Senior Activity Manager, Communities and Governance Practice
IREX is a global development and education organization. We strive for a more just, prosperous, and inclusive world—where individuals reach their full potential, governments serve their people, and communities thrive. With a projected annual portfolio of more than $150 million and more than 750 staff worldwide, we work with partners in more than 100 countries in four areas essential to progress: cultivating leaders, empowering youth, strengthening institutions, and increasing access to quality education and information.
IREX seeks a Senior Activity Manager based in Kenya to support the global, USAID-funded Youth Excel program. To date, Youth Excel has supported over 110 youth-led and youth-serving organizations to strengthen their own work with youth, using research and learning, and to have a stronger role in local and global development decisions.
The Senior Activity Manager will be responsible for ensuring effective implementation of integrated Youth Excel approaches across discrete Youth Excel global activities. Youth Excel approaches include, but are not limited to: implementation research, gender equality and social inclusion, youth protection, knowledge mobilization, and capacity strengthening. The position will work with Youth Excel Technical Leads to create concise, understandable, youth-friendly guidance and trainings so that Youth Excel global approaches are effectively tailored and contextualizable to activity objectives and partner capacities. They will gather regular feedback from partners and staff and make adaptations to guidance and activity management. They will ensure consistent and timely application of technical approaches and standards to activities, including integration in subgrant management documents and processes. They will support Activity Managers’ continual learning and to stay on track with supporting partners’ timely and quality products, deliverables, and holistic technical mentoring and coaching throughout activity implementation.
Overall, the Senior Activity Manager will help Activity Managers to work more efficiently, comprehensively, and effectively in their roles, including in leading their activity teams that include Subgrant Managers, Subgrant Coordinators, Technical Leads, etc. Their goal is to oversee and ensure that activities are developed and managed coherently, and feedback on both ends is incorporated into activities.
We are doers. Our decades of on-the-ground experience help us create greater impact, practical recommendations, and lasting partnerships.
Your Background & Skills
- Bachelor’s Degree in related field required. Master’s degree preferred.
- Minimum 10+ years of progressive job experience, or a master’s degree and 9+ years of experience.
- Demonstrated experience providing technical leadership for donor-funded youth development programming in Africa, Latin America, Asia, or the Middle East and North Africa. Familiarity with USAID is useful.
- Demonstrated partner management experience, particularly with local, youth-led and grassroot organizations. Track record of building collaboration and strengthening capacities to achieve goals.
- Excellent ability to communicate effectively on the technical aspects of implementation related to cross-sectoral youth development with a wide variety of stakeholders.
- Ability to simplify complex and technical concepts and package these into capacity strengthening trainings and mentorship sessions for both activity managers and partners.
- Proven track record of working effectively with other projects, youth, civil society, government, and other international partners.
- Demonstrated technical knowledge in cross-sectoral positive youth development.
- Experience in any of the following is a plus: implementation research, gender equality and social inclusion, protection, knowledge mobilization/knowledge management, capacity strengthening.
- Excellent virtual and in-person facilitation skills for diverse stakeholders, especially for meaningful and inclusive youth engagement.
- Proven experience managing multiple complex programming in a demanding, time-sensitive work environment.
- Ability to plan both strategically and creatively to meet program objectives. Strong problem-solving skills and demonstrated flexibility.
- Strong representational, writing and organizational skills.
- Learning and growth mindset.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.).
- Speaking, reading, and writing proficiency in English required. Other language skills, particularly French and/or Spanish, are a plus.
- You must have unrestricted authorization to work in Kenya.
Your Daily Tasks
- Engage with Youth Excel staff team, consortium, and donor to give input in setting and adapt program strategy and goals. Contribute to annual work planning, reporting, learning & adaptation, deliverables, and communications.
- In collaboration with activity managers and technical leads, create and oversee implementation of a standardized but flexible, contextualizable, and responsive approach to partner onboarding, technical support, and capacity strengthening for implementation of Youth Excel technical approaches across discrete Youth Excel activities, in support of partners’ providing high-quality, timely deliverables.
- Lead periodic internal learning and reflection activities among Youth Excel activity managers to foster a culture of adaptive practice and continuous improvement.
- Serve as Activity Manager directly monitoring assigned activities and partners and provide oversight and support to other activity managers in managing their assigned activity in a holistic, responsive, technically sound way.
- Directly supervise assigned staff, who may include Activity Managers or other team members.
- Spearhead development of youth-friendly, clear, concise, and cohesive technical guidance, training, and tools. Ensure easy accessibility on internal and external platforms.
- Socialize technical materials to build shared understanding and expectations. Test and refine effective delivery methods for high-touch and low-touch technical support and capacity strengthening for diverse partners.
- Maintain strong working relationships that foster equity, transparency, and collaboration with diverse partners, participants, donors, and other stakeholders.
- Develop inclusive communications and facilitation approaches to build trust and a positive learning environment at program meetings, trainings, and events.
- Represent program to internal and external stakeholders at the local, regional, and global level through meetings, presentations, conferences, and other events and communications.
- May co-author and publish articles and thought pieces on behalf of Youth Excel.
- Support the mobilization of buy-in funding by pitching the program and co-creating new activities with different offices and country missions across USAID.
- Co-lead recruitment of new program partners by contributing to the design of new activities and funding opportunities, development of requests for applications, technical evaluation of proposals, and subgrant planning. Specifically responsible for ensuring that Activity Managers co-lead these processes and that subgrant development is fully responsive to activity goals and global Youth Excel technical approaches.
- May contribute to IREX new business development.
- Ensure alignment of activity and partner workplans with budgets in collaboration with finance and grants team. Optimize technical support and capacity strengthening strategies in line with available resources and priorities.
- Manage consulting agreements for targeted technical expertise.
- Mentor activity managers and strengthen capacities for technical design, writing, training, and partner and program management.
- Supervise assigned staff.
- Other support duties as needed.
