Portfolio Manager - East & Southern Africa at International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC)

ID: 20120522

The primary duties of the Portfolio Manager are the following three inter-related activities:

• providing managerial and strategic oversight into the portfolio of projects in the division including assisting COPs/CRs and Project Leaders with technical, operational and contractual execution and delivery (estimated at 30-50% level of effort);
• in collaboration with the Regional Director and new business team, lead new business development in the region, identifying and tracking opportunities, generating leads and partnerships and developing concept notes and proposals (estimated at 30-50)% level of effort; and
• assisting the Regional Director in regional strategy development and implementation (estimated at 10-20% level of effort).

Specific Duties

• Provide managerial oversight and support to the portfolio of field projects;
• Communicate regularly with COPs/PLs to ensure they receive the required corporate support and adequately fulfill their project implementation responsibilities, while adhering to contractual obligations and donor requirements, as well as IFDC internal policies and procedures;
• Monitor activities and financial flows of projects to assist COPs/PLs in maintaining on-time and on-budget performance;
• Support project teams in the development of key deliverables as and when needed. These may include: technical progress reports, work plans, budgets, performance monitoring plans, etc.;
• Review key project deliverables before donor submission;
• Support field projects in the recruiting and procurement of technical assistance;
• Maintain competence in one or more technical specialty areas common to field projects in the region and provides technical assistance to field projects as requested;
• Regularly brief the Regional Director on the status of projects in the portfolio;
• Participate in project design and evaluation of projects within or added to the managed portfolio;
• Support the Regional Director in leading new business development in the region, in collaboration with the new business team. Identify opportunities, generate leads, form partnerships/consortia and lead/contribute to concept note and technical proposal development;
• Assist in recruitment of staff and consultants and populate the corporate database of consultants and potential staff candidates;
• Assume any other duties as assigned by the Regional Director.

Required Skills

Requirements

• This position requires a broad knowledge and understanding of economic, agriculture, and agribusiness conditions of East & Southern Africa;
• Superior level of resourcefulness and the ability to work independently, manage and complete multiple tasks simultaneously, and to meet deadlines under pressure;
• Proven ability to work cooperatively with a multi-disciplinary team, development partners, local communities and government agencies in East & Southern Africa;
• Willingness and ability to travel as needed;
• A minimum of a Masters’ degree in Development, Business Administration, Public Administration, Economics, Agriculture, Natural resources, International Relations or Social Sciences;
• At least 2 years’ experience in project management, planning, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) preferably in agriculture or agribusiness working with key public donors (USAID, DFID, EU, World Bank, etc.), private donors/foundations;
• At least 3 years proven experience in fund raising and proposal writing;
• Excellent communication skills (both written and verbal) in English. Knowledge of French would be highly desired;
• Strong computer skills required;
• Ability to exercise significant professional judgement relating to program development implementation, monitoring and evaluation, reporting and must have an ability to prioritize in a multi-task environment.
• Ability to work independently under pressure, and able to take initiatives.
• Ability to work in a multidisciplinary and international environment.
• Strong interpersonal skills, team working skills with ability to maintain effective work relationships.
• Excellent communication skills with ability to express ideas clearly, logically and effectively
• Strong coordination and collaboration skills.

Location & Travel

This position will be based at IFDC’s Regional East & Southern Africa Office in Nairobi and primarily covers countries and projects in the region. Travel will be 25-40%

Contract

The position is open to national and international candidates and will be based in Nairobi, Kenya.