Mercy Corps exists to alleviate suffering,
poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just
communities.
Mercy Corps is looking for committed
and dynamic individuals to take up the following position.
Administration and HR Officer (AgriFin Accelerate Program) – Nairobi
Program / Department Summary: The AgriFin Accelerate program will operate
in three African countries (Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia) utilizing a market
ecosystem approach, working with carefully selected partners to build
sustainable models, where farm and crop management tools and financial services
are "bundled" in affordable, unified platforms on mobile phone
channels to promote mass uptake commercially.
The program involves three
interrelated components that seek to address low farmer productivity and
capability, and improve institutional ability to deliver appropriate products
and build ecosystems to drive scale.
We work with farmers, banks, mobile
network operators, MFIs, research institutes and other ecosystem players in
well-defined partnerships to sustainably bundle services, leveraging the offer
and outreach of all partners, while increasing the range of services, access
points and value for farmers.
The program works with partners to
identify, prototype, test and scale successful mobile-enabled services for
smallholders, with a key focus on expanding access to financial services, using
a rapid iteration approach to product development and client-centric design
techniques.
General Position Summary: The Administration and HR Officer is
responsible for facilitating the administration (including procurement and
fleet management) and HR functions at AgriFin Accelerate Program Office in
Nairobi.
Working closely with Program,
Operations and Finance, the Administration and HR Officer is instrumental in
supporting program activities through his/her services.
Essential Job Functions:
Responsible for operations functions at the field office as follows:
Administration
·
Ensure proper management and
coordination of staff travel arrangements including transport and security
·
Ensure good general office management
·
Ensure adherence to Mercy Corps
administrative, IT, and logistics procedures and staff policies by MC staff.
·
Provide administrative guidance to MC
staff when required.
·
Manage and renew office and
house/apartment rental agreements.
·
Establish and maintain appropriate
filing systems for office correspondence.
·
Ensure that the office is run in a
professional and responsible manner including hosting guests, cleaning,
receptionist duties and general contact and liaison with outside agencies.
·
Purchase of office supplies.
·
Co-ordinate any other necessary
administrative and office management details including the maintenance of the
premises.
·
Preparing comprehensive, accurate and
timely monthly reports.
Procurement
·
Daily coordination of MC procurement
activities;
·
Ensure full understanding and
adherence to MC procurement policies and formats.Assist, when required with
training staff on these policies;
·
Assist staff when required with
creating clear and understandable purchase requests and other documentation;
·
Collect quotations and bids from
vendors for Purchase Requests as assigned by manager – as per Mercy Corps
standards and formats;
·
Interact with vendors during
collection of quotations and ensure that Mercy Corps for and explain Mercy
Corps formats and ensure that vendors will use the provided forms;
·
Ensure fair competition and strict
adherence to MC procurement rules regarding vendor relations
·
Maintain up to date Mercy Corps
Procurement data management system;
·
Interact with contractors, in
coordination with the Program Team & Operations Manager;
·
Prepare the required documentation of
supplies and transactions are completed to MC standards;
·
Ensure proper asset management;
maintain proper and updated asset register with clear asset identification tags
Fleet management
·
General management of AgriFin
vehicles in co-operation with the Operations Manager;
·
Ensure that all vehicles are safe and
road-worthy;
·
Responsible for collecting and
distributing vehicle log-sheets to drivers as well monthly compilation and
submission of log-sheets;
·
Schedule vehicle use to meet
programmatic and operational needs;
·
Maintain vehicle board daily;
·
Oversee fuel consumption purchase and
tracking including coordination with gas station(s);
·
Organize regular service schedules
for vehicles. Maintain service schedule files;
·
Collect Vehicle Service Requests
(VSRs) from drivers and submit VSRs to the Operations Manager for approval;
·
Ensure major repairs are done in a
timely manner;
·
Ensure security measures for vehicles
such as parking, storage of keys, emergency supplies, etc.
·
Ensure that security incident reports
are completed and filed (if related to vehicles).
Human Resource (HR)
·
Serve under the direction of the
Operations Manager to process and properly document all daily HR activities,
efficient and timely manner;
·
Ensure adherence to Mercy Corps Human
Resource procedures and policies;
·
Assist in providing orientation,
training and guidance to staff, as required;
·
Prepare, update and track needed
changes in staff files including timesheets, leave tracking system, and other
personnel matters as required;
·
In cooperation with program
management, ensure the validity of timesheets and monthly compensations;
·
Responsible for maintaining personnel
files for all staff – including recruitment documents, CVs, valid contracts,
PAFs, timesheets, employee data sheets, disciplinary papers and performance
evaluations, while ensuring confidentiality.
·
Assist with recruitment process
The Administration and HR Officer
will conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a
manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and AgriFin Program and to not
jeopardize its humanitarian mission.
Supervisory Responsibility: The Administration and HR Officer will
oversee/manage the AgriFin Driver and ensuring that all technical,
administrative and management systems and standards agreed upon for the agency
is adhered to.
Accountability
Accountable for following Mercy Corps
Field Procurement Manual, Administration manual, Fleet Policies and Human
Resource Manual/Handbook and Policies.
Reports Directly To: Operations Manager
Works Directly With: Program, Logistics and Finance team
Knowledge and Experience:
·
Degree in a relevant business field
is desired.
·
Minimum 2-3years’ experience in
Office administration, supply chain management, Human Resource or experience in
related field.
·
Strong organizational and
interpersonal skills.
·
Excellent oral and written English
skills.
·
Advanced computer skills on MS Office
programs, especially in MS Excel.
·
A demonstrated ability to multi-task
and process information into action as to not to delay program activities.
·
A clear understanding of procurement
and administration ethics and donor compliance is essential.
Success Factors:
·
Conscientious with an excellent sense
of judgment
·
Ability to work simultaneously on
multiple tasks
·
Willingness and ability to work
effectively with a wide variety of people
·
Excellent interpersonal skills
·
Ability to work as part of a team and
coordinate with project personnel
·
Attention to details.
·
Excellent spoken and written English
·
Strong computer and organizational
skills.
Country Finance Manager – Nairobi
General Position Summary:
The Finance Manager is a member of
the senior management team and part of the Mercy Corps Finance Department, and
as such is responsible for all aspects of financial management of the country
programs, working collaboratively to ensure compliance with Mercy Corps
internal policies and procedures as well as donor regulations.
S/he works under the
direction of the Country Director and is responsible for all financial
functions in Kenya, including accounting, payments and banking, payroll,
budgeting, financial reporting and grant financial management and
compliance.
The Finance Manager, in support of
the Program Department, provides timely reports and assistance to the Country
Director and the Program team to ensure that financial resources are used
efficiently and effectively.
Program / Department Summary: Mercy Corps has been present in Kenya since
2009, focusing on conflict management, youth empowerment and building
resilience for families in Kenya’s arid lands to better withstand shocks.
With funding from a diversity of
donors, Mercy Corps has been able to work together with Kenyan communities to
respond to pressing and emerging needs that bring benefit to more than
1,500,000 individuals.
Essential Job Functions:
Strategy and Vision
·
Recognize opportunities for
innovative action and create an environment of empowerment.
·
Set direction by prioritizing and
organizing actions and resources to achieve objectives and contribute to
country-wide strategy development.
Personal Leadership
·
Consistently demonstrate flexibility,
resilience and ability to maintain positive relationships and composure, even
under difficult circumstances.
·
Maintain high ethical standards and
treat people with respect and dignity.
·
Demonstrate an awareness of his/her
own strengths and development needs.
Representation
·
Interface with donor representatives
to convey information about programs accurately and as appropriate.
·
Communicate with our donors and
partners to verify their systems and that they understand and follow all
appropriate procedures and archiving.
·
Participate in sharing best practices
with NGOs and governmental agencies.
Team Management
·
Create a sustainable work environment
of mutual respect that attracts motivated, skilled and effective team members
and enables them individually and collectively to strive to achieve excellence.
·
Supervise and lead a diverse team of
direct and indirect reports in field offices.
·
Contribute to country team-building
efforts; build constructive internal relationships; help team members identify
problem solving options and ensure integration of all team members into
relevant decision-making processes.
Operations – Financial
·
Ensure effective, transparent use of
financial resources in compliance with Mercy Corps and donor policies and
procedures.
·
Oversee and manage daily country-wide
accounting and finance functions including the timely recording of
transactions, cash management, banking, payroll, inventory, receivables, and
payables.
·
Perform internal audits and reviews
as required to ensure compliance with Mercy Corps, donor and local law
requirements.
·
Maintain banking relations and plan
and monitor country cash flow requirements to ensure the smooth implementation
of Mercy Corps programs.
·
Maintain appropriate local insurance
coverage in coordination with the Admin. Department, to protect Mercy Corps.
·
Provide monthly standard accounting
submissions to Mercy Corps Headquarters, including general ledger files,
account reconciliations, expenditures by cost center/project, required sub
grantee reporting, as well as other financial information in a timely and
accurate manner.
·
Ensure effective subgrant management,
monitoring and capacity building for all MC Kenya subgrantees/partners
·
Provide monthly management reports to
the Country Director and Program Managers, including expenditures by cost
center/project, subgrantee reporting and other financial information, in a
timely and accurate manner.
·
Develop annual fiscal year budgets
with the Country Director and develop and implement grant budgeting and
forecasting systems with Program Managers.
Training to Finance Team Members
·
Analyze training needs of finance
team members to develop and enhance their technical skills.
·
Conduct or arrange for ongoing technical
training and personal development training for finance staff members.
·
Plan, develop, and provide training
and staff development programs, using knowledge of the effectiveness of methods
such as demonstrations, on-the-job training, meetings, conferences, and
workshops.
·
Conduct orientation sessions and
arrange on-the-job training for new hires.
Accountability: Mercy Corps team members are expected to
support all efforts towards accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries
and to international standards guiding international relief and development
work while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the
design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
Organizational Learning: As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve - we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit
Mercy Corps as well as themselves.
Supervisory Responsibility: Supervise BRACED Program Finance and
Sub-grants Manager, Sr. Finance Officers and Field Subgrant and Finance
Officers based in Nairobi and four field offices (Wajir, Thika, Eldoret and
Lodwar).
Accountability
Reports Directly To: Country Director
Works Directly With: HQ Regional
Finance Officer (with authority for technical financial matters); members of
Operations, Program Managers, TSU team members, and others.
Knowledge and Experience:
·
A BA/S or equivalent in accounting or
finance required; advanced degree preferred.
·
At least 5 years of progressive
financial management experience, including supervisory experience required.
·
At least 4 years’ experience in
grants management is required.
·
Understanding of diverse donors
regulations (e.g. USAID, EC, DFID) is strongly preferred
·
At least 3 years’ international
experience required; international NGO/PVO field office experience is
preferred.
·
Demonstrated experience and skill
with budget preparation and analysis, financial reporting preparation and
presentation and the proven ability to translate technical financial data into
informative reports.
·
Strong accounting skills and
experience, including management of the general ledger, journal entries, payroll,
payables and balance sheet.
·
Demonstrated training skills and
interest in grooming national staff to take on additional supervisory skills is
required.
·
Prior management experience and
strong organizational skills.
·
Advanced computer skills in MS Office
programs, particularly Excel.
·
Effective verbal and written
communication, multi-tasking, organizational and prioritization skills.
·
Excellent oral and written English
skills required.
·
Ability to work effectively with an
ethnically diverse team in a sensitive environment.
·
Interest and ability to travel to
remote and sometime insecure environment is required.
Success Factors: The successful candidate will have an ability
to interact effectively across international and national program and finance
teams successfully, both in a managerial as well as training capacity.
S/he has strong training skills and
interest in grooming finance staff to take on additional
responsibilities.
S/he will be able to support
programmatic objectives with timely and meaningful financial information, have
a demonstrated ability to multi-task, meet deadlines and process information in
support of changing program activities.
An impeccable professional standard
of finance and procurement ethics and the willingness and ability to enforce
compliance with Mercy Corps and donor policies and procedures is
essential.
The Finance Manager must be willing
to travel regularly to Mercy Corps field offices and project sites.
The most successful Mercy Corps staff
members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in
evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal
communication a priority in all situations.
Interested candidates who meet the above required qualifications and experience should submit a cover letter, detailed Curriculum Vitae (CV) listing three professional references (including a recent supervisor) to hrkenya@ke.mercycorps.org on or before Thursday 12th March by 4.00pm.
The email subject line must clearly
show the job title and location they are applying for.
Applications without the right
subject heading will be automatically disqualified.
Please do not attach any
certificates.
(Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
We will only get in touch with
shortlisted candidates.)
NB: Mercy Corps does not charge any fee at any stage of the recruitment process.
