Land O’Lakes International Development Job Vacancies in Kenya

Land O’Lakes International Development is a division of Land O’Lakes, Inc., a U.S. food and agricultural cooperative that implements humanitarian and economic development activities for donor agencies and is inviting applications from suitably qualified candidates to fill the positions of:

Grants and Contracts Manager

The Position

The Grants and Contracts Manager will help identify, contract and manage contractors and service providers who will provide technical support to our partners in the field.

The position is part of a USAID-funded cooperative development project funded from Washington, DC, implemented in East Africa currently in Kenya and Uganda (75% Kenya, 25% Uganda).

The Grants and Contracts Manager will be responsible for negotiating and contracting terms with the various consultants as well as liaising with the project technical team to ensure deliverables are accepted.

A significant component will be direct technical assistance to business partners, mostly cooperatives, in the form of grants and professional service contracts.

The role of the Grants and Contracts Manager is to coordinate the smooth procurement, contracting, and tracking of these services.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Coordinate and collaborate with Land O’Lakes Contracts and Compliance, Operations, and the Project Manager to execute the field implementation of grants and contracts.
• Customize procedures to ensure a fair and transparent grant and contracting process.
• Prepare scopes of work in collaboration with CDP staff and collaborating partners.
• Prepare requests for applications in collaboration with CDP staff and collaborating partners and/or market tenders using media and project website.
• Negotiate terms of contracts and ensure deliverable schedules are met and approved.
• Conduct oversight and monitoring of contracts and grants to ensure activities and deliverables are produced according to schedule, and in a high-quality manner.
• Oversee payments in collaboration with the regional office or Headquarters.

Position Requirements

• Previous experience in U.S. Government grants, agreements and/ or contracts preferred.
• Experience working on diverse teams working in several countries preferred.
• Business, Finance or Accounting Degree and/or post-graduate qualification in accounting plus three years previous experience.

This is a part-time position, approximately 20 hours/week for the first two months, and 10-20 hours/week for the remaining position term.

The work schedule is flexible with required weekly meetings.

Nairobi office space will be provided during training, and for weekly check-in meetings.

The position is currently a 36 month position.

Future opportunities with Land O’Lakes will depend on upcoming projects in the region.

Project Coordinator

The Position

Land O’Lakes International Development seeks a Kenya-based Project Coordinator for a USAID-funded Cooperative Development Project in East Africa.

The project aims to increase farmer access to self-reliant cooperative enterprises that meet the evolving needs of their members and contribute to improved quality of life for members, especially women, through the formation and increased competitiveness of self-sustaining horizontally and/or vertically integrated dairy cooperatives.

Applicants should have experience providing strategic leadership, technical and managerial direction required for successful projects. This position will report directly to the US-based project manager.

Duties and Responsibilities

Project Implementation

• In partnership with key project staff and stakeholders, ensure project’s strategic objectives and results are fully accomplished and meet expected technical quality standards. Develop relationships with key industry actors.
• Ensure that project plans are innovative and align with project strategies and work plans. This will include oversight of project monitoring and evaluation to ensure learning is documented and used to improve the project where possible.
• In collaboration with project manager, provide guidance and technical oversight to partners and other collaborating agencies to capture lessons learned and best practices to be documented and disseminated.
• With project staff, ensure the delivery of quality training, technical assistance and administrative and financial support to all partner agencies, including the selection and coordination of consultants.

Management

• Ensure accurate and timely reporting of project field finances and progress status; participate in monthly finance review with project manager evaluating actual financial performance against the budget, and explain variances on a regular basis.
• Ensure staff compliance with all administrative and operational procedures and policies, as well as applicable USAID regulations.
• Develop key relationship with government counterparts, local organizations and project partners.
• Ensure a high level of communication and close working relationships with USAID and project partners.

Position Requirements

• Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree strongly preferred, in dairy processing, economics, finance, planning, or an advanced degree in a related field.
• 10 years of overall experience with a minimum of five years of relevant experience in East Africa.
• Knowledge and experience in the dairy sector in East Africa, and in Uganda and Kenya specifically, is strongly desired.
• Experience with project Monitoring and Evaluation required, familiarity with USAID M&E preferred.
• Prior experience managing geographically dispersed teams is preferred. Fluency in both written and spoken English required.

This position is full-time and is a 36 month assignment.

Future opportunities with Land O’Lakes will depend on the project portfolio.

Application Instructions

1) Interested candidates must submit their application letters and detailed CVs with three traceable references to: recruit.CD3@idd.landolakes.com. Please do not attach files greater than 1 MB (copies of certificates will be requested later in the recruiting process).

2) The email’s subject line must include the title of the position for which you are applying.

3) Applications must be received by midnight 23 January 2012 (Nairobi time).

Note: Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Failure to follow the instructions above may result in disqualification from the recruitment process.