Jobs Kenya

Website: Website http://cipotato.org/

  • Research Assistant – Food Analysis

    Research Assistant – Food Analysis

    RESEARCH ASSISTANT – FOOD ANALYSIS The International Potato Center (CIP) is seeking a Research Assistant to provide technical support in the areas of analytical chemistry and food microbiology in sweetpotato roots and leaves and their processed products. The candidate should have experience in food safety, food microbiology and analytical chemistry. The candidate must also have an eye for detail, an ability to work on their own initiative, excellent organizational and communication skills and a positive attitude.The Center: CIP (www.cipotato.org) is a not-for-profit international agricultural research-for-development organization with a focus on potato, sweetpotato, and Andean roots and tubers. Its vision is of roots and tubers improving the lives of the poorThe Position: The Research Assistant will be based in Nairobi, Kenya, at the CIP- Sub-Saharan (CIP-SSA) Regional office.Duties and Responsibilities: This will include, but not limited to:

    Conduct food and nutritional analysis on roots, tubers and banana crop samples
    To assist our partners in the reporting and trending of testing results to the technical team, production and customers as required.
    Work with the Food Scientists and Research Associate to ensure implementation, maintenance and improvements in the laboratory quality system procedures, testing methods and records
    Assist with basic analytical chemistry analysis such as operation of HPLC, UV-VIS, NIRS, GCMS, LCMS;
    Maintenance and daily verification of laboratory instrumentation.
    Ensure observation of good laboratory practice including drafting risk assessments and surveillance of laboratory users’ activity; Selection Criteria:

    Analytical Chemistry, Biological Sciences or related area

    At least 1 year work experience in a research laboratory.
    Experience working on potato, sweetpotato, cassava and biofortified crops preferred.
    Excellent writing and oral communication skills in EnglishConditions: This is a Nationally Recruited Staff (NRS) position based at the CIP- SSA, Nairobi office.

    The employment contract will be for a one-year term (with a three-month probation period) with the possibility of renewal, subject to availability offunding and good performance. CIP prides itself on its collegial and supportiveworking environment, which allows space for personal and professional growth.Salary and benefits will follow the CIP policies and refer to related Kenya regulations.

  • Temporary Finance Assistant

    Temporary Finance Assistant

    Job description
    Ref.: 2017/034/NRS/SSA
    The International Potato Center (CIP) is seeking a professional with demonstrated experience in Finance to fill in a temporary fixed term position of Temporary Finance Assistant.
    The Center: CIP (www.cipotato.org) is a not-for-profit international agricultural research-for-development organization with a focus on potato, sweetpotato, and Andean roots and tubers. Its vision is of roots and tubers improving the lives of the poor.
    The Position: The Temporary Finance Assistant will report to the Regional Finance Manager and will be based in Nairobi, Kenya.
    Duties And Accountabilities

    Receive and record invoices in the invoice register & check them for consistency and accuracy according to CIP guidelines and policies;
    Prepare payments and ensure safety of financial resources;
    Ensure appropriate supporting documents for transactions including receipts, invoices, contracts are attached;
    Ensure that payment requests are properly approved and that payments are effected within CIP-SSA turn-around time;
    Record financial transactions following proper classification of accounts and charge codes in the documents, and hand them over the general ledger accountant for posting;
    Reconciling and management of VAT accounts to ensure invoices with VAT are ready for processing the Exemption certificate;
    Ensure all bills are posted according to the period of the service provided (Utility Bills, Rentals, IT, Facilities) monthly;
    Management of overdue supplier’s accounts to ensure all outstanding bills are reconciled and paid in time;
    Ensure all payments are filed sequentially and stamped PAID in readiness for Audit;
    Ensure financial transactions are carried out in accordance with the Center’s financial and administrative policies and procedures and Maintain detailed and accurate records for all financial transactions;
    Ensure and support in the maintenance of a good filing system.

    Selection Criteria:

    Minimum of CPA / ACCA Part 2;
    Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Business Administration;
    A minimum of three years of demonstrated experience in a busy accounting office;
    Aptitude for understanding complex regulations and monitoring financial transactions and documentation for compliance;
    Excellent computer skills, including knowledge of UNIT 4 Agresso Business systems;
    Accuracy and attention to detail;
    Cross cultural sensitivity;
    Strong e-mail communication skills, ability to write in a manner sensitive to cultural differences, and provide clarity to staff;
    Ability to train/mentor staff in accounting requirements;
    Ability to be a team player in a busy environment, often with tight deadlines;
    Be a Kenyan citizen.

    Conditions: The position will be for a period of four months.

  • Consultant: Collection Centers

    Consultant: Collection Centers

    The International Potato Center (CIP) is seeking a Consultant to design and construct four collection centers to aggregate potatoes and inputs. The collection centers are targeted to be built in Elgeyo-Marakwet, Meru, Nandi and Uasin Gishu counties.
    The Assignment: CIP is supporting potato marketing cooperatives and seed multipliers to develop into functioning businesses through the Accelerated Value Chain Development (AVCD) project, potato value chain. A component of this support involves constructing collection centers to aggregate and sort potato for markets and receive collective input orders to distribute to cooperative members.
    Under the AVCD project, the Consultant will work in close collaboration with CIP and the farmer cooperatives to build the four collection centers, with an expected capacity of 50 to 100 tonnes, with shelving for short-term storage and tables to assist sorting. The assignment is to visit the proposed site to design the collection center for each cooperative ensuring all materials and labour requirements are listed to ease procurement by CIP, followed by supervising and managing construction of the collection centers.
    The responsibilities of the assignment are to:

    Visit the proposed sites making a brief report on all the necessary/relevant technical assessments on the proposed sites for the purpose of design and construction.
    Design the collection centers, including preparing a list of all required materials and equipment to construct the collection centers;
    Submit the designs, list of materials required for the construction of the collection centers and construction schedule for each collection center;
    Supervise/manage construction of the collection centers

    The successful Consultant will have:

    Experience of not less than 10 years working in a busy construction company(ies) involved in designing and management of construction projects
    Technical knowledge in building construction or any other related field (at least a diploma)
    Must be a team player, able to coordinate well with cooperatives and CIP.
    Must have been accredited by the national construction authority at least as a building supervisor.
    Knowledge in potato post handling/ storage practices or a in a similar project in the past shall be an added advantage.

    Conditions: The employment contract will be for the duration agreed upon to design and construct the collection centers.

  • Research Assistant – MSc. Student

    Research Assistant – MSc. Student

    The International Potato Center (CIP) is seeking a highly skilled, results-oriented MSc student to carry out research on Sandponics.
    The position: Student will be responsible for coordinating and managing Sandponics experiment for rapid multiplication of sweetpotato planting material.
    Duties and Accountabilities:

    Compare the Sandponics system with conventional screen house multiplication per unit output/cost/time;
    Develop optimal nutrient media for N/P/K for sweetpotato;
    Maintain sweetpotato clones in greenhouse/screenhouse;
    Maintain records and standard operation procedures on Sandponics experiment;
    Manage and supervise operations in screen houses (Preparation of substrate, potting, planting, watering, spraying, harvesting, sorting, packaging, labeling);
    Supervise hardening TC plantlets and multiplication of varieties through cuttings;
    Data entry;
    Sharing of experiences with Sandponics units in other sub-Saharan African countries through active participation in the seed system and crop management community of practice virtual and in person meetings.
    Any other tasks as assigned by supervisor.

    Selection Criteria:

    Bachelor’s degree Agriculture or a closely related discipline;
    Enrolled in master’s program with coursework completed by January 2018;
    Experience managing plants in greenhouses or screenhouses;
    Strong knowledge base in chemistry and laboratory exposure;
    Ability to communicate well both in writing and speaking in English;
    Knowledge of Kiswahili preferred;
    Knowledge of sweetpotato agronomy and pathology preferred;
    Computer proficiency including MS Office (Word/ PowerPoint and Excel) skills.

    Conditions: This is a one year MSc. student position based in Nairobi at the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services Quarantine station (PQS) Muguga. The student must be willing to embark on thesis research concerning the development of Sandponics multiplication systems for sweetpotato.

  • Media Relations Internships Social Media Internships Communication Internships

    Media Relations Internships Social Media Internships Communication Internships

    Duties 

    Establishing and building press relationships (broadcast, radio, print, social);
    Pitching press on a daily basis, creating releases, advisories and quick story ideas in collaboration with program and staff leads, project communications officers in the region and partners;
    Identifying story angles based on media coverage, trends and CIP’s priorities – working closely with the Regional Communications Specialist;
    Preparing spokespeople; creating talking points, backgrounders and issue briefs;
    Organizing media tours, deskside briefings, editorial meetings for key spokespeople/scientists;
    Maintaining media database (Meltwater) globally, ensuring lists are up-to-date, in collaboration with regional managers and field staff;
    Creating and optimizing cross-promotion opportunities with partners and donors
    Collaborating with field staff and promotion officers (Aime, David) to maximize efforts and expand reach;
    Providing general communications support up to 20% per day with 80% dedicated to media activities.

    Requirements

    Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Media studies or related field;
    1 year Experience in a newsroom or media environment highly desirable;
    Proficient in English and Kiswahili;
    Skills in database management
    Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
    Ability to work in multidisciplinary and multicultural teams;
    A Kenyan citizen.
    Conditions: This is an internship position open to Kenyan citizens only. The internship contract will be for a period of three months with the possibility of renewal, subject to performance.

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  • Communication Intern

    Communication Intern

    The position: The intern will work under the supervision of the Capacity Development & Communications Specialist to assist in the development and coordination of advocacy and behavior change communication materials and messages for the project.
    Duties and Responsibilities:

    Content creation and dissemination

    Support the development of BNFB’s advocacy and promotional materials including success stories, banners, factsheets; flyers; BNFB/policy briefs, posters and other promotional materials;
    Assist in developing meta data, uploading and updating BNFB materials on to various platforms including the sweetpotato knowledge portal; CIP website and various platforms;
    Assist in editing BNFB’s audio and video interviews for publication on the various portals including BNFB webspace;
    Assist in writing blog messages and behavior change communication messages.

    Social media

    By following selected key stakeholder sites and social media accounts, select relevant content and draft twitter and Facebook posts for review, bearing in mind good social media practices such as mentions and hashtags.
    Help to publicize new BNFB content on the Sweetpotato Knowledge Portal; Twitter, LinkedIn; Facebook, Pinterest and other agreed upon social media sites.
    Schedule social media posts by use of Buffer and other social media scheduling tools.

    Creation of media galleries

    Assist in selecting and publishing BNFB photographs on Flickr and other BNFB uses;
    Help to craft captions and credit information for BNFB’s photographic collection before posting;

    Perform any other duty as assigned by the Capacity Development and Communications specialist.

    Selection Criteria:

    Bachelor’s degree in communication, Journalism, Media Studies; Information Science, Public Relations, Marketing or a related area.
    High level of computer literacy, accuracy and attention to detail.
    Knowledge of WordPress, MS Office, Photoshop and Illustrator;
    Experience in writing articles in a newsroom setting is an asset;
    Excellent organizational skills, presentation skills and communication skills (including an excellent command in English both oral and written);
    Excellent interpersonal and networking skills and the ability to effectively communicate with a wide range of individuals through email and in person;
    Highly effective at use of social media, networking and at securing information and expertise;
    Highly proactive and consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.

    Conditions: This is an internship position open to Kenyan citizens only. The internship contract will be for a period of three months with the possibility of renewal, subject to performance and availability of funds.

  • Research Associate (WUR) Intern

    Research Associate (WUR) Intern

    The International Potato Center (CIP) seeks a highly talented Wageningen University and Research (WUR) Associate to work on a study of Gender and the Moral Economy of Sweetpotato Vines based in Kenya with frequent travel to Tanzania.
     
    The position: The study is a collaboration between the CGIAR and Wageningen University and Research (WUR), funded by the CGIAR Collaborative Platform for Gender Research, the CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB), and the International Potato Center implemented Sweetpotato Action for Security and Health in Africa (SASHA) project.
    The research is a follow-up study on a sweetpotato seed systems project – Sweetpotato Action for Security and Health in Africa (SASHA Marando Bora) implemented between 2009 and2012 in Lake Zone, Tanzania. The WUR Associate will provide support for study design, data collection, analysis and write up and strengthen linkages with WUR.
    Duties

    Review of existing literature on moral economy;
    Support preparation and implementation of start-up meeting; review of instruments; training in gender based tools;
    Participate in three rounds of field interviews and focus group discussions with: key informants, successful & non-successful DVMs; selected vine buyers and non-buyers per DVM village;
    Support data processing;
    Support data analysis and preparation of two co-authored scientific articles; Develop lessons learned and communications materials.

    Requirements

    MSc in Social science, sociology, rural development;
    Knowledge of Kiswahili or willingness to learn;
    At least basic knowledge of agriculture;
    Participatory and qualitative data collection methods in rural areas;
    Data processing and analysis;
    Use of gender tools and analysis;
    Experience working in multi-cultural context, team work, self-reliance;
    Excellent writing and oral communication skills in English;
    A Graduate of WUR.