COORDINATOR II – COUNTRY OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR: KENYA

THE ORGANIZATION

The Alliance of Bioversity International (www.bioversityinternational.org) and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) (www.ciat.cgiar.org) deliver research-based solutions that harness agricultural biodiversity and sustainably transform food systems to improve people’s lives. Alliance solutions address the global crises of malnutrition, climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation.

With novel partnerships, the Alliance generates evidence and mainstreams innovations to transform food systems and landscapes so that they sustain the planet, drive prosperity, and nourish people in a climate crisis.

The Alliance is part of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future.

About the position

The Alliance is searching for a Coordinator II – Country Office Administrator. The position has the responsibility for providing overall administrative and financial support to the ongoing Projects of the Alliance in Kenya. The Country Office Administrator will work very closely with project leaders, and individual project scientists in managing all general administrative issues of the office and field activities of ongoing projects in Kenya. The incumbent will supervise all business operations and finance staff at the country level. The incumbent will work closely with the HR, Grants Management, Finance, and Operations staff in the Regional office. The position will have a dual reporting line to the Regional Managing Director and to the Regional Head of Business Operations and Finance.

Main responsibilities

Acting as the focal point for processing requests made by research staff, in compliance with institutional policies and procedures, to contribute to the efficient delivery of projects running in the Kampala, Uganda office, the main responsibilities of the Senior Program Assistant will be;

Project Support & General Administration

• Working closely with the Grants Management Unit, maintain a database of all project activities in Kenya; maintain a calendar and ensure timely reminders to the Project Leaders and assisting scientists.
• Liaising with Grants and Finance and Treasury Units support the processing of Letter of Agreements (LoAs), seeking clearances, and requesting and follow-up on partner payments.
• Manage, review, and respond to the internal and external communication flow ­drafting correspondence and responding to queries from collaborators and internal clients.
• Ensure that offices are fully set up for new staff including provision of supplies.
• Working with HR, ensuring efficient processing of new and renewal of consultancy contract requests, facilitating clearances, and following up on consultancy contract payments.
• Providing advice and support for visiting scientists and students to acquire necessary visas and work permits in compliance with existing Kenyan laws.
• Ensure files pertaining to the Alliance Hosting Agreement with other organizations and institutional relations are well maintained and prompt the Regional Operation Manager on the expiry of agreements and/or any change of regulations.
• Coordinate audit processes in liaison with the Regional Finance Manager by continuously monitoring documentation and processes and ensuring the implementation of audit recommendations.
• Organize monthly country office staff meetings and ensure minutes are taken and properly filed for reference.
• Supervises Operations Associates.

Procurement, Fleet Management, Assets, and Insurance matters

• Lead the processing of Procurement requests.
• Ensure timely processing of Pre-Import Permits and Liaison offices for all required clearances, dealing with Custom Agents and delivery and distribution of imported items (seeds, equipments, etc)
• Ensure proper scheduling of the use of vehicles and proper allocation on a daily basis for field activities.
• Review records related to vehicle movement, records and liaise with the Accounts Assistant for a chargeback to projects for use of pool vehicles.
• Coordinate and follow-up on service and maintenance of official vehicles, ensuring complete documentation pertaining to official vehicles is filed in the relevant files.
• Managing the process of annual valuation for insurance renewals, follow-up on submission of valuation reports, and issuance of insurance stickers
• Manage and keep an updated asset register for the Kenya office.
• Manage inventory or warehouse to receive and record new stock of inputs, stationery, and other project and office supplies as it is delivered and shipped out.

Travel/Conferences/Workshops/Meeting

• Oversee bookings and liaison with travel agents for tickets, visas, coordinate airport transfers and hotel bookings for Alliance staff and visitors.
• In collaboration with Program Administrators, oversee the raising of requests for field travel and ensure adherence to the travel authorization process for project staff and collaborators.
• Oversee preparation and invitations for workshop participants, following up on travel and visa arrangements, accommodation, and payments to hotels, and ensure all support documents are filed both electronically and in hard copies.
• Ensure workshop reports are prepared as required.
• Ensure all travelers are insured in accordance with Alliance policies.

Safety and Security

• Working closely with Alliance security teams, enforce safety and security protocols and procedures as outlined in the security guidelines to ensure the office and field operations are conducted in a secure environment in relation to the organization’s duty of care.
• Report all security incidents immediately they occur and manage them to mitigate on further loss.
• Maintain the Risk catalog and ensure it is up to date.
• Train staff on the use of ISOS and ensure that they do all the security training required by the institutions.

Treasury Management:

• Maintain good working relationships with the Alliance treasury office regarding bank operations and follow-up regularly to ensure sustainable tariffs.
• Ensure a proper/standard system of petty cash management is applied in the office, with regular reconciliations and cash counts to ensure maintenance of sufficient funds balances to support operations.
• Cross-check and approve online payments on the online banking platform in accordance with thresholds defined under the global panel of bank approvers.
• Work closely with Finance to ensure adequate funds securing uninterrupted office and project operations.

Facilitation of Audit:

• Coordinate station audit processes in liaison with the Finance Manager by continuously monitoring documentation and processes.
• Ensure the implementation of audit recommendations and report to the Regional Finance Manager for any material query that is likely to affect audit opinion.

Payroll management and tax compliance oversight:

• Ensure smooth monthly payroll processes by providing timely novelties related to contract changes.
• Working closely with HR and service providers, ensure timely and accurate tax remittances and claims processes.

Education qualifications and experience

• Master’s degree in business administration/accounting/finance with proven office management skills
• At least five (5) years of relevant work experience in a closely related field gained in an international organization.
• Excellent knowledge of MS Office applications, especially Outlook, PowerPoint, and Excel, and the ability to learn new applications quickly.
• Knowledge of internal supply chain standards is desired.
• Working knowledge of ERPs, incorporating diverse business processes ranging from HR, procurement, to finance.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision, but also lead and participate as a team member in the accomplishment of duties.
• Substantive experience in Financial and accounting in an international organization at a regional level.
• Experience in handling multiple operational, financial, and technical reports with tight deadlines.
• Experience in leading and coaching a team of diverse administrative and finance and specialists.
• Experience in collaborating with people from different backgrounds and cultural diversity.
• Good knowledge of rules, regulations, and procedures of government and related agencies, including understanding the interpretation of country labor laws and tax laws
• Strong ability to coordinate, prioritize, and organize workload; take initiative and work under pressure.
• Highly effective planning, organizational, and multi-tasking skills with a positive attitude and strong administrative service orientation
• Possess excellent interpersonal and communication skills, good judgment, and a high level of integrity and respect for confidentiality.

Terms of employment

This is a nationally recruited position based in Nairobi, Kenya. The initial contract will be for up to two (2) years, subject to a probation period of three (3) months, and is renewable depending on performance and availability of resources.

This position is graded at the BG07 level with an annual basic salary of KES 2,735,172. This grade is on a scale of BG01 to BG14 (BG14 being the highest level according to the Alliance job classification framework policy). We offer a competitive salary and excellent benefits including but not limited to insurance, retirement plan, staff training and development, paid time off, and flexible working arrangements.

The Alliance Bioversity-CIAT offers a multicultural, collegial research environment with competitive salary and excellent benefits. We are an equal opportunity employer, and strive for gender, diversity, and inclusion in our staff, without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, marital status, or any other characteristic.