Project Manager Job in Kenya

Job Vacancy: Project Manager - Future Initiatives
 
Sanergy is an award-winning social venture that builds healthy, prosperous communities by making hygienic sanitation accessible and affordable in Africa’s urban informal settlements. 

Our systems-based approach to solving the sanitation crisis involves five key steps: we build a dense network of franchised micro-entrepreneurs, who operate low-cost, high-quality waterless sanitation facilities – called Fresh Life – as small businesses. 

We provide critical support services – such as access to finance, business analytics, training, and marketing. We collect the waste regularly and safely remove it from the community. 

We convert the waste into valuable by-products, such as organic fertilizer and renewable energy. Finally, we sell the by-products to Kenyan farms under the brand name Farm Star.

Since November 2011, we have launched nearly 700 Fresh Life Toilets to a network of more than 300 Fresh Life Operators. We have collected and converted over 7,000 tons of waste. At the same time, we have built a team of over 200 people. 

For our work, we have been recognized by Fast Company as one of the 10 Most Innovative Companies in the World Doing Social Good and one of the 10 Most Innovative Companies in Africa.
 
Job Purpose Statement: The Project Manager will be responsible for managing the development and testing of products and services for potential incorporation into the Fresh Life portfolio.
 
Reports to: Manager, Future Initiatives
 
Role & Responsibilities
 
Project Management
 
Manage a portfolio of Future Initiatives offerings, moving each through the Future Initiatives process for development and testing.
  • Contribute to the definition of project scope and objectives
  • Develop detailed project plan to monitor progress
  • Ensure that each stage in the Future Initiatives process is completed and documented before advancing the offering to the next stage. The process includes:
1.    Conduct initial research (i.e., technical feasibility, market size, operational feasibility, cost effectiveness, financial viability)
2.    Design product or service
3.    Develop research plan
4.    Implement pilot

5.    Analyze pilot results
6.    Make recommendation regarding operationalization, further testing or termination of offering
  • Engage members of the Future Initiatives team with appropriate areas of expertise for stages outside the specialty of the Project Manager
  • Engage other organizational stakeholders and resources as appropriate
While each Project Manager on the Future Initiatives team is responsible for projects from start to finish, each Project Manager brings expertise in one step in the Future Initiatives process. 

The Project Manager will provide support for Future Initiatives team members in at least one of the following:
  • Assess market size, operational feasibility, cost-effectiveness, and overall financial viability of potential offerings
  • Conduct research on technical feasibility and existing technologies that can be leveraged for potential offerings
  • Design new products and adapt existing technologies to generate offerings appropriate for the context in which we work
  • Design plans for testing of products and services
  • Oversee implementation of testing plan
  • Design plan and tools for data analysis
  • Analyze data to make evidence-based decisions to operationalize, kill, or conduct additional research on offerings post-pilot
  • Develop strategies for operationalization and scale-up of offerings after successful pilot
Capacity and Process Building
 
Build tools for Future Initiatives development and testing process and offer support to Future Initiatives team members.
  • As projects advance out of each stage, ensure the tools for conducting and assessing each stage evolve as necessary to meet the needs of the team
  • Create guidelines to support other Future Initiatives team members in conducting the stages covered by the area of expertise of the Project Manager
  • Provide support in Project Manager’s area(s) of expertise on projects managed by Future Initiatives team members.
  • Contribute to conceptualization of new offerings for development and testing
Communication
  • Engage and communicate transparently with team members outside of Future Initiatives about new initiatives
  • Provide Business Development and Communications teams with high quality information on new products (pitch) and in-progress pilots (reporting) to support their efforts to secure and maintain partners and funding
  • When relevant, communicate directly with external stakeholders for purposes of research / information gathering, knowledge sharing and partnership development
Job Requirements
  • Degree in research, design or business related field; Masters degree desirable
  • 2-5 years’ work experience, preferably in a developing country context
  • Experience in human-centered design and/or design thinking
  • Background in WASH or another area of innovation in global health / development
  • Experience conducting primary and secondary research, preferably in a developing country context or regarding issues of development
  • Knowledge of study design and analysis techniques
  • Good time management skills
  • Ability to multitask and meet deadlines with ease
  • Strong people skills.
Application Deadline: 1st August 2016