Program Coordinator Vacancy-Nutrition and Gender

Self Help Africa (SHA) is an international NGO, dedicated to the vision of an economically thriving and resilient rural Africa. Working in ten countries throughout Africa, SHA focuses on agriculture and agribusiness as the engine of growth in Africa.

We believe in market-based solutions to the alleviation of long-term poverty and our primary clients are smallholder farmers in Africa. We work with all participants in the agricultural value chain and believe that you can only achieve long-term sustainable growth by creating profitable businesses (whatever the size) and farmer organizations that can operate at scale.

Our approach is collaborative and market-based: although we see our primary clients as smallholder farmers in Africa, we work with all participants in agricultural value chains. SHA currently runs programs on behalf of a range of organizations including two Challenge Funds for the European Union, Irish Aid, the World Food Program and the UK Department for International Development. SHA has an ambitious growth strategy to increase its global footprint and expand into new areas.

The organization also has a number of social enterprise subsidiaries – TruTrade, which supports market access for small-holder farmers in agricultural value-chains and Partner Africa, an ethical auditing and consultancy firm that operates across more than 40 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.

Job Purpose:

Hunger and malnutrition remain a major issue worldwide and are of particular concern in SHA (Self Help Africa) countries of operation. Nutrition, in the past has been placed within the health sector. However, there is a recognition that the food and agriculture sector have a major role to play in ensuring improved food and nutrition security. Nutrition is a key theme across SHA’s programming: we aim to ensure that increased and diversified production translates to improved nutrition at household level, so it is essential and all of our programs have a strong nutrition focus.

Equally, SHA recognizes the importance of gender equity to ensure progress in reducing poverty. Working with smallholder farmers and recognizing that women contribute the bulk of labor on family farms, there is a need to ensure our programs have a strong gender element to improve cohesion within the household with better resource and power sharing. Development goals cannot be achieved without explicit consideration being given to all, which includes women, men, boys and girls, understanding their different needs and contributions.

This role is a key part of SHA’s drive to build technical excellence, improve program quality across the organization and become a leader in innovative development practice. Promoting nutrition sensitive agriculture will involve ensuring that all of SHA programs and projects progressively integrate explicit nutrition objectives and indicators into project/program design and guide its implementation. It also ensures that gender is mainstreamed within all programs.

This post will facilitate learning, mentor program staff and build staff capacity (both SHA and partner staff) based on best practice from within the organization and experiences from other development actors.

Key Responsibilities:

Technical Resource:

• This position will be the resource person for Nutrition and Gender within the SHA Kenya programs. The role will involve working with the team throughout project cycle management – from supporting the development of concept notes ensuring a strong nutrition and gender element, proposal development, program delivery, supporting M &E and evaluation of projects/programs.
• Advise, mentor, train, and support program/partner staff to effectively integrate nutrition sensitive agriculture and mainstream gender into programs and projects including setting objectives and measuring results.

Networking:

• This role will ensure SHA engagement in relevant networks to strengthen SHA’s visibility in nutrition and gender, remain current/up to date within this sector and where possible capitalize on relevant opportunities that arise in terms of funding, and dissemination of SHA work.
• Networking with relevant stakeholders will include the various ministries, UN agencies such as UNICEF and WHO and NGO’s involved in nutrition and gender sectors

Detail of Key Responsibilities:

• Support the Head of Programs in planning and designing programs; ensuring that nutrition and gender are specifically addressed with effective implementation strategies in line with SHA Kenya’s program strategy.
• Support SHA staff and partners in developing nutrition and gender components of projects/programs through establishing knowledge gaps and conducting capacity building/training and conducting project/program monitoring visits.
• Support the SHA program team/technical staff/partner staff in the implementation of project interventions to ensure that the project/program interventions are gender transformative and nutrition sensitive.
• Develop and carryout reviews of SHA nutrition and gender policies/guidelines and strategies that provide strategic direction keeping abreast of resources already available in country or regionally/internationally.
• Together with the SHA Monitoring and Evaluation Officer be responsible for designing, collecting, processing, analyzing nutrition and gender data within SHA programs.
• Identify and support the development of tools for program and partner staff, such as IEC material, to use for gender and nutrition throughout SHA programs/projects.
• Contribute and share knowledge, information, best practices and lessons learnt on gender and nutrition to ensure high quality programming throughout SHA programs/projects for internal and external use.
• Liaise regularly with the Nutrition Advisor and Social Inclusion Advisor at Head Office for support and share learning with other SHA country programs and head office.
• Guide processes of identifying and participating in nutrition and/or gender research as required.
• Facilitate and assist the timely submission of regular reports (monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual) or special reports as deemed necessary.
• Organize and facilitate workshops/trainings to share information/learning.
• Strengthen strategic partnerships with civil society organizations and the private sector to influence nutrition and gender responsive policies and laws.
• Keep updated on technical aspects of nutrition and gender with specific focus on vulnerable groups.
• Active networking and advocacy profiling of SHA country program with external stakeholders implementing similar programs at local, national and/or international level.

Key Relationships:

Internal

• Country Director
• SHA in-country Technical Advisers
• SHA Project/Program Managers in-Country
• Partner Organization Staff
• Head Office Technical Advisers
• Other SHA Country Nutrition & Gender Advisers

External

• Key Ministry Stakeholders (Ministry of Health, Gender and Agriculture as relevant)
• UN agencies, in particular; UNICEF, WHO, FAO and UNFPA
• Relevant National Food and Nutrition Organizations
• Research institutions and Universities as relevant

Knowledge & Experience:

Essential

• Minimum of bachelor’s degree in Nutrition, Public Health or related discipline
• At least five years’ experience in the design and implementation of nutrition and gender projects/programs
• Extensive knowledge and experience of sector thinking on nutrition with a wide range of partners from civil society, public and private sectors
• A good understanding of project cycle management approaches and tools including knowledge of M&E principles with a bias on Nutrition sensitive and gender focus development.
• Experience in facilitation of learning process and networking
• Experience in research and report writing
• Experience in developing and delivering training or general capacity building skills
• Excellent level of spoken and written English
• Very good working knowledge of MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and general IT skills
• Commitment to working with a value-based organization
• Self-motivated with good interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to work under pressure
• Experience in teamwork and coordination
• Willingness to travel in country and overseas to support nutrition and gender activities in other SHA country programs

Desirable

• Experience in gender and social inclusion in an Agricultural development environment
• Demonstrated experience in integrating/mainstreaming gender in development and humanitarian projects focused on food, nutrition, and livelihoods sectors
• Ability to communicate effectively in more than one national language

Role Competencies and Values:

• Excellent communication skills.
• Ability to work as part of team across different cultures.
• Ability to work with minimum supervision and take initiative.
• Ability to solve problems and take appropriate corrective action.
• Ability to spend up to 50% of time in field travels.
• Valid motorcycle license mandatory.

How to apply