MAASAI MARA WILDLIFE CONSERVANCIES ASSOCIATION

PO Box 984- 20500, Narok Kenya.

M: +254 (0)715 047047 /777 047047

 Contact@MaraConservancies.org

 www.MaraConservancies.org

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

The Position:               Chief Operations Officer

Job Location:             Narok County

The Organization

The Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association (MMWCA) is a membership organization of all the Mara conservancies, open to any existing or upcoming wildlife conservancy whose land is part of or integral to the greater Maasai Mara ecosystem.  MMWCA is a Regional Association of the Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association (KWCA):  one of 12 regional associations across Kenya that collectively play a key role in the growth and development of conservancies nationally.

MMWCA has three primary objectives: –

1. To provide a convening space for open discussions; a hub for knowledge sharing and coordination across conservancies; a voice for advocacy; and driving policy in the interest of conservancies and conservation related issues across the Mara.
2. Support the creation and development of conservancies and their neighboring areas across the greater Mara ecosystem, as a sustainable form of land-use and to provide mechanisms for equitable and value-based benefit sharing to sustain land under conservation.
3. Lead and/or implement development and conservation programmes across member conservancies to facilitate coordination, collaboration and synergetic action.

The Role

Reporting to the CEO, the Chief Operations Officer will be responsible for:

1. Day-to-day execution of MMWCA Strategy-Mission, Vision and Core values;
2. Leadership and mentoring of diverse technical teams (governance, peace, livelihoods, security, natural resources, wildlife and enterprise), and matrix management to ensure coordinated technical support across the team and the conservancies;
3. Leadership and oversight of the annual plans, budgets and reporting of all operating units;
4. Leadership and motivation of all staff, including staff performance management and professional development;
5. Oversight of MMWCA institutional policies (HR, logistics, procurement, IT, office administration, and transport management etc);
6. Oversight of MMWCA infrastructure development;
7. Coordination of working relationships with partner organizations to support Conservancies, and management of partner/donor visits;
8. Coordination of MMWCA’s support to improving Conservancies’ field operations, staff and board capacity, governance and technical programmes;
9. Oversight over the management of MMWCA’s Monitoring and Evaluation system, from data collection to analysis and visualization, feedback and reporting;
10. Oversight over the development of effective internal and external communications and media relations.

The Person

We are looking for a special blend of deep, practical field-operational experience combined with multi-sectoral technical capacity, and an ability to operate with sensitivity and diplomacy in a remote environment.

Based at MMWCA’s HQ in Narok town, the Chief Operations Officer will have:

1. Over 10 years’ experience in practical operations management across a broad geography;
2. A strong technical background in areas related to community-conservation;
3. Proven organizational leadership skills in managing people, programmes and assets;
4. Experience within complex organizations requiring matrix management of technical and geographical teams across the landscape;
5. Demonstrated experience in managing HR, procurement, admin and logistics of a team;
6. Knowledge of a working environment involving government, donors, NGOs and social enterprise;
7. A personal style that inspires trust, team work, professionalism, cooperation and passion for MMWCA’s mission;
8. Strategic thinking in a complex governance environment;
9. Excellent writing and communication skills, and ability to develop effective relationships
10. Swahili language skills an advantage;
11. A passion for community-led conservation and development in wilderness areas.

Minimum qualifications

1. At least a Bachelor’s Degree in Administration, Humanities, Finance or related field
2. Seven to 10 years of business management experience across a range of organizational disciplines;
3. Qualified or possesses requisite experience in HR frameworks, financial management, marketing and operations;
4. Strong human capital management knowledge;
5. Excellent people skills, with an ability to partner with a dynamic leadership team;
6. Financial reporting capabilities including budgeting and cash flow management;
7. Strong process and planning orientation
8. Has leadership and management abilities to oversee the organization

How to Apply

Please send your application with a detailed CV, highlighting relevant experience, a daytime telephone contact, email address, and contacts of three professional referees to reach us through recruitment@maraconservancies.org by 5.00pm on Wednesday 25^th October 2017.