Project Officer - Livelihoods

JOB VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT FORM

Title: Project Officer - Livelihoods

Ref N: ADMIN/KEN/-008/2020**

Sector: Resilience

No. of positions: 1

Location of work: Tana River County (Galole and Tana Delta sub-Counties)

Reports to: Project Manager

Supervises: Community Engagement Officers

Start of work: ASAP (contingent on COVID pandemic)**

Duration: Contract until 31^st December 2020 with possibility of renewal

Background Information:

CISP is an equal employment opportunity employer with its headquarters in Rome. Currently CISP has various field offices, including a Regional office in Nairobi. CISP Kenya carries out projects in areas of development by supporting national and county authorities to provide quality, equitable, transparent and accountable services in the sectors of higher education, child protection, culture, food security and nutrition.

CISP is the lead agency of a consortium of partners implementing a multi-year EU-funded project on resilience building and food security in Tana Delta and Galole sub-Counties of Tana River County. The project is an integrated, multi-sectoral response to food security and sustainable livelihood challenges faced by agro-pastoralist and pastoralist communities, including drought and other effects of climate change. The project aims to enhance resilience of these communities through improving food and nutrition security of vulnerable households, especially for women and children, generating sustainable livelihoods and protecting productive assets. CISP is seeking an experienced Project Officer with technical expertise in Livelihoods to support the communities’ adoption of alternative livelihoods and increased productive assets through crop and livestock value chains, enterprise development and marketing, and increased participation in livelihood activities in Tana River County.

Job Purpose:

The Project Officer – Livelihoods will ensure effective and efficient community mobilization, implementation, monitoring and reporting of activities directly related to livelihoods. The focus of this position will be primarily on supporting early livestock disease detection, control and management, participatory rangeland management methods, pasture development, harvesting, hay making, preservation, planning and enterprise development for pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in Tana River County (Galole and Tana Delta Sub-counties).

Role and Responsibilities

Project Planning and Implementation

• Responsible for the selection and verification of beneficiaries in coordination with the consortium partners, the community committees, local authorities.
• Plan field missions, supervise project activities and assign staff to ensure activities are carried out as per project work plan.
• Facilitate adoption of best practice/approaches/models in the course of the implementation of the Livelihoods component of the project.
• Provide technical support in livestock production activities, focusing on animal health, optimal livestock practices, adaptive breeding, livestock insurance and access to better markets for animal products.

• Provide technical support to farmers/agro-pastoralists to develop fodder production of drought tolerant, multi-purpose and productive varieties,and to adopt drought resistant, short maturing and nutritious crop varieties.

• Provide advice and support to beneficiaries to diversify their income sources from off-farm and on-farm activities and to better market their products.

• Participate in the preparation of overall workplan and budget planning for Livelihood activities, including livestock and nutrition.

• Collaborate with relevant National and County government ministries and partners at the Ward, County and community levels to ensure integration and high quality implementation of all Livelihood activities.

• Empower and build the capacity of partners and beneficiaries including CBOs, school committees, Farmers’ Groups and Cooperative Societies to enable them effectively intervene in food security and economic empowerment appropriately.

• Together and in consultation with consortium partners and other stakeholders, such as relevant line ministries and the NDMA, conduct regular extension service provision such as Livestock disease detection and prevention for participating groups and households.

• Together with other project staff, consortium partners and other stakeholders, organise, facilitate and deliver high quality trainings, such as livestock disease reporting for CAHWs and fodder preservation for agro-pastoralists and pastoralists, to support knowledge sharing and reinforcement of desired behaviour and practices.

• Systemically review the budget and control field expenditures within approved project budget.

MEAL and Quality Assurance

• Support MEAL components of Livelihood activities in coordination with relevant stakeholders.
• Travel extensively in the County for beneficiary engagement, support, supervision and monitoring of project activities.
• Work closely with relevant authorities to ensure all Livelihoods activities are in alignment with guidelines and standards such as Sphere, LEGS and HAP.
• Provide technical inputs in the planning and design of project specific operational research, including beneficiary mapping, baseline, midline and end line evaluations related to the livelihoods outcomes and disseminate research publications for learning purposes.
• Participate in regular project review meetings, team meetings and other monitoring mechanisms to assess project progress and resolve implementation bottlenecks.
• Participate in the establishment of a Complaints and Feedback Mechanism and ensure it is effectively disseminated and utilized by project stakeholders and staff.
• Provide technical support and timely feedback to the Project Manager on livelihood activities.
• Track and prepare monthly, quarterly, bi-annual and annual progress reports on project activities and indicators, including documentation of key lessons learnt and success stories.
• Participate in the project procurement committee to offer technical advice.
• Write impact stories, collect photos, and draft field reports in line with CISP communications guidelines.
• Identify other opportunities in an ongoing manner that will add value to the overarching goal of the project.
• Ensure cross-cutting themes such as gender, disability and environmental protection are integrated in the Livelihood activities and ensure implementation in a child-friendly manner.

Staff Management

• Directly supervise the work of Community Empowerment Officers under the project.
• Identify training needs, design and implement capacity building of supervised staff at least once every 6 months.
• Build the capacity of field staff, project ToTs and partners (CBOs and farmer groups) on crop and livestock production and Climate Smart Agriculture.
• Liaise with and support field officers from consortium partners on technical aspects of project.

Advocacy and Networking

• Ensure that project participants and partners are kept informed of all changes in Government laws, policies and budgets in respect to the livelihoods aspects being implemented.

• Work with partners and coalitions, including CMDRR groups, to engage in advocacy activities with the government structures at the Ward/County level to address the needs of local communities and inform national level advocacy initiatives.

• Take a leading role in strengthening multi-sector and multi-stakeholder platforms at county and sub-county levels to coordinate, collaborate and synergize all efforts together towards food and nutrition security and gender mainstreaming.

• Ensure effective mobilisation of community groups, youth and children, empowering them to engage duty bearers through utilization of various advocacy approaches.

• Travel as required within County and neighbouring Counties to ensure representation of CISP in key Livelihood stakeholder meetings and working groups at all levels for coordination, information sharing and informing relevant policies and strategies.

• Ensure the correct visibility of CISP in front of beneficiaries and local authorities at the field level.

Minimum Qualifications and Experience

• Minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree in Rangeland Management, Agriculture, Food Security, Nutrition, Veterinary Science, Agronomy, Agricultural Economics or a closely related field from a recognized university.
• Minimum of 3 years’ progressive experience in development or humanitarian programming including implementing livelihoods projects.
• Fluent in both spoken and written English and Kiswahili.
• Strong self-starter, able to take initiative and adapt to changing circumstances and priorities.
• Demonstrable experience in working on development of local value chains, building secure livelihood project models, economic development, resilience building and related sectors.
• Experience working in the ASAL Counties in Kenya and familiarity with the Tana River context.
• Flexible and willing to work in a remote environment with extensive travel to multiple field locations.
• Ability to conduct community needs assessments, program planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of livelihoods and resilience interventions.
• Excellent computer skills, including proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).
• Excellent communication, facilitation, presentation and representation skills.
• Ability to work under pressure, take decisions and multi-task.
• Positive attitude towards community work with emphasis on the ability to learn from communities and support innovative approaches to problem-solving.
• Energetic and connects well with people of all backgrounds, and able to inspire and motivate people.
• Honest, gains trust easily and demonstrates a high level of integrity.
• Experience in child safeguarding and assured commitment to CISP values and Child Protection Policy.

Desirable Experience:

• Experience with Community led Communication for Social Change Strategies
• Knowledge on Advocacy, Disaster Management, Peacebuilding and Gender-responsive programming initiatives will be an added advantage.

How to apply:

Please send your application by e-mail to burugu@cisp-nairobi.org and cc njau@cisp-nairobi.org with the e-mail subject as “Application for Project Officer – Livelihoods” no later than 18^th June, 2020 by 5pm (EAT). Late applications will not be reviewed.

Applications must include ALL of the following in order to be assessed:

1. CV including 3 references (maximum 3 pages)
2. Cover letter clearly demonstrating how you meet the qualifications for this position and your expected remuneration (maximum 1 page)
3. Duly filled Annex 3.3. Job Application Form

Please note only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

For more information about CISP, please visit www.cisp-ngo.org.

CISP is strongly committed to ending Child Abuse, all forms of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, and to building a work environment that is safe and welcoming for all, where Sexual Harassment does not take place. The desired candidate for any position should share and support this commitment in all aspects of their personal and professional behavior. Any history implicating that the applicant has a history of Child Abuse, Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, or Sexual Harassment, is a reason for excluding him or her from employment with CISP.