PRACTICAL ACTION
ABOUT US
We are an international development organisation putting ingenious ideas to work so people in poverty can change their world.
We help people find solutions to some of the world’s toughest problems. Challenges made worse by catastrophic climate change and persistent gender inequality. We work with communities to develop ingenious, lasting and locally owned solutions for agriculture, water and waste management, climate resilience and clean energy. And we share what works with others, so answers that start small can grow big.
We’re a global change-making group. The group consists of a UK registered charity with community projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America, an independent development publishing company and a technical consulting service. We combine these specialisms to multiply our impact and help shape a world that works better for everyone.
OUR AIMS
We help people find solutions to some of the world’s toughest problems, made worse by catastrophic climate change and persistent gender inequality. Our aims are to:
• Make agriculture work better for smallholder farmers, many of them women, so they can adapt to climate change and achieve a good standard of living.
• Help more people harness the transformational effects of clean affordable energy and reduce avoidable deaths caused by smoke from indoor stoves and fires.
• Make cities in poorer countries cleaner, healthier places to live and work.
• Build disaster resilience into the lives of people threatened by hazards – reducing the risk of hazards and minimising their impact on lives and livelihoods.
PRACTICAL ACTION IN KENYA
In Kenya, Practical Action has a long history of addressing systemic barriers that prevent people from accessing energy that transforms their lives, helping communities and government make cities healthier and safer, making agriculture and markets work better for small holder farmers and supporting communities and government to become more resilient.
We use a mix of programming with communities and consultancy services with shapers of policy and practice to achieve our aims.
ABOUT THE ROLE
The objective of the project is to create a commercially viable circular economy model for household organic waste, that reduces greenhouse gas emissions, improves household waste services, and transforms the lives of informal waste workers.
Household organic waste makes up over 60% of municipal waste but is currently un-valued, uncollected, and a source of pollution. The project will create an urban waste collection system in Kakamega, Kenya, to feed 4,000 tonnes pa of household organic waste into Regen Organic’s (part of Sanergy Inc.) new waste processing plant. This will be converted into organic fertiliser and animal feed, providing regenerative inputs for local farmers who in turn supply food to the urban area, creating a circular economy. The innovation is in incentivising household separation of waste and creating privately run aggregation centres that can profitably integrate waste into Regen Organic’s supply chain, whilst creating decent jobs.
The objective of the project is to create a commercially viable circular economy model for household organic waste, that reduces greenhouse gas emissions, improves household waste services, and transforms the lives of informal waste workers.
Practical Action is looking for a Project Officer – Community Engagement who will support in implementation of community engagement activities, leading the team in developing and facilitating relationships between Practical Action and the community in the targeted areas and ensuring community have the opportunity to input, participate and provide feedback on implemented activities.
ACCOUNTABILITIES
Planning, implementation, monitoring, and reporting of the project field activities:
• Directly implement the project interventions and ensure the active and meaningful participation of men, women and youth in Solid Waste Management interventions
• Support community-led initiatives and ensure timely, quality delivery of program activities as designed.
• Establish trusting relationships with local community members and county-level stakeholders.
• Assess the capacity gaps of community volunteers, waste pickers and local stakeholders.
• Support in the development of Social and behavioral change communication material development.
• Identify key behaviors for promotion and intervention.
• Support in design community engagement methods and communication materials targeting different audiences Directly capacity build, mentor, train and empower communities in the project location areas ensuring that support to the communities is timely and as per project expectation.
• Directly carry out community planning and monitoring of plans including reviews and appraisals.
• Support the Identification and analysis of trends, threats and risks in the area posed by Solid Waste Management malpractices concerning community development and livelihoods, while building this into research and learning from the project.
• Support the production of clear and quality reports that demonstrate good accountability.
• Support the project’s effective and systematic monitoring and evaluation and findings are recorded and escalated to guide the continued successful implementation of other projects and inform the development of other new initiatives.
• Ensure sharing between team members, colleagues and peers – both internally and externally – to ensure that the project is contributing access to relevant knowledge and lessons learning.
Building partnerships with Project stakeholders and partners
• Lead the work to expand cooperation between communities and the local authorities for the implementation of the project and to ensure local needs, priorities and initiatives are integrated into the planning of the County governments.
• Ensure close coordination with the activities of other development actors within the project area.
• Ensure awareness about project priorities, strategies and approaches.
• Analyse ongoing experience for lessons learned, best practices, and share with project management for use in knowledge sharing and planning future strategies.
• Proactively contribute to knowledge networks and communities of practice.
• Develop informal networks to assist in the planning and review of work as appropriate.
PERSON PROFILE
To be successful in the role, the ideal candidate should meet the following requirements:
Experience & Knowledge
• First degree in Community Development/Business studies/Public Health/ Education/ Disaster Risk Reduction/ Climate Change/Development studies or any other relevant qualification from a reputable university or institution.
• A minimum of 3- 5 years working experience in NGOs on community mobilization and livelihoods sector.
• Ability and passion to work with local communities towards a shared vision.
• Skilled in community transformation towards self-sustenance.
• Good knowledge of principles of rural development including alternative livelihoods.
• Knowledge of climate change and its impacts on local communities.
• Experience working with multi-faceted teams both directly and remotely providing timely support when required.
• Good understanding of the local language (spoken & written)
• Coordination with government, donors, partners and multilateral agencies coupled with excellent networking and communications skills.
Desirable
• Ability to work with, support and influence others.
• Ability to innovate, initiate and accept challenge.
• Good writing, speaking and typing skill in English is essential.
• Good facilitation and presentation skills.
A detailed job description can be accessed here- JD-Project-Officer-–-Community-Engagement-DANIDA-project-1.pdf (practicalaction.org)
How to apply
If you are ready for an exciting challenge with an organisation whose mission and values are particularly relevant in these rapidly changing times, please forward your application, curriculum vitae and cover letter to: Practical Action, Kenya Office by email: [email protected] no later than 12th July 2024 indicating ‘Practical Action: Job Title in the subject line of the email. Your cover letter should outline why you feel this is the position for you and you are the right candidate. Please include the names of 3 referees in your CV.
Additional Information
Practical Action is an equal opportunities employer, and we encourage applications from under-represented groups. We stay committed to cultivating an inclusive and diverse working environment and believe that people from different backgrounds or cultures give us different perspectives, and the more perspectives we have, the more successful we will be. By building a culture where everyone feels heard, respected and valued we give everyone working with us the opportunity to achieve their full potential.
Practical Action is committed to safeguarding and protecting children and vulnerable adults and as such candidates will be subject to pre-employment checks.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.