GEA Kenya Baringo Project Coordinator (based in Baringo County, Kenya)

GEA Kenya Baringo Project Coordinator (based in Baringo County, Kenya)

Job Title: GEA Kenya Baringo Project Coordinator
Organisation: Self Help Africa
Department: Programmes
Location: Baringo County (Marigat Town)
Salary: Ksh2,321,749/-
Benefits: 22 days annual leave, Medical Insurance (self + spouse and up to 4 children), 10% Employer pension contribution and 25% leave allowance
Reports to: Programme Manager, Baringo
Expected Travel: County based travel to rural areas will be required
Restrictions: 6 months' probation; 2-year renewable fixed term full time contract
About Self Help Africa:
Self Help Africa (SHA) is an international NGO dedicated to the vision of an economically thriving and resilient rural Africa. We have 50 years of experience working with smallholder farmers, farmer associations, cooperatives and agribusinesses across Africa to help farmers grow and sell more food, improve diets, diversify incomes and make their livelihoods more sustainable and resilient to external shocks. SHA also builds awareness of issues affecting smallholders and represent their interests at policy and institutional level.

SHA is a core member of The Gorta Group which is composed of a group of innovative organizations driving sustainable economic and social change across Africa. Comprising Self Help Africa, Partner Africa and TruTrade, the Gorta Group combines expertise in market-based solutions to poverty and rural development; climate change mitigation and resilience; trade facilitation and farmer and worker rights; underpinned by an inclusive ethos that specifically targets women and youth. In August 2021, United Purpose joined the Gorta Group, which operates as Self Help Africa (SHA), bringing together two organizations with proud histories of assisting those in greatest need. United Purpose, formerly Concern Universal, has worked for more than 40 years as a leader in community-led development and grassroots innovation. SHA now has over 700 staff worldwide, as a result of the merger, and a global turnover of over €40m. We are currently implementing a portfolio of 80 projects in Bangladesh, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda and Zambia funded by a variety of institutional and private donors including the European Union, Irish Aid and World Food Programme. In 2020, we supported close to eight million people in rural communities across sub-Saharan Africa, Brazil and Bangladesh.

GEA has received funding from an investor to plant 1,487,500 trees in Kenya to sequester carbon and restore 32,500 ha of land.

GEA has formed a consortium to implement the project: ICRAF, the lead agency, and SHA and ADRA the implementing organization. SHA is currently implementing an EU funded Baringo Resilience Initiative: Nurturing Greater Opportunity (BaRINGO) Project and the GEA project will be implemented alongside this project, as a stand-alone project. ADRA Kenya will implement the project in Kitui County.

The project will involve supporting farmers, pastoralists and agro-pastoralists to increase the tree cover on their land through appropriate approaches, including planting agroforestry species on farmland; establishing/ extending/ restoring woodlots, plantations and natural forests; working with pastoralists and the Conservancies to increase tree cover through Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR); and restoring gullies and eroded land through tree planting and physical structures (bio-engineering).

The project will support farmers, pastoralists and agro-pastoralists to develop enterprises linked to trees: honey, handicrafts, gum arabic, fruit, etc, and will link the project participants to microfinance opportunities. The project aims to improve the dietary diversity of the participants and, eventually, to create income for the participants through the sale of carbon credits.

SHA seeks to recruit a Project Coordinator with technical experience in community dryland forestry and agroforestry to manage the project.

Key Responsibilities:

Provide day to day management of the GEA Project in Baringo County:

• Manage the project field staff and community volunteers and ToTs
• Support, train & coach project staff to meet technical quality, appropriateness, and timelines.
• Development work plans, budgets, cash flow, procurement, and M&E plans.
• Prepare training materials.
• Undertake regular monitoring and supervise the collection indicator data in collaboration with the M & E team and other projects staff;
• Advise the BARINGO Project Manager and SHA Kenya HoP on the implementation of the project.
• Coordinate with the other partners in the consortium
• Prepare narrative reports to the lead partner (ICRAF) and SHA Kenya HoP.
• Manage the project budget and assist the SHA Project Accountant to prepare fund requests financial reports for the project
• Train staff to measure tree growth, tree densities, tree cover, soil and tree carbon, and conduct GNSS ground truth surveys using protocols developed by ICRAF.
• Provide technical leadership on tree planting, landscape restoration, agroforestry, and FMNR.
• Provide technical leadership on tree-based value chains.
• Liaise with the County Government and implementing partners and stakeholders.
• Perform other duties and tasks as assigned by the HoP.

Key Relationships:

Internal

• SHA County Director
• SHA Finance, Logistics and Administration Team,
• BaRINGO Project NRM Officer
• Kenya Agriculture and NRM Coordinator,
• HQ Programme Quality Team

Responsible for

• Project Officers
• Community Based Trainers.

External

• Baringo County Council
• ICRAF, ADRA
• Local NGOs
• Forestry, agroforestry and carbon specialists in peer organisations.

Qualifications and Experience:

• Master's degree, with a BSc or MSc in Forestry, Agroforestry, Rangeland Management, Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Extension, Agricultural science, or related discipline.
• Minimum of five years of technical and managerial experience in dryland forestry and agroforestry.
• Solid experience of Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration.
• Experience of tree-based value chains.
• Experience of Forest Mensuration in dryland forests.
• Experience in restoring severely degraded landscapes.
• At least five years of working experience at project management level in an NGO or in government or private sector.
• Good understanding of project cycle management approaches and tools.
• Experience in team management and coordination
• Experience in Monitoring and Evaluation and knowledge of M&E principles.
• Basic experience and knowledge in budget tracking and financial management.
• Practical experience of developing community natural resources plans and maps.
• Good understating of gender roles in forestry and pastoralist societies and practical experience of integrating gender equality into forestry, agroforestry and rangeland management.
• Commitment to international and humanitarian NGO codes, standards and practices

Preferred

• Experience of tree-based carbon projects, carbon accreditation, and assessing carbon stocks in dryland forests.
• Experience in soil and water conservation, watershed management and landscape restoration through bioengineering.
• Knowledge of current Kenya laws and policies on tree carbon stocks.
• Experience of working with pastoralist and agro pastoralist communities.
• Knowledge of land tenure systems in Kenya.
• Experience of integrating nutrition into agriculture, forestry and NRM projects (nutrition sensitive).
• Experience of integrating the physically disabled into forestry, agroforestry and rangeland management.
• Experience of GNSS field surveys, GIS software and Remote Sensing concepts
• Ability to work as part of team across different cultures
• Ability to solve problems and take corrective action
• Proven writing and analytical skills
• Capable to maintain good relationships with stakeholders and donors
• Strong coaching and mentoring skills
• Proven networking skills in the carbon, forestry and agroforestry sectors (ICRAF, KFRI, KFS).
• Able to take initiatives and work with limited supervision
• A strong commitment to the aims, objectives and values of the SHA Kenya Country Programme
• Very good working knowledge of MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and general IT skills

This Job Description only serves as a guide for the position available and SHA reserves the right to make necessary changes.

Please note incomplete applications will not be considered for shortlisting.

Closing date is Friday 5th November at 5pm.

Please note that Self Help Africa Kenya advocates for equal opportunity and does not require applicants to pay any fee at whatever stage of the recruitment and selection process. Canvassing will lead to automatic disqualification.

Self Help Africa is committed to the highest possible standards of openness, transparency, and accountability in all its affairs and is completely against fraud, bribery, and corruption. All employees are bound by code of conduct, child protection and conflict of interest policies.

Any candidate offered a job with Self Help Africa will be expected to sign Self Help Africa's Safeguarding Policies and Code of Conduct as an appendix to their contract of employment and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these documents.

Police vetting is required.

All applicants are encouraged to read through the following safeguarding policies as you make your applications:

Women applicants are highly encouraged; Self Help Africa is an Equal Opportunities Employer

Company Ltd by guarantee. Registered in Ireland. Company Reg No. 28228. Charity Number: 20008895.Registered charity number UK : 298830. Self Help Africa is a non-profit 501 (c) 3 organisation in the United States.