Assistant to the Agriculture and Rural Development Donor Group

Terms of Reference

I. Background

The German Embassy in Nairobi has the opportunity to support the establishment of a secretariat function for the Agriculture and Rural Development Donor Group. The main objective will be to facilitate the administrative tasks, to support knowledge management and coordination among development partners as well as Kenyan stakeholders in government, private sector and civil society.

II. Basic regulations

·         The working contract will be provided by GIZ Kenya starting asap for a fixed-term   until 31.08.2014.

·         The assistant will be expected to work part-time (50%) with flexible and negotiable working hours. However, the employee must allow for certain flexibility depending on short-time scheduled meetings.

·         The assistant will work in line with the Department of Development Cooperation at the German Embassy.

·         The assistant will operate and work from the German Embassy and/or in GIZ office.

III. The role

The outlined required administrative support capability for the Agriculture and Rural Development donor group is supposed to be carried out by a local assistant who will provide service and advice in written and oral manner.

In particular, the following service packages and areas are addressed:

·         Responsibility for the organization and logistics regarding the donor meetings that take place regularly (e.g. reservation of the room, IT support, providing snacks and drinks, etc.).

·         Regular participation in the meetings of the Agriculture and Rural Development Donor Group as well as accompanying the Chair to sector specific events on an ad hoc basis.

·         Supporting the Chair of the donor group with the preparation and evaluation of the donor meetings (i.a. writing the agenda or the minutes).

·         General secretariat duties (e.g. first contact person for inquiries, maintaining contacts and communication among members and stakeholders of the ARD group, providing information, drafting letters to other donors/partners, multiplication of documents, Layout/Editing of documents or presentations).

·         Collecting relevant documents and maintaining a database for continuous information sharing

·         General thematic support to the donor group (e.g. by building up and maintaining databases for the donor coordination, especially at the County level; editing certain thematic aspects, i.a. support to the ASAL-regions, drought resilience, food security etc.; building up a contact data base for the agriculture sector)

·         Support to the Chair by coordinating and communicating with the simultaneously existing ASAL Donor Group.

·         Overlapping Knowledge Management for the donor group to secure the information at the moment of transfer to a new Chair

·         Other supporting tasks as required

IV. Required Skills

·         The successful candidate should show evidence of minimum 5 years work experience in the agricultural sector and/or involvement in donor coordination.

·         S/he should hold a university degree (MSC, MA, MBA or equivalent) either in agriculture, economics, development, or international relations

·         The candidate should possess very strong administrative, oral and written communication skills, and the ability to work with senior individuals both internal and external to the organization.

·         S/he should be highly organised, able to take the initiative to prioritise and work independently, work accurately to meet deadlines, and have an eye for detail.

·         The candidate should have administrative and IT skills (Microsoft Office programmes MS Word, Excel, Power Point and Outlook).

·         S/he should be a good team player.

·         The candidate should be able to work and deliver in a high pressure environment.

·         S/he has to be able to deal with logistics and administration.

V. Key Competences

·         Coordination and Networking – Acknowledges the importance of maintaining and expanding networks as well as a systematic and thorough coordination of incoming and outgoing communication.

·         Working with Others – Shows consideration for others’ needs and motivations, values diversity and inclusion. Works efficiently and supportively on shared objectives with colleagues and contacts in the immediate and wider teams.

·         Communicating and Influencing – Presents a professional image of self, Department/Post and FCO. Conveys information accurately and concisely, adjusting style according to purpose and audience. Able to influence people in meetings and in writing in order to achieve objectives.

·         Problem Solving and Judgement – Systematically gathers information, assimilates and evaluates it and reaches logical and timely conclusions which can be defended.

·         Delivering Results – Takes responsibility for delivering own work with speed, and professionalism. Responds flexibly to changing priorities, monitoring progress and quality of own work and meeting objectives. Demonstrates the financial and resource management expertise necessary to achieve results.

·         Costumer Focus – Understands and focuses on costumer needs.

VI. Application Procedure and Deadline

·         All interested persons are asked to send an application letter and CV with a clearly marked title/reference “Secretariat Function for the Chair and Donor Group on Agriculture and Rural Development in Kenya” to the following address:

Applications in hard copies to be delivered to:

                                    GIZ Office Nairobi

                                    Attn.:    Human Resource Manager

                                    Riverside Mews Building

                                    Off Riverside Drive, opp. Prime Bank,

                                    Box 41607- 00100 Nairobi,

                                    Kenya

                                   

          Clearly Marked:  Secretariat Function for the Chair and Donor Group on Agriculture and Rural Development in Kenya”

On or before:  Friday  1st November  2013 -  1pm

Kindly note that canvassing is not allowed.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted to arrange for interviews.