Fairtrade Africa Regional Manager Job in Kenya

Regional Manager - Eastern Africa

Closing date:  25 Aug 2012

Fairtrade Africa

Job Title: Regional Manager - Eastern Africa

Team: Eastern Africa
Job Family: Programmes

Category: National/ International
Location for the Jobs in Kenya: Nairobi

Fairtrade Africa Purpose: To improve the socio-economic conditions of African producers.

Reporting Lines
Post holder reports to: Programmes Director
Staff reporting to this post: Eastern Africa staff 

Scale Level: Manager II Scale Point 4

Salary Range (Gross): USD 2,075 – 3,288 plus other benefits
Budget Responsibility: Yes

Background:

Fairtrade Africa (FTA) is the umbrella organisation representing Fairtrade certified producers in Africa. 

FTA aims to effectively represent producers within the International Fairtrade system and to contribute to livelihood improvement of African producers by increasing access to markets. 

Established in 2005, the FTA directs policy and strategic development of the organisation. 

FTA has four (4) regional networks - Eastern, Southern, West and North Africa supporting producer activities.

Job Purpose And Reporting:

As the Regional Manager, you will play a key role in setting up local and regional activities for Fairtrade Africa and have overall responsibility for coordination of activities in Eastern Africa including producer support and consultation.

Specific Tasks

• Support the regional board in realizing the vision of the Eastern Africa region. 
• Support the FTA management in providing leadership for the region. 
• Lead regional strategy and project development and implementation. 
• Actively engage in preparing annual work plans, annual reporting and local / regional coordination of activities according to the plans. 
• Effectively coordinate regional grassroots structures such as country and product networks, plan, coordinate and report on programme and project activities in line with Fairtrade Africa
  vision. 
• Initiate & manage local and regional activities in close alignment with Fairtrade Africa, the regional board and country networks. 
• Lead the development of annual work plans and specific plans for developing Fairtrade activities in the region. 
• Drive sustainability of regional plans through partnerships and resource mobilisation. 
• Develop and maintain regional network of partners to facilitate and support the regional
  strategy. 
• Ensure efficient financial and management systems are in place at the regional level. 
• Facilitate country and product partnerships to increase access for producers. 
• Establish and maintain effective communication with producers. 
• Promote greater producer participation in Fairtrade. 
• Represent Eastern Africa Network whenever as may be required.

Knowledge and Experience Required for the Job in Kenya

• Experience in developing and supporting ethical and sustainable supply chains; 
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to operate successfully in an environment with multiple stakeholders and people from different cultures; 
• Knowledge of inclusive development and sustainable pro-poor business initiatives; 
• Relevant Master’s degree in either Agriculture, development studies, Economics, Business,
  Rural development or social sciences; 
• Proven experience with managing regional projects and budgets;
• Analytical and financial skills; 
• Excellent communication, writing and presentation skills in English and Kiswahili; 
• Available for frequent travelling, mostly in the Eastern Africa region; 
• Proficiency in MS office, and experience in SPSS shall be an added advantage; 
• Results-driven, enthusiastic, resourceful, flexible and able to think out of the box – an intellectual and practical problem solver; 
• Experience in Monitoring and Evaluation.

Major advantages:

• Background in agriculture & food sector; 
• Experience working in resource-poor countries and Eastern Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Ethiopia); 
• Experience in the field of development cooperation and NGO’s; 
• Experience in working with producer organizations; 
• Experience with certification schemes, ethical standards and standards setting processes; 
• Experience in working with boards.

Skills

• Able to handle varied, demanding and complex tasks; 
• Ability to work independently; 
• A flexible and enthusiastic approach to work with the ability to be part of a team; 
• An organized and methodical approach to work; 
• Able to manage competing priorities to tight deadlines;

Others: 

• This job description is intended as a guide and should not be viewed as an inflexible specification as it may be varied from time to time in the light of strategic developments following discussion with the post holder. 
• The post holder will be expected to work to agreed objectives, which should facilitate achievements of the key responsibilities in accordance with the Performance Review Process. Date of Issue:10 August 2012

How to apply:

Application (Deadline 25th August 2012) 

An application form (CVs will not be accepted) can be found on the jobs and volunteering page of our website www.fairtradeafrica.net . 

If you have any queries, please e-mail recruitments@fairtradeafrica.net or call +254202721930 and ask to speak to a member of the Administration team. 

Qualified applicants will be subjected to background checks as a condition of employment. 

The final hiring decision is anticipated 31st August 2012 for a start date of 1st October 2012. Completed applications should be e-mailed to recruitments@fairtradeafrica.net 

All applicants should state how they meet essential requirements of the post and include their email address, telephone contacts and three referees with contact details on the application form.