Food Security and Livelihoods (FSL) Advisor

ADVERTISEMENT: FSL ADVISOR 

ROLE PURPOSE

Save the Children is seeking Food Security and Livelihood Advisor for a 5-year USAID Feed the Future Kenya Food Systems Activity (KFS). The five-year Feed the Future Kenya Food Systems (LFS) activity will promote inclusive agriculture-led growth, strengthen the resilience of people and systems, improve nutrition and diet diversity of women and children, as well as integrate cross-cutting themes in Kenya’s North, West and Southeast.

Under the general direction and guidance of the Nutrition Lead, the post holder will ensure that the KFS Activity is of excellent technical quality, coherent and aligned with SC and USAID Feed the Future strategies, and contributes significantly to learning, advocacy and program development. The Food Security & Livelihoods Advisor is expected to provide technical advice and support to the Food Security and Livelihoods Officers to ensure program quality is maintained and programming objectives are successfully achieved.

He/she will lead in the design of work plans and implementation of technical support to local implementing partners and networks, including sharing and coordinating with all stakeholders in the project implementation counties, including private sector and relevant county and national government units. He/she will ensure that the LFS Project resilience interventions are performed as planned and to bring about the desired impact through monitoring, evaluation, documenting lessons learned. The position will be based in Kisumu regional hub with frequent travel to other regional hubs in the north and southeast.    

In the event of a major humanitarian emergency, the role holder will be expected to work outside the normal role profile and be able to vary working hours accordingly.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY

Strategic Leadership

• Provide overall strategic leadership on resilience capacity for HHs, communities, and institutions to mitigate risks and shocks in the local food system.
• Provide technical inputs and guidance into the implementation, monitoring and reporting of the Local Food System’s resilience activities, including driving the development and realisation of its ambitious yet practical Poverty reduction strategies and plans. 
• Work with thematic leads to seek opportunities and linkages, wherever applicable, for programmatic integration with other thematic areas such as Nutrition and Market Systems to increase depth of impact for vulnerable children 
• Build upon National collaboration between the KFS’s resilience activity and relevant sectoral platforms and research institutions to make use of learning opportunities and information sharing. 

Technical Assistance 

• Lead and support the FSL field teams to ensure the implementing partners have required capacity to deliver timely and quality assigned resilience activities, including monitoring against the result framework, contributing to individual partner performance management and work plans.
• Lead and support field teams to prepare timely donor reports on project activities in compliance with the KFS Activity requirements.
• Lead and work together with relevant teams to provide technical supervision to project implementing partners including training them on appropriate approaches and methodologies; conceptual and practical frameworks; monitoring frameworks, standards and tools for effective and quality delivery of the assigned LFS resilience activity.
• Provide technical review, guidance and inputs to donor reports to ensure that the reports are of high technical quality, aligning to the KFS strategic plans and deliverables in project proposals.
• Work closely with the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) team to ensure all reporting requirements are met and build the capacity of FSL field staff in carrying out the work.

Learning and Knowledge Management

• Lead and foster a culture in the FSL field teams and implementing partners of the systematic collecting, documenting, sharing and utilising of evidence, learning and best practices in resilient and regenerative capacities within the LFS resilience activity to drive quality and impact of programming and advocacy. 
• Provide technical review, guidance and inputs into food security and resilience livelihood focused research studies and evaluations and facilitate the dissemination and uptake of research findings, learning and best practices documentation both internally and externally to donors, governments, consortium partners and other key actors.
• Introduce and support innovations into the LFS’s resilience activity, gained from existing and emerging Save the Children’s national regional and global knowledge and practices.

People Management & Development

• Provide leadership to the field FSL team, including strategic vision and direction, team cohesion and team building.
• Lead, in coordination with HR, the recruitment, professional development and promotion of direct line reports as appropriate, including the identification of development opportunities, such as coaching/training/stretch assignments to build and maintain technical skills and competencies required for leading first-class programmes.
• Undertake performance management, including setting of annual goals and quarterly deliverables, undertaking quarterly reviews, and provision of feedback to ensure delivery of results
• Support the development of an organisational culture that promotes accountability and high performance, and encourages a team culture of learning, creativity and innovation.

Contract Duration: 12 months 

Number of Vacancies: 1

Work Location: Nairobi

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Master’s degree in economics, agriculture, Food Security, Enterprise Development, other closely related field.
• Demonstrated leadership, strategic planning, and technical skills in programming for improving children’s well-being, and care as well as addressing household economic and food security.
• At least 7 years of demonstrated experience in implementing USAID resilience project/s other similar development projects focused on market systems, resilience, and livelihood development, preferably with Kenyan context including gender and youth issues. 
• At least 5 years of working at an advisory level in market systems, resilience, and livelihood development for international NGOs or the private sector in Kenya 
• Spoken and written proficiency in English.
• Demonstrated ability to work and coordinate effectively with a wide variety of stakeholders, including national and county government, donors, community-based organizations, and the private sector.
• Skills in resilience programming and strategies for developing household and market-systems resilience especially in ASAL and non-ASAL settings.
• Skills in livelihood promotion focused on human and social capital, but also including aspirations for improving livelihood prospects and the confidence to take on prudent risks to achieve improved livelihoods.
• Expertise in programming that enables the inclusion of women, men, and youth in livelihood and market systems development.
• Excellent understanding of the Agriculture and Food security sectors within the Kenyan context.

THE ORGANIZATION

We employ approximately 25,000 people across the globe and work on the ground in over 100 countries to help children affected by crises, or those that need better healthcare, education and child protection. We also campaign and advocate at the highest levels to realise the right of children and to ensure their voices are heard. 

 We are working towards three breakthroughs in how the world treats children by 2030:

• No child dies from preventable causes before their 5th birthday 
• All children learn from a quality basic education and that,
• Violence against children is no longer tolerated

HOW TO APPLY

Please apply in English saving your CV and covering letter as a single document, including your salary expectations for this role. To see a full a job description, please visit our website at www.savethechildren.net/jobs

We need to keep children safe so our selection process reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse. Employment is subject to our Child protection standards including background checks and adherence to our Child Safeguarding Policy.

Save the Children is an equal opportunity employer and seeks to employ and assign the best-qualified talent.

Female Candidates are encouraged to apply.

Disclaimer: 

Save the Children International does not charge any kind of fee at whichever stage of the recruitment process, nor request for medical examination or records and does not act through recruitment agents whatsoever.