Project Officer

The scope of work for the Project Officer will be to support the support the V4P&P project design phase activities.

Key Responsibilities

• Facilitating county profiling, context analysis discussions with stakeholders and documentation
• Facilitating county and regional workshops to disseminate learnings from the V4P&P project
• Conducting stakeholder mapping exercises at county, regional and national level on the horticulture value chain using a systems approach
• Documenting entry points for a robust muti-sectoral program with horticulture as the entry point/catalyst
• Conducting engagements and awareness building activities using tools such as Foresight around the need for low-carbon, climate-proof, safe production of horticultural crops to nourish a rapidly urbanizing population in Kenya
• Co-development of knowledge products that will be used in stakeholder convenings
• Support in the development of the proposal for the new V4P&P Program for consideration by the IKEA Foundation to start mid-2026.
• Support in report writing for the V4P&P project

The Project Officer will work within the Veggies for Planet and People and will report to the Project Manager

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline; Agribusiness, Agricultural Economics, Horticulture, Business Studies, Entrepreneurship. Masters degree is a plus.
• Thorough and up to date knowledge of academic and donor thinking in the respective thematic field like regenerative agriculture/ agroecology, women and youth employment and entrepreneurship, and enterprise development.
• Minimum of six (6) years of progressive responsible work experience in implementing multi-faceted, muti-sectoral donor-funded development programmes using a systems approach (i.e., experience that demonstrates growth and/or advancement in complexity, difficulty, or level of responsibility.)
• Technical knowledge and familiarity in specific topics of value chain development for small holder farmer’s production, markets, food safety, food losses, resilience etc.
• Skills in agriculture market systems approaches and value chain development processes; including stakeholder engagement; the public sector actors, research institutions, private sector and consumer organisations.
• Familiarity with the intersection between renewable energy and water security sectors with agri-food systems
• Excellent social, networking and facilitation skills, ability to engage with the private sector, civil society and governments.
• Experience working in in Kenya. A deep understanding of the local context, cultural nuances, and development challenges would be a plus.
• Excellent communication in English (written and oral), reporting and presentation skills.
• Willingness to travel to all programme locations in Kenya
• Good documentation and reporting skills.
• Strong interpersonal and influencing skills and experience working in a matrix organization.