Excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to handle multiple tasks and tight deadlines.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with stakeholders at all levels.