Country Director – Kenya
Are you passionate about economic empowerment and possess great leadership expertise and experience? Bring your experience, skills and passion to help build businesses that increase prosperity in some of the poorest parts of the world.
TechnoServe is an international, non-profit economic development organisation founded in 1968 with the belief that a competitive private sector is an essential foundation for economic growth and poverty reduction and durable development assistance is rooted in market-based solutions.
In keeping with this belief, TechnoServe’s mission is to work with enterprising people in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses and industries.
In order to execute this mission, TechnoServe undertakes technical assistance, demonstration and facilitative projects to increase key capacities of individuals and businesses, strengthen the transparency and function of labor, capital and product markets, and develop a more conducive environment for scalability of emerging industries.
Primary Purpose
The Country Director role is to lead and manage TechnoServe’s operations in Kenya, including fundraising, to achieve sustainable economic development in a cost effective manner. This includes:
- Strategy:
Strategically select areas of work, partnerships and methodologies that
most effectively contribute to poverty reduction, and assure excellence of
implementation through total quality management and evidence-based
decision making
- Leadership:
Develop, inspire and enable a team of Kenyan and international
professionals to deliver high quality results. Effectively manage human
resources, finance and back office functions to optimize
cost-effectiveness
- Fundraising:
Secure funding to sustain and grow TechnoServe’s contribution to the
economic development of Kenya.
Duties
and Responsibilities
The duties and responsibilities of this position fall into a few broad categories:
Strategy
The duties and responsibilities of this position fall into a few broad categories:
Strategy
- Regularly
develop and adapt the country strategic vision and direction and execute
it in keeping with TechnoServe’s overall strategic plan;
- Identify and
pursue innovative solutions to poverty reduction;
- Identify
opportunities where TechnoServe can play a role in catalysing more
competitive, inclusive industries and entrepreneurship;
- Undertake
industry assessments, market research and other analytical exercises that
generate insight into opportunities for TechnoServe to achieve its mission.
Leadership
- Recruit, orient
and provide for the professional development of highly effective staff in
all functions;
- Motivate,
inspire and enable a team of Kenyan and international professionals to
deliver high quality results.
Fundraising
- Secure funding
for the country program by developing concepts, leading sound project
design and writing winning proposals;
- Cultivate and
maintain TechnoServe in-country partner and donor relationships with USAID
and other US government agencies, local government, bilateral and
multilateral development/donor organisations, foundations and relevant
local NGOs, private sector associations and corporations.
External
Relations
- Establish and
foster relationships with a broad network of donors, practitioners,
government representatives and business leaders in the Kenyan economic
development field, assimilating and contributing to new developments in
the sector;
- Liaise with
media, public, Government and Government agencies, as well as other NGOs
to ensure that TechnoServe’s image is preserved and enhanced;
- Communicate with
bilateral and multilateral agencies and develop relationships that seek to
promote TechnoServe’s mission and objectives.
Operations
- Oversee the
design, planning, high quality and timely execution of TechnoServe
programs in the field;
- Plan for and
execute robust monitoring and evaluation of program outputs and outcomes;
- Ensure
cost-effective delivery of donor and client commitments;
- Contribute to
the documentation and sharing of knowledge within the broader TechnoServe
community.
Administration
- Ensure high
quality and timely donor reporting;
- Oversee all
TechnoServe Kenya financial affairs, including budgets, adherence to
effective internal financial controls and review of monthly financial
reporting;
- Act as legal
representative of TechnoServe in Kenya, conducting all affairs with the
government, the media and partners in keeping with TechnoServe policies
and procedures;
- Maintain good
governance practices for all TechnoServe related entities in Kenya in
accordance with Kenyan law;
- Participate in
and comply with all TechnoServe corporate processes such as the annual
planning process, attendance at the annual Country Directors meeting,
preparation of program status and pipeline reports and oversee the correct
and complete updating of the corporate measurement system
Qualifications,
skills and experience:
- An advanced
degree in Business Administration / Economics / Agriculture / Management
or a related field;
- In excess of 10
years’ solid professional experience with progressively higher levels of
responsibility;
- In excess of 5
years’ experience leading a business unit or large scale project with
responsibility for aspects of operations;
- A minimum of 5
years’ experience working in the African environment, preferably in East
Africa;
- Private sector
experience gained in Management Consulting, Agri-business and / or Food
Processing, Financial Services, industries would be highly beneficial;
- Strong
diplomatic skills to support and develop effective working relationships
with government, implementing partners and donors;
- Good working
knowledge of economic development, agricultural value chains and
entrepreneurship promotions;
- Proven capacity
to fundraise effectively and to represent the organisation among a diverse
range of stakeholders;
- Demonstrated
ability to develop, motivate and lead a diverse team to achieve results;
- Well-developed
program and project managements skills;
- Track record in
operations management and administration;
- Strongly
analytical, with well-developed general management, operations management
and administration skills;
- Well-developed
entrepreneurial skills;
- Strong
leadership skills and demonstrated experience in forming, managing and
leading complex, multi-disciplinary and challenging field operations and
teams;
- Demonstrated
skills in problem solving, consensus building and coordination of diverse
stakeholders and partners.
- Experienced
negotiator;
- Strong
interpersonal, people management and communication skills, excellent oral
and written communications are essential.
- Fluent in
English: reading, writing and speaking.
Application
Instructions
Qualified and interested applicants should submit a Word-formatted single document consisting of cover letter, resume and salary history to jobs@tns.org
Please identify the position for which you are applying in the subject line.
Only
applicants meeting minimum qualifications will be considered or
contacted.
No
phone calls please. Deadline for applications is 5.00pm, Friday 24th May 2013