Project Manager, Workforce Nutrition At Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition

About the Role

The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) is seeking a Project Manager, Workforce Nutrition to provide functional, technical, and managerial leadership to the Workforce Nutrition Alliance and to support GAIN broader workforce nutrition portfolio. This role will be offered on a 2 years’ fixed term contract basis, subject to availability of funding. This position will be based in either Utrecht, Netherlands or Nairobi, Kenya.

Reporting to the Programme Lead, the Project Manager will lead a high performing cross-functional project team and establish, manage, and maintain relationships with relevant partners and stakeholders.

You will be responsible for the overall project management leadership and ensure the project team implement project activities within approved plans, budget, and quality standards.

The postholder will ensure accurate planning, management and reporting of activities, budgets (resources), monitoring, external services and any other key areas required to deliver successful projects throughout the project life cycle.

Key Responsibilities include:

• Providing strategic and technical leadership in the design, planning and implementation of the project as per the GAIN Project Management Guidelines (PMG).
• Defining project scope, activities and objectives in line with the GAIN business plans, programme frameworks, and organizational strategic priorities.
• Monitoring the field and adapting project activities and implementation modalities accordingly
• Identifying, tracking and resolving project issues on an ongoing basis, and proactively seeking support where issues require wider attention and resolution.
• Building and maintaining strong partnerships with civil society, INGOs, government entities, private sector and other organisations.
• Working closely with GAIN technical teams and monitoring network to ensure projects are implemented in line with the relevant quality standards.
• Writing donors’ reports in collaboration with project teams, technical teams, funding team and support teams.
• Ensuring narrative reporting and financial accounting meet GAIN and donor’s requirements.
• Working with international finance team to ensure that accurate budgets and forecasting are drawn up for all activities, and that activities costs are kept within budgets.
• Leading on the procurement process by identifying, selecting and managing suppliers within ethical and procurement standards and guidelines.
• Ensuring monthly project reporting (in line with GAINs Project Management Standards) to update management on program progress achieved, program plans, changes in direction and challenges encountered.

About You

The ideal candidate will have vast practical work experience in nutrition, sustainability programmes and/or relevant social sector programmes. Also, you will have sound experience in project management, implementation, grantee oversight within international development / food industry.

You will have experience working with the private sector on nutrition/sustainability issues and business associations globally. In addition, you will have experience in influencing and advocating nutrition/sustainability programmes to employers globally and to their suppliers.

The ideal candidate will possess excellent project management capabilities and with the ability to communicate specialist technical knowledge to a wide range of diverse audiences. You will be a strong communicator with strong influencing skills and proficiency in written and spoken English. Also, you will be highly flexible and willing and able to travel.

A bachelor’s degree recognized international accreditation in project management is required. Candidates with postgraduate university degree in Nutrition, Health, Business Administration, or Agribusiness and Supply Chain, or Logistic and Supply Chain Management or related field is desirable.

About our Offer

The starting salary on offer for this role is as follows for each location:

• Nairobi, Kenya– KES 4’301’136 – KES 4’917’408 gross per annum depending on experience.
• Utrecht, Netherlands– EUR 62’820 – EUR 67’308 gross per annum depending on experience.

GAIN has a fair and competitive salary structure that allows for annual progression subject to good performance. In addition, GAIN offers a total of 37 days holiday per year (including annual leave, public holidays and additional office closure days), an attractive pension scheme and competitive insurance cover including health, travel and life assurance.

We are committed to the health of our staff, especially in these challenging times, and have developed a programme of wellbeing that includes flexible working, additional leave allowances, wellbeing days, mindfulness coaching and access to independent and confidential counselling.

GAIN also has a strong commitment to professional development. We will support you to grow in your career through both formal and informal training, and are committed to providing opportunities through internal recruitment, secondments and promotion. All of this is delivered in a supportive and collaborative environment.

About GAIN

The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) is a Swiss-based foundation launched at the United Nations in 2002 to tackle the human suffering caused by malnutrition. Due to COVID19, conflict in Ukraine and climate change, malnutrition and hunger have worsened significantly since 2019, reversing a decade of progress. There is growing recognition that our food systems need to change if we are to reverse these trends.

GAIN’s Strategy aims to transform food systems to make healthier diets from sustainable food systems accessible to all people and especially those whose are most vulnerable to shocks. By 2027, we aim to improve the access of 1.5 billion people to nutritionally enhanced staple foods, improve the access of 25 million people to healthier diets, and support positive food system change in 10 countries. This is bold and complex, and the only way to achieve this is to work together with partners including governments, businesses, and civil society at the country and global level. These goals, and the ways of achieving them, build on our twenty-year legacy of transforming people’s lives with improved nutrition through concerted action and effective policy change.

Our Working Culture and Environment

We provide a flexible working environment that includes a combination of home and office working opportunities through our global hybrid working policy. This encourages our staff to have a healthy work-life balance and increases staff motivation, enriches employee wellbeing, and improves performance and productivity.

All of our positions are based in one or more of GAIN’s designated offices as stated on our job advertisements. Successful candidates will be based in one of GAIN’s country offices and must have the existing right to live and work within a reasonably commutable distance of the relevant city / cities in which the role is advertised. Please note, that GAIN does not sponsor working visas and relocations.

GAIN reserves the right to withdraw an offer of employment for candidates who are considered to ineligible under the above conditions during or after the recruitment process.

Applicants must be currently based and have the existing right to live and work in Utrecht, Netherlands or Nairobi, Kenya to be eligible to apply for this position.

This advert closes on 20th March 2024. Early applications are encouraged. GAIN reserves the right to close this advert early should we receive suitable candidates ahead of the closing date.

The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition is committed to equality of opportunity and creating an inclusive environment where diversity is valued. We are keen to reflect the diversity of our society at every level within our organisation and therefore welcome applications from talented and committed people from all backgrounds, representing the diverse societies we operate in.