Land Officer Career in Nairobi Kenya

Job Title: Land Officer

Job Location: Nairobi

Client Profile:

Our client, Bridge International Academies is a startup revolutionizing education across Africa with a truly unique business model. The company has launched a large-scale franchise-like network of ultra low-cost for-profit private primary schools across Africa.

The schools profitably deliver high-quality education for less than $4 per child per month, enabling local School Managers to operate their school businesses profitably, while creating a highly successful business at the central level.

Bridge have already launched the first 25 schools in their network in the slums of Nairobi with tremendous success, and plan to rapidly scale the company to serve more than 1 million families in Africa

Role Overview:

Our Client is seeking a full-time Land Officer, who will be a vital member of the land team in their push to find plots of land suitable for schools inside slums.

A central part of our client’s operations includes the identification, verification, negotiation and purchase of plots of land for their schools inside the slums. These plots often have clouded title histories, but through the land identification and procurement process we must establish a certain amount of security -- understanding the previous ownership, other potential competing claims, titling possibility, issues with city council, lands office, etc.

To make these determinations and the actual purchase, the process may involve negotiations with local village elders, local government administration, and local landlords, and ultimately a sales contract written with some or all of these participants.

The Land Officer will form the link between the field and the office, checking on plots of land found by the team of property scouts, verifying their suitability to build a school, verifying the ownership of the plot, dealing with youths, elders and administration officials to ensure a clean and efficient purchasing process.

The Land Officer will report back to the Head of the Land Department, offering verbal and written reports on plots, their ownership and the research undertaken to ensure the company has the security to purchase the plot.

Specific Tasks and Responsibilities

The Land Officer will focus on certain elements of the land acquisition and the community and administration negotiations processes.

These include:

Meeting and dealing with land agents and vendorsManaging a team of property scoutsNegotiating the cost of the landMeeting and dealing with community members and Administration officialsRecognizing potential conflict surrounding land and land purchases, often including tribal issuesHolding community meetings and barazas, where you represent Bridge International AcademiesWriting briefing notesInvestigating conflicting land ownership claimsEstablishing and utilizing contacts at local and central government to find clear information on land ownershipBeing able to locate and explain plot positions on a variety of mapping interfacesAnd moreThis is a very hands-on job, with the Land Officer in the field about 80% of the time.

Academic Qualifications:

Degree or Diploma qualifications in Land Economics.You have experience in the field negotiating land purchasesExperience in working in very poor communities is a real plusExperience in dealing with sensitive issues regarding landYou have experience managing and working with teams of peopleYou are knowledgeable of informal settlements and how land transactions proceed in these areasYou are comfortable in negotiating situations, including land purchasesYou are comfortable with numbers and maps.Good communication skills, both written and spoken.Intermediate computer skills in MS Office and MS Project.Web literacyYou are not afraid of getting your hands dirtyYou function well in a fast-paced informal environment where constant change is the norm and the bar for quality is set highExcellent people skills.How to Apply:

Interested, suitable candidates should forward their applications enclosing copies of their detailed CVs to the following address:

Adecco Employment Services
Email : info@adeccokenya.com

Note: only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Deadline Date: 15 July 2011

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