Employment Opportunity: Project Coordinator
The Aga
Khan Foundation (AKF) is a private, non-denominational, development agency
promoting creative solutions to problems that impede social development.
Focusing on
the Swahili Coast of Kenya and Tanzania, as well as Central and Northern
Uganda, AKF responds to local and regional priorities by developing effective
programming, measuring and documenting results, and sharing its lessons with
governments, donors, and development actors to influence policy and practice.
AKF (EA) is
seeking an experienced Project Coordinator for the implementation of an
innovative, multi-partner, county governance project.
The
‘Citizen Voice in Devolved Governance’ is a two year project co-funded by DFATD
(formerly CIDA) and AKF that aims to increase citizen participation in local
governance, with a particular focus on providing support to local civil society
organisations in Kwale in order to help them develop the skills to effectively
engage with the County government and a broader swath of civil society.
The project components include
a) capacity
building support to civil society organizations – especially with regards to
engagement and communications,
b)
facilitation and coordination of civil society engagement with County
government and
c)
provision of support to CSOs in their communications efforts (using new media
and old) to involve a wider group of citizens in county decision-making.
Sector
areas of focus for engagement include education, gender inclusion, climate
change and sustainable development.
AKF is
inviting applications for the position based in Kwale.
Reporting
to the Regional Programme Manager - Rural Development and Civil Society, the
incumbent will be responsible for ensuring the project meets AKF and donor
requirements, lead the smooth implementation of the project, and will also lead
the preparation of accurate, high quality and timely reports.
He/she will
work closely with civil society organizations and local government.
Specifically, the Project
Coordinator will:
(1) Manage
project planning and implementation to ensure the project achieves its expected
outcomes and outputs and complete reports according to donor requirements.
(2) Train and
mentor civil society organizations in key technical areas such as policy
formulation, positive engagement with government, fundraising, communications
and monitoring and evaluation.
(3)
Facilitate improved communications and engagement between civil society
organisations and the County government.
(4) Provide
analysis, synthesise and articulate the lessons, challenges, and risks emerging
from the project, and feed these back into project planning and implementation.
(5) Liaise
with other relevant AKF/AKDN staff, as well as donors, government actors,
international NGOs, businesses as necessary.
Required Qualifications and
Experience
- Graduate degree in international development, governance, public administration or similar
- Strong knowledge and proven experience of working in the governance and civil society sector with experience managing civil society and governance projects
- Demonstrable and extensive experience in advocacy, lobbying, policy engagement and communications, working with a wide range of stakeholders including but not limited to NGOs, CBOs, business and government
- Experience providing capacity building support or mentorship to civil society organisations, particularly on organisational development, fundraising, policy formulation and government engagement;
- Knowledge of the context of Kenyan devolution
- Experience in the use of new/social media for communications, including Facebook, Twitter and SMS
- Familiarity with Education, Gender, Climate Change and Development sectors preferred;
Qualified
applicants should submit a cover letter, CV and the names and contact
information of three professional referees by 15 May 2014 to the
Regional
Human Resource Director,
Aga Khan Foundation
(East Africa)
via e-mail
to recruitment-akfea@akdn.org
Only
shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
The Aga
Khan Foundation is an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (www.akdn.org).