Research Manager

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

Kenya Red Cross Society is one of the largest humanitarian organizations in Kenya. Its mission is to be the leading humanitarian organization in Kenya delivering excellent quality service of preventing and alleviating Human Suffering.

The International Center for Humanitarian Affairs (ICHA) was established by the Kenya Red Cross Society to create an autonomous platform for knowledge management, capacity building and to influence policy on humanitarian issues in Kenya and within the African region.

The Center is geared towards establishing a collaborative enterprise between humanitarian agencies, governments, academic institutions and donors to support capacity building, evidence based policy and practice in order to increase effectiveness of humanitarian initiatives.

The Centre is looking for a qualified person to fill the following position:

Position Title:         Research Manager Reporting to:         Executive Director Job location:          Headquarters

Overall Purpose

The International Centre for Humanitarian Affairs which is part of Kenya Red Cross is carrying out a research project which will examine resilience in the Arid and Semi-Arid parts of Kenya. The research will have three thematic areas.

The Research Manager will oversee the day-to-day development and management of agreed research projects & programmes and provide oversight and information to the Executive Director of ICHA.  

Working closely with the Executive Director and the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) Head of Policy, as well as programme and support staff throughout KRCS, the Research Manager will also ensure the smooth management of work plans, budgets and relationships. S/he will support business development and ensure the delivery of high quality research programmes. The Research Manager will support the Executive Director in developing methods and strategies to ensure that programme/project activities achieve goals and agreed outputs.

The Research Manager will be expected to contribute substantively on research issues, work to produce briefing papers and other learning outputs in relation to humanitarian issues.  S/he will represent the organisation externally where required.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Working with professionalism, integrity and under the guidance of Executive Director ICHA, the Research Manager will:

Programme/project management:

Ensure delivery of agreed annual plans

Be responsible for the management of specific research programmes, initially this will a predominant focus on a major research project, with programme and policy influencing components, which will examine resilience and early response in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands

Facilitate information sharing and problem solving to improve the effectiveness of programmes

Develop and ensure on-going strengthening of the programme management and administrative systems.

Assist in the process of developing work plans of research and tracking progress in order to ensure that targets are achieved and deliverables are produced on time and to standard in order to achieve the programme outcomes.

Provide support and advice on the planning and financial management of research projects

Liaise with HR and logistics regarding recruitment, staffing issues and consultancy contracts

Contribute to coordination and ensure that steering and advisory committee meetings take place, minutes are documented and actions disseminated.

Input into strengthening partnerships and maintain effective productive working relationships with donor and research partners.

Financial management:

Develop budgets for new programmes and projects

Work closely with finance colleagues to ensure budgets are accurately established and financial reports generated on a monthly basis.

Be responsible for regularly reviewing financial information and ensuring that all expenditure is in line with agreed budgets and contracts.

Reporting on budget v actuals and documenting any significant variances.  

Confirm any significant changes to plans and budgets with the Executive Director and seek donor approval as needed.  

Ensure accurate financial reports are generated for internal use and for donors and ensure that accurate reports are submitted according to agreed schedules.

Research

Provide technical inputs to on-going research projects including literature reviews, interviews, data analysis and preparation of reports

Support project activities or lead parts of research projects including field work, holding workshops, producing written outputs, reviewing and providing feedback on consultancy reports

Be responsible for writing or co-writing research reports, policy briefs and other documents for publication

Funding

Liaise with donors and partners on programme funding and opportunities for collaboration

Lead and support, as agreed with the Executive Director, the development of research proposals, expressions of interest and project proposals

Prepare high quality and timely reports, ensuring internal peer review (as appropriate) ahead of submission to donors

Other duties

Supporting work led by Executive Director, ICHA and Head of Policy.

Representing the Centre in internal and external forums

Person Specification

Knowledge and qualifications

Masters’ degree in a relevant discipline

Experience of donor narrative and financial reporting

Knowledge and experience of coordinating proposals, reports and donors and knowledge management

An understanding of the Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross

Experience

At least 5 years in a programme management role

Substantial experience of project development and administration

Experience of donor relationship management, including donor narrative and financial reporting

Substantial experience of managing staff to tight deadlines in a team environment

Experience of managing research projects

Experience of different research methodologies, both quantitative and qualitative

Knowledge and understanding of humanitarian issues

Experience of SharePoint document management systems (preferred)

Substantial experience of writing high quality reports and consistently delivering to agreed deadlines

Skills/abilities

Advanced IT skills including excel, word, outlook, PowerPoint and databases

Strong oral and verbal communication and presentation skills in both English and Kiswahili

Ability to write well and to prepare reports with minimum supervision

Multi-tasking skills

Ability to solve problems

Excellent planning and execution skills

Ability to work to own initiative or as part of a team

Applications should be sent by email to careers@kenyaredcross.org.  Applications should be submitted by and to be received on or before Monday, 29^th June 2015.

Applications should comprise:

A one page cover letter explaining how your experience makes you a suitable candidate for the job

A CV of no more than 3 pages

Details of 3 references - including current employer

No additional documents should be submitted.

Note: applications which do not follow the above requirements will not be considered.