Tegemeo Institute ISSD Africa Regional Coordinator Job in Nairobi, Kenya

Tegemeo Institute ISSD Africa Regional Coordinator Job in Nairobi, Kenya

Tegemeo Institute of Agricultural Policy and Development, is an Institute of Egerton University mandated to conduct agricultural policy research and advocacy in Kenya and beyond. Piloting Phase ISSD Africa:
A new initiative on Integrated Seed Sector Development (ISSD Africa) aims to contribute to the development of a vibrant, pluralistic and market-oriented seed sector in Africa for providing both female and male smallholder farmers access to quality seed of superior varieties.
The Piloting Phase of ISSD Africa will explore ways to address themes defined by complex challenges that hamper seed sector development at local or national levels, but by their specific nature need to be tackled at the continental level.
These themes include:
(1) Common challenges to promoting entrepreneurship in seed value chains;
(2) Access to varieties in the public domain;
(3) Matching global commitments with national realities; and
(4) Supporting the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), the African Seed and Biotechnology Programme (ASBP) and seed sector development.
The project will identify ways to effectively address the complex challenges incorporated in these themes, promoting an evidence-based approach to seed sector innovation.
Themes will be addressed through action research, innovation trajectories, policy dialogues, capacity strengthening, and joint learning among an African-wide network of experts, seed programs and associated organizations.
In addition, the project will support partners to understand and apply ISSD guiding principles in their seed sector development strategies and programmes, therefore taking a more comprehensive perspective towards addressing the diverse seed needs and realities of farmers.
The Piloting Phase will be coordinated by an African Executive Coordination Secretariat hosted at Tegemeo Institute of Agricultural Policy and Development, Egerton University, in Nairobi, Kenya, in partnership with the Centre for Development Innovation (CDI) and the Law and Governance Group (LAW) of Wageningen UR, the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) and Future Agricultures Consortium (FAC).
Thematic Working Groups involving key African experts will work closely with National Partners of associate programmes on local pilot projects.
The project is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Netherlands Government and builds upon the partnership and experiences of two earlier phases of ISSD Africa, as coordinated by CDI in collaboration with a broad range of international partners, including KIT, FAC and LAW.
The Institute will be hosting the Africa Secretariat of the Integrated Seed Sector Development (ISSD) which is an initiative aimed at contributing to the development of a vibrant, pluralistic and market-oriented seed sector in Africa, and is looking for a highly motivated, proactive and service-oriented individual to fill the following position:
1. Job Title: Regional Coordinator ISSD Africa
Project Title: Piloting Phase for a Comprehensive Programme on Integrated Seed Sector Development in Africa
Project Period: November 2014 – August 2016
Location: ISSD Secretariat at Tegemeo Institute of Agricultural Policy and Development, Egerton University, in Nairobi, Kenya
Purpose and Function of the Regional Coordinator:
The Regional Coordinator will be a development practitioner or scientist who can lead a continental programme in the field of seed sector development, from a Secretariat located in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Regional Coordinator shall be able to coordinate collaboration processes at continental and national levels, and will be assisted by a Network Facilitator to support outreach, research uptake and policy engagement.
Roles and Responsibilities
In close collaboration with the Wageningen based Project Leader, the Regional Coordinator will coordinate the ISSD Africa project from the Executive Secretariat in Nairobi.
This will involve:

Strategically guiding the project to achieve its objectives and expected outcomes;

Closely collaborating with the Executive Coordination team and Thematic Working Groups in guiding National ISSD focal points, and National Partners in the implementation of their activities;

Raising awareness among National Partners of the importance of the ISSD guiding principles and strengthening their capacity to apply them effectively;

Managing and monitoring expenditures vs. budgets available for activities and operations in Africa;

Coordinating and facilitating key ISSD Africa events;

Representing ISSD Africa in strategic Africa-based seed related initiatives and seed policy dialogues.

Coordinating and contributing to the documentation of experiences and lessons learnt in the process of addressing complex challenges;

Contributing to the overall monitoring and evaluation of the ISSD Africa project, as well as the achievements of key milestones, as stated in the Results Framework; Required Background

PhD degree in a relevant field of sciences such as crop science, social science or economics with an agricultural orientation, and development or business orientation;

A minimum of 5 years of experience in research or development work, part of this being in work related to seed sector development in Africa;

Knowledgeable of policy issues and understand how to translate research evidence into policy;

Experience in the facilitation of partnerships with different type of stakeholder groups (across different levels) and ability to design and facilitate multi-stakeholder processes;

Affinity with capacity strengthening and facilitation of trainings and workshops;

Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English, including the ability to present written document to a large audience;

Working knowledge of French and/or Portuguese is desirable

Computer literate, excellent in word processing, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint and internet use;

Ability to work in a intercultural and multi-disciplinary team, excellent interpersonal skills, analytical and attentive to details;

A productive self-starter who can develop and innovative ideas and translated these into concrete actions and project proposals;

Willingness to travel extensively in Africa, with occasional trips to Europe and the USA. The Position:

A full-time position up to the end of the project based in Nairobi, Kenya at the ISSD secretariat at Tegemeo Institute of Agricultural Policy and Development, Egerton University expecting to start as soon as possible.

Gross annual salary ranges between 60,000 and 72,000 USD depending on the relevant experience of the applicant. 2. Job title: Network Facilitator ISSD Africa
Project title: Piloting Phase for a Comprehensive Programme on Integrated Seed Sector Development in Africa
Project period: November 2014 – August 2016
Location: Tegemeo Institute of Agricultural Research and Development, Egerton University, in Nairobi, Kenya
Purpose and function of the Network Facilitator:
The Network Facilitator will be a development practitioner who can support the Regional Coordinator in the coordination of a continental programme in the field of seed sector development, from a Secretariat in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Network Facilitator will support networking, communications, policy engagement and collaboration processes at continental and national levels.
Roles and Responsibilities
The Network Facilitator will be responsible for:

Supporting the Regional Coordinator in the overall coordination of the ISSD Africa project, from the Executive Secretariat in Nairobi;

Supporting the Regional Coordinator in strategically guiding the project to achieve its objectives and expected outcomes;

Closely collaborate with the Executive Coordination team, Thematic Working Groups, National ISSD Focal Points, National Partners in the implementation of their activities;

Supporting the project in the development and implementation of a comprehensive Information, Communication and Evaluation (ICE) strategy;

Promoting and facilitating dialogue between different Thematic Working Groups, National Partners and other stakeholders;

Supporting the documentation of experiences and lessons learnt and sharing these in the ISSD Africa network;

Facilitating the organization of ISSD Africa events, including logistics and communications;

Contributing to the overall monitoring and evaluation of the ISSD Africa project, as well as the achievements of key milestones as stated in the results framework. Required Background

Master’s degree in agriculture with orientation on communications and networking;

Desirably familiar with seed sector development

At least three years’ work experience in network facilitation and communications;

Experience in the facilitation of partnerships with different type of stakeholder groups (across different levels) and ability to facilitate multi-stakeholder processes;

Ability to lead and facilitate dialogues and knowledge sharing, both face to face and using web-based systems.

Experience in the design and implementation of a communication strategy;

Experience in maintaining a website using a content management system;

Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English, including the ability to present written documents to a large audience;

Working knowledge of French and/or Portuguese is desirable;

Excellent in word processing, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, internet use and social media use;

Experience in image editing and Desk Top Publishing is an added advantage;

Ability to work in an intercultural and multi-disciplinary team, excellent interpersonal skills, analytical and attentive to details;

Willingness to travel in Africa. The Position:
A full-time position up to the end of the project based in Nairobi, Kenya at the ISSD secretariat at Tegemeo Institute of Agricultural Policy and Development, Egerton University expecting to start as soon as possible.
Gross annual salary ranges between 36,000 and 42,000 USD depending on the relevant experience of the applicant.
Expression of Interest in the Position:
Interested persons should send their application letter, detailed CV and testimonials to the email address: vacancies2014-ISSD@tegemeo.org by 13 October 2014. Please include the names and contact details of at least two professional references with your application. We will be contacting the referees of all short-listed candidates during the recruitment process.