Purpose of Position

To provide technical support in Sustainable Natural Resource Management (NRM), implementation, capacity building, coordination and monitoring functions of IMARA Program within the program sites. This is towards inspiring a sustainable natural resource management as part of the Kenya ASAL policy and Ending drought emergencies (EDE) framework aimed to support increased resilience of vulnerable communities in the ASAL counties of Kenya. The incumbent will be instrumental in capacity building and coordination of key program stakeholders on IMARA Program efforts aimed at enhancing rangeland management and dry land forest management strengthening tree based value chains and Non Wood Forest products, increased access to and protection of water resources, promote sustainable and renewable energy options plus Disaster Risk Management. S/he will also be responsible for tracking program uptake, especially with respect to program targets, besides documentation, reporting, and performing other M&E functions as regards reaching the target beneficiaries..

Major Responsibilities

Effective Technical Program design, Planning and Implementation (40%)

• Responsible for the in the implementation of the all activities in the IMARA program with focus on Rangeland/dry land forest management, Water access and protection, DRM and Renewable energy options in partnership with partners within the consortium
• Work with relevant ministries, departments, private sector, civil society and partners to achieve program objective
• Provision of technical skills in integrated natural resource management practices across communities and partners in targeted areas
• Train the partners, selected farmer groups and partners on the various recommended focal areas (Community Based Natural Resource management, Dry land forestry, Climate smart agriculture, Sustainable energy options, soil and water conservation, Disaster Risk management, Advocacy and policy influence etc).
• Support implementation of water access and protection for enhanced water supply in collaboration with relevant line ministries
• Mobilization of smallholder farmers into Farmers Marketing groups geared to strengthen tree based value chains market systems enhancing increased production
• Develop a program capacity building plan of action for partners, CBOs and Community Owned Resource Persons as per context with specific focus on the key objectives.
• Ensure timely and efficient expenditure at acceptable levels as per donor requirements
• Actively participate in the collection and collation of views from stakeholders for the development of program plans and budgets
• Providing strategic leadership and supporting collaborative partnership engagements within the IMARA NRM focus areas across county.
• Contribute to effective and timely implementation of all levels of interventions and initiatives with communities and partners;
• Collaborate with Senior Program manager, IMARA MEAL Coordinator, Program Director and the Technical Specialist – Environment and Climate Change to effectively support the program to carry out all measurements – baselines, assessments, designs, monitoring and evaluations in accordance with Consortium guidelines and donor requirements.
• Support the program technically in relation to your expertise in the event of any disaster and/or crisis response when called upon to do so;
• Monitor and support the timely and appropriate utilization of budgeted resources for all L&R program interventions as well as ensure effective and timely response plans.
• Together with key partners conduct on site trainings and strengthening community groups in issues on integrated NRM in respect to climate change

Partnership, networking and resource acquisition (35%)

• Ensures collaborative roles and partnerships with key partners in the leverage county partners including GoK line Ministries at the county and national, Community Based organization, NGO, Learning Research institutions and any relevant authorities
• Gender and Youth integration in program activities through the implementation strategies.
• Develop working agreements / MOUs with partners as per need.
• Coordinate stakeholder / partner forums on IMARA counties strengthening strategic NRM alliances.
• Coordinate reflection and learning forums for community and partners for purposes of providing forums for experiential learning & reflection.
• In liaison with Partners, lead/support development of data collection and monitoring tools as required
• Strengthen advocacy on prioritization and increased resource allocation for NRM related activities by county government and other CSOs.
• Build capacity on community groups on advocacy to engage service providers and participate in forums to relating to sustainable NRM and related interventions.

Quality Assurance, Monitoring, Reporting & Documentation (20%)

• Participate/Support program assessments, planning, implementation, monitoring & evaluation, documentation and dissemination of promising practices
• Develop a monitoring and evaluation framework that ensures that the targets from leveraging sites are tracked.
• Coordinate joint monitoring visits with key partners to track and document program progress in the targeted leverage counties.
• Ensure the feedback from monitoring exercises feed into the working of environment technical working group within the program counties.
• Support the development and submission of program reports and core documents as per WVK guidelines and donor standards.
• Develop context specific electronic and live media communications on NRM activities.
• Support development of technical papers and or policy briefs on key issues for external engagement with decision makers

Others (5%)

• Participate in Trans teams and support other initiatives by partners in the spirit of integration
• Perform any other duties as assigned by supervisor or designee.

Knowledge, Skills And Abilities

• Bachelor’s degree in Natural Resource Management, Environmental Science, Rangeland Management, Forestry, or Climate Change from a recognized University.
• Minimum of four years’ experience in implementing sustainable natural resource management (SNRM) programs in ASAL/degraded parts of Kenya integrating livelihoods strengthening; with demonstrable competencies in designing, planning, implementation, documenting, record-keeping and reporting
• Technical knowledge in NRM, Agriculture/Food security, Nutrition, Livestock and other Livelihoods, Social Protection, Gender issues and Youth inclusion.
• Must have skills and ability to provide training and mentorships
• The holder of this position must be a results orientated person who can handle a heavy work load as well as manage and satisfy multiple and at times conflicting organizational, donor and other stakeholder demands
• S/he must be a self-starter, able to work under minimum supervision and maintain good relationships.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, networking and representation skills;
• Proven leadership qualities, problem-solving and negotiation skills, and evidence of successful team player