Field Officer Job in Kenya - NGO

Position:  Field Officer

Department: Programmes & Projects

Duty Station: DSW Kenya Field Office – Homa Bay

Background: DSW (Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevoelkerung) is an international development and advocacy organisation, which focuses on achieving universal access to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). 

DSW’s mission is to empower young people and communities in low and middle-income countries by addressing the issues of population dynamics and health as a way to achieve sustainable development. 

For more information, kindly visit www.dsw.org

DSW seeks to recruit a field officer to be based in Homa Bay field office, Kenya. 

The field officer’s position will contribute towards contribute to attainment of SDGs 2 and 3 through improving the nutritional status of women and children.

Areas of Responsibility

Working with the Programmes & Projects Manager, Project Coordinator and other staff, the field officer will support and provide leadership on field related activities in Homa Bay.

This is alongside working with field staff and partners to ensure assigned tasks are implemented to the highest standards.

Specific Responsibilities: 

Under the direct supervision of the Project Coordinator, the incumbent will be responsible for the following duties:

I. Programme Development and Planning

• Assist with development of concepts and proposals to mobilize resources, particularly held support funding, to address Maternal Child Health and Nutrition needs and priorities in project sites and the region at large
• Prepare annual, quarterly and monthly activity work plans with details of resources required against the budget

II. Programme Implementation

• Work with nutrition teams to strengthen integration of nutrition within the health system identifying, analyzing and developing strategies to address barriers.
• Ensure that the community mobilization and participation aspect of the project is implemented according to plan, including training, materials adaptation and monitoring of outcomes.
• Support Community Units to conduct community sensitization and dialogues and social mobilization forums on integrated maternal child health and nutrition interventions targeting key influencers and community members

·         Promote and influence behavior development/change at community/individual/household levels, social mobilization and increased community participation in the project activities.

·         Identify and work with existing community structures to enhance community involvement.

·         Contribute to the development and dissemination of policy briefs/IEC fact sheets and county profiles to get nutrition on to the policy agenda at the county and national levels

·         Contribute to monthly budget reviews to assess progress of program spend and follow up on remedial actions related to areas of work within the role.

·         Develop partnerships with different community groups such as the mother-to-mother support groups, religious groups, women groups, community committees and other organised groups in the community to orient them on the programme goals and to solicit their involvement in the implementation of the programme

·         Establish and maintain effective working relationship with communities, partners and Governments

·         Chair site level project review meetings in their respective locations to review project progress, working strategies and share lessons learnt.

III. Monitoring and Evaluation

• Support and monitor the delivery of high quality programming outputs
• Make continuous informal observation of the programmes delivery, noting and reporting any problems, successes and suggestions for improvement.
• Supervise nutrition champions

IV. Reporting and Documentation

• Prepare high quality quarterly reports as per stipulated guidelines and within the agreed deadlines
• Capture evidence of project’s impact through identifying and writing success stories and case studies
• Document the project’s best practices for scaling up and application

Minimum Requirements:

• Degree in a Health related field (Nutrition, Public Health etc) from a recognised university. A holder of a Higher Diploma in a Health related field with more than 5 years’ experience in a similar position will be considered
• Excellent command of English and Swahili languages (written and oral) is required
• Good understanding of management and coordination of services by GoK at County Level
• At least 3 years working in a similar role
• Strong analytical, strategic thinking, research and writing skills
• Ability to work independently and in a team
• Ability to be flexible in responding to changing work priorities and work under different reporting lines
• Strong IT skills (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, with practical experience in the use of electronic communications including email, internet, etc)
• Innovative and creative thinker

DSW is an equal opportunity employer and seeks to employ and assign the best qualified personnel regardless of race, colour, religion, gender, marital status, age, national origin, physical or mental disability or sexual orientation.

If interested, please send your application (CV and motivation letter stating your salary expectations) with the reference “Field Officer – Homa Bay” clearly indicated in the email subject line to: vacancies@dswkenya.org

Deadline for application:  June 5th, 2016

Ideal start date: Immediate

Please note that only short listed candidates will be contacted