RTI International is seeking qualified Chief of Party candidates in anticipation of a five-year innovations in agriculture program in Kenya. The program will focus on harnessing innovation for cutting-edge results in selected agricultural value chains through private sector strategies to impact household incomes and/or nutrition. This program goal will be achieved through: testing, cultivating, and adapting innovations which further the Feed the Future Strategy in Kenya and promote opportunities for women, youth, and vulnerable populations; support broad adoption of innovative approaches across target populations; generate sustainable and scalable private sector solutions; identify and promote innovations with the potential for cross national and/or global adoption; and identify and support Kenya for-profit and not-for-profit entities in agricultural value chains.
Responsibilities: •Assume responsibility for overall program management, developing a strong, coherent technical vision and initiating innovative strategies across the program. •Manage process to identify potential innovative solutions to agricultural productivity and food insecurity. •Identify and manage a wide range of technical assistance needs for fast growing small to medium sized companies. •Develop relationships and disseminate new business concepts with agriculture and private sector representatives, financial institutions and investors in order to foster the growth of innovative companies.
•Oversee the transparent delivery of grants to private sector companies. •Supervise program operations, personnel, M&E, and preparation of periodic written reports to USAID. Skills Required:
•Demonstrated ability to manage a process of fostering innovation through a multi-stage process in challenging environments. •Demonstrated ability to effectively manage implementation of large development programs and achieve established performance targets. Ability to ensure compliance with USAID rules, regulations and operating procedures. •Ability to develop systems and processes to identify and support innovations and support organizations that develop, test, and adapt them for broad-based adoption. •Demonstrated ability to foster productive relations with private sector businesses to promote public-private linkages, financial institutions for access to finance, and government personnel and agencies, non-governmental organizations, donors and other stakeholders for successful implementation. •Excellent oral and written communication skills in English.
Education and Knowledge: •A Masters degree in Business Administration or related field, plus a minimum of 12 years of experience overseas. •A minimum of 6 years experience managing and leading a diverse team on large, multi-million dollar agricultural development or technology projects with funding from USAID, World Bank, etc. •At least 7 years’ experience in venture capital or related experience.
• Private sector or agricultural work experience in Africa, particularly East Africa, preferred. • Previous USAID contract management and grants management experience preferred. RTI is an independent nonprofit research and technical services institute headquartered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA. Since 1958, RTI has provided clients in over 150 countries with cutting-edge research and technical assistance in the areas of education and training, economic and social policy and planning, democratic governance and institutional development, energy and the environment, survey and statistics, health and pharmaceuticals, advanced technologies and product commercialization, and laboratory and chemistry services. RTI's international development practice serves clients including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Millennium Challenge Corporation, World Bank, U.K. Department for International Development, foreign governments, private clients, and others.
Engagement Manager
The Engagement Manager will be responsible for conducting assessments of applicants, determining the technical assistance needed for each innovation, and managing the requests for technical assistance. Qualifications: A Masters degree in Business Administration or relevant technical field required plus a minimum of 7 years experience in management consulting or venture capital markets.
Grants and Operations Manager
The Grants and Operations Manager will oversees the management of the grants under contracts program. Responsible for the operations, accounting and financial functions for the program to ensure compliance with USAID regulations. Qualifications: Masters Degree in accounting, business, finance, or a relevant discipline and a minimum of 5 years in finance/accounting. Five years experience managing grants and compliance on large, complex programs, preferably USAID-funded.
Assessment and Evaluation Specialist
Assessment and Evaluation Specialist – Design and oversee rigorous assessments of innovation grantees. Qualifications: PhD required in relevant field. Five years experience conducting evidence-based assessments. Previous USAID M&E project experience required.
Agricultural Innovation Specialist
The Agricultural Innovation Specialist will be responsible for the overall agricultural focus of the project working closely with the COP to develop a private-sector oriented vision for adoption of improved agricultural practices. Qualifications: Master’s degree in a relevant field. Seven years’ private sector agricultural experience or similar experience.
Equal Employment Opportunity
We are proud to be an EEO/AA employer M/F/D/V. Specific information regarding the laws that are designed to protect you against discrimination
Please email cover letter and CV to KenyaGovernance@rti.org . Applicants must include the POSITION TITLE in the subject line of their email.
We are proud to be an EEO/AA employer M/F/D/V. This position does not attract international allowances. Only short listed candidates will be contacted.
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