Hivos East Africa is seeking
qualified candidates for the position of:
Vacancy Name: Programme Officer - Open Source Seed Systems (OSSS) Programme
Number of hours: 40
Region: East Africa
Office: Nairobi, Kenya
Hivos is an international development organization that seeks new solutions to
persistent and emerging global issues. With smart projects in the right places,
we oppose discrimination, inequality, abuse of power and the unsustainable use
of our planet’s resources.
Our primary focus is achieving
structural change and impacting lives.
We do this through cooperating with
innovative businesses, citizens, governments, and development organizations
across four continents.
With long standing experience in
development programs, the East Africa Regional Office is looking to fill the
position of a Programme Officer for the Open Source Seed Systems programme,
situated within the Green Foods and Productive Landscapes domain.
The programme’s key focus is on:
building a viable business case for OSSS; creating alliances through joint
research, learning and disseminating evidence-based and innovative policies and
practices; accelerating and scaling through advocacy and lobbying.
Overview of the position: The Programme Officer OSSS works under the
supervision of the Programme Manager, Green Foods and Productive Landscapes and
hierarchically reports to the Regional Director.
She/He will provide strategic
guidance and technical support for the OSSS program and work closely with
partners and key actors in the programme.
The successful applicant will also
provide additional support to programmes within the green food and productive
landscapes domain.
The candidate will work closely with
program staff in the Hivos regional office and in the Head Office.
The position is based in Nairobi with
regular travel in the region and may involve some international travel.
Specific roles and responsibilities
- Provide technical direction and strategic
advice to ensure that the OSSS programme activities are designed and
implemented in line with the agreed work plan and programme documents.
- Identify and track emerging funding
opportunities under open seed systems through the institutional funding
strategy and in alignment with the strategic plan of Hivos.
- Manage contracts, service providers, partners,
and donor expectations through prudent planning and providing technical,
logistical, and administrative guidance as and when needed.
- Develop and establish OSSS knowledge sharing
platforms at national and regional levels, provide technical guidance on
content and the organization of the platforms, and sell Hivos’ open seed
agenda in the platforms.
- Be the lead person in engaging actors
constructively around policy and advocacy, developing policy briefs, and
addressing policy issues around OSSS through constant engagement with
relevant actors, clear plans, and concrete actions.
- Contribute to relevant policy debates and
discussions to ensure the open source seed programme has increasing policy
influence and organize policy groups to support the programme’s policy
agenda.
- Lead in the development of training curriculum
train partners and relevant stakeholders on policy, advocacy, and
governance issues around open seed systems.
- Training of OSSS Trainers on entrepreneurship,
market linkages, gender mainstreaming and climate change as and when
required.
- Collect and analyse data to inform programme
progress and decision making as well as to report successes and lessons to
a wider audience through various print and electronic media.
- Support and provide technical guidance in the
generation of reports, briefs, factsheets, articles, and position papers
on open seeds and crosscutting themes such as climate change and gender in
the context of the program.
- Create and support active linkages with Hivos’
programmes related to food and policy advocacy in East Africa and globally
to learn and exchange best practices.
- Develop and manage the programme’s monitoring
and evaluation system through active consultation with Hivos’ M&E
Specialist.
- Work with the finance and green food staff to
ensure financial information, monitoring and evaluation systems for the
program are up to date, variances are identified and recommendations for
action made.
- Contribute to other programme support roles
within Hivos’ green foods and productive landscapes team as and when
required to by the Program Manager or the Regional Director.
Minimum Requirements
- MSc. in Agriculture, Environment, Community
Development or Development Economics, or a related discipline
- At least 5 years of relevant experience in
open seed systems or seed programmes in East Africa.
- Good research and analytical skills.
- Experience in producing high quality project
reports, training manuals and publications.
- Ability to work effectively in multi-regional
teams and partners with members drawn from a diverse range of
nationalities, cultures and scientific disciplines.
- Ability to work under pressure, often to tight
deadlines without compromising the quality of deliverables.
- Ability to prioritize tasks and able to work
with little or no supervision.
- Strong English language skills, both written
and spoken.
- Job requires frequent travel , often to
rural areas in East Africa.
- High level of personal integrity and
accountability.
- Demonstrated Kenyan and East African donor
networks
How to Apply
If you meet the requirements of the position, please send a cover letter (your cover letter should state your current and expected salary) and CV to eastafricajobs@hivos.org on or before 4th March 2016.
If you meet the requirements of the position, please send a cover letter (your cover letter should state your current and expected salary) and CV to eastafricajobs@hivos.org on or before 4th March 2016.
Only shortlisted candidates will be
shortlisted.
This position will be reviewed on a
rolling basis, and will be closed when a suitable candidate has been
identified.
