Vihiga County whose headquarters is in Mbale is Located in the Western Region of Kenya. It boarders Nandi to the East, Kisumu County to the South, Siaya County to the West and KAKAMEGA County to the North. It is one of the four Counties in the former Western Province. Vihiga County has five Constituencies; Luanda, Emuhaya, Hamisi, Sabatia and Vihiga. The County’s population stands at 612,000.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Formulating, implementing, and reviewing innovation, digital economy, and startup policies, strategies, and programs in the Public Service;
• Cultivating partnerships to foster innovation and sustainable growth;
• Developing and recommending sustainable funding mechanisms to support innovation, digital economy, and startup core missions;
• Conducting sensitization and awareness campaigns to promote innovation and the digital economy by startups; establishing partnerships with Constituency Innovation Hubs (CIH) to create centers of excellence for training and work execution;
• Coordinating research and development on emerging technological issues;
• Establishing Sub-County/Ward-based incubation programs;
• Engaging in research and innovation activities regarding technology-enabled jobs and the future of work;
• Recruiting, training, and managing digital workers or digitally enabled workers registered on the County Ajira Digital platform;
• Coordinating Vihiga County Startup Stakeholder engagement;
• Organizing exposure of the Vihiga Startup ecosystem to global innovation forums;
• Establishing seed funding and grant mechanisms;
• Implementing policy interventions for the Vihiga Startup ecosystem;
• Providing resources and support to startups and small businesses, significantly contributing to promoting digital entrepreneurship and innovation in Vihiga;
• Developing innovation, digital economy, and Startup training programs and resources to teach various aspects of innovation, digital economy, and Startups to the youth;
• Delivering training sessions to individuals or groups, either in-person or through remote methods, covering basic and advanced topics in innovation and Startups;
• Collaborating with other trainers, subject matter experts, and stakeholders to ensure the training program meets organizational and learner needs;
• Monitoring and evaluating innovation, digital economy, and Startup programs and policies;
• Preparing innovation, digital economy, and Startup reports while adhering to professional standards and guidance;
• Developing proposals for Chief Officer approval to source funding from donors and other organizations to sustain innovation, digital economy, and Startup activities in the county;
• Performing any other duties as assigned by the relevant Chief Officer.

Requirements for Appointment:

• Be a Kenyan citizen;
• Served in the grade of Senior Principal Investment, Industries, and Research Officer Job Group N for a minimum of three (3) years or in any comparable and relevant position in the Public Service or Public Sector;
• Bachelor’s degree in Commerce, Business Administration, Business Innovation and Technology/Management, Entrepreneurship, Statistics, Economics, Project Planning and Management, Computer Science, Information Technology, Information systems, Engineering (Mechanical, Civil, Electrical, Chemical, Industrial, Electronics, Metallurgy, Aeronautical Agriculture) from a recognized institution or its equivalent;
• A master’s degree in any of the respective fields from a recognized institution will be an added advantage;
• Attended Senior Management Course lasting not less than four (4) weeks from Kenya School of Government or any other recognized institution;
• Certificate in Computer applications from a recognized institution;
• Possess good leadership and interpersonal communication skills;
• Have knowledge of innovation, digital economy, and Startup related legislations and other statutes;
• Demonstrate a high degree of professional and technical competence;
• Possess solid analytical and problem-solving skills;
• Must satisfy the requirements of Chapter Six of the Constitution of Kenya