Capacity Development Officer

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) seeks to recruit a Capacity Development Officer to play a leading role in the management of the ILRI graduate fellowship program, contribute to the Capacity Development (CapDev ) unit management, lead strategic initiatives, and support ILRI ‘research for development’ projects with specific / technical CapDev inputs.

ILRI works with partners worldwide to enhance the roles that livestock play in food security and poverty alleviation, principally in Africa and Asia. The outcomes of these research partnerships help people in developing countries keep their farm animals’ alive and productive, increase and sustain their livestock and farm productivity, find profitable markets for their animal products, and reduce the risk of livestock-related diseases http://www.ilri.org

ILRI is a not-for-profit institution with a staff of about 700 and in 2016, an operating budget of about USD83 million. A member of the CGIAR Consortium working for a food-secure future, ILRI has its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, a principal campus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and offices in other countries in East, West and Southern Africa and in South, Southeast and East Asia http://www.cgiar.org

Key Responsibilities
Manage the ILRI Fellowship programme

• Work with ILRI research projects and other stakeholders to identify their capacity development needs that relate to graduate fellows and interns across all ILRI locations globally
• Day to day management of the graduate fellows & interns including recruitment, on-boarding, performance management – monitoring and evaluation (M & E), finance & human resource related issues, providing ongoing support and ensuring service standards are maintained at all times
• Coordinating and leading on key fellowship initiatives and working effectively with research managers, Program Management Officers and other stakeholders
• Play a leading role in the design, implementation and review of key fellowship documents, agreements contracts, guidelines and policy liaising with relevant ILRI units e.g the Legal, People & Organizational Development and Finance units
• Play a leading role in the design, development, implementation; continuous evaluation and improvement of ILRI fellowship information system and integrating the system to ILRI’s One Corporate System (OCS)
• Lead efforts to ensure quality assurance of the graduate fellowship program including implementation and continuous review of an effective M & E of the learning system

Capacity Development for ILRI projects, Partners and Fellows

• Work with various ILRI projects to provide capacity development inputs in implementing their capacity development strategy, methodologies and support them to conceptualize and develop capacity development activities
• Apply adult learning techniques and liaise with relevant subject matter experts (SMEs) to plan, organize, design and facilitate high quality training modules including e-learning for graduate fellows and/or ILRI partners including Training of Trainers (ToT) sessions
• Ensure outputs from the capacity development unit such as modules, tools & materials are collated and are made available to the relevant users
• Lead the continuous evaluation and review of training programs and materials to ensure that objectives of the unit are achieved.

Unit management and support

• Oversee the unit’s administrative functions and ensure that service standards are adhered to through monitoring, supervising and reporting periodically on the progress of the program activities
• Represent head of CapDev at meetings and other CapDev events as assigned, and follow up on such engagements
• Coordinate, host and report on visits to ILRI that relate to Capacity development initiatives
• Act as the main link between the unit and other units and programs to ensure there is harmony and compliance between CapDev activities and ILRI processes
• Supervise and manage the performance of administrative staff within the unit
• Support resource mobilization initiatives including contributing to the CapDev proposal development processes and initiatives
• Lead bi-annual CapDev risk assessment, reviews and associated tracking/follow up on various actions with relevant colleagues
• Lead reporting on capacity development activities across the whole institute amongst different units that work on capacity areas to ensure all efforts are well aligned and streamlined with ILRI’s goals and objectives
• Lead communication related aspects of the CapDev Unit – such as updating web presence, publish blogs and CapDev briefs
• Design, implement and continuously review ILRI CapDev surveys, other training surveys, compile and disseminate reports
• Perform other duties related to Capacity Development activities that may be assigned by the Head of Capacity Development

Requirements

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in business administration, management, education, economics, psychology, or related area
• Atleast 5 years relevant experience of; developing training modules and learning materials, preferably in a research/non-profit setting in developing countries; effective assessment and support of learners and handling student affairs and providing pastoral care.
• Awareness of inclusive learning and issues effecting learning in the workplace
• Excellent writing, communication and ICT skills
• An effective and confident communicator at all levels
• Self-motivated and enthusiastic
• Excellent planning and organizational skills including the ability to meet deadlines and pay attention to details.
• High levels of professional integrity
• Able to operate in a fast changing and ambiguous environment
• Team player with excellent inter-personal skills

Terms of Appointment
This is a Nationally Recruited Staff (NRS) position based at ILRI’s Nairobi campus. It is open to Kenyan nationals only. The position is on a 3-year contract, renewable subject to satisfactory performance and availability of funding.
Job Level
This position is job level 3B. ILRI offers a competitive salary and benefits package which includes; pension, medical and other insurances for ILRI’s Nationally Recruited Staff.

How to apply: Applicants should send a cover letter and CV explaining their interest in the position, what they can bring to the job and the names and addresses (including telephone and email) of three referees who are knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience to the Director, People and Organizational Development. The position title and reference number REF: CDO/CapDev/03/2016 should be clearly marked on the subject line of the cover letter.
All applications to be submitted online on our recruitment portal: http://ilri.simplicant.com by 1st April 2016.
We thank all applicants for their interest in working for ILRI. Due to the volume of applications, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

ILRI does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing or training). ILRI also does not concern itself with information on applicants’ bank accounts.