FSD Africa Careers

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Policy Guidance and Review

• Support development of policy products, guidelines, regulatory and legal reviews related to investments in carbon markets, carbon trading, carbon finance and related developments in Kenya.
• Advise on the development of voluntary and compliance carbon markets in Kenya including carbon market frameworks, registries, adjustment agreements, emission trading schemes, carbon platform/exchange development etc.
• Advise the Office on all issues related to carbon markets, and emerging opportunities under Article 6.
• Provide leadership and insight on policies and action plans that note Kenya’s strategic advantages and key bottlenecks; draw from other countries and note replicable best practices.
• Provide guidance in the development of legislations, policies, regulation and guidelines on carbon markets.
• Provide advice, guidance, talking points and briefs to the Office on issues related to carbon markets, carbon pricing, and carbon trading.
• Provide expert advice and strategic direction on carbon market mechanisms and policy direction which guides decision makers in considering carbon markets in their respective practices, projects and budget allocations for sectors and overall development choices.
• Other tasks as assigned.

Stakeholder Convening and Coordination

• Cultivate and maintain strategic partnerships with government agencies, private sector stakeholders, NGOs, international organisations, and local communities to foster collaboration and alignment on carbon market initiatives.
• Engage stakeholders in carbon markets to create an enabling investment climate leveraging on carbon credits.
• Identify and convene key public sector stakeholders in carbon markets in Kenya including Ministries, Departments Agencies, and Counties, to build common understanding of priorities and delivery mechanisms.
• Identify and convene key private sector, funding, and development finance stakeholders in carbon markets in Kenya across the carbon market value chain and ecosystem.
• Identify and convene key community-based and civil society stakeholders, with a focus on experiences with carbon markets and related actors, to ensure awareness of carbon markets opportunities and regulations at a community level.
• Organise closed-door and public-facing convenings and meetings to identify and act on points of synergy and departure of stakeholders, increase levels of preparedness, and address capacity gaps, concerns, and bottlenecks etc.
• Derive policy measures to accommodate the different needs and roles needed to build equitable and dynamic carbon markets.
• Provide insight on points of synergy and departure of different stakeholders, and actions that can be implemented through The Office of the Special Climate Envoy.
• Other tasks as assigned.

Partnerships and Resource Mobilisation

• Create and maintain local, regional, and global partnerships of strategic importance to The Office on carbon markets.
• Identify and generate investment opportunities and projects in partnership with private sector, national partners, development partners, international organisations, bilateral and multilateral agencies.
• Identify investment opportunities for low carbon development and support development of relevant policy products in support of investments in carbon markets.
• Mobilise resources (including but not limited to financial) focused on supporting the objectives of The Office regarding carbon markets.
• Assess external and internal co-opportunities for resource mobilisation with current and potential partners.
• Other tasks as assigned.

Thought Leadership, Capacity Building, and Diplomacy

• Review recent national, regional, and international developments in carbon and climate change negotiations.
• Provide technical support and capacity-building activities to enhance the understanding and implementation of carbon market mechanisms among relevant stakeholders, including workshops, seminars, and knowledge-sharing sessions.
• Lead in the engagement and dialogue with diplomatic missions, development partners, international organizations, and bilateral and multilateral agencies on behalf of The Office to facilitate coordinated carbon market development.
• Represent The Office in meetings, conferences, forums, workshops, and other public or closed-doors convenings on carbon markets.
• Develop written, spoken, and appropriate communication material that represent and effectively articulate the position of The Office of the Special Climate Envoy on carbon markets, including through press releases and social media.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• A minimum of 15 years of experience, of which at least 5 are in carbon policy, green/climate finance policy, and developing strategy and legislation pertinent to carbon markets.
• An academic background with relevance to carbon markets, pricing, and economics (such as environmental economics, development finance, energy economics).
• Demonstrated expertise in carbon market mechanisms such as carbon offsetting, carbon pricing, emissions trading and voluntary carbon markets including the roles of carbon markets in climate change mitigation and adaptation, and global climate and carbon diplomacy.
• An understanding of domestic and international carbon markets, including voluntary carbon markets.
• Knowledge of UNFCCC climate change negotiations including the Paris Agreement (Article 6 & NDC Implementation);
• Experience in multi-stakeholder partnership and relationship development.
• Knowledge of existing structures in Kenya and Africa in line with carbon markets and low carbon development is considered an advantage.
• Proven track record of successful management of a carbon projects (identification, design, implementation or monitoring) will be an added advantage.
• Ability to think strategically and creatively. Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to communicate and work effectively with internal and external stakeholders including influencing a wide range of stakeholders.
• Results-oriented, highly motivated, and capable of working independently. Demonstrated ability to handle uncertainty, balance multiple tasks, work under pressure, and deliver assignments on time.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and diplomatic skills with the ability to manage and interact at all levels of international, multicultural and multilingual organisations.
• Strong record of collaboration across different stakeholders from government and/or private sector to build consensus around a common vision.
• Skilled in building and maintaining alliances and partnerships between government and private sector organizations.
• Demonstrated fluency in English, fluency in Kiswahili an added advantage. Competence in the use of Microsoft applications including Word, Excel, PowerPoint. Ability and willingness to travel internationally.

ROLE

HR support 

• Liaise with management, technical and operations teams to support end-to-end recruitments.
• Support onboarding of new hires and offboarding of exits including coordinating or conducting exit interviews
• Manage the completion of all probationary reviews in coordination with the line managers and issue confirmation letters.
• Ensure that all legal/statutory requirements associated with the employment of staff by FSD Kenya are fulfilled (including immigration requirements and contracting).
• Support in updating and reviewing HR policies and the HR handbook in line with evolving needs and legal requirements.
• In concert with the Head of Operations identify scheme administrators and underwriters for the medical and Group life personal accident schemes ensuring that SLAs are observed, policies and endorsements are issued on time. Ensure member benefits enrolment and periodic member education, that staff are guided to meet the requirements fo the schemes and that the utilisations are monitored and kept to recommended industry and institutional limits.
• Act as liaison between staff and scheme administrators and ensure any lapses are addressed timeously.
• Coordinate issuance of letters to banks and other institutions for staff to secure facilities
• Manage data in the HR Information System. Provide routine reports including demography reports, gender pay gaps, run data analysis, for management use.
• In concert with IT specialist, train new users/new hires on the HRIS and carry out routine refreshers in areas of need.
• Support annual and mid-year performance processes
• Manage leave processes including tracking of utilisation
• Record management in line with legal, regulatory ensuring easy storage and retrieval of documents

Operations support 

• Provide logistical support for internal and external meetings, workshops and conferences in liaison with other operations staff
• Provide secretarial and rapporteur support for internal and external meetings as is required and report and track actions for implementation
• Support in procurement processes including developing ToRs
• Support issuance and renewals of contracts for other third party’s monitor
• Ensure high-quality production, storage and retrieval of materials and documents
• Support in the generation of quarterly and annual reports

Compliance and risk 

• Prepare for and lead HR audits; ensure that any corrective actions relating to HR management are closed out in a timely manner.
• Support the Programme management team (PMT) in ensuring organisational compliance to policies and procedures and other legal and statutory requirements
• Implement all aspects of the risk management relating to HR and admin which includes updating HR and administrative risk registers.

Training 

• In concert with the PMT and Head of operations assist in identifying trainings for staff across the programme
• Collate training needs identified through the performance reviews or opportunistically for approval by the line managers and PMT; use the collated data to identify appropriate training opportunities
• Conduct relevant trainings across the programme as may be required

Organisational and occupational health and safety

• Support PMT in conducting appropriately timed and spaced-out opinion surveys or needs assessments and distilling and communicating results as needed to management and staff.
• Participate in Occupational Safety and Health committee meetings and ensure all safety, audit and training compliances are in place.
• Support management in rolling out organisational pulse surveys and distilling and communicating findings

Stakeholder management

• Manage effective communication channels with FSD staff and providers
• Be the first line of response to general staff enquiries.
• Represent FSD Kenya positively and professionally and promote a positive and collegial culture; seek to effectively resolve any conflicts and grievances objectively and in line with good practices
• Maintain employee confidence and protect operations and processes by keeping information confidential.

CONDUCT OF WORK

• The Operations officer will work as a full-time member of the FSD Kenya team, be a member of the Project management office (PMO) and report directly to the Head of operations. Given the core value of collaboration and cross-working, the Operations officer will support other colleagues including the CEO and Programme management team (PMT) to achieve the programme objectives, ensure stewardship of the Trust’s resources and adherence to policies and procedures.
• Working arrangements will be flexible with the approach taken driven by the demands of the role. Communication and collaboration are core to the FSD team’s effectiveness. Successful remote and flexible working requires liaison with operations and project team members and the full adoption of FSD’s technology-based communication tools. Guidelines on effective remote working and flexitime are set out in FSD’s policies and procedures which should be strictly adhered to.

OUTCOMES AND DELIVERABLES

• The Operations officer will be responsible for providing efficient day-to-day operations support to the programme.
• H/She will be at the front line in assuring staff are well-apprised and compliant with key policies and procedures.
• Together with the Operations lead, s/he will ensure a well-organised Operations and HR function that runs efficiently, avoiding wastage of resources and time.
• FSD Kenya is managed on a strongly results-based approach and each person is expected to deliver specific annual targets agreed with their team members to support the strategy and business plan. The Operations officer will work in collaboration with the rest of the FSD team to ensure the overall success of the FSD Kenya objectives. Programme and project reporting, as formally specified in the FSD Kenya policies must be delivered on time and to the highest standards.

PERSON SPECIFICATIONS – ESSENTIAL AND DESIRABLE

Mandatory requirements

• Minimum Bachelor’s degree in any related field
• At least 5 years experience in operations and administrative roles
• Good command of oral and written English

Desired and essential

• Extensive knowledge of best practices in HR management and training is desired.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision given the role will be remote.
• Ability to handle a demanding set of outputs against tight deadlines.
• Good skills in MS Office (Word and Excel).
• Excellent people skills.

Job Description

Development Impact Pillar

Provides technical assistance to FSD Africa project teams throughout the interventions cycle while ensuring high quality interventions and maintaining accountability. The pillar also fosters learning and promotes evidence-based decisions among stakeholders while achieving the desired impact. The pillar delivers its operations through four core functions: Impact Planning & Portfolio Management, DI Data and Systems Integrity, DI Research, Evidence & Insights and Gender.

Academic requirement:

• Ongoing or recently completed undergraduate degree in Research, Economics, Statistics, Development, Climate, Project Management, or related field.
• An ongoing master’s degree or training in Monitoring and Evaluation, Research & Data Analysis is an added advantage

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible, you must:

• Be currently enrolled in a four-year college or university Undergraduate Degree course OR a master’s degree course at the time of application and during the internship.
• Have completed at least three years of full-time studies if you are currently pursuing a four-year college or university Undergraduate Degree course.
• Have graduated within the last 12 months at the beginning of the internship.

Skills and Competencies

• Strong interest in the Development or the Financial sector.
• Relevant training aligned with FSD Africa programs.
• Proficiency in written and spoken English.
• Computer literacy.
• Ability to interact effectively with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds and uphold FSD Africa’s core values.

Job Description

Early-Stage Finance Pillar

Builds and scale early-stage finance for enterprises by pushing the investment frontier forward. This is achieved through: Supporting demonstration of innovative financing solutions to reach underserved segments and crowding in further capital and building the enabling ecosystem to further extend the possibility frontier and mobilise funding from broader sources. The pillar's purpose is to drive market-facing innovation in early-stage finance, utilizing a venture-building approach to test and validate new solutions. Additionally, the Early-Stage Finance Pillar coordinates FSD Africa’s Carbon Market Development, a collaborative cross-pillar program.

Academic requirement:

•  Ongoing or recently completed undergraduate degree in Economics, Finance, Development Studies, Environmental Sciences, or related field.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible, you must:

• Be currently enrolled in a four-year college or university Undergraduate Degree course OR a master’s degree course at the time of application and during the internship.
• Have completed at least three years of full-time studies if you are currently pursuing a four-year college or university Undergraduate Degree course.
• Have graduated within the last 12 months at the beginning of the internship.

Skills and Competencies

• Strong interest in the Development or the Financial sector.
• Relevant training aligned with FSD Africa programs.
• Proficiency in written and spoken English.
• Computer literacy.
• Ability to interact effectively with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds and uphold FSD Africa’s core values.

Job Description

Finance Pillar

Provides quality professional financial support to FSD Africa and FSD Africa (Investments) Ltd (FSDAi) on all Financial, Risk, Audit and Compliance matters.

Academic requirement:

• Ongoing or recently completed undergraduate degree in Finance, Accounting, or related field. CPA or CFA qualification (fully or partially completed) is an added advantage.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible, you must:

• Be currently enrolled in a four-year college or university Undergraduate Degree course OR a master’s degree course at the time of application and during the internship.
• Have completed at least three years of full-time studies if you are currently pursuing a four-year college or university Undergraduate Degree course.
• Have graduated within the last 12 months at the beginning of the internship.

Skills and Competencies

• Strong interest in the Development or the Financial sector.
• Relevant training aligned with FSD Africa programs.
• Proficiency in written and spoken English.
• Computer literacy.
• Ability to interact effectively with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds and uphold FSD Africa’s core values.

Job Description

Corporate Services Pillar

Supports FSD Africa by providing skills and expertise in grants management, IT services, procurement and all aspects of operations, administration and security.

Academic requirement:

• Ongoing or recently completed undergraduate degree in Information Technology, Software Engineering, Computer Science, Administration, Procurement, Grants Management, or Operations.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible, you must:

• Be currently enrolled in a four-year college or university Undergraduate Degree course OR a master’s degree course at the time of application and during the internship.
• Have completed at least three years of full-time studies if you are currently pursuing a four-year college or university Undergraduate Degree course.
• Have graduated within the last 12 months at the beginning of the internship.

Skills and Competencies

• Strong interest in the Development or the Financial sector.
• Relevant training aligned with FSD Africa programs.
• Proficiency in written and spoken English.
• Computer literacy.
• Ability to interact effectively with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds and uphold FSD Africa’s core values.

Job Description

Strategic Communications and Engagement

Leads stakeholder engagement, thought leadership and advocacy work through targeted, tactical communication to champion FSD Africa’s objectives and impact.

Academic requirement:

• Degree in Film, Cinematology, Journalism, Mass Communication, Media Production, Digital Communications, or related field. Diploma in Sound and Video Production or Cinematology is an added advantage.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible, you must:

• Be currently enrolled in a four-year college or university Undergraduate Degree course OR a master’s degree course at the time of application and during the internship.
• Have completed at least three years of full-time studies if you are currently pursuing a four-year college or university Undergraduate Degree course.
• Have graduated within the last 12 months at the beginning of the internship.

Skills and Competencies

• Strong interest in the Development or the Financial sector.
• Relevant training aligned with FSD Africa programs.
• Proficiency in written and spoken English.
• Computer literacy.
• Ability to interact effectively with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds and uphold FSD Africa’s core values.

Job Description

HR & Talent Management Pillar

Creates and maintains a productive work environment that enables FSD Africa realize its Purpose. The Pillar is responsible for end-to-end talent management which includes Recruitment, Retention, Development, Employee Wellbeing and HR Operations.

Academic requirement:

• Ongoing or recently completed undergraduate degree in Human Resource Management, Administration, or related field.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible, you must:

• Be currently enrolled in a four-year college or university Undergraduate Degree course OR a master’s degree course at the time of application and during the internship.
• Have completed at least three years of full-time studies if you are currently pursuing a four-year college or university Undergraduate Degree course.
• Have graduated within the last 12 months at the beginning of the internship.

Skills and Competencies

• Strong interest in the Development or the Financial sector.
• Relevant training aligned with FSD Africa programs.
• Proficiency in written and spoken English.
• Computer literacy.
• Ability to interact effectively with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds and uphold FSD Africa’s core values.

Job Description

Contributes to sustainable economic development by incentivising investment through financial instruments that transfer risk and create the risk/return profile for private investors. The pillar also aims to reduce vulnerability through financial solutions such as disaster risk financing and facilitating resilient urban infrastructure projects. The pillar cover 3 themes including Innovation for resilience, sustainable insurance and nature (a cross-cutting theme) and has made significant strides to creating awareness and highlighting critical actions the financial sector can implement to enhance resilience.

Academic requirement:

• Ongoing or recently completed undergraduate degree in
• Finance, Insurance, Development, Business Administration, or Environment/Climaterelated course.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible, you must:

• Be currently enrolled in a four-year college or university Undergraduate Degree course OR a master’s degree course at the time of application and during the internship.
• Have completed at least three years of full-time studies if you are currently pursuing a four-year college or university Undergraduate Degree course.
• Have graduated within the last 12 months at the beginning of the internship.

Skills and Competencies

• Strong interest in the Development or the Financial sector.
• Relevant training aligned with FSD Africa programs.
• Proficiency in written and spoken English.
• Computer literacy.
• Ability to interact effectively with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds and uphold FSD Africa’s core values.