THE OPPORTUNITY
You will be responsible for offering strategic, technical, and operational leadership to Plan International Kenya’s humanitarian preparedness, emergency response, and resilience initiatives. Your role will include ensuring Plan International Kenya is fully equipped to proactively prevent, prepare for, and effectively respond to emergencies. Additionally, you will foster long-term community resilience and advance climate adaptation and nexus programming throughout the organization’s portfolio.
You will further enhance PICK’s institutional capacity to implement high-quality, gender-transformative interventions in humanitarian contexts, while championing climate-resilient programming across various sectors. Additionally, you will spearhead nexus planning and integration efforts and ensure PICK’s strategic positioning within national, regional, and global coordination frameworks.
You will serve as PICK’s liaison to national humanitarian and disaster risk reduction (DRR) coordination platforms, spearhead donor engagement and fundraising initiatives for humanitarian and climate-resilience programs, and assist country office leadership in integrating Plan International’s Global Humanitarian Strategy, Climate Change Adaptation Framework, and the Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) Nexus approach into country-level response strategies.
Oversee and execute a comprehensive range of duties, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and operational excellence. Lead strategic initiatives, drive process improvements, and maintain high standards of performance across key functional areas. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver innovative solutions, optimize workflows, and enhance productivity. Monitor progress, analyze outcomes, and implement corrective actions as needed to achieve measurable results. Foster a culture of accountability, continuous learning, and teamwork while upholding compliance with policies and industry regulations.
You will be instrumental in aligning Plan Kenya’s humanitarian, resilience, and climate strategies with global benchmarks, while advancing nexus programming, policy advocacy, and the safeguarding of girls. This role involves coordinating with a broad spectrum of multisectoral stakeholders, leading a pre-trained emergency response team, and ensuring rigorous analysis, reporting, and accountability are maintained throughout operations.
Design and lead humanitarian and resilience initiatives in crisis-affected regions, prioritizing gender-transformative, climate-responsive, conflict-aware, and inclusive approaches. Spearhead assessments and strategic response planning, while advancing disaster risk reduction (DRR), early action mechanisms, and climate-resilient livelihood strategies. Collaborate to ensure seamless, high-caliber multisectoral execution, and champion advocacy efforts focused on protection, resilience-building, climate justice, and gender equality.
Oversee emergency preparedness efforts by conducting comprehensive risk analyses, developing early warning systems, creating robust contingency plans, and organizing simulations; maintain high levels of coordination, surge capacity, and procurement readiness; offer expert technical guidance during crisis situations; and routinely assess national disaster risk evaluations to ensure an effective and timely response.
To guarantee alignment with international standards and donor expectations, the role involves reinforcing accountability through established feedback systems while fostering continuous learning and the systematic documentation of best practices. Additionally, the position requires the execution of rigorous monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning (MERL) initiatives to assess impact, alongside periodic assessments to refine strategies in response to identified gaps, emerging challenges, and key insights.
Support fundraising initiatives and cultivate donor engagement by developing strategic approaches, crafting compelling proposals, and fostering meaningful partnerships. Secure grant funding, strengthen external relationships, and serve as PICK’s representative in coordination forums to elevate organizational visibility and amplify its impact.
Enhance partner capabilities in emergency response, disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation, and nexus programming through targeted mentorship and rigorous quality assurance, while actively promoting locally driven preparedness and response frameworks.
Lead and guide humanitarian and resilience teams with transparent expectations while fostering an environment that prioritizes gender equality, continuous learning, responsibility, and excellence. Establish and maintain surge capacity readiness and uphold staff wellbeing throughout emergency responses.
Oversee budgets, financial planning, and grant compliance for humanitarian and resilience initiatives, ensuring expenditures are tracked and reported accurately and promptly in collaboration with Finance.
Plan International maintains a comprehensive global policy framework encompassing Safeguarding and PII protocols to prevent sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse, alongside Gender Equality and Inclusion principles, standards, and guidelines relevant to your role. Consequently, you will be responsible for ensuring compliance and enforcing adherence to these policies among staff and associates under your supervision.
You will be entrusted with assuming supplementary responsibilities within the defined scope of work, as determined by your supervisor on an as-needed basis.
What we are looking for:
A candidate holding a Master’s Degree in Humanitarian Studies, Climate Change Adaptation, Disaster Risk Management, International Development, Public Policy, or an equivalent field—or alternatively, possessing a Bachelor’s Degree along with over a decade of progressively responsible experience in a related domain—is sought for this position.
Seeking a candidate with 8 to 10 years of progressive experience in humanitarian response, resilience building, disaster risk reduction (DRR), climate programming, or nexus approaches, along with a minimum of five years in a senior leadership capacity.
A professional with a proven track record in leading emergency response initiatives within multifaceted environments—such as drought-stricken regions, conflict zones, refugee contexts, or during disease outbreaks—is required.
A robust technical foundation is essential, encompassing in-depth knowledge of key concepts and methodologies pertinent to the role. Proficiency in relevant technologies, systems, and frameworks is required, along with the ability to apply this expertise to solve complex challenges. Familiarity with industry best practices, emerging trends, and evolving standards is also expected to ensure optimal performance and innovation in your contributions.
Professional rewriting:
Frameworks designed for climate adaptation and resilience encompass structured methodologies aimed at bolstering systems’ capacity to withstand and recover from environmental stressors. These frameworks provide essential guidelines, tools, and best practices to assess vulnerabilities, mitigate risks, and enhance long-term sustainability in the face of evolving climatic conditions. By integrating scientific insights with policy and operational strategies, they support organizations and communities in developing proactive measures to adapt to changing environmental challenges while ensuring continuity and stability.
Develop and maintain Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) initiatives alongside early warning and early action systems to proactively mitigate risks and enhance community resilience. Implement frameworks that enable timely detection of potential hazards, ensuring swift mobilization of preventive measures before adverse impacts escalate. Oversee the integration of advanced monitoring technologies and data-driven insights to strengthen predictive capabilities and inform strategic decision-making in crisis scenarios.
Humanitarian principles, together with the Sphere standards and the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS), form the foundational framework guiding all operational decisions and activities. These principles and standards ensure that assistance is delivered with dignity, accountability, and effectiveness, while prioritizing the needs and rights of affected populations. Compliance with these benchmarks requires a commitment to transparency, continuous learning, and adaptive approaches to meet evolving humanitarian challenges.
HDP Nexus, which encompasses integrated programming solutions, serves as a foundational platform for developing and deploying advanced applications. This comprehensive system facilitates seamless integration of diverse programming languages, frameworks, and tools to enhance operational efficiency and scalability. Professionals engaging with HDP Nexus are expected to demonstrate proficiency in leveraging its capabilities to design, implement, and optimize high-performance applications while adhering to best practices in software development and system architecture.
We seek an individual with demonstrated expertise in cultivating donor relationships and securing financial resources.
Organizations require candidates with a proven track record in engaging with national-level coordination frameworks on their behalf.
We are seeking an individual who demonstrates exceptional analytical abilities, adept problem-solving capabilities, excellent communication skills, and strong negotiation prowess.
A professional with a proven track record in team leadership and the development of partner capabilities.
Qualifications
BA/BSc/HND , MBA/MSc/MA
Experience Required
8 - 10 years
