Job Vacancy: Program Officer – FilmAid Kenya

About FilmAid Kenya:

FilmAid Kenya is a development and humanitarian communications organization working in the Kenya Refugee Operation for over 20 years. FilmAid Kenya harnesses the power and influence of media and the arts to respond to emergencies and promote social change through dialogue to protect the well-being of displaced and vulnerable populations. FilmAid Kenya is working to build stronger, healthier, and more informed communities in health, education, protection, WASH and livelihoods.

Job Purpose:

The Programs Officer will support the Programs Manager in ensuring an end-to-end management of FilmAid Kenya’s programs including but not limited to programs design, inception, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation and closure. The role will take a leading role in grants development and play a key role in designing and developing projects, while ensuring inclusive and gender transformative programming. The position requires exemplary results-oriented planning, implementation, reporting, interpersonal communication skills to champion synergies between internal departments and incorporated beneficiaries needs and donor stipulations in the humanitarian and development projects FilmAid Kenya undertakes.

Indicators of Good Performance on the job:

1. Program management processes are improved and ensure projects are planned, implemented and monitored in accordance to grants’ contractual obligations and FilmAid’s approach and methodologies.
2. There is effective communication and coordination with project team leads, Senior Management Team, Donors and Stakeholders to ensure achievement of program objectives.
3. Program progress is properly documented, highlighting lessons and success to inform program quality improvement. This includes but is not limited to development of quality and timely reports in accordance with donor and internal reporting requirements.
4. Grants development and management processes are improved and advance FilmAid Kenya’s funding sources.

Main Duties and Responsibilities include:

1. Program Management

• Support planning processes based on sound understanding of the operational and contextual realities in project implementation sites.
• The ideal candidate must be able to drive the delivery of emergency lifesaving information in disaster contexts, longer-term behavior modification communications, communication entrepreneurship trainings and media content production based on a sound understanding of the audiences as well as the delivery of skills development projects and programmes
• Ensure that all interventions are implemented in a timely and professional manner, according to established objectives, goals and indicators and in line with donor requirements and communities’ needs.
• Work closely with the finance team in tracking budget utilization
• Contribute to the development of projects’ spending plans and track them against actual spending
• Ensure Core Humanitarian Standards (CHS) are at the center of programme implementation.
• Manage and build capacity of the staff and other partners involved in the project implementation activities

2. Program Grants monitoring, evaluation and Reporting

• In collaboration with the MERL department, support tracking indicators and reporting variances to the Senior Management
• Lead the organization of quarterly program review meetings to reflect on performance and inform planning
• Actively participate in Project Management Meetings and ensure resulting actions are followed up
• Ensure timely submission of good quality project reports, including any other reports requiring programme inputs. The reports should enlighten, inspire and record compliance for internal and external use, and contain data of sufficient quality to be valid for evaluation
• Manage the FAK’s reporting tracker to ensure compliance
• Support programmatic learning structures to ensure that success stories, best practices and challenges are reported, and recommendations incorporated into programming

3. Grants Development, Coordination and Compliance

• Monitor new funding opportunities, assist in business plan development where applicable.
• Works with the relevant stakeholders to ensure delivery of high-quality funding submissions, reflecting outcomes focused programs
• Coordinate teams and manage deadlines for donor proposals and applications
• Contribute to the development and coordination of organizational systems and processes for the completion of funding proposals and reports
• Develop and implement systems, and monitoring procedures to ensure proper grant inception and closure procedures
• Document progress made against grants and contracts management work plans

4. Networking/Community Building

• In coordination with the programs manager and senior management team, develop and maintain positive relationships between FAK and UN agencies, donors, Aid agencies and government stakeholders
• Representation for FilmAid Kenya in external meetings with stakeholders and partners

Qualifications and Requirements:

Education: Higher Diploma in social science or a development related degree.

Prior Work Experience: Minimum 3 years’ experience in program management, preferably with an international humanitarian aid organization.

Job Knowledge:

• Demonstrated ability to manage a team.
• High-level project coordination experience, with requisite skills in project management, developing and managing budgets, internal communications, supervising and working with partners.
• Ability to deliver quality programmatic outcomes in a time-sensitive manner.
• Experience delivering projects in multiple locations, including cross-cultural and multi-language environments.
• Experience working with the media and managing magnification events.
• Ability to meet deadlines in multiple tasking environments
• Previous proven evidence of production of quality program and donor reports

Key Skills and Competencies;

• Very Good writing and reporting skills
• Diverse and have the ability to conceptualize various projects
• Ability to supervise project teams
• For this post, fluency in oral and written English is required.
• Working knowledge on Social Marketing, C4D, CwC methodologies.
• Have high-level understanding of ME&L systems.
• Excellence in using Microsoft Officer products (Office 365, Excel, Word)
• Experience with principles and practice of humanitarian aid and/or development.
• Has lived and is willing to live and work in non-family workstations for long durations.
• Ability to use programme management software