IDRC Program Management Officer Job in Kenya
Program Management Officer – Think Tank Initiative
Position #: LEE035
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Salary Range (CAD): Competitive
Duration: Term - 1 year
Closing Date (DD/MM/YY): 10/05/13
Job Overview
The Think Tank Initiative is a multi-donor Program dedicated to strengthening independent policy
research institutions ― or think tanks ― in developing countries, enabling them to better provide sound research that both informs and influences policy.
Initially focused on selected countries in East Africa, West Africa, South Asia and Latina America, the Program intends to strengthen 49 independent policy research organizations, such that these institutions provide objective, high-quality research that both informs and influences economic and social policies related to growth, equity and poverty reduction.
The program will provide long-term general support funding to qualifying organizations, along with access to funds for training, technical assistance and mentoring to allow them to confront key challenges facing their organizations.
As a Program Management Officer based in the IDRC Regional Office for Sub-Saharan Africa and under the supervision of the Regional Director, you will contribute to the development, operation and support of the Program.
Your principal responsibilities will include
coordination and monitoring of program activities in pursuit of set objectives and targets;
management and analysis of qualitative and quantitative databases;
provision of research support services to enhance knowledge about institution strengthening for effective research to policy linkages;
contributing to the preparation of program reports including agenda drafting and minute taking;
and participating in program communication with various stakeholders, including with Program team members in IDRC’s Head office based in Ottawa, Canada.
Candidate Profile
Education
Master’s degree in a relevant social science discipline such as international development/affairs or economics
Experience
This position requires minimum of three years of relevant work experience, which includes
research project design and implementation support
analyzing, monitoring and compiling research results
application of statistical methods in qualitative and quantitative data analysis including statistical software (e.g. STATA)
coordinating projects, conferences and meetings
preparing reports and briefing notes and communicating to various target audiences with strong visualization of data and results
building and maintaining partnerships
engagement activities to promote research to policy linkages
working in developing regions is an asset
Language
Bilingual position (English/French) requiring language skills at an advance level for English and at an intermediate for French
Knowledge
Knowledge of social and economic policy and/or organizational development issues
Familiarity with database management or other statistical software
Familiarity with knowledge or information management tools is an asset
Competencies
Strong analytical, problem-solving and writing skills
Ability to work in a fast-paced team with multiple research programs and meet deadlines
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
Superior planning, organizing, coordinating and team work skills
Ability to work under minimum supervision
Ability to perform research-related tasks (e.g. library and web research, analysis and synthesis of documents, writing and editing) and to use a wide range of research methods (e.g. quantitative and qualitative data collection analysis)
Sound MS-Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), internet, website management and information management skills including comfort with specialised information management software
Awareness of and sensitivity to individual, gender and cultural differences
Primary Duties or Responsibilities
Program Coordination
Coordinates, collects and centralizes all information about the activities of the program (i.e. research outputs, program level performance indicators)
Prepares and coordinates program level documents such as (i.e. annual work plans, project information memoranda, communications strategies, evaluation plans, project reports or briefings, reports to donors, reports of meetings) for the program team, and in response to specific requests by Centre management
Tracks the time to respond to concept notes and proposals in order to assess the program’s response rate
Develops and implements team processes in order to ensure good work flow within the team and with other Centre services
Acts as the point of contact for enquiries about the program
Makes recommendations about the content and operations to improve the work of the program
Coordinates the implementation of monitoring and evaluation plans
Coordinates linkages between IDRC and external partners, donors, UN organizations, NGOs and other governments in areas related to a program to communicate the work of the program, facilitate collaboration on joint activities, and ensure good working relationships
Contributes to liaison with key Canadian institutions to ensure good working relationships
Plans and coordinates program meetings, retreats, international meetings and conferences involving the program’s network of partners and prepares background material, distributes agendas, and provides general support to enhance the effectiveness of the meetings
On occasion, travels abroad to attend program meetings and retreats
Prepares minutes and meeting reports of a technical nature to ensure discussions and decisions are well documented
Knowledge Management
Tracks and monitors grantee and TTI team research outputs and liaises with records management staff to ensure that this documentation is properly filed and catalogued
Coordinates with consultants to ensure program learning across diverse activities and dissemination of good practices
Participates in the self-assessment of the program as part of the external review process and in the preparation of the end-of-cycle report
Contributes analysis about program outcomes based on an overall program perspective to contribute to team learning and discussions on future programming
Compiles project results and other outputs as well as lessons learned for wider dissemination outside the Centre
Reviews project and program material and prepares synthesis documents of results, decisions, and directions for team discussion
Monitors discussions and practices by other contributors to the field, identifying items useful for TTI and its grantees, especially in its pursuit of advocating for more core funding
Populates TTI monitoring and evaluation database with qualitative data and tag appropriately to the Initiative’s Results Framework, grantee tailored objectives and other topics and contributes to further database development
Receives monitoring and evaluation data from grantees, validates them and files them into the TTI database
Analyzes quantitative data from TTI database to uncover trends and identify outliers and presents analysis in a clear and comprehensive manner
Researches specific topics of interest to the program to enrich the knowledge of team members and to move the program forward
Monitors the relationship between grantee financial reports, planned and completed activities
Tracks outcomes of Organizational Development processes and events back to individual grantee progress on institutional objectives
Plays a key role in the application of PCR content within the team, including dissemination of PCRs, information sharing, integration of team-based learning, and required reporting based on lessons learned from PCRs
Support for Program/Development and Management, and Project Development
Collects and analyzes information from a wide variety of sources to investigate aspects of issues relevant to the project and its future development
Assists in the design of evaluation plans
Assists in organizing and managing research competitions (grants) including setting guidelines, disseminating calls for proposals, identifying reviewers, and ensuring prompt review of incoming proposals
Monitors progress of consultants and identifies emerging issues
Performs preliminary screening of concept notes, RSPs and project proposals and assists with their administration
Contributes to the preparation of Project Approval Documents (PADs)
Assists in the preparation of proposals and progress reports to external funders for externally funded projects and provides periodic project updates, as needed
Communications
Contributes to the implementation of a communication strategy for internal and external audiences and coordinates its implementation
In collaboration with TTI team and other IDRC staff, assists in the drafting and editing of reports, special papers, reviews, journal or newsletter articles, manuscripts and other documents for publication or presentation
Contributes to the program’s website and newsletter, writes abstracts, and keeps information current, coordinates the content and prepares project profiles
Packages information specifically for grantees, with targeted outreach
Tracks uptake through web usage statistics
Prepares and coordinates written, graphic, visual materials, web site content and other social media for public presentation/dissemination (networking, public relations purposes or for revenue generation)
Prepares reports and briefing notes on project outputs for different audiences (technical, academic, policy as well as the general public)
Organizes meetings conferences, seminars and workshops both locally and internally; documents and disseminates outputs to participants and selected management
On occasion, makes presentations and/or represents IDRC at selected meetings, conferences, workshops or seminars
General Administration
Maintains the program’s pipeline of activities throughout the year, including tracking of allocation targets
Files documents (i.e. PCRs, projects with multiple components) according to the required protocol
Acts as gatekeeper of the program’s documents to ensure that key documents are available and accessible
Using available resources and applications (e.g. EPIK), retrieves and aggregates project information in support of the program’s reporting requirements
Generates and provides information as requested, often on an urgent basis, for both internal and external audiences
As this is a local hire, rather than an international recruitment, the terms and conditions of employment that apply to our Kenyan support staff will be relevant to this appointment.
How to Apply
Please email your curriculum vitae and supporting cover letter highlighting how your experience, qualifications and skills match the requirements for this position to pmottirossa@idrc.ca.
We appreciate the interest of all candidates, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
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