Vacancies at GVEP International East Africa – deadline extended

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Programme Manager to support Energy Small and Medium Enterprises in selected countries in East and West Africa.Deadline extended for applications submission: 11 June 2010 - Read more >

The Open Society Initiative for East Africa (OSIEA) seeks a Deputy Director to provide strategic direction as well as operational and administrative oversight to the organization.

Based in Kenya, the Deputy Director will work closely with and report to the Director.

The Open Society Initiative for East Africa (OSIEA) promotes public participation in democratic governance and respect for human rights by awarding grants, developing programs, and bringing together diverse civil society leaders and groups.

OSIEA implements a range of initiatives to advance justice, free speech, public health, and independent media in Eastern Africa.

Responsibilities:

Program Management and Staff Supervision

    * Provide strategic vision, guidance and leadership on matters relating to OSIEA’s programming, strategy, management, governance, and budget
    * Supervise and provide substantive guidance, feedback and support to designated program staff in refining the overall strategic direction of OSIEA’s focus areas, in establishing program priorities, and in designing and carrying out projects
    * Put into place a process to oversee the preparation of the annual program strategy and budget plans with the director, program staff and board, including an annual staff retreat
    * Assist the director in overseeing the production of OSIEA communications and publications, including by writing and editing documents
    * Develop and apply criteria to better measure the effectiveness and outcomes of OSIEA projects
    * As required, represent the Director at meetings within the OSI network and externally
    * Develop and coordinate special projects as requested by the Director

Office Management and Administration

    * Oversee the daily operations of the organization, supervise staff, and stand in for the director as needed
    * Oversee planning for and preparation of OSIEA board meetings, including the grant approval process
    * Develop and oversee mechanisms for regular staff communication, including monthly conference calls and regular meetings/calls between relevant colleagues as well as the board
    * Put into place oversight mechanisms to ensure compliance with internal policy and legal requirements
    * Serve as the primary contact for financial oversight throughout the year
    * Oversee security procedures to ensure the safety of OSI staff traveling in the region

Qualifications

    * Advanced degree and at least ten years work experience
    * Substantive knowledge of the East African region
    * Five years experience as a manager with an understanding of the principles and practices involved in the effective management of a complex institution. Must enjoy management
    * Proven commitment to the protection of human rights and knowledge of the East African region.
    * Extraordinary initiative, creativity and capacity to think strategically
    * Ability to communicate clearly and effectively with a diverse array of people
    * Team spirit and respectful working and decision-making style
    * Ability to manage several simultaneous projects in a fast-paced environment.
    * Strong organizational skills and close attention to detail
    * Integrity, diplomatic manner and professional discretion essential
    * Willingness to travel as needed

Compensation: Competitive salary, with good benefits package.

To Apply: Send resume and cover letter to jobs@osiea.org

No phone calls, please.

Application Deadline: 30th November 2009.

Only successful candidates will be contacted.
For More Information, Kindly Visit; OSIEA Website

Are you an acknowledged expert in your field, based in or working in any of the five East African Community countries?

Do you have a flair for writing and insights into the critical issues in your area that you want to share with your peers and the general public?

The EastAfrican, the premier regional newspaper, is looking for specialists who can contribute informed analysis and comment in the following areas*:

# Agriculture

# Aviation

# Conservation and Biodiversity

# Culture and Society

# Diplomacy

# Education

# Finance

# Human Resource Management

# ICT

# Infrastructure

# Legal Affairs

# Maritime and cargo handling

# Medical Sciences

# Minerals and Petroleum

# Real Estate

# Religion

# Security

# Tourism

# Transport

Please send a sample of your writing, no more than 600 words long to:

The Managing Editor,

The EastAfrican,

P.O. Box 49010,

Nairobi 00100

or e-mail alizaidi@ke.nationmedia.com and copy to imwangi@ke.nationmedia.com

*lf your particular field has been left out, but you still feel you have expertise to share, do go ahead and apply

TechnoServe, Inc
. is an international non-profit economic development organization founded in 1968. Its mission is to help entrepreneurial men and women in poor rural areas of the developing world to build businesses that create income, opportunity and economic growth for their families, communities and countries.

The East Africa Dairy Development (EADD) program aims to move smallholder women and men farmers out of poverty by improving their profit participation in the dairy value chain. This project is being implemented through a partnership of three established organizations –Heifer International (lead partner), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), and TechnoServe – working in targeted districts in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. TechnoServe’s role is to increase market access for smallholder farmers and expand dairy markets, in particular to:

Organize smallholder dairy farmers to effectively bulk and market dairy products;
Ensure steady, cost effective supply of goods and services to farmers and farmer groups; and
Expand dairy markets.

I. PRIMARY PURPOSE:

Working closely with the EADD Regional Project Director and TechnoServe’s East Africa Regional Director, the TechnoServe Regional Dairy Manager will manage TechnoServe’s regional activities, with a particular focus on regional knowledge management and coordination of TechnoServe activities across the region. To do so, s/he will:

Representation: Establish and maintain strong working relationships with partners in the regional office, each of the three project countries and across the region
Analysis and Knowledge Development: Analyze regional market information, formulate recommendations to improve overall program performance, particularly with respect to doubling farmer incomes, and disseminate key findings
Project Management: Lead day to day regional project management activities, including budget management; tracking performance against project milestones and work plan development and monitoring
Facilitation: Coordinate TechnoServe project activities across the region

II. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Representation

Establish and maintain strong working relationships with Heifer International, ILRI and other EADD partners; participate in project planning meetings, contribute to problem-solving and work collaboratively
Liaise regularly between TechnoServe and other project partners to ensure smooth communications and coordinated activities
Coordinate TechnoServe input into all project review and regional meetings

Analysis and Knowledge Development

Finalize development and roll-out of the 5- and 10-year dairy market model. Ensure output and forecasted results are shared with, and understood by all relevant partners and stakeholders. Update markets periodically, and share results
Market information system established, based on dairy market model, that provides price, quality, quantity and timely information to farmers and other key stakeholders
Ensure that all country teams are abreast of project and industry developments across the region, are aware of their own performance against project milestones, sharing lessons-learned and benefiting from each other’s work
Assemble and update regional market information on a regular basis, analyze and synthesize, and disseminate
Coordinate various modeling exercises and ensure consistency in assumptions, collection and use of data, sharing of results and implications, etc.
Ensure that best practices from elsewhere are shared into the project and that new lessons learned are shared externally
Develop case studies of successes and/or failures and lessons learned

Project Management

Manage regional budget and monitor country budgets to ensure adherence to budget limitations
Produce consolidated financial and narrative reports for TechnoServe management, partners and donor, as required by the contract and requested on an ad hoc basis
Report internally and externally on progress and status of project activities
Support Senior Business Managers and Country Directors to identify strategies and tactics to achieve the project’s goals and milestones, as well as bottlenecks to effective execution of the project objectives; share and address both with the larger project team
Manage Regional Business Analyst and Regional Administrative Assistant, ensure production of high quality, timely outputs per the project milestones
Ensure timely production and sharing of collated project performance metrics

Regional Operations Coordination

Standard template for chilling plant business plans utilized consistently and updated as needed
Coordinate and oversee data collection from the field teams. Ensure data collection and analysis is completed each month, and shared with both the regional office and the field staff
Monitor and coordinate use of Basecamp website/document management service for the program
Overall coordination and quality monitoring of TechnoServe team’s input and work content
Ensure information is shared and flows transparently between TechnoServe teams in different countries and between TechnoServe and EADD partners
Ensure that lessons learned in one country are transferred to others
Manage all regional stakeholder relationships that require TNS lead
Create, disseminate and support country-level adaptation and use of standard templates and tools for key project deliverables including but not limited to: chilling plant business plans; hub feasibility studies and market assessments; country-level work plans and other management and quality assurance challenges
Work with country staff to identify TNS technical assistance needs at both regional and country levels

Impact

Partners and implementers informed of current conditions and new developments in the market through periodic dairy market reports for the region
Toolkits, best practices information and market resources readily available to all partners and implementers. Toolkits and other resources should support and strengthen TNS’s roles in the program (organization of smallholder dairy farmers, strong supply of goods and services and expanded dairy markets)
III. REQUIREMENTS:

Qualifications in business related studies and proven skills in project management
Strong analytical skills with proven ability to provide sound, fact-based recommendations
A minimum of four years professional experience
Strong interpersonal/people management skills, excellent oral and written communication skills
Ability to develop well written, cohesive analyses and reports
Track record of building strong client and partner relationships
Excellent English oral & written presentation skills
Strong private sector experience and entrepreneurial skills
Strong financial analysis and management skills
Willingness to travel domestically and internationally when necessary

REPORTS TO: Regional Project Director: East Africa Dairy Development Program, East Africa Regional Director: TechnoServe

POSITION LOCATION: Nairobi, Kenya

For details of how to apply, click here.

TechnoServe is an equal opportunity employer.