Description

Vacancy Name
Coordinator, Project

Employment Type
Full Time (Fixed Term)

Childfund Work Location
Kisumu, Kenya

Childfund Division
Global Impact

ChildFund Department
Program Resources and Institutional Learning

Job Details

Position title: Coordinator, Project Location: Kisumu, KenyaChildFund office: KenyaManager/Supervisor title: Manager II, ProjectPosition type: Full-time fixed termWork environment: On-siteThis is a full-time, grant-funded position for 12 months. About ChildFundChildFund is a child-focused international development organization that connects children with the people, resources and institutions they need to grow up healthy, educated, skilled and safe, no matter where they are. We work directly in 23 countries, with extended reach to more than 60 countries through our global partnership network.

ChildFund's Values
We aspire for every person in our organization-program participants, supporters, staff, and volunteers alike-to feel free, safe, and confident to be themselves. In our culture of connection, you will have ample opportunity to grow, learn, and lead while contributing your talents and innovations to our inspiring mission.

ChildFund's Commitment
ChildFund International has a zero-tolerance policy regarding sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH) and all other forms of harm by its staff, partners, and other representatives in the delivery of its mission and services for children. ChildFund is committed to creating a safe environment in the workplace as well as in the communities where it delivers programs and services. ChildFund expects every staff member, partner, and representative to adhere to this commitment and to ensure all organizational policies and standards are followed. This position is subject to a range of vetting checks, including a criminal records check and/or disclosure to ensure program participants are safeguarded. About This RoleThe Project Coordinator will manage the implementation of the Kenyan component of a 12-month Strengthening Responsive Caregiving for Children and Families Planning Project funded by Conrad N. Hilton Foundation in Kenya and Mozambique. The role oversees daily project activities, ensuring effective coordination between research, implementation, and stakeholder engagement in Kenya. Key responsibilities include coordinating the project's research activities evidence synthesis and process evaluation activities, organizing multi-country learning visits, and supporting a participatory project program costing exercise using the Brookings Institute Childhood Cost Calculator. The coordinator will also support the design and facilitation of co-creation workshops with government and community stakeholders to refine ChildFund's Responsive Caregiving model Theory of Change. Required Experience and EducationAcademic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Studies, Development Studies, health sciences (Public Health, Health Education, Health Promotion), Psychology, Sociology, or a related discipline, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Additional training in project management and research and evaluation methods is desirable.

Professional Experience

• Minimum of 3 years of progressive experience in community development programming, ideally with at least one year focused on Early Childhood Development (ECD) and Nurturing Care initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience in managing or coordinating complex grants valued at over 500K USD, including budget oversight, work plan development, and results-based reporting.
• Proven capacity to work with county governments in Kenya, especially within the Lake Region Economic Bloc (LREB), across health, education, and social protection sectors.
• Experience collaborating with international donors, external consultants, and multidisciplinary research teams is preferred.
• Work experience/contextual knowledge of Busia, Home Bay, Kisumu, Siaya, and Nyamira Counties is an added advantage.

Primary ResponsibilitiesStrategic Project Leadership and Coordination

• Lead the overall coordination of the Strengthening Responsive Caregiving for Children and Families planning project in Kenya, ensuring full alignment with the approved project description, budget, and donor (Conrad Hilton Foundation) requirements.
• Manage the projects Detailed Implementation Plan (DIP), procurement plan, and activity budget, and ensure their timely and high-quality execution.
• Coordinate all partners and stakeholders involved in the project implementation and ensure smooth and timely execution of both their individual and joint project activities.
• Regularly engage with the Mozambique project counterpart and share lessons, experiences and best practices.
• Actively participate in external workshops and relevant technical working groups that foster the objectives of the project.

Evidence Synthesis, Evaluation and Research Management

• Coordinate the synthesis of past program evaluation results including findings from previous Nurturing Care Program projects, "Come Play with Me", "Responsive and Protective Parenting," and other comparative models like Tanzania's "Familia Bora."
• Coordinate the process evaluation activities in collaboration with Emory University including facilitating necessary fieldwork, data collection, and stakeholder interviews.
• Support the facilitation of the bottleneck analysis workshops addressing critical program delivery issues (birth registration, male caregiver engagement, mental health referrals) and consultation and partnership with the County health and children's services teams.
• Organize a multi-country learning visit to Tanzania's Familia Bora program, including coordinating the plans, designing the agenda, participants selection and management of logistics.
• Support the costing study that will use the Brookings Institution Childhood Cost Calculator by coordinating the collection and provision of all programmatic and financial data.
• Coordinate the convening of co-creation workshops with government and community partners to refine ChildFund's Responsive Caregiving model Theory of Change.

Participatory Research and Partner Capacity Strengthening.

• Coordinate the Learning and Reflection Workshops with local implementing partners and government stakeholders in Bunyala, Ndhiwa, and other target areas to generate insights on program delivery.

Theory of Change Refinement

• Coordinate and manage the organization and facilitation of high-stakes co-creation workshops with county government partners (Health, Education, Children's Services) and the Lake Region Economic Bloc (LREB) secretariat to refine ChildFund's Responsive Caregiving model Theory of Change.
• Support the conduct of a high-profile learning dissemination event bringing together government ministries, local authorities, and implementing partners to share findings, affirm commitments, and advocate for the institutionalization of the updated Responsive Caregiving model.
• Support the documentation of insights, human-interest stories, and best practices from the planning phase for internal learning and external visibility.

Grant Compliance and Reporting

• Support monitoring of project expenditures, ensuring they are in line with the approved budget, and work closely with the finance team to track commitments and avoid overspending or underspending.
• Support the preparation of high-quality, timely progress and final reports for the donor (Hilton Foundation) as per the grant agreement, synthesizing inputs from research partners and program teams.

Safeguarding

• Be alert and responsive to any child safeguarding risks, acquire relevant knowledge and skills necessary for promoting strong safeguarding practices, and ensure full adherence to ChildFund's Child Safeguarding Policy throughout all project activities, including the learning visit and community workshops.

Required Competencies ChildFund's Core Competencies

• Teamwork: the ability to work effectively and collaborate with others; values and respects individual differences.

Communication: demonstrates empathy and tact when communicating with others and uses a storytelling approach when appropriate.

• Results orientation gets things done; takes proactive steps to achieve organizational goals and quality standards.
• Decision making uses good judgement, critical thinking, and non-traditional ways to evaluate problems and opportunities; reflects and innovates to improve decisions and outcomes.
• Resilience: thrives and grows in rapidly changing, demanding, and complex environments.
• Digital literacy: adopts and champions new technology in relevant contexts, stays aware of technological trends, and embraces technological solutions to business challenges.

Other Required Competencies

• Familiarity with development issues and child-focused programming is highly desirable.
• Familiarity with research and program evaluation including formative research methods, process and outcome evaluation, cost evaluation, and evidence synthesis.
• Ability to understand and support research protocols and plans, and translate complex data into actionable programmatic recommendations.
• Demonstrated ability to facilitate high-quality, interactive workshops and training sessions for diverse audiences.
• Ability to support drafting of high-quality donor reports and summaries of project methods and results.
• Familiarity with Responsive Caregiving Program models is an advantage.