Livelihood Officer, RefugePoint - Nairobi

RefugePoint was founded in 2005 to provide lasting solutions for the world’s most vulnerable refugees. We work to fill the critical and unmet needs of people affected by war and conflict that have fallen through the net of humanitarian assistance.

The primary responsibility of the Livelihood Officer is to implement RefugePoint’s pilot refugee livelihood program as part of the Protection Unit in Nairobi. The position involves empowering and equipping refugees to engage in successful livelihood activities to improve self-sufficiency, wellbeing and integration. In addition to livelihood related duties, the Livelihood Officer is expected to carry out identification, assessment, referral (IAR) and case management duties for RefugePoint clients.

This position reports directly to the Protection Manager.

Core responsibilities and duties of the positions are as follows:

1. Livelihood Program Direct Service Provision: Support refugee clients to engage in sustainable livelihood activities
   a. Assess individual client’s skills and potential to engage in livelihood activities;
   b. Assist individual client to map out a unique business plan;
   c. Equip client with necessary small business skills to successfully initiate small business activities;
   d. Meet with client regularly to continue to build skills, address challenges and monitor progress;
   e. Support clients to exit from livelihood program.
2. Livelihood Program Development: Participate in design, monitoring and evaluation of pilot livelihood model
   a. Refine existing market analysis tool, guide for small business skills capacity building sessions, and assessment and monitoring tools;
   b. Provide weekly reports to Protection Manager
3. Livelihood Partnership Building:
   a. Develop interagency partnerships and referral pathways with refugee and development agencies;
   b. Represent RefugePoint at the Refugee Livelihood Working Group meetings
4. Case Management:
   a. Meet regularly with clients to provide emotional, problem solving and action planning to assist in the client’s stabilization and recovery;
   b. Conduct home visits and reviews for clients every 6 months.
   c. Participate in regular inter-unit case management meetings to coordinate provision of medical, counselling and protection services for each client;
5. Ensure the highest standards of professionalism (throughout all above activities):
   a. Adhere to RefugePoint’s code of conduct, Standard Operating Procedures guiding principles and uphold the highest professional ethical obligations;
   b. Embrace a learning attitude to continually improve professionally;
   c. Meet deadlines consistently, resolve challenges in a collaborative manner, maintain responsive lines of communication with various levels of management and staff;
6. Any other duties as assigned by the Protection Manager.

Required Skills and Expertise for this position:

1. Degree in development studies, social work or other related field;
2. More than 2 years experience directly implementing livelihood programming with refugees;
   a. Experience with small business/income generating activities and micro-finance programming preferred;
   b. Experience assisting refugees and asylum seekers in an urban environment preferred;
   c. Experience working with the Somali, Ethiopian, or Congolese refugee population preferred.
3. Excellent case work skills to professionally assist clients who have survived torture, sexual violence, discrimination and persecution;
4. Commitment to rights based, empowerment based approach to refugee work. Comfortable working in multicultural environment.
5. Excellent computer skills;
6. Excellent written and spoken English, spoken Kiswahili and other languages (Somali, Oromo, Kinyamulenge, Kinyarwanda preferred);
7. Kenyan nationals only to apply.

How to apply:

Kenyan nationals only to apply. Please submit CV and cover letter, including 3 references, as a single attachment to hr@refugepoint.org . Application deadline: Friday, February 22 2013. Please note that only short-listed applicants will be contacted.