Programme Manager

Job Title: Programme Manager
Contract Type: 12-Month Contract
Start Date: ASAP (February 2025)
Duty Station: Nairobi
Estimated Travel: 30%
Reporting to: Kenya Country Representative (TBD)
Project Locations: Nakuru, Laikipia, Turkana counties, and Nairobi.

Background:

Street Child is a globally recognized children's organization with an annual turnover of around $25 million, operating in 18 countries. In Kenya, it functions under the name Africa Educational Trust (AET), following its merger in 2020. The organization implements programs focused on education, child protection, and livelihoods to support children and their caregivers in Laikipia, Nakuru, and Turkana counties. Over the years, Street Child has assisted more than 57,000 children, ensuring their safety, school enrolment, and active engagement in learning.

Job Purpose:

To manage and implement a portfolio of education and development projects across Kenya. This role will involve overseeing project implementation, building partnerships, contributing to strategic growth and fundraising, and providing operational support to the Kenya Country Office.

Key Responsibilities:

Programme Management (60%):

• Manage ongoing projects, ensuring timely and quality delivery in line with work plans, M&E frameworks, and expenditure plans.
• Support regular project monitoring, identifying opportunities for enhancement, and ensuring alignment with programme objectives.
• Work with the Country Representative and Senior Finance Manager to ensure adequate budget monitoring and review mechanisms, minimizing significant expenditure variances.
• Coordinate with partners to ensure timely, quality programme reports that meet donor requirements.
• Produce monthly, quarterly, and completion reports. Ensure effective MEAL processes across all projects to measure impact.
• Ensure relevant stakeholders receive timely information (5Ws).
• Prepare, coordinate reviews, edit, and disseminate project-related reports and documents.
• Build and maintain relationships with UN agencies, clusters, and government agencies at provincial and national levels.

Strategy, Growth, and Fundraising (15%):

• Develop new partnerships and conduct due diligence for local partners.
• Support the expansion of operations into new areas within the humanitarian and development sectors.
• Build partnerships with county governments.
• Develop quality proposals using participatory methodologies.
• Represent Street Child and AET at national and provincial for a to build visibility and collaborative partnerships with donors, peers, and government.
• Ensure a localization strategy is mainstreamed into work; including capacity assessment, capacity building planning and implementation, compliance, and partner accountability.
• Support the Country Representative and others in representing Street Child and/or AET with government for advocacy, relationship management, programme review, and national/state compliance.
• Support the Country Representative in identifying opportunities to enhance national visibility through communication and representation.

Operations Support (15%):

• Work with the Country Representative to oversee partner compliance and accountability.
• Support office management, ensuring Street Child and AET policies and procedures are properly introduced, implemented, and maintained.
• Perform other activities requested by the Country Representative to support operations management and take over responsibilities in their absence.
• Qualifications and Experience:
• Minimum of four years of work experience in the international development and/or humanitarian sector.
• Experience in project management, particularly in education, child protection, localization, and livelihoods.
• Experience in grants management (project design, budget preparation, expenditure tracking, monitoring and evaluation, reporting).
• Experience working in either Kenya or other African humanitarian contexts.
• Experience with successful business development activities, including proposal coordination, writing, and agreement negotiation.
• Experience engaging partners and strengthening partnerships.

Skills & Abilities:

• Fluency in both English and Kiswahili, written and spoken.
• Ability to effectively represent Street Child / AET in a variety of public and private forums.
• Excellent interpersonal, listening and communication skills.
• Ability to positively influence others and create meaningful relationships.
• A self-starter with a strong results orientation and with high levels of integrity, credibility and dependability.
• An energetic team player who can effectively collaborate, and who can stand alone when necessary.
• Demonstrated ability to work and deliver independently and under pressure and tight deadlines.

Street Child’s commitment to Safeguarding:

Street Child is committed to the safeguarding and protection of the communities we serve, our partners, our volunteers, and our staff. As part of this commitment to safeguarding, all offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate background checks. Street Child also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this Scheme, we will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment.

To apply:

Street Child welcomes applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age.