Country Director - Kenya

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic Management of the Country Programme

• Provide strategic leadership for the Kenya Country Programme, ensuring alignment with Village Enterprise's global strategy, the Government of Kenya's development priorities, and organizational objectives.
• Lead the development, implementation, and periodic review of the country strategy, driving programme quality, innovation, sustainable growth, and organizational impact.
• Position Village Enterprise as a trusted partner and thought leader by strengthening strategic partnerships with government, donors, research institutions, the private sector, and other key stakeholders.
• Foster a high-performing, accountable, and learning-oriented culture that promotes collaboration, evidence generation, adaptive management, and continuous improvement across the country programme.
• Programme Development & Management
• Provide strategic oversight of the design, implementation, and performance of Village Enterprise's programme portfolio, ensuring high-quality delivery, achievement of impact, and compliance with organizational and donor standards.
• Ensure the consistent application of Village Enterprise's programme management, quality assurance, monitoring, learning, and risk management frameworks and tools to drive programme excellence, adaptive management, and continuous improvement.
• Champion the use of evidence, innovation, and learning to strengthen programme design, improve cost-effectiveness, and support the scale-up of economic inclusion through partnerships with government, the private sector, and other strategic stakeholders.
• Provide leadership to programme teams to ensure effective planning, coordination, performance management, and timely delivery of programme milestones, while fostering collaboration across programmes, finance, operations, and support functions.

Leadership and Management of the Country Programme

• Provide visionary leadership to the Kenya Country Team, fostering a high-performing, collaborative, and accountable culture that embodies Village Enterprise's values and delivers exceptional programme results.
• Lead and develop the Country Leadership Team and staff through effective performance management, talent development, succession planning, and close collaboration with the People & Culture team on recruitment, employee engagement, and organizational development.
• Ensure effective organizational planning, coordination, and implementation by leveraging Village Enterprise's established systems, processes, and annual planning frameworks to deliver high-quality programmes, operational excellence, and achievement of country strategic objectives.
• Oversee the development, implementation, and compliance with Village Enterprise's organizational policies and standards, including safeguarding, finance, human resources, risk management, and operational policies.
• Champion a culture of continuous learning, innovation, collaboration, and mutual respect, empowering teams to grow professionally while strengthening organizational effectiveness and impact.
• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where the whole team strives to achieve excellence. 
• Develop and implement an annual operations plan for the country program and ensure field implementation goals are met. 

Programme Quality and Performance

• Champion a culture of accountability, learning, and high performance that drives excellence in programme delivery and achievement of Village Enterprise's quality standards and impact objectives.
• Provide strategic oversight and support to programme teams by ensuring they have the guidance, tools, resources, and technical leadership needed to deliver high-quality programmes and achieve performance targets.
• Ensure the effective use of Village Enterprise's programme quality, adaptive management, and learning systems to monitor performance, capture implementation insights, inform evidence-based decision-making, and continuously improve programme design, delivery, and cost-effectiveness.
• Conduct regular field visits to assess programme quality, strengthen implementation, identify risks and opportunities for course correction, and promote the use of lessons learned to enhance programme performance and contribute to Village Enterprise's evidence and influencing agenda.

Country Portfolio Management

• Provide strategic oversight of the country project portfolio, ensuring projects are delivered on time, within budget, and achieve agreed milestones, outcomes, and donor commitments.
• Ensure consistent application of Village Enterprise's Project Management Guide, project governance standards, and project management tools (including Wrike) to strengthen planning, execution, accountability, and programme quality across the portfolio.
• Provide leadership and support to programme managers to proactively identify and mitigate implementation, financial, and operational risks, ensuring effective portfolio performance and compliance with organizational and donor requirements.
• Review country portfolio performance regularly with the Regional Director of Programs, providing strategic updates on progress against country objectives, key risks, mitigation measures, and opportunities for continuous improvement.

Resource Development and Strategic Partnerships

• In collaboration with the Business Development team, lead the implementation of the country resource mobilization strategy by identifying, pursuing, and securing strategic funding opportunities that support the sustainable growth of Village Enterprise's portfolio in Kenya.
• Cultivate and steward strategic relationships with donors, government, foundations, private sector partners, and other stakeholders to strengthen partnerships, ensure high-quality donor stewardship, and position Village Enterprise as a preferred partner for economic inclusion.
• Provide strategic and technical leadership in business development by contributing to programme design, proposal development, technical content, and budget development for new funding opportunities.
• Represent Village Enterprise at national and international conferences, donor engagements, high-level government meetings, and other strategic forums, strengthening the organization's visibility, influence, and partnerships.
• Position Village Enterprise as a thought leader in economic inclusion by promoting the organization's evidence, innovations, and impact while identifying opportunities to shape sector dialogue and influence investment in economic inclusion.

Government Engagement and Strategic Partnerships

• In collaboration with the Government Relations & Technical Assistance Team, collaborate on Village Enterprise's strategic engagement with the Government of Kenya, strengthening partnerships with national and county governments to advance the adoption, implementation, and scale-up of economic inclusion programmes.
• Represent Village Enterprise in high-level government forums, technical working groups, and strategic platforms, positioning the organization as a trusted partner and thought leader in economic inclusion and poverty graduation.
• In collaboration with the Government Relations & Technical Assistance Team, identify and pursue opportunities to influence policy, strengthen government systems, and expand technical assistance partnerships in alignment with Village Enterprise's strategy.
• Foster strong relationships with ministries, county governments, development partners, research institutions, and other key stakeholders to support programme delivery, strategic growth, and sustainable impact on collaboration with the Government Relations & Technical Assistance Team.

Innovation, Scale, and Organizational Learning

• In collaboration with the Regional Director of Programs, champion the adoption and scale-up of innovative business models, products, and delivery approaches that improve programme quality, cost-effectiveness, and impact.
• Lead the identification, testing, and implementation of strategic innovations that strengthen Village Enterprise's ability to reach more households and achieve sustainable impact at scale.
• Partner with the Product and Service Manager to pilot, refine, and adapt programme models based on implementation evidence, learning, and emerging opportunities.
• Promote a culture of innovation and continuous learning by leveraging evidence, technology, and adaptive management to strengthen programme effectiveness and inform organizational strategy.

Cross-functional Leadership and Coordination

• Foster effective collaboration across programme, finance, operations, people and culture, business development, government relations, product and service, and other support functions to ensure the successful delivery of the Kenya Country Programme.
• Provide strategic leadership to align cross-functional priorities, resources, and decision-making with the country strategy and organizational objectives.
• Promote integrated planning, communication, and accountability across teams to strengthen operational efficiency, programme quality, and organizational performance.
• Work closely with regional and global teams to leverage technical expertise, share learning, and ensure consistent application of Village Enterprise's standards, systems, and strategic priorities across the country programme.

Financial Stewardship and Oversight

• Provide strategic oversight of the Kenya Country Programme's financial resources by leading the development of annual budgets, ensuring alignment with the country strategy, programme priorities, and organizational objectives.
• Ensure sound financial stewardship through effective budget management, forecasting, and monitoring, maintaining expenditure within approved budgets and promoting value for money and cost-effectiveness.
• Ensure compliance with Village Enterprise's financial policies, internal controls, delegated authority matrix, and donor requirements by overseeing robust financial management and accountability across the country programme.
• Review country financial performance regularly with the Finance team, approve expenditures in line with delegated authority, and support internal and external audits to ensure timely resolution of audit findings and continuous improvement of financial controls.

Safeguarding

• Champion a culture where safeguarding is everyone's responsibility by leading by example and promoting Village Enterprise's commitment to safeguarding across the Kenya Country Programme.
• Ensure the effective implementation of and compliance with Village Enterprise's safeguarding policies, standards, and procedures by staff, partners, contractors, and programme participants.
• Foster a safe and accountable environment by ensuring safeguarding risks are proactively identified, mitigated, and integrated into programme design, implementation, and organizational processes.
• Ensure that safeguarding concerns and incidents are promptly reported, managed, and escalated in accordance with Village Enterprise's safeguarding policies, and support safeguarding investigations and disciplinary processes as required.

Key Performance Metrics

• Country strategy and annual organizational priorities successfully delivered, achieving agreed programme growth and impact targets.
• High-quality programme delivery demonstrated through achievement of key performance, graduation, and sustainability indicators, including business health, business survival, household assets, savings, and consumption.
• Resource mobilization and strategic partnership targets achieved through successful donor engagement, business development, and cross-sector collaboration.
• Programme portfolio delivered on time and to quality standards, meeting donor milestones, compliance requirements, reporting obligations, and value-for-money expectations.
• Country operations managed effectively within approved budgets, maintaining strong financial stewardship, statutory and donor compliance, robust risk management, and clean audit outcomes.
• High-performing organization sustained through effective leadership, talent development, staff engagement, and strong representation of Village Enterprise with government, donors, and other strategic stakeholders.

Qualifications and Experience

• Master's degree in International Development, Business Administration, Economics, Public Policy, Social Sciences, Development Studies, Agriculture, Finance, or a related field; or a Bachelor's degree with at least 15 years of progressively responsible leadership experience.
• At least 12 years of senior leadership experience in international development, managing complex programmes, multidisciplinary teams, and organizational operations.
• Demonstrated experience in strategic planning, programme delivery, financial and operational management, and organizational leadership.
• Proven success in institutional donor engagement, business development, proposal development, and managing large multi-donor portfolios.
• Strong experience working with government, development partners, private sector, and research institutions to influence policy and strengthen systems.
• Track record of delivering high-impact, compliant programmes while overseeing budgets, grants, contracts, organizational risk, and change management.
• Experience representing organizations at senior levels with donors, government, boards, and other strategic stakeholders.
• Experience in economic inclusion, livelihoods, entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, social protection, food security, or related sectors is an added advantage.

Knowledge

• Strong understanding of economic inclusion, poverty graduation, entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, and market-based development approaches.
• Knowledge of Kenya's development landscape, government systems, and policy environment.
• Sound knowledge of programme management, MEL, safeguarding, financial and risk management, and institutional donor compliance.

Skills and Competencies

• Exceptional strategic leadership and organizational management skills.
• Strong business development, partnership building, and resource mobilization capabilities.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, negotiation, diplomacy, and influencing skills.
• Outstanding financial and commercial acumen with strong decision-making ability.
• Excellent people leadership, coaching, and talent development skills.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and adaptive management capabilities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills.
• High levels of integrity, accountability, professionalism, and sound judgment.
• Ability to lead through complexity, manage change, and foster innovation and continuous learning.
• Demonstrated commitment to safeguarding, diversity, equity, inclusion, and Village Enterprise's values.

To Apply:

Interested and qualified candidates who meet the set criteria are invited to send their Cover Letter and CV (Maximum 3 pages) including 3 referees, on the online platform. 

Affirmative Action:

Village Enterprise will provide equal employment and advancement opportunities to all individuals. Employment decisions at Village Enterprise will be based on merit, qualifications and abilities. Village Enterprise does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, gender identity, age, disability, marital status or any other characteristic protected by the law. Village Enterprise will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities unless doing so would result in undue hardship to daily operations.

Village Enterprise is a corruption, solicitation or bribery free organization. We or any of our employees or associates do not charge money from job applicants before, during or after recruitment. Please report malpractices through our safeguarding Tollfree hotline 0800724810

To be communicated