African Academy of Sciences
Position Title: Programme Officer GCA (Innovations)
Position Title: Programme Officer GCA (Innovations)
Vacancy Announcement No: AAS/PO/18/002
Department: Programmes
Reporting to: Programme Manager- GCA
Position Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Duration: 3 Years Renewable
Closing date: 5th October 2018
Organization Overview: The AAS
is a pan African organisation headquartered in Kenya, which aims to drive
sustainable development in Africa through science, technology and innovation.
It has a tripartite mandate of
nurturing and pursuing excellence by recognising scholars and achievers;
providing advisory and think tank functions for shaping the continent’s
strategies and policies; and implementing key Science, Technology and
Innovation (STI) programmes that impact on developmental challenges through the
agenda setting and funding platform, the Alliance for Accelerating Excellence
in Science in Africa (AESA Platform).
Position Overview: The Programme
Officer is responsible for providing operational and business development
support in the implementation and delivery of the Grand Challenges Africa
Programme phase 2 projects.
Specifically, this requires that
innovations that have moved through proof of concept are supported through
transition of scale and eventual scaling.
The incumbent works in close
collaboration with other AESA Programmes through the provision of operational
and business development support in order to achieve the overall strategic
goals of the Academy. GCA (Grand Challenges Africa) is a programme that
supports big, bold, innovative and impactful ideas in health and development
moving them along the continuum of discovery, development and delivery to make
them scalable and sustainable.
Key Responsibilities
Innovations support
·
To initiate and maintain effective
relationships with innovators and to provide them with appropriate support and
information as they deliver phase 2 support
·
To communicate with other Innovation
providers in Africa and globally to access the necessary additional support for
innovators
·
To ensure effective communication
with other members of the programme team is maintained to achieve programme
targets
·
To develop and implement innovative
strategies to promote GCA as an accelerator for phase 2 projects i.e. to build
capacities for AAS to become a reputable innovations accelerator on the African
continent
·
Perform program related research to
inform the grant application process; perform research work in archives, or
through interviews, online, or whatever may be appropriate to assist the
supervisor. Assist in the preparation of articles, reports, and presentations
·
Prepare reports, articles and
presentations for accountability and dissemination to stakeholders, agencies
and foundations that fund the programme’s research.
Grants Management
·
Manage the grant application, review,
and award process using the grant management system to ensure accountability,
measurability, reportability, and verifiability of the grants
·
Launch calls for funding on the
online grant management platform; provide support to applicants during the
application process and generate reports upon awarding of grants
·
Liaise with the grant management
system providers to ensure a seamless flow of the grant administration process
·
Participate in committees forged for
purposes of managing grants under the GCA Programme
·
Close grants in a diligent way
ensuring all the monitoring and evaluations are adequately captured.
Programme Support
·
Manage the GCA E-Marketplace
including the online moderation of the relationships between innovators,
funders, businesses, regulators, mentors and other stakeholders, including
linkages with global innovation accelerators and actors
·
Support the formation and work of a
GCA Investment Advisory Group that will assist the programme team to evaluate,
rank and fund the best projects that have demonstrated value for money and
potential for development and delivery
·
Prepare relevant programme material
required for submission to agencies and foundations that fund research and
innovation
·
Attend programme-related meetings and
represent the Programme Manager/AAS at the meetings
·
Manage engagement with the digital
community in collaboration with the Communications Manager to ensure content on
the programme website is updated on a timely basis. This includes providing
image and video content for the website
·
Perform routine clerical to ensure
smooth running of the office including handling programme related
correspondence, inquiries (both phone calls and walk-ins), record and
bookkeeping, and completing reports
·
Undertake administrative duties by
organizing meetings/conferences, following up with vendors to ensure delivery
of supplies, and being the contact person for clients
·
Support other programmes and
departments within the organization in the delivery of their mandate through
provision of operational and research support, and, participating in the
procurement committee and its activities.
Qualifications and Experience
·
Bachelor’s degree qualification in
science or business field
·
Masters qualification in science or
business field desired
·
A professional qualification in
programme management will be an added advantage
·
At least 3 years’ relevant experience
·
Knowledge and experience in
innovation support for innovators in the science field with demonstrated
ability to transition ideas into businesses.
Knowledge and Skills
·
Ability to collect, synthesise and
disseminate research data generated from a defined programme/project area of
work and to convert these into business plans that can support innovators
secure collaborations, partnerships and business support
·
Knowledge of the African innovations
space, the opportunities and challenges, and a good appreciation of how to
build a vibrant innovation ecosystem, especially focussed on low resource
technologies in health, agriculture, climate sciences, engineering and other
key scientific areas
·
Possess well-developed interpersonal
skills and ability to communicate across different levels of the organization,
with external partners and grantees
·
Able to perform work independently
with minimal supervision, but also participate as a team member
·
Possess strong attention to detail
and maintaining a timely and efficient work flow
·
Have strong planning organisational
skills and ability to work under pressure
·
Ability to multi-task and to
priorities work amidst competing demands
·
Have unquestionable integrity,
confidentiality and respect
·
Demonstrate excellent writing and
presentation skills and ability to communicate, network and to be productive
team members internally, and externally with grantees and with various AAS
stakeholders
·
Proficiency in Microsoft Office i.e.
Word, Excel, PowerPoint, MS Project, Outlook.
Application Process
Applicants must email a completed
application form (CLICK HERE to download from the AAS
website), a detailed curriculum vitae with a list of referees and a cover
letter to recruitment@aasciences.ac.ke with the Position and Vacancy Number as
the subject by 5th October 2018.
Position Title: Programme Manager – CARI (Resource Mobilization and Systematic
Collaboration)
Vacancy
Announcement No: AAS/PMC/18/001
Department: Strategy and Partnerships
Reporting
to: Director, Strategy & Partnerships
Position
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Duration: 3 Years
Closing
date: 5th October 2018
Organisation
Overview: The African Academy of Sciences
(AAS) is a pan-African organisation headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, which aims
to drive sustainable development in Africa through science, technology and
innovation.
It has a tripartite mandate of
pursuing excellence by recognising scholars and achievers; providing advisory
and think tank functions for shaping the continent’s strategies and policies;
and implementing key Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) programmes that
create impact on developmental challenges through the new agenda-setting and
funding platform, the Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa
(AESA).
The Coalition for African Research
& Innovation (CARI) is being led by AAS in partnership with leading African
and global organizations with the aim of building a highly coordinated,
well-funded and African-led African science, technology, research and
innovation ecosystem.
Coalition of African Research and
Innovation (CARI), a mechanism to accelerate Science, Technology and Innovation
(STI) programmes in Africa to achieve outcomes that would help more Africans
lead better lives sooner.
CARI is an initiative to bring new
resources, better connect existing investments and develop systematic
collaboration to support Research and Development in Africa.
The main objective of the CARI is
resource mobilisation from public, private and philanthropic partnerships to
build the case for funders, private sector and many African governments to
invest in Science, Technology and Innovation to drive economic and social
development in Africa.
Position
Overview: AAS is seeking to recruit a highly
motivated and dynamic manager who will be responsible for supporting the
Director, Strategy and Partnerships in the resource mobilization and systematic
collaboration activities of CARI. CARI is a programme of AAS to be administered
under the Director, Strategy and Partnerships.
Principal
Duties and Responsibilities
·
Develop and implement a business case
for CARI that will notably clarify the vision, road map, important case
profiles, and economic return of investment of right sized investment in
African research and the nature of the investment
·
Explore the funding mechanisms
required to bring the business case to reality, including but not limited to
in-kind contributions, blended financing, impact financing, governments and
philanthropic donors’ contributions
·
Develop and implement the resource
mobilization strategy for the financial contributions to be gathered
·
Clarify the governance structure and
the legal framework for the new mechanism
·
Coordinate and provide support to the
CARI Leadership Group currently made up of high ranking leaders in government,
global funders, private sector and academia
·
Coordinate and monitor the task teams
with distributed leadership established to drive forward CARI activities
·
Establish a mile-stoned road-map
which takes advantage of existing events, notably the Grand Challenges, the
Science Forum, the World Economic Forum, NEPAD and others
·
Maintain a relationship management
tool and coordinate relationships with, and calls/meetings with partners and
the Internal Review team at AESA
·
Foster systematic collaboration to
specific and broad audiences in Africa and globally
·
Strengthen systematic collaboration
amongst actors that fund, conduct and engage in research in Africa by acting in
conjunction with, and on behalf of, multiple stakeholders including national
governments, philanthropy organizations, bi- and multi-lateral partners,
scientists (and academia broadly), private companies (African and global) and
institutional investors.
Responsibilities
in Specific Areas
·
Develop a roadmap, business plan and
implementation plan for resource mobilisation and systematic collaboration
activities
·
Analyse, implement and monitor new
growth potentials by introducing new fundraising channels, up scaling existing
activities and introducing innovative activities for fundraising based on
identified and new funding pipelines.
·
Proactively network and collaborate
with a range of stakeholders with a key focus on Governments, Foundations and
Trusts, private/industry partners including big pharmaceutical companies to
synergize broader development efforts, build relevant partnerships and enhance opportunities
for African scientists to access resources, leading roles, mentorship and
support
·
Develop a robust communications
strategy for CARI in partnership with the AAS communications office and the
funding partners
·
Undertake the stepwise implementation
of the final business case/plan after its development and final approval by the
CARI Leadership Group
·
Plan the detailed implementation of
various milestones and events including the CARI launch event in early 2018
·
Attend meetings with partners as
required to present, negotiate, and review on CARI activities and development
plans
·
Develop clear timelines for delivery
of CARI foundation documents, business plan, communication strategy, launch
strategy, fund-raising strategy and related.
Requirements
Professional
and Experience
·
Must hold senior management or
leadership position in organizations or business environments with
responsibilities for overseeing global business development, resource
mobilisation and fund-raising strategies
·
Must have knowledge of and experience
with developing systematic collaborative partnerships and funding relationships
between governments, international funders, philanthropy and major grant
recipients
·
Must have worked inside, or advised
one of the above (i.e. governments, international funders, philanthropy, global
industry or major grants recipients)
·
Must have credible hands-on
management experience. Advisory experience is useful but insufficient on its
own because there is a complex management challenge
·
Will have substantial experience of
working on the African continent, not necessarily currently residing in Africa,
but must be prepared to relocate to work from the AAS offices in Nairobi
·
Will have the experience and gravitas
to work with senior levels of the AAS partner organisations
·
Will have developed a
multi-stakeholder business plan,or demonstrate credible contributions and/or
access to that experience
·
The ability to coordinate, manage and
write grant and funding proposals with various partners is essential
·
Understanding of various types of
funding instruments and how to design and manage them is preferred.
Behavioral
and Personal Qualities
·
Excellent interpersonal skills and
the ability to work with people from varied backgrounds, at all management
levels
·
Resilience – maintaining composure
and dealing effectively under pressure
·
Methodical and systematic, with a
strong attention to detail and accuracy
·
Action-oriented, confident and able
to demonstrate initiative
·
Operate at the highest levels of
integrity and ethics
·
Quality delivery and always conscious
of deadlines
·
Able to foster teamwork
·
Cool composed demeanour that is
unfazed by regular dealings with top government and corporate leaders.
Application
Process
All Applicants must submit a filled
application form (CLICK HERE to download from the AAS
website), curriculum vitae, and a cover letter submitted by email to
recruitment@aasciences.ac.ke, with the Position and Vacancy Number as the
Subject no later than 5th October 2018.
Position Title: Temporary Programme Assistant – GFGP
Vacancy
Announcement No: AAS/GFGP/18/001
Department: GFGP
Reporting
to: Programme Officer – GFGP
Position
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Duration: Five (5) Months
Closing
date: 24th September 2018
Organization
Overview: The AAS is a pan African
organisation headquartered in Kenya, which aims to drive sustainable
development in Africa through science, technology and innovation.
It has a tripartite mandate of
pursuing excellence by recognising scholars and achievers; providing advisory
and think tank functions for shaping the continent’s strategies and policies;
and implementing key Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) programmes that
impact on developmental challenges through the agenda setting and funding
platform, the Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA).
Position
Overview: The Global Grant Community (GGC)
Portal consists of an online assessment system in which current or proposed
recipients of grant funding, can assess their organizational capabilities
against the requirements of a new international standard for Good Financial
Grant Practice.
The GGC portal is scheduled to go
live shortly. The first iteration of the live portal will require manual
registration of grantors and grantees.
This will be resource intensive and
there will be a need to for additional resource within the AAS to: –
·
Provide cover for the
helpline/support desk,
·
Assist The AAS finance team in the
invoicing of clients and receipting of subscriptions.
This is an opportunity for
undergraduate or post graduate individuals to gain valuable experience in
assisting in the launch of a new approach which will likely change the
landscape of grant funding across the world.
Key
Responsibilities
Registration
·
Act as the “customer interface” of
the GGC portal and assist and support the registration of both grantors and
grantees on the portal. This will be performed through email iteration with
grantors and grantees to ensure full organizational details have been captured
and entered into the internal AAS database
·
Bring any technical registration
issues to the prompt attention of the senior team
·
Prepare weekly reports on the status
of registration activities.
Helpline
/ Support Desk
·
The Global Grant Community is
expected to rapidly secure uptake from grantors and grantees across the world
·
As the GGC portal is the first of its
kind – it is expected there will be a variety of technical issues that will
need to be resolved and support provided to the grantor and grantee community
·
To record and achieve the Service
Level Response / Resolution times of the Help Line / Support Desk
·
As far as is practicable – this
support will need to be provided on a 24/7 basis. This may require some shift
work outside normal hours.
Support
for AAS Finance Team
·
Every grantor seeking to use the
system for the assessment of their grantees will be required to pay an annual
subscription
·
Invoices will need to be prepared,
reviewed by Finance, issued to the grantor and receipt of subscriptions
monitored before the grantors account in the portal can be activated.
Qualifications
and Experience
·
Qualifications in business and/or
finance related subjects
·
Relevant experience would be
desirable.
Knowledge
and Skills
·
Proficiency in Microsoft Office i.e.
Word, Excel, PowerPoint, MS Project, Outlook
·
Possess well-developed interpersonal
skills and ability to communicate across different levels of the organization,
with external partners, grantors and grantees;
·
Able to perform work independently,
with appropriate training and supervision, but also participate as a team
member
·
Possess strong attention to detail
and maintaining a timely and efficient workflow
·
Have strong planning organisational
skills and ability to work under pressure
·
Ability to multi-task and to
priorities work amidst competing demands
·
Have unquestionable integrity,
confidentiality and respect.
Application
Process
All Applicants must submit a
curriculum vitae and a cover letter submitted by email to
recruitment@aasciences.ac.ke, with the Position and Vacancy Number as the
Subject no later than 24th September 2018.
Only shortlisted candidates will be
contacted.