Job Opportunities at Practical Action Kenya

Leadership and Strategic Alignment

• Contribute to the development process of the strategic business plan (SBP), ensuring that change objectives are developed to achieve change in the lives of people that we work with.
• Provide data that supports routine quarterly and annual reporting of the SBP including reporting on the global indicators.
• Provide data on the global indicators and show progress against targets.
• Strengthening Profile, Generating Funding and Managing Relationships
• Contribute to the proposal development process by participating in design workshops that build proposals.
• Ensure that MEL, gender assessments and learning and reflection is built into proposals (log frames and budgets)
• Ensure learning from program delivery feeds into organizational profile strengthening through stories of change and impact reporting.

Delivering Quality

• Support the Senior MEL officer to develop project level MEL plans/ logframes that ensure tracking of programme results at different levels (outputs, outcomes and impact).
• Maintain the online project database and ensure regular data updates and data integrity.
• Effectively formulate, implement, and enforce proper data collection tools, processes and procedures for the project.
• Monitor overall progress on achievement of results including the sustainability of the project results.
• Aggregate and analyse data from across the project interventions to contribute to management decision-making and reporting.
• Conduct field visits for data validation and to monitor the quality and completeness of data sets; coordinate data collection at project sites and ensure timely compilation and reporting of data.
• Work closely with project team and partners to ensure appropriate feedback mechanisms are incorporated into project.
• Conduct project level review, learning and reflection sessions, as specified in the MEL framework as a key accountability mechanism.
• Collate project learning along with ensuring effective knowledge management between departments and affiliates to ensure the whole organisation benefits from and applies programmatic learning.
• Support quality project baseline, mid and end evaluations and ensure findings are reflected on and evaluation management responses prepared.
• Ensure timely reporting: monthly, quarterly, annual and end of projects reports in accordance with donor requirements.
• Ensure gender and social inclusion are embedded in MEL.
• Support the programs and communications teams in documentation of impact/ success stories.
• Sensitivity on Gender Equality and Social Inclusion:
• Should have respectful beliefs regardless of their gender, age, sex, race, ethnic background, culture, different ability, nationality, religion, and marital status. Is sensitive and adaptable to gender and social inclusion and adopts inclusive practices. Responds and behaves apppropriately in different situations.

PERSON PROFILE
To be successful in the role, the ideal candidate should meet the following requirements:

• Experience & Knowledge

Essential

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., development studies, economics, statistics, social sciences).
• Minimum of 3 years work experience in knowledge management, monitoring and evaluating programs with an organization with a robust M&E component.
• Strong technical skills including use of PowerBI or Tableau.
• Good knowledge in using indicators at output, outcome and goal level and developing tools for measurement purposes.
• Strong experience in evaluation methodologies such as outcome mapping and Most Significant Change.
• Experience in integrating gender and inclusion into project design and MEAL aspects.
• Successful track record of implementing effective MEL systems, including experience in quantitative and qualitative data collection and management.
• Experience in gathering learnings and promoting their application.
• Proven analytical and problem-solving skills to understand the range and content of the organization’s thematic work and provide practical solutions to operational challenges. 

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Proposal development, Budgets management and Donor contracts.

• Support the development of concept notes and donor proposals by providing inputs to the budgetary components.
• Work with the relevant budget holders, project managers and other relevant team members to ensure an award inception phase is delivered successfully with clear reporting structures laid out once the award contracting process is completed.
• Review donor contracts, flag any issues that might need alignment regarding existing organizational procedures, and support contract negotiations.
• Work closely with Budget Holders, program teams, and finance as well as other stakeholders to compile accurate proposal budgets, budget narratives and assess whether all necessary costs have been included.
• Work with other Finance team and relevant technical staff leads to monitor rate of spending including charges such as personnel, travel, consultancy, sub-grant agreements, and troubleshoot and escalate as needed.
• Work with Project managers and Finance to monitor co-financing reporting when required by donors.
• Work with Project managers and Finance to ensure expense charges are allowable, allocable and reasonable; and follow up to ensure errors are corrected.
• Assist with budget planning and monitor monthly budget versus actual expenditures; compile and analyze budget revisions/re-allocations.
• Prepare Project budgets using the system budget upload template for posting into the system.
• Ensure all donor communications, requests, amendments, etc. are communicated effectively, responded to and quickly to the relevant team members and recorded/stored for future reference.
• Track and monitor project-specific Level of effort (LOE) reporting as needed for all awards portfolio and/or departmental sharing of LOE as required.
• Ensure award files are kept up to date in a consistent manner to support backstopping and handover process.
• Monitor award implementation, reporting and procurements to ensure donor guidelines for compliance.
• Ensure prompt donor claim preparation in reference to donor contracts, timely submission and reconciliation.
• Partnerships
• Support the development of and manage sub-award agreements for partners as needed in collaboration with project managers and other relevant team members.
• Participate in the partner/sub award due diligence process and ensure issues identified are promptly addressed.
• Ensure timely disbursement of funds to sub awardees, review partner liquidation reports and prepare partner advance reconciliations.
• Contribute to partner capacity building as required and follow up issues identified in partner assessments.
• Donor Reporting, Monitoring and Compliance
• Facilitate communication and ensure timely, accurate reporting to donors ensuring consistency between narrative and financial reports and that they meet quality standards as per donor templates.
• Highlight critical financial issues such as under/overspends to budget Holders and ensure clear and concise commentary is provided.
• Coordinate prompt response to donor queries as they arise.
• Monitor grant payment schedules and income requests for respective portfolio, working closely with other finance team to ensure this is done in a timely manner.
• Be familiar with all organizational and donor portfolio compliance requirements and ensure high quality management of awards through meeting of Key Performance Indicators and deadlines.
• Support and advise program teams with queries related to donor compliance on awards.
• Work with other departments (i.e. Programs, Finance, Admin & Procurement, M&E and Communication) to ensure all documentation required is ready and available for audits (e.g. vouchers, distribution lists)
• Assist in training and capacity building for both staff and partners in relation to the organizational awards management procedures/donor compliance as required.
• Prepare an up-to-date awards Funding Tracker to help in donor reporting, auditing and reconciliation.
• Coordinate all donor project audits in a timely manner and in line with the agreed deadlines and ensure audit findings are implemented and resolved.

Project Close-out

• Coordinate Close Out of grants in respective portfolios.
• Ensure completion of Closeout checklists and that awards in awards management system and financial system are closed/deactivated.
• Prepare up to-date award reconciliation statement to establish funding status and balances before close out.
• Sensitivity on Gender Equality and Social Inclusion:
• Should have respectful beliefs regardless of their gender, age, sex, race, ethnic background, culture, different ability, nationality, religion, and marital status. Is sensitive and adaptable to gender and social inclusion and adopts inclusive practices. Responds and behaves appropriately in different situations.

PERSON PROFILE
To be successful in the role, the ideal candidate should meet the following requirements:

• Experience & Knowledge

Essential

• Bachelor of Commerce, Accounting/Finance, BBA or any other relevant bachelor’s degree. Must be a CPA-K.
• At least 4 years of relevant experience in a related field especially practical experience in awards and partnership role.
• Experience of donor relations and grants management (e.g. with institutional humanitarian and development donors).
• Proven skills and experience in report and proposal development and working with multiple donors.
• Good personal organisational skills, including time management, and ability to meet deadlines and work under pressure.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills.
• Strong organisational and team working skills.
• Good cultural awareness and sensitivity.
• Ability to work under pressure, independently and with limited supervision.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.
• Knowledge of the NGO operations and the dynamics of the development sector.
• Practical experience of computer software like MS Dynamics, Microsoft excel.
• Should be self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, holding the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities.