Land Officer

Job Location: Nairobi

Client Profile:

Our client, Bridge International Academies is a startup revolutionizing education across Africa with a truly unique business model. The company has launched a large-scale franchise-like network of ultra low-cost for-profit private primary schools across Africa.

The schools profitably deliver high-quality education for less than $4 per child per month, enabling local School Managers to operate their school businesses profitably, while creating a highly successful business at the central level.

Bridge have already launched the first 25 schools in their network in the slums of Nairobi with tremendous success, and plan to rapidly scale the company to serve more than 1 million families in Africa

Role Overview:

Our Client is seeking a full-time Land Officer, who will be a vital member of the land team in their push to find plots of land suitable for schools inside slums.

A central part of our client’s operations includes the identification, verification, negotiation and purchase of plots of land for their schools inside the slums. These plots often have clouded title histories, but through the land identification and procurement process we must establish a certain amount of security -- understanding the previous ownership, other potential competing claims, titling possibility, issues with city council, lands office, etc.

To make these determinations and the actual purchase, the process may involve negotiations with local village elders, local government administration, and local landlords, and ultimately a sales contract written with some or all of these participants.

The Land Officer will form the link between the field and the office, checking on plots of land found by the team of property scouts, verifying their suitability to build a school, verifying the ownership of the plot, dealing with youths, elders and administration officials to ensure a clean and efficient purchasing process.

The Land Officer will report back to the Head of the Land Department, offering verbal and written reports on plots, their ownership and the research undertaken to ensure the company has the security to purchase the plot.

Specific Tasks and Responsibilities

The Land Officer will focus on certain elements of the land acquisition and the community and administration negotiations processes.

These include:

• Meeting and dealing with land agents and vendors
• Managing a team of property scouts
• Negotiating the cost of the land
• Meeting and dealing with community members and Administration officials
• Recognizing potential conflict surrounding land and land purchases, often including tribal issues
• Holding community meetings and barazas, where you represent Bridge International Academies
• Writing briefing notes
• Investigating conflicting land ownership claims
• Establishing and utilizing contacts at local and central government to find clear information on land ownership
• Being able to locate and explain plot positions on a variety of mapping interfaces
• And more

This is a very hands-on job, with the Land Officer in the field about 80% of the time.

Academic Qualifications:

• Degree or Diploma qualifications in Land Economics.

Experience Required:

• You have experience in the field negotiating land purchases
• Experience in working in very poor communities is a real plus
• Experience in dealing with sensitive issues regarding land
• You have experience managing and working with teams of people

Other Technical Requirements

• You are knowledgeable of informal settlements and how land transactions proceed in these areas
• You are comfortable in negotiating situations, including land purchases
• You are comfortable with numbers and maps.
• Good communication skills, both written and spoken.

Computer Skills

• Intermediate computer skills in MS Office and MS Project.
• Web literacy

Personality Requirements:

• You are not afraid of getting your hands dirty
• You function well in a fast-paced informal environment where constant change is the norm and the bar for quality is set high
• Excellent people skills.

How to Apply:

Interested, suitable candidates should forward their applications enclosing copies of their detailed CVs to the following address:

Adecco Employment Services
Email : info@adeccokenya.com

Note: only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Deadline Date: 15 July 2011