View Vacancy - Newton Fund Officer B3 (14/18 NR)

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Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Policy & Political roles)
Science and Innovation

Main purpose of job:

 

The primary science partnership programme between UK and Kenya is known as the Newton-Utafiti Fund. This is part of the wider £735m global Newton Fund aimed at increasing UK research and innovation engagement with 18 emerging powers, including Kenya.

 

The UK-Kenya Programme was officially established in July 2016 and it  involves a range of UK and Kenyan stakeholders. Since the establishment of the Newton-Utafiti Fund, a number of collaborative science and innovation programmes have been set up. These include  capacity building, research collaborations, people exchange and innovation fellowships. The programmes focus around the thematic areas of foodsecurity, sustainable and renewable energy; health; environment and climate change,   with the ultimate aim of promoting economic development and social welfare.

 

This is an interesting role for a resourceful candidate. The role will support the delivery of the Newton-Utafiti  Fund, with a significant focus on  outreach to beneficiaries, monitoring and promoting the Fund. The role is funded entirely by official development assistance (ODA) and focuses exclusively on work associated with the Fund. The position is located within the High Commission’s Science and Innovation team based in Nairobi

Roles and responsibilities / what will the jobholder be expected to achieve?:

Programme Management and Outreach 40%

  • Primary responsibility for keeping track of all Newton Fund activity in Kenya, building up a database of all activity and beneficiaries to provide the Newton Central Team, Country Manager and High Commission with information as necessary;
  • Developing and managing a programme of visits and contact with projects underway, linked to impact assessment and monitoring first point of contact for UK and SA delivery partners on activity-related issues;
  • Working with the Newton Fund Country Manager and Science & Innovation team to identify opportunities for future collaboration;
  • Engagement with Institutions to promote the Fund and generate high quality applications. Outreach and support to relevant research and higher education  institutions;
  • Event Planning and Management. Logistical support for meetings and visits;
  • Primary responsibility for in-country budget and spend monitoring to feed into monthly and quarterly reporting and ensure spend as profiled;
  • Supporting the Country Manager in Newton Fund central monitoring and evaluation process.

Communications 30%

  • Maintenance of Newton Fund communications tools:  web content, events calendar, Newton Fund content on social media platforms;
  • Create and maintain a Newton-Utafiti  alumni network, including organisation of alumni events
  • Identify promotional and marketing opportunities, such as receptions, conferences, workshops etc to promote the Newton Fund and its activities  
  • Outreach to beneficiaries to gather examples of impact and progress.
  • Work with the in-country Science and Innovation Officer  to build evidence to demonstrate the value the Newton Fund in delivering for the UK in Kenya..

 Monitoring and Evaluation 20%

  • Ongoing monitoring of programme activities including gathering examples of impact, identifying and drafting case studies.
  • Data gathering and analytical support to the Funds external evaluators where necessary.
  • Tracking the programme spend profile against forecasts in order to identify areas of risk and opportunity.

Policy 10%

  • Working together with the Science and Innovation Officer to analyse board documents and provide input to the  High Commissioner’s briefing ahead of -annual Science and Innovation High Level  Board
  • Providing cover support to the Science and Innovation Officer whenever necessary.

 

  • A Bachelors Degree
  • Minimum 3 years work experience in Programme Management
  • Work experience covering international development and/or science and research
  • Knowledge of MS Office Programmes (Word/Excel/PowePoint
  • Must be able to work unsupervised and be a self starter who can take responsibility and demonstrate good problem solving judgment;
  • Experience of working with Government projects and programmes;
  • A strong existing network of contacts in Kenyan research bodies would be an advantage.
7 May 2018
Executive Officer (EO)
Fixed term, with possibility of renewal
Africa
Kenya
Nairobi
British High Commission
KES
220, 720 gross
1 July 2018

Leave:

Members of staff are entitled to paid annual leave, which is earned, from the day they commence employment. Entitlements are as follows:

  • Grades B3 (L) - 30 days

In addition to annual leave, the BHC normally observes no fewer than 9 and no more than 14 Kenyan and British public and religious holidays in a year. These vary from year to year and are at the discretion of the High Commissioner. A list of holidays is published each year.

Working Patterns:

Subject to the Flexible Working Scheme (see below) normal office hours are:

• Monday to Thursday: 0715 - 1600
• Friday: 0745 - 1300.

Learning and development opportunities :Learning and development opportunities (and any specific training courses to be completed):

  • Newton Fund Official Development Assistance Training to be completed.
  • Visit to UK to liaise with UK stakeholders and the Newton Central Management team  

  • This is a 12 months fixed term contract position with possibility of renewal.
  • Please complete the application form in full as the information provided is used during screening.
  • Please check your application carefully before you submit, as no changes can be made once submitted.
  • The British High Commission will never request any payment or fees to apply for a position.
  • Employees recruited locally by the British High Commission in Nairobi are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law in Kenya.
  • It is essential that the applicants already have the right to live and work in Kenya without the need to apply for a work permit
  • Employees who are not eligible to pay local income tax: e.g. certain third-country nationals and spouses/partners of UK diplomats will have their salaries abated by an equivalent amount.
  • Information about the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Competency Framework can be found on this link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-competency-framework Please note: Job grade AA=A1, AO=A2, EO=B3, HEO=C4, SEO=C5
  • Reference checking and security clearances will be conducted on successful candidates.
  • Please log into your profile on the application system on a regular basis to review the status of your application.
Please be aware that you will only be able to apply to vacancies for Country Based Staff roles with the British Government through this official tal.net site (operated by Oleeo). Jobs may be advertised on third party websites, however our adverts will always link back to the official tal.net site. If you complete and send an application through any other site, we will not receive it.

This opportunity is closed to applications.