Kenya Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) Resilience Programme (ARP) Livelihoods Project Officer Job in Nairobi

Job Title: Kenya Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) Resilience Programme (ARP) Livelihoods Project Officer
 Reporting to: Senior Programme Officer, ARP
 Department: Kenya Country Programme
 Location: Nairobi, with frequent travel within the ASAL regions of Kenya
 To be an active member of the Kenya ASALs Resilience Programme (ARP) team contributing to the delivery of its integrated livelihoods/DRR/humanitarian programme. In particular, to provide dedicated support to a new project funded by DFID, especially in the preparation of quarterly donor reports. The project will be implemented with the Diocese of Lodwar, Turkana, and carried out in collaboration with government offices, such as the NDMA, as well as other implementing agents.
 In recognition of the chronic and cyclical nature of drought in Kenya’s ASAL regions, Trócaire has modified its programmatic approach and developed an integrated ASALs resilience programme. Within the ARP humanitarian responses are situated within a broader and longer term DRR and sustainable livelihoods context. In addition, components from other programme areas, such as Governance and Human Rights, are incorporated to address underlying mechanisms that currently undermine coping strategies. The programme has a team of 3 led by a Senior Programme Officer (SPO).
 Within the context of the ARP, support the implementation of the ARP-Loima project in Turkana.design and oversee a project-specific monitoring and evaluation plan.compile all donor and internal reports (narrative and financial) for the project, with input from the partner and under the guidance of the SPO.in conjunction with partners, ensure that agreed reporting schedules (financial and narrative) are met, all reports respond to the relevant project indicators and that they are in line with institutional funding requirements and organisational policy.liaise with members of the finance team to ensure that all financial reports are reviewed and signed off in a timely manner.provide ongoing and comprehensive technical support to the DoL in the implementation of the projectcarry out regular field trips to the partner, the Diocese of Lodwar (DoL), its communities and other implementing agents to provide ongoing oversight of the project’s progress against the agreed workplan, budget and other programming commitments.facilitate capacity building for the partner including on the job training, workshops, exchange visits and formal training courses in project, technical and organizational issuespropose and support constructive solutions to emerging issues and unexpected events in the light of field visits and ongoing communication with the partner.ensure that partners have appropriate monitoring and documentation systems in place to gather the information needed in a timely fashion.carry out administrative procedures (through the Document Library and Agresso systems) in relation to the project and in conjunction with the Programme Administrator.ensure that learning from all forms of review and evaluation is applied to the project and amendments are implemented as agreed.work with partners to gather lessons learnt, best practice and stories of change across the projectidentify and document lessons learnt; collecting information for case studies from the fieldfacilitate learning amongst partners and ensure that this is captured and shared, including with colleagues in Trócaire.support the SPO (and, whenever necessary, regional and Head Office staff) in monitoring food security, livelihoods trends and humanitarian needs that may undermine food security and livelihoods in the fragile Kenya ASAL Ecosystems.and with the rest of the team ensure case studies are documented and shared and materials for the web are regularly produced.other project related work may be assigned by the SPO according to programme needs.ensure that all relationships with partners are in keeping with the principles and values set out in the organisational Partnership Policy.using the Partner Capacity Building Framework, develop partner capacity building plans to strengthen and support partners in areas where they are weak, and together establish clear targets and indicators and review on a regular basis.work with the SPO and members of the finance team to ensure that all existing partners have completed the Partner Governance and Finance Capacity Assessment and that it is undertaken with new partners prior to making any commitments.promote accountability of partners to target communitiespromote and strengthen partnership with government particularly in building capacity of duty bearers in target communities.Networking and communications:
Under the direction of the SPO and as a team member:represent Trócaire in relevant assessments, forums and networks.maintain relationships with donor agencies, church partners and other groups working on the ARP.liaise with local government officials and ensure that partners keep local authorities informed of Trócaire supported programmes.accompany visitors (Trócaire or external) to programme sites and carry out promotional or media work as directed from time to time.contribute to the development of a quarterly newsletter for the ARP programmeprovide material for Trócaire’s Communications, Campaigns, Fundraising and Education units as required.coordinate with the SPO to ensure effective communication with the organisational programme team in Maynooth.under the guidance of the SPO participate in relevant thematic working groups, networks and learning forums, nationally and possibly internationally in order to improve programme and advocacy learning, sharing and impact.Programme Evaluation and Development:
At the request of the SPO contribute to the:ongoing analysis of the sustainable livelihoods sector in Kenya and global developments within the field.completion of the Annual Programme Review process, incorporating clear evidence of progress and challenges and adhering to internal and external reporting requirements.completion of mid-term and end-of-project/programme evaluations, annual development of the ARP programme and design of any new programmes.ensure that the learning from the evaluation process is explicitly incorporated into future project implementation.adopt evaluation methodologies that maximise opportunities for learning for Trócaire and the Partners.support the SPO and Regional Institutional Funding Officer (RIFO) in identifying new institutional funding sources for the programme.support the SPO to ensure that all institutional funding for the programme is managed in line with donor requirements and that reports are compliant with donor needs, including Irish Aid (IA) and Trócaire’s internal needs.ensure that partners are aware of the grant management and reporting requirements of back donors and where necessary provide training and support to partners in order to meet these demands.

Additional details of exceptional aspects of the job

keep abreast of developments in the development sector as a whole and within livelihoods/ humanitarian/ DRR sector in particular.undertake other agreed tasks related to Trócaire sustainable livelihoods and humanitarian programming and projects as needed such as assistance with preparation of proposals, reports, project summaries, monitoring visits etc. at the request of the SPO.

Qualifications, Attributes and Other requirements specific to the role
Technical Skills and Experience

graduate education and/or professional qualification in an appropriate technical subject or subject relevant to development/livelihoods work and Project Managementminimum 3 years work experience in the field of implementing development projects (experience of work in a livelihoods context will be an advantage)excellent written and oral skills in English (essential)proven ability to maintain relevant, accurate and comprehensive records in the context of work planning, coordination and reporting (essential)regular donor reporting, preferably for DFID or ECcoordinating or managing development programmes through local partners.carrying out community-based needs assessmentprogramme planning, preferably through programme cycle management, and monitoring and evaluationproven experience in capacity building processes and techniques, and the provision of technical advice through on the job training.financial management within a development programming contextimplementing social welfare (food-for-work, cash vouchers etc) programmesworking with international donors, especially DFID or ECworking in support of national NGOs and partners in developing countries.action oriented person with initiative and self-motivationexcellent all-round communication skills, both facilitating and presenting but also producing written work of a high quality in Englishability to organize his/her work independently, ability to prioritize, meet deadlines and multitask.good inter-personal skills with the ability to communicate sensitively to a broad range of people and organisations within a cross cultural context.ability to work effectively within a team and in support of colleagues, and to provide leadership and direction for the small team, retaining courtesy in stressful environments.proven organisation and administration skills, including familiarity with standard IT packages and their applications and specifically Word and Excel.commitment to a partnership approach.willingness to work out-of-office/weekend when necessary, in response to work demands

How to apply:

If you meet the above selection criteria, please send your curriculum vitae and a covering letter on ms word only to hr@trocaire.or.ke and state the reference number on the subject line.

Closing date: 14 Jun 2013