Vacancy #: 6942 Unit: ESARO -Drylands Resilience Programme(DRP) Organisation: International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Location: Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office, Nairobi, Kenya Reporting to: Regional Head, Land Systems / Country Representative, Kenya Work percentage: 100% Grade: A3 Expected start date: 01 September 2024 Type of contract: Indefinite Closing date: 15 August 2024 BACKGROUND THIS IS A LOCAL POSITION
BACKGROUND:
IUCN is an Accredited Entity of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and works closely with the GCF secretariat, governments, civil society, private sector and partner organizations to identify, design and implement projects that meet the GCF’s ambitious standards. After three years of detailed design and development, the GCF board formally approved IUCN’s “Towards Ending Drought Emergencies: Ecosystem Based Adaptation in Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid Rangelands” (TWENDE) project in January 2019.
The objective of the TWENDE project is to reduce the cost of climate change induced drought on Kenya’s national economy by increasing resilience of the livestock and other land use sectors in restored and effectively governed rangeland ecosystems. The project will contribute to improved adaptation to climate change of Kenya’s national policy of “Ending Drought Emergencies”, as outlined in “Kenya Vision 2030. The Project addresses the overarching climate change challenges through three components, and their relevant outputs and activities:
Component 1: Climate change adapted planning for drought resilience. The National Drought Management Authority (“NDMA”) will act as the Executing Entity for this Component;
Component 2: Restoration of rangeland landscapes for ecosystem based adaptation. The Government of Kenya (“GoK”), acting through the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (“MoAI”), will act as the Executing Entity for this Component;
Component 3: Climate change resilient ecosystem management for investments. Conservation International (“CI”) will act as the Executing Entity for this Component.
The project will strengthen climate change adaptation in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs). The project will be implemented in 2 landscapes encompassing 11 counties, which have devolved powers under Kenya’s new constitution. The project will benefit 620,000 people in 104,000 households and will protect or restore 500,000 hectares of rangelands in a landscape of 2.5 million hectares. The target landscapes are dry season grazing areas: critical resource zones that provide refuge during periods of drought. JOB DESCRIPTION MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:
The Project Administrator (PA) will work under direct supervision of the Chief of Party to provide project management support for effective, efficient achievement of the results through contributing to seamless delivery of operational, coordination and relational priorities of TWENDE Project within PMU at the national and landscape level. The incumbent is expected to exercise full compliance with IUCN/GCF programming, financial, procurement and administrative rules, regulations, policies and strategies, as well as implementation of the effective internal control systems. Also, the position holder will be important for ensuring correspondence with TWENDE’s stakeholders (internal and external) is well coordinated and different partners’ activities (including training, workshop, consultancies, events, learning and monitoring visits) are well coordinated and documented.
SPECIFIC DUTIES:
Provide project management and stakeholder engagement support to the COP including but not restricted to;
Develop, organize and maintain a system of project correspondence and communication;
Manage the Chief of Party’s schedule and maintain a system of coordination of PMU/Partner Coordination Meetings actions or resolutions;
Prepare agendas and arrange field visits, appointments and meetings both internal and external related to the project; This includes drafting minutes of Project Steering committee and other project related meetings
Coordinate information flow and track assigned project activities with relevant staff/partners and provide assistance and/or information on project related matters as well as managing relationships with project external stakeholders, counties, partners, beneficiaries,
Follow up on deadlines, commitments made, actions taken and coordination of collection and submission of project reports to the technical team
Support the establishment and maintenance of an efficient records system. This includes maintaining donor and other contractual records. Ensure inclusion of relevant information in the IUCN Project Portal.
Follow up on the planning and reporting of Environmental and Social (E&S) Management Plan and Gender Action with partners. This includes coordinating with the E&S and Gender regional experts to develop, organize and maintain a system to track delivery of the project’s E&S elements, including the grievance feedback and redress mechanism
Support the Chief of Party in preparing project supervision and donor reports, including M&E reports and the required back-up data which confirms the reported results and achievements;
Ensuring coordination with other IUCN teams in programs, operation and finance as well as corporate initiatives at country and regional office.
Provide administrative support to ensure efficient delivery of the project that is compliant to relevant policies, standards and protocols of IUCN, GCF, GOK through;
Provide logistical support to programme activities (trainings, meetings, conferences and workshops) making sure that all aspects and details of such events are covered. This includes coordination of all aspects of travel, accommodation and conferencing facilities and potentially preparing relevant background documentation and publicity materials for the event as well as and keeping records of participant lists.
Assist in project staff and experts' recruitment processes, coordinates with Human Resources and follow-up. This includes also maintaining records and track their respective status (contracts, ToRs, time and attendance – if appropriate, etc.) in accordance with accepted policies and procedures
Establish and maintain a proper inventory of all contracts issued in the project with relevant disbursement timelines, and ensure entry into the IUCN Project Portal;
Initiate and prepare disbursements in accordance with activities and budgets of approved contracts;
Manage clearance processes for Purchase Orders (POs) and all contractual arrangements for works and services (including consultant contracts and sub-contracting institutions). This includes preparation of clearance documents, obtaining approval in accordance to Internal Control System (ICS) procedures;
Carry out any other duties as requested by the line manager REQUIREMENTS • POSITION REQUIREMENTS
Education;
Bachelor's Degree in Natural resources management, development studies or business management. A professional certification or postgraduate diploma in Project management will be an added advantage.
Work Experience;
At least 3 years of progressively programme support/project coordination experience is required at the national or international level,
Experience of providing administrative and logistical support to programme activities for a development institution (public or non-Profit) where compliance to donor and institution is the norm. Exposure to environmental conservation or agricultural/livestock development programs with high interactions with beneficiaries’ communities, local authorities and service providers,
Experience of working effectively within a back office working environment that support central office and field offices where using initiative, prioritizing own workload and interacting with senior managers is the routine,
Experience working in a multi-partner/consortium type of projects as a key focal point coordinating information flow,
Demonstrated experience with budget management and procurement processes
Demonstrated experience with organising meetings, workshops and training; and good exposure to secretariate services to governing boards such as board of directors, steering committees and senior management team.
Language Proficiency;
Fluency in English, both written and verbal;
Core Competencies;
Transparency: Able to build trust and contribute to informed and responsible decision making by carrying out the work of IUCN in a transparent manner; provides clear guidance to ensure that objectives and desired measurable results are understood by members of the team.
Inclusiveness: Understands and accepts cultural diversity, and provide a tolerant, positive and supportive working environment that fosters respect for diversity, demonstrates ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different nationalities and cultural backgrounds.
Professionalism: Promote the organization’s interests, objectives and values in a diligent and professional manner.
Accountability: Takes responsibility of individual and collective actions, promotes the IUCN One Programme approach.
Functional competencies;
Adheres to IUCN ESARO core values of Transparency, Inclusiveness, Professionalism and Accountability;
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, modern office methods, practices, and procedures with a proven ability to edit and proofread
High proficiency in working with relational databases, Microsoft Office Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint, as well as Adobe PDF
Ability to establish and maintain effective and appropriate working relationships with staff, board and committee members, vendors, volunteers, the general public, and outside organizations
Proven ability to follow deadlines, accuracy and attention to detail
Demonstrated ability to work with limited supervision to prioritize tasking and manage workflow in a high pressure environment;
Excellent time management and ability to adhere to deadlines
Excellent interpersonal skills and a strong team player with proven communication and diplomacy with the ability to work effectively with multicultural and multidisciplinary teams with sensitivity and respect for diversity;
Committed to continuous learning and proactive and mature attitude towards self-development; APPLICATIONS
Applicants are requested to apply online through the HR Management System, by opening the vacancy announcement and pressing the \"Apply\" button.
Applicants will be asked to create an account and submit their profile information. Applications will not be accepted after the closing date. The vacancy closes at midnight, Swiss time (GMT+1 / GMT+2 during Daylight Saving Time, DST). Please note that only selected applicants will be personally contacted for interviews.
Other job opportunities are published in the IUCN website: https://www.iucn.org/involved/jobs/
About IUCN
IUCN is a membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organisations. It provides public, private and non-governmental organisations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development and nature conservation to take place together.
Created in 1948, IUCN is now the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network, harnessing the knowledge, resources and reach of more than 1,400 Member organisations and around 16,000 experts. It is a leading provider of conservation data, assessments and analysis. Its broad membership enables IUCN to fill the role of incubator and trusted repository of best practices, tools and international standards.
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