Chevening Policy Officer EO

Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities)  
Main purpose of job:

• Chevening is the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s flagship global scholarship programme. Celebrating its 41st anniversary in 2023/24wq, Chevening identifies future leaders and key influencers across 160 countries and territories, providing them with an opportunity to study a postgraduate degree in the UK. Chevening has a 50,000 strong global alumni network.
• Chevening is overseen and managed by The Scholarships Unit within London’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office. The administration of the programme is conducted on behalf of the FCO by the Chevening Secretariat, which is hosted within the Association of Commonwealth universities.
• The Chevening programme officer at the British High Commission in Nairobi is responsible for delivery of the programme in Kenya, working closely with the Chevening Secretariat. The duties and responsibilities set out below cover the work required to run the Chevening programme effectively.

Roles and responsibilities:

Scholar Recruitment:

• Managing the Chevening application process (around 3000 applications received for academic year 2024/25), including.
• Liaising with the relevant Programme Officer International at the Chevening Secretariat to coordinate the application and selection process. 
• Organising pre-departure briefings and ongoing contact/support for the Scholars. Maintaining positive relationships with applicants and award recipients before, during and after their award.

Programme Outreach and Marketing:

• Generating written and visual content for social media, press and radio.
• Identifying other ways to promote Chevening, such as attending university fairs and other outreach events.
• Monitoring the Chevening marketing budget, keeping records of promotional material, contacting suppliers for quotations, and following up that new orders are produced according to the Chevening branding guidelines. 
• Requesting and making use of marketing materials from the Secretariat.
• Sharing information about the scholarships to all colleagues in the High Commission to foster High Commission-wide promotion of the scholarships.

Programme Administration:

• Adhering to deadlines and requests set by the Scholarships Unit (TSU) and the Chevening Secretariat, such as submitting annual programme, marketing and alumni plans, and country briefings for the Reading Committee.
• Conducting administration of the programme in line with Chevening policy as set by TSU.
• Responding to enquiries regarding the scheme and acting as point of contact within the High Commission team on Chevening-related marketing activities, application process and alumni events.

Alumni Engagement:

• Updating and maintaining the database of Chevening alumni. Promoting and actively using Alumni UK to engage with alumni.
• Market and Build capacity around ‘Alumni UK’ to strategize and implement a robust framework for global networking opportunities and continued local professional growth and collaboration across diverse sectors.
• Supporting the development of a more effective Chevening alumni network, organising a series of alumni events from concept to delivery and an annual pre-departure and welcome-home events.
• Successfully bidding for alumni engagement funding opportunities and managing budgets associated with these.
• Keeping CSC and the Secretariat regularly up to date with alumni engagement work in country.
• Collaborate across various pillars withing the British High Commission to create dynamic engagement opportunities that highlight alumni success stories and facilitate knowledge exchange.

Partnerships:

• Develop local partnerships and account-manage existing partnerships including outreach, engagement, and data management.
• Engage the wider High Commission to get their input and support to develop partnerships.
• Ensure any existing partnerships are managed effectively, working with the Secretariat to ensure timely payments from partners.
• Lead partnership acquisition efforts to expand the support network.
• Identify and secure strategic partnerships with organizations that offer financial and non-financial contributions, such as internships, mentorship programs, and job opportunities for Chevening scholars and alumni.
• Be responsible for building and maintaining a comprehensive database of sponsors and partners, facilitating mutually beneficial relationships that enhance the value of the Chevening program.

Finance

• Ensure all financial issues are dealt with affectively and in line with policy, including ensuring costs are charged to the correct budget and meeting policy guidelines.

Other Ad Hoc tasks as required.

Resources managed (staff and expenditure):

• None formally but officer will provide oversight of the Chevening Alumni Association’s programme fund (around £10,000).

Essential qualifications, skills and experience  

• Strong stakeholder engagement skills
• Strong interpersonal, communication, organizational and presentation skills
• Strong customer focus and team working skill
• Excellent written English and verbal communication skills
• Good IT skills, Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) and web-based applications
• Interest in the UK-Kenya relationship
• Knowledge of Kiswahili, would be welcome too

Required behaviours  

• Communicating and Influencing, Delivering at Pace, Seeing the Big Picture, Working Together