NGO Programme Officer Job in Lodwar Kenya

Position: Programme Officer
 

Responsible To: Project Coordinator
 

Location: Lodwar office with occasional travel to field sites
 

Start Date: ASAP
 

Duration: 12 months

Background

Merlin is a UK humanitarian agency which responds worldwide with vital healthcare and medical relief for vulnerable people caught up in natural disasters, conflict, and health systems collapse. 

Merlin has been working in Kenya since 1998 and in Somalia since 2005. 

Currently, Merlin in Kenya is operational in two regions of the country - the Western Highlands and Northern Kenya.

In Somalia, Merlin operates in the three semi-autonomous regions of Somalia (Somaliland, Puntland, and South Central).

Main purpose of the role

The main purpose of the role will be to work with the Programme staff in Lodwar, Turkana County to provide programmatic support to Merlin Turkana programme staff  and contribute to the overall effectiveness of the Merlin Turkana programme.

Main Duties

• Develops  in-depth knowledge of Turkana based initiatives and acts as a resource person for  programme related issues
• Develops and maintains adequate resource files for assigned program areas
• Work with the Project Coordinator and programme staff to develop concept notes and translate these into quality donor proposals
• Liaise with Nairobi  programme staff and the various Merlin Turkana office units  to ensure timely information exchange and follow up
• Stays informed about and follows up as required on grant-related issues  throughout the grants’ duration
• Represents Merlin  professionally  by attending external meetings/forums with partners, other NGOs and other agencies at district and other levels as required
• Coordinate the compiling of internal and external reports for submission to the country office
• Provide support to field and programme operations as required
• Contribute to the overall effectiveness of the Turkana programme
• Coordinate the publication and dissemination of newsletters and other project related information
• Perform other reasonable tasks assigned by the Project Coordinator

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Public/Environmental Health and/or Social sciences.
• Experience in programme development  in a public health context
• Demonstrated experience working in the humanitarian sector with an understanding of emergency relief work
• Demonstrated experience in proposal  development and report writing; particularly donor reports
• Excellent English writing skills are essential.
• Computer skills, in particular MS Word, Excel and Outlook
• Previous work experience in Kenya and knowledge of the Kenya context is an advantage

Personal Attributes

• Self-motivated, uses initiative      
• Accurate and attentive to detail
• Team player with the ability to work with minimum supervision
• Willingness to travel and to work in remote conditions
• Systematic and organized with the ability to multi-task
• Good communication and interpersonal skills
• Familiarity working in a hardship environment and under tight deadlines
• Ability to effectively organize and process  information
• Fluency in English; knowledge of the Turkana language is an added advantage.

How to Apply
 

All interested candidates are requested to submit a cover letter and a copy of their CV(not more than 3 pages) to recruitment@merlin-kenya.org or send a hard copy of application documents to 

Project Coordinator, Merlin, 

P.O. Box 93 Lodwar, 

by close of business on 21st June 2012.  

Only short listed candidates will be contacted at which point names of two professional references will be requested.