Stabilisation & Resilience Program Staff - Nairobi, Kenya - The Royal Danish Embassy

Description

ABOUT THE COMPANY

The Embassy is an integral part of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and therefore shares the same overall objectives and the same visions, mission and values as the rest of the organisation.

The Embassy is accredited to represent Denmark in the areas of foreign policy and foreign economic and commercial relations as regards to the Republic of Kenya. The embassy also has the responsibility for overseeing relations in Somalia, Seychelles and Eritrea.

JOB SUMMARY

BackgroundThe Royal Danish Embassy in Nairobi hosts the Danish Representative Office to Somalia. It manages development and stabilization cooperation in Somalia and follows political and economic developments. Climate change, green growth, peace and stabilisation, state building & democracy, human rights, women's rights and empowerments are some of our key areas of focus across our two programmes – namely the Regional Peace & Stabilisation Programme for the Horn of Africa and the Somalia Bilateral Development Programme.We are seeking to recruit an experienced programme staff, with a strong track record of project implementation and compliance, attention to detail and results and with prior experience in working in fragile context on the Horn of Africa in general and with Somalia specifically.Our new colleague will work across the two teams at the Somalia Embassy with programme management and follow selected engagement within stabilization and resilience. This cross cutting programme manager position will have two primary focus areas. The first is to support the Politics and Stabilisation team, including responsibility for programme management of one or more projects under Denmark's Peace & Stabilisation program for the Horn of Africa, input to political and security reporting and other tasks within the team. The second is support to the Somalia Development Program & Resilience Team with relevant program management activities under the resilience and prevention of displacement portfolio. Hence, the position implies responsibilities across the two programmatic teams and will in this respect work closely together with the two Team Leaders. The position will work within the framework of Danish security, foreign and development policy priorities and program objectives for the two development programs. Furthermore, the programme staff will adhere to Danida's Aid Management Guidelines.The Embassy is a highly political organisation, and hence, we seek to employ a positive and proactive team player, who is able to plug into a variety of work streams and policy areas, while remaining committed to closely follow implementation and results on selected projects, harvesting lessons learned to input ongoing policy development and diplomatic engagement in Somalia.ReportingThe Programme staff will collaborate closely with both teams, but will be organizational mapped to and report to the Team Leader of the Political & Stabilisation Team.Type of employment: 2-year with possibility for extension, full time on a local contract

RESPONSIBILITIES

Focus Area 1 – Stabilisation Assist the Team leader/Political Counsellor with political reporting to Headquarters, especially on the broader politics and security agenda.If Denmark is elected into the UN Security Council contribute to processes related to the UNSC seat incl. reporting and mandate negotiations, promoting cooperation with actors in the region on Danish priority areas, as well as assist with providing examples of project results, challenges and achievements within for example Women, Peace & Security, climate, peace & security space, peacebuilding and stabilisation.Project management and oversight of selected projects related to stabilization, where they complement SCP. This entails monitoring work plans and budgets, reviewing narrative and financial reports, reporting on results including in internal MFA systems, meetings with partners and coordination with national and international partners on program level results and challenges, including within the efforts of building resilience under Denmark's stabilisation efforts.General program support to the PSP team, including preparation of thematic conferences and missions.Focus Area 2 – Resilience & Preventing Displacement Assist the Team leader with political reporting to HQ, especially on resilience, durable solutions and humanitarian update in Somalia and liaise with the team leader as the humanitarian and HDP-Nexus focal point.Assist with program management tasks in the finalisation and start-up of the new Somalia Bilateral Development Programme. Program Management and oversight of selected project(s) under the Somalia Bilateral Country programme commencing mid-2024. This includes handling dialogue with partners, administration, budget/financial and performance management by reviewing financial and narrative reporting on results including internal MFA systems. Project portfolio may include e.g. management of several projects under the strategic objective 3: Resilience and Preventing Displacement. Number of selected projects will depend on experience of the candidate.Build and actively use a relevant network to take forward the Embassy's agenda on Human Rights, resilience and humanitarian affairs more broadly, including within government, civil society, development partners, think tanks, research institutions, and private sector.Liaise with other colleagues within the Embassy and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs more broadly to ensure strong linkages and synergies between related programmes and policy efforts on resilience and humanitarian affairs.Contribute to Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) activities.Other duties as assigned, including providing support and back up to other colleagues as needed. Cross-cutting functions:Ensure cross-cutting resilience focus and links between the two programmes, and between strategic objectives under the Somalia Bilateral Country Programme.Contribute to reporting and responding to requests from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Embassy senior management as well as to the preparation of various high-level visits. Communication of key results for external and internal audiences, by identifying opportunities for communication and public diplomacy on stabilisation, human rights, resilience and humanitarian affairs.The program staff will be based in Nairobi with occasional travel to Mogadishu – Somalia.Education and Desired ExperienceMinimum MSc/MA in international relations; development, political science; life science or other relevant field.Documented minimum 5 years of experience in working in a political or development organizationDocumented experience in programme management , political interest of development and stabilisation programmes, including project cycle management and notable experience in financial monitoring of budgets with development partners ('donors') and/or international or multilateral organizations.Sound experience working in a fragile context, preferable in Somalia or the greater Horn of Africa.Attention to strong and effective internal and external communication is a mustAbility to work effectively in Danish and/or Somali will be an added advantage.Skills, Knowledge and AttributesKnowledge of and interest of innovative and efficient program management and monitoring of development programmes. Excellent English oral and written communication and presentation skills, and ability to communicate with a wide range of audiences. Team player with excellent interpersonal, motivated by cooperating with a diverse mix of professionals and different cultures. Ability to build and maintain networks. Flexibility and ability to prioritize and plan daily work according to evolving needs, often with short deadlines and shifting tasks.Excellent time management skills and willingness to work in a fast paced and constantly changing work environment, with ability to respond quickly and accurately to even very short deadlines.Ability to independently identify and act on opportunities in a structured and effective manner, with attention to detail and results, including solid ability to proofread and edit written products and layouts clearly and accurately.Knowledge or climate change adaptation and resilience, durable solutions programming and human rights is highly relevant.

REQUIRED SKILLS

Programme management, Project management, Reporting, Stakeholder communication, Project monitoring and evaluation (M&E), Project implementation

REQUIRED EDUCATION

Post-graduate education