(Cooperatives Development Officer – Various Locations in Kenya) – Smart Regional Consultants

(Cooperatives Development Officer – Various Locations in Kenya) – Smart Regional Consultants

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Position: Cooperatives Development Officer
Company: Smart Regional Consultants (SRC)
Location: Garissa, Isiolo, Mandera, Marsabit, Samburu, Tana River, Turkana, and Wajir counties
Type of Job: 5-month contract
Reporting to: Senior Manager, Cooperatives Development
Application Deadline: NA

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About Smart Regional Consultants and the Transforming Communities Program

Smart Regional Consultants (SRC) is at the forefront of sustainable community development through the Transforming Communities Project (Kuza Jamii). The Kuza Jamii program works with the Government of Kenya to establish a sustainable economic inclusion model in the counties of Garissa, Isiolo, Mandera, Marsabit, Samburu, Tana River, Turkana, and Wajir. Through this county-adapted, gender-sensitive, and community-led model, SRC supports village savings and loan associations (VSLAs) and cooperatives to improve their capacity in providing essential market, financial, and service linkages. This ensures ongoing support for the extreme poor, particularly women and people with disabilities, fostering a sustainable platform for economic resilience post-project.

SRC is currently expanding its team and is seeking dedicated Cooperatives Development Officers across several counties.

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Key Responsibilities and Duties

Strategic Responsibilities:

• Initiate and Recommend Strategic Changes: Enhance the implementation of beneficiary businesses in alignment with SRC’s goals and collaborate with SRC’s consortium partners.
• Market Identification and Placement: Develop strategic market placements for products by beneficiary businesses.
• Sourcing Relationships: Establish contracts and sustainable sourcing partnerships, promoting a resilient supply chain.
• Implement Business Support Services: Collaborate with SRC consultants and staff to deliver comprehensive business support, including finance, business modeling, human resources, supply chain management, marketing, and sales.

Managerial/Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Daily Operations Management: Oversee SRC’s program activities in the designated county, managing local resources and operational plans.
• Performance Tracking: Monitor the progress of beneficiary businesses, assessing their performance against predefined goals.
• Financial Management Support: Implement effective financial management practices for beneficiary businesses.
• HR Policy Enforcement: Ensure the adoption of human resource policies that attract and retain skilled staff for beneficiary businesses.
• Promote Inter-Business Cooperation: Encourage partnerships among beneficiary businesses and with other local enterprises to create a competitive business environment.
• County Liaison: Act as a bridge between SRC’s beneficiaries and local authorities, ensuring smooth operations and fostering community support.

Operational Responsibilities:

• Regulatory Compliance: Ensure all beneficiary businesses adhere to relevant statutory and legal requirements.
• Uphold Ethical Standards: Maintain high ethical standards, addressing any incidents of corruption or malfeasance.
• Financial Analysis: Regularly review financial statements, activity reports, and productivity data, implementing necessary improvements.
• Business Environment Awareness: Stay informed on local business, economic, and political dynamics, adapting strategies as needed.

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Qualifications and Skills

Educational Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture, Food Production, Animal Health, Agricultural Economics, Livestock Management, Veterinary Services, Sales, Finance, or a relevant social science field.

Professional Qualifications:

• Additional certifications in business-related fields, such as CPA, IHRM, CFA, KIM, or similar are advantageous.

Professional Memberships:

• Membership with relevant bodies, such as the Wardens Association in Kenya or the Kenya Institute of Management.

Experience:

• Minimum 4 years’ experience in agricultural value chains, particularly with small-scale stakeholders.
• Proven ability to work with diverse governmental and non-governmental stakeholders.

Functional Skills:

• Effective communication and interpersonal skills.
• Strong analytical and decision-making abilities.
• Proficiency in financial and risk management.
• Capacity to engage stakeholders, donors, and development organizations.

Behavioral Competencies:

• Practical problem-solving skills, with the ability to transform theoretical concepts into actionable plans.
• Goal-oriented, with a commitment to seeing tasks through to completion.
• Creative and adaptable, able to develop and implement innovative solutions.

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Company Culture and Values

At SRC, we are committed to empowering communities through sustainable development. Our team is passionate about creating lasting economic impact in underserved regions by building community capacity and fostering resilience. We value collaboration, innovation, and integrity, providing a work environment that encourages personal growth and professional development.

• TELEGRAM CHANNEL

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Expert Tips for a Successful Application to Cooperatives Development Officer

1. Showcase Your Field Experience in Agricultural Value Chains: Demonstrate your understanding of small-scale agricultural operations and value chains, particularly in rural settings. For example, if you’ve worked with farmers to improve crop yields or connected smallholder producers to new markets, be specific about your role and the measurable outcomes. Mention projects where you developed sustainable practices, organized workshops on market access, or introduced efficient supply chain solutions that significantly boosted local productivity.

2. Emphasize Effective Stakeholder Engagement Skills: Highlight your capacity to work with a variety of stakeholders, including government officials, community leaders, and other NGOs. If you previously organized community forums, led stakeholder meetings, or coordinated with local leaders to resolve operational challenges, mention how you approached these situations. For instance, describe how you fostered a positive relationship with community authorities to secure local support for a project, showing SRC that you can successfully navigate community politics and collaboration.

3. Provide Concrete Examples of Financial Management Abilities: Given SRC’s focus on sustainable business support, it’s essential to demonstrate financial acumen with practical examples. Outline instances where you managed a budget for a project, analyzed financial data to improve operational efficiency, or provided financial training to small business owners. For example, detail how you implemented cost-saving strategies that increased profitability for a community-led initiative or helped beneficiaries maintain sound financial records to secure additional funding.

4. Illustrate Your Knowledge of Regulatory Compliance in Kenya: SRC requires candidates with a strong understanding of Kenyan regulations, particularly around cooperatives and business compliance. Share experiences where you ensured that projects complied with local legal and regulatory requirements. For example, if you helped a cooperative register with local authorities or guided a project through tax or labor law compliance, explain your process and how your knowledge ensured smooth operations within legal boundaries.

5. Highlight Proven Problem-Solving Abilities with Real-World Examples: SRC values practical problem-solvers who can convert theoretical knowledge into effective solutions. Describe specific instances where you encountered an unexpected challenge, such as a supply chain disruption or lack of local support, and how you tackled it. For example, you might explain how you designed a workaround to source necessary supplies from an alternate market or developed a community awareness campaign to gain public buy-in for a new initiative.

6. Demonstrate Leadership in Managing Teams and Operations: Showcase any experience you have in leading teams or managing day-to-day operations in a community development context. If you managed a team of field officers, organized workflows, or supervised on-the-ground activities, detail these experiences. Describe how you motivated your team, delegated tasks effectively, or fostered a collaborative work environment to meet project goals. For example, mention a time when you successfully coordinated multiple project phases, ensuring that each team met their targets.

7. Present Goal-Oriented Achievements with Specific Outcomes: SRC seeks candidates who are persistent and goal-focused. Share detailed stories where you set ambitious goals and followed through until they were achieved, particularly in projects that positively impacted communities. For example, you might explain how you worked to double the membership of a local cooperative by promoting its benefits to villagers or expanded market reach by establishing new trade links, detailing both the steps you took and the results achieved.

8. Communicate Your Commitment to Ethical Standards with Real Scenarios: Ethical integrity is a core value for SRC. Describe situations where you faced ethical dilemmas or challenging decisions, and outline how you adhered to high ethical standards. For instance, if you were offered a bribe by a vendor, explain how you handled the situation by reporting it to authorities and reinforcing SRC’s commitment to transparency. Examples like this underscore your dedication to upholding the organization’s values even under pressure.

9. Demonstrate Adaptability in Dynamic Project Environments: Working with SRC requires flexibility in ever-changing rural settings. Highlight times when you adapted to changes in project scope, budget, or community needs. For example, share a story about how you adjusted a training program to better suit local resources when funding was reduced or pivoted a community engagement approach to address unforeseen challenges, such as political tensions or natural events affecting project timelines.

10. Optimize Your Application for ATS with Relevant Keywords and Phrases: Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) prioritize applications with keywords from the job description. For the Cooperatives Development Officer role, strategically incorporate keywords such as “value chains,” “cooperatives,” “stakeholder engagement,” “financial management,” and “regulatory compliance” in your resume and cover letter. Ensure each keyword appears in context—avoid simply listing them. For instance, you might write, “Managed cooperatives in rural Kenya to enhance their integration into agricultural value chains,” which is both natural and ATS-friendly. This will increase the chances of your application reaching SRC’s hiring team.

DOWNLOAD THE SAMPLE COVER LETTER FOR -Application for Cooperatives Development Officer – Enhancing Sustainable Community Development

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Apply Now for Cooperatives Development Officer

Ready to make a difference? Join SRC’s transformative mission and apply today. Submit your application to the email provided in the job posting Below and make a positive impact on Kenyan communities.