Program Manager - REAP

About the role

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) is recruiting a Programme Manager for the Rural Employment through Animal Feed Production (REAP) Programme, a five-year multi-country initiative aimed at giving 1 million young people aged 18 to 35 access to work in sustainable feed and livestock value chains. The role provides integrated operational leadership and coordination across seven programme countries, within the Programme Management and Coordination Unit and country teams. It is a delivery leadership position based in Nairobi, Kenya.

Key responsibilities

• Translate programme strategy into coordinated workplans, delivery schedules, management routines and accountable action across countries, workstreams, partners and ILRI support functions.
• Track implementation against milestones, deliverables, outcomes and budgets, and coordinate corrective action; maintain risk, issue, dependency and decision registers.
• Consolidate inputs from countries, workstreams and partners into internal and donor reports, dashboards and leadership briefs, and work with the MEL function to align tracking with the results framework.
• Liaise with programme leadership, technical teams, country teams, partners and corporate functions, and support engagement with government, private-sector and community stakeholders.
• Promote adherence to donor, ILRI and programme policies, and integrate safeguarding, ethics, risk management and responsible data practices into planning and delivery.

Required profile

• Master's degree in project or programme management, development studies, public administration, business administration, agricultural or livestock sciences, or another relevant discipline.
• At least seven years of progressively responsible experience managing or coordinating complex, multi-country and multi-stakeholder programmes in international development, research, agriculture, enterprise development or a related field.
• Experience using project and programme management tools and dashboards; experience in Africa and multi-cultural consortium settings strongly preferred.
• Excellent written and spoken English; French is an advantage.
• Only Kenyan nationals are eligible; the position is at job level HG17.

Required skills

• A recognised project or programme management certification (such as PMP or PRINCE2) is desirable.
• Knowledge of results-based management, adaptive management, risk management, safeguarding or partnership management is an advantage.

The appointment is a 3-year contract, renewable subject to satisfactory performance and availability of funding. ILRI offers a competitive salary and benefits including pension, medical and other insurances. Applications with a cover letter, CV and three referees must be submitted through the recruitment portal by 17 November 2026.