Career Guidance Officer - KUZA Project, Mombasa

Adam Smith International is seeking a Career Guidance Officer to operate the Labour Market Information and Training Centre (LMITC) and provide information, elementary guidance and advice to young women and men who are looking for employment or who would like to start a small business. The main clientele will be unemployed youth between 18 and 30 years who had no opportunities to advance beyond primary education and who are struggling to make a living.

The position will be based in Mombasa running for 12 months with the option for renewal.

Background to Adam Smith International

Adam Smith International is a leading professional services business that delivers real impact, value and lasting change through projects supporting economic growth and government reform internationally. Our reputation as a global leader has been built on the positive results our projects have achieved in many of the world’s most challenging environments.

Our wide-ranging experience can be grouped into two main areas that contribute to government reform and economic growth. Government reform includes justice, security and peace building, public sector reform, public financial management, revenue reform and education reform. Economic growth includes services in extractive industries governance, infrastructure, climate change, trade facilitation and private sector development.

We are headquartered in London, with offices in Nairobi, Abuja, New Delhi and Sydney, along with major project offices in many developing countries worldwide. Our projects are funded by a wide range of donor organisations, including the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID), the World Bank, the Swedish and Danish Government’s development agencies Sida and Danida, the European Commission and the Asian Development Bank. In addition, we also work directly for host governments.

Over more than 20 years, Adam Smith International has implemented some of the most complex solutions in many of the world’s most challenging environments. We apply professional standards, technical know-how and cultural sensitivity to every context. We’re proven to bring the best minds together and are known for turning policies into action. Our work is award-winning, such as the most recent 2011/12 British Expertise Development Project of the Year, Major Project of the Year, Consultancy Project of the Year and Young Consultant of the Year.

Background to the project

The three year, DFID-funded Kuza project intends to address selected root causes of youth unemployment in Kenya’s second city, and to encourage productive and sustainable job creation for Mombasa’s young men and women. Launched in May 2014, it consists of a combination of skills development, market development, and policy support. The project is market-led, so that jobs and skills are focused on sectors of the economy that have long-term growth potential. The project has made sure to align itself with the objectives and plans of the Mombasa County and the national government.

Responsibilities

Specific activities are likely to include:

• Managing the LMITC


• Advertising and announcing the services of the LMITC


• Registering and assessing clients (employment seekers)


• Providing job related information to clients


• Counselling clients regarding employment


• Arranging and organising training (including contracting trainers)


• Networking, especially with potential employers


• Sourcing and selecting participants for training


• Arranging follow up to training through mentoring


• Referring clients to specialised services (e.g., training, micro-finance)


• Maintaining a data base


• Produce reports


• Manage financial resources

Selection criteria

We are looking for a dynamic and energetic team player with:

• Familiar with local labour market and local economic and business activities (formal and informal) and knowledge of local skills development and microfinance institutions


• Working knowledge of local employment procedures and strong experience in providing career guidance


• BA or at least higher Diploma in social science, psychology or related fields


• Excellent communication (both written and verbal) and organisational skills


• Self-starter and eager to learn


• Excellent written, spoken and numerical skills. Fluency in English is essential, knowledge of Kiswahili is desirable


• Experience in East Africa, particularly Kenya. Experience in Mombasa is desirable

Duration and timing

This is a full time, fixed term position, based in Mombasa for an initial period of 6 months. Depending on performance and need, there is the possibility that the contract will be extended.