Program Coordinator | ReliefWeb

Position: Program Coordinator (REF 2017/004)

Location: Gwassi, Homa Bay County

Reporting to: Agribusiness Senior Program Manager

Organization
Help a Child (HaC) is a Christian international NGO specialized in community development with its headquarters in the Netherlands and operating in Kenya as Help a Child Africa (HACA) since 2009. Founded in 1968, HaC’s mission is to improve the wellbeing of children living in poverty and crisis through supportive communities. Principal sources of income are child & family sponsorship, foundations and institutional donors. HaC’s strategy is to empower marginalized children, youth, parents and the broader community and other stakeholders, mainly through a Self Help Group approach. Main interventions are focused at early childhood development, education, (agricultural) vocational training and economic development, with special attention for the position of girls and women, and children’s rights.

For more information about HaC, please visit https://www.helpachild.org.

Main features

The sustainability of efficient value chain facilitation for smallholder farmers in Gwassi is dependent on a robust business development portfolio which can create a sustainable market outlet. This function will ensure that the product development is aligned to the smallholder farmer needs and consequently the market needs. The HACA Program Coordinator will support the achievement of the program’s agricultural production, agro-industry and marketing objectives, principally through leading the program’s capacity building strategy with program partners and beneficiaries in these areas; overseeing efforts that lead to increased and improved linkages between small farmers, civil society organizations, government and the private sector; and managing the monitoring and evaluation component. The Program Coordinator will support the Senior Program Manager in his coordination and representation role, particularly as concerns relations with the private sector and government extension personnel.

Objective of the function

The Program Coordinator will be responsible for the entire GICEP coordination at Gwassi level and supervision of the SMEs integrated in HACA programs. The Program Coordinator will provide the requisite HACA representation at Gwassi level in addition to the day to day coordination of the partnership. S/he will also be responsible for the convening of the quarterly Multi Stakeholder Platform and the Gwassi level Program Steering Committee.

Place in the organization

The Program Coordinator reports to the Agribusiness Senior Program Manager while directly supervising the Gwassi Field Assistant/Driver.

Result areas:

Improved Program Management and Coordination

• Provide technical and management oversight in needs identification, design, implementation of programs while ensuring that program objectives are successfully achieved contributing to government plans and priorities.


• Develop and oversee the implementation of annual program plans and budgets in close cooperation with targeted SME’s.


• Provide administrative and financial oversight to HACA driver/Assistant and SME’s.


• Prepare quality and timely project progress reports as per HACA and donor requirements.


• Provide day to day program coordination for the GICEP program at Gwassi level.

Improved technical support to SME’s and Farmers

• Improve/develop the capacity of GICEP partners/farmers’ associations to identify sustainable agro-based economic opportunities and understand and implement a demand-driven, commercialization approach to rural development based on access to markets.


• Identify and assist in coordinating relevant workshops in agricultural marketing issues for partner staff and project beneficiaries.


• Develop or facilitate training modules for partners related to the key decision making tools for market analysis and program intervention design, including:
  
  
  • Value chain analysis
  
  
  • Participatory needs assessment
  
  
  • Participatory action planning
  
  
  • Sub-sector analysis
  
  
  • Social Impact modelling
  
  


• Provide technical capacity to SMEs to improve their understanding of business-related concepts such as: factors of production; costs of production; quality control/market standards; opportunity cost; gross margin and profit analysis; return on investment; credit/budgeting; and risk.


• Assist with the preparation of training materials, guide and manuals.


• Provide support and guidance to the Senior Program Manager to develop, oversee and review project strategy and activities related to the implementation of the program according to the program business cases.


• Assist the Senior Program Manager to develop appropriate criteria and a suitable delivery mechanism for the facilitation of adequate investment and training in farm and non-farm enterprises.

Enhanced Evidence Based Programming

• Provide technical assistance for the design of the project’s monitoring and evaluation strategy.


• Responsible for Program Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (PMEL) system to measure profitability and relevant business indicators of targeted SMEs and households. Subsequently oversee program’s PMEL system in liaison with the PMEL Officer, ensuring the provision of quality data on a timely basis for internal project management and external reporting purposes.


• Provide technical support in the establishment of a marketing database to keep farmers, their organizations and SMEs informed of the prevailing market prices of various agro-industrial products and commodities that GICEP focuses on.


• Provide targeted technical assistance to projects through field visits and other methods to foster continuous improvement in quality, programmatic and financial performance.


• Engage in lobby and advocacy initiatives to inform practice and influence policy.

Strengthened Partnership & Collaboration Linkages with key Stakeholders at Gwassi & County Levels

• Determine and assess the need to join appropriate networks of project-related experts and influential groups.


• Identify, develop and recommend programs for potential partnerships. This includes attending learning workshops, organizing joint field visits with other parties and participating in professional events.


• Assist the Senior Program Manager to establish linkages with private sector service providers and buyers for accessing new farm and non-farm enterprise opportunities and in the negotiation of market contracts and MOUs with selected private sector partners.


• Assist in the facilitation of linkages with local agencies for accessing new non-farm enterprises opportunities in the farmer aggregation space.


• Responsible for the Multi Stakeholder Platform/Program Steering Team at Gwassi level to strengthen linkages between civil society organizations, government representatives and the private sector. Maintain working relations with relevant government line ministries and private sector/research institutions to coordinate the adoption of new products and/or approaches in agriculture development and marketing.

Knowledge & Skills

• Degree in a relevant field (advanced degree added advantage): Degree in agricultural economics, marketing or business administration, or related field.


• Over 5 years’ experience in agro-business development, preferably in agribusiness planning and analysis.


• Demonstrated capacity to work with private sector players (financial institutions, exporters, buyers, traders, transporters, input suppliers or processors)


• Familiarity with commonly used tools for market analysis and program design such as sub-sector analysis, gross margin analysis and business planning.


• Experience with community-based programming.


• Experience in small to medium scale agro-enterprise management.


• Experience with externally funded development programmes would be desirable, preferably with experience in market-oriented projects.


• Experience in dealing with local interlocutors (local NGOs, government ministries), preferably in a Kenyan context.


• Good verbal and communication skills and fluency in English.

Core Competencies

• Integrity: Maintaining generally accepted social and ethical standards in activities related to the function.


• Customer orientation: Investigating the wishes and interests of clients and reacting accordingly. Anticipating the interests of clients. Giving high priority to service preparedness and client satisfaction.


• Cooperation: Actively contributing to joint results, even when the subject involved is not of immediate personal interest. Sharing information and knowledge with others.


• Planning and Organizing: Determines goals and priorities effectively and indicates actions, resources, and time needed to achieve particular goals.


• Monitoring progress: Drafting and monitoring procedures for the progress of tasks or activities of employees and the tasks and responsibilities of himself.


• Networking: Building relationships and networks that prove to be useful in achieving goals. Making effective use of informal networks to get things done.


• Negotiating Skills: Effectively communicating own views and arguments and discovering and identifying common goals in a way that leads to understanding and acceptance by both parties.


• Result Orientation: Focusing actively on achieving results and objectives and willingness to intervene with disappointing results.


• Quality focus: Setting high demands on quality of products and services and acting in accordance.