Program Manager

Who are we:

The Green Belt Movement is a non-governmental organization founded in Kenya by Nobel Peace
Prize Laureate Prof Wangari Maathai. Since 1977, the movement’s work has focused on conserving
the environment by empowering rural women and local communities through environmental
education, supporting ecosystem restoration through tree planting, advocacy and movement
building, and creating livelihood safety-nets at household level.

To learn more about the work of The Green Belt Movement, please refer to http://Green
Beltmovement.org/who-we-are

What are we looking for?

The Green Belt Movement is in an exciting growth phase, expanding its work in Kenya and
increasing its influence across Africa. The Green Belt Movement seeks to hire a Program Manager to
provide overall leadership to our programs. The ideal candidate will resonate with the values of the
organization, is committed and passionate about environmental protection and sustainability, is a
highly motivated person able to work under minimal supervision and provide effective leadership to
a large, diverse team, has the ability to act on initiative and to meet deadlines, can think critically
and creatively, is both a team player and team builder, and has experience working with local
communities.

Reporting to the Executive Director, the Program Manager works closely with and provides
guidance to the program team. The key components of the role include supporting effective
implementation of current programs, providing technical guidance to the programs team,
contributing to strategy implementation and its further development; leading program
development in new areas of work, and supporting fundraising.

The successful candidate will be based in Nairobi, with frequent local and occasional international
travel.

Key roles and responsibilities:

Program Strategy

 Contribute to the development of GBM’s strategy and operationalized through a relevant

and coherent body of work with due emphasis on feasibility, sustainability, and financial
viability.
 Provide input, guidance and thought leadership on program implementation, develop new
areas of programming, and ensure the programs continue to be responsive to the broader
current and evolving contexts while remaining true to GBM’s overall mission and vision.
 Work with the programs teams, other colleagues at GBM as appropriate to ensure the
ongoing delivery of robust programs strategy which is rooted in the needs and priorities of
communities and the best practice and in line with GBM vision and mission.
Technical Oversight to Programme Delivery

 Work with ED to provide thought leadership and oversight of all programmatic work in
accordance with GBM’s vision/mission with an eye towards long term effective
implementation and sustainability.
 Ensure GBM is providing thought leadership in the land restoration, reforestation and
sustainable development sectors nationally, regionally and globally.
 Lead and deliver quality project cycle management, including situation analyses; project and
partner identification; project design, budgeting and resource mobilization, negotiation and
contracting; baseline and planning; monitoring; timely and accurate financial and narrative
donor reporting; evaluation and audit; and dissemination of lessons learned.
 Provide sound technical advice is offered to local tree nursery groups and relevant
stakeholders in alignment with program-specific documents.
 Keep track of the financial status of the Programme and overall tracking of the performance
of grants in your program
 Regular monitoring and evaluation of the programs performance to identify any gap and
take the appropriate measures timely
 Provide timely submission of program reports to the ED.
 Support the development of the partnership network of civil society organizations,
governments, research institutions, technical experts, and donors; support maintenance
and
 Develop and nurture beneficial partnerships, alliances and policy /technical resources
 Remain informed on current policy debates and engage in relevant fora to ensure GBM’s
strategy remains innovative and GBM’s work is distributed in relevant policy circles.
 Work with the GIS and M&E teams to ensure effective monitoring, evaluation and learning.

Communications and Advocacy

 Work closely with the communications and advocacy team to ensure effective
communications about the programs.
 Work with communications team to ensure GBM is effectively represented in national,
regional and global forums and remains relevant to policy debates and processes
 Work closely with the communications and advocacy team to ensure the development and
dissemination of strong content in all GBM platforms.
 Create and participate in networks with relevant stakeholders in Kenya and the region.

Resource Mobilization & Donor relations

 Support the ED in identifying fundraising needs and developing the annual budget. Develop
quality funding proposals and bids and their negotiation.
 Work to heighten GBM profile and its credibility in the environmental conservation sector
and forums
 Support in attracting support to the program's portfolio through liaison with existing and
potential implementation partners and peers, technical support and research agencies and
institutions, donors and policymakers. Provide regular updates to relevant stakeholders and
donors on work progress and involve them in ongoing work.
  Maintain awareness of key donors and other important stakeholders policy priorities,
procedures and preferred technical approaches as well as funding or other business
opportunities which they may afford
 Support the ED to donors, partners, governments, peers, and experts at all levels and
support beneficial institutional linkages.

People Leadership

 Contribute to the overall management and direction of the organization in support of the
executive director and as a part of the senior management team
 Provide technical leadership to program team resource ensuring high quality performance
of the staff nurturing engaged workforce and ensuring effective coordination and
collaboration between the various project components.
 Manage, motivate, facilitate and support the personal development and performance of
programs team members, including through appraisal, coaching, individual and team
training, exchange of experience, and facilitating participation in appropriate meetings and
seminars
 Ensure that the work environment is healthy, motivating, empowering and synergistic

Requirements

 Bachelor’s degree in environmental science, forestry, law, public policy or other relevant
science or social science field. Advanced degree an advantage.
 At least 10 years of demonstrated work experience, at least 5 of which should be in program
leadership level experience in similar nongovernmental organization
 Excellent track record in program management, including project planning, budgeting,
implementation and monitoring and evaluation.
 Excellent experience in working with local communities.
 Solid experience in fundraising including developing concepts and proposals, donor
relations and effective implementation based on funding contracts.
 Excellent oral and written communication skills with ability to communicate complex issues
and ideas in accessible ways.
 Ability to undertake required local and international travel.

How to Apply:

Applications should be submitted via email [email protected] on or before Friday 26th

January 2024 with ‘Program Manager Application’ as the subject line.

Applications must include: 1) a motivation letter that indicates: a) why you are interested in this
position and what inspires you about environmental protection and sustainability; and b) aspects of
your background that demonstrate the required competence for this role. 2) A detailed CV with 3
references.

Please ensure that your application as a whole speaks to the required qualifications, experience,
personal profile and key roles and responsibilities. Please do not apply if you do not meet the
required experience. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Please note that applications
will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
By submitting your application, you confirm that the submitted information is true and authorize
the use your personal data, to further process your engagement for lawful purposes related to the
organization’s vision

Disclaimer: Please note that we do not charge any fees at any stage of our recruitment process. Our
client is an equal opportunity employer. Due to the high volume of applications we receive, only
shortlisted candidates who qualify for the next recruitment stage will be contacted.