About the job
Position Overview
The Rockefeller Foundation (RF) is seeking an Executive Assistant & Team Coordinator (EA) for the Food team on a 6-month term role, based in Nairobi, Kenya. The EA will play a key role on the Foundation’s Food team supporting the execution of a multi-year initiative to advance a more nourishing and sustainable food system. The EA will receive direct day-to-day supervision from, and be accountable to, the Vice President, Food team, Africa Regional Office but also support other Directors of the Food team in an administrative capacity and will support team operations and contribute to the execution of the initiative’s work. This position requires reliability, organization, the ability to anticipate the needs of the VP and the team, and above all, a desire to learn and grow. To be effective in this role, the candidate must be able to advance work independently, maintain confidentiality, and work across a complex organization with high-profile internal and external partners.
Beyond administrative and other supporting functions, the candidate is expected to also support the programmatic work of the team as time allows. This will include strengthening the team’s capabilities in the implementation of the Food team’s overall strategy through grant management, contracting, knowledge management, project management, research, and analytics. The successful candidate will also bring science experience, preferably some understanding of the African food system and/or private sector development.
The EA will work with Food team members and across teams to support the Food initiative’s ambitious goal of transforming the food system to improve dietary quality for millions of vulnerable children and their families in Africawhile enhancing regenerative agriculture and equity of these systems.
Work Schedule: This is a fixed-term 6-month assignment on a hybrid work schedule and required to be in the office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
Principal Duties And Responsibilities
- Maintains calendars for VP and other directors, including identifying key deadlines/milestones in team plans and flagging for follow-up.
- Provides senior-level administrative support including tracking grant and contract deliverables drafting letters and documents, taking meeting minutes, and collecting and summarizing information.
- Assists in creating high-level presentations and any other documentation required such as Board presentations, budgets, forecasts, white papers, documents for internal communications, and external convenings as needed.
- Organizes and maintains an internal database for the Foundation’s partners and grantees; maintains a proper filing system – physical and electronic e.g. on Box and Salesforce.
- Coordinates both domestic and international travel arrangements ensuring tight schedules and well-articulated itineraries; creates and modifies travel itineraries; informs and plans actions based on the itinerary with appropriate parties.
- Organizes meetings/events including meeting logistics, agenda and materials preparation, conference room and AV equipment set up, displaying presentations, etc.
- Ensures the VP and the team have the office technology and any tools or equipment they require to successfully and flawlessly perform their work.
- Facilitates and ensures set-up of office and workstation for newly hired staff on the team.
- Prepares and processes expense reports, vendor invoicing paperwork, and purchase requisitions, including monthly expense reconciliation and on-demand expense reports.
- Processing and renewal of work permits.
- Serves as an active ambassador of the team inside and outside of the Foundation, contributing to creating a positive values-driven culture that engages managers and staff across the Foundation and ensures that the organization’s people are aligned with the Foundation’s vision, direction, and strategy.
- Represents the foundation at meetings and events and provide remarks where necessary.
- Supports the management of a portfolio of grants within the Food initiative, which includes understanding the capacity and effectiveness of potential grantees, researching potential grantees, designing and writing grant memos and other key documents, participating in site visits and other monitoring activities; provides research and analytical support on current trends in the field.
- Reviews grantee reports and data, and provide feedback on the grantee reports and other deliverables/products of the RF-supported Food initiative.
- Accompany VP and other directors to meetings and take notes and prepare action and follow-up items.
- Monitors and drafts relevant knowledge management products; search and scan reports; research, write, and edit original reports, commentaries, and issue briefs on food systems.
- Support special projects as designated by the VP.
Education, Experience, And Skills
- A bachelor’s degree in Business Administration or a related field is preferred.
- Minimum of 5 years of administrative experience in supporting an executive leader.
- Experience in Africa required preferably in agriculture or food or related industry
- Experience in a complex, fast-paced, and highly professional global or regional organization with multiple offices and with a strong mission and focus on people, or a related role in a not-for-profit organization focused on a highly dynamic, evolving organization and work environment.
- Direct experience in managing sensitive and confidential matters with a high level of professionalism and grace under pressure.
- Demonstrated proactive problem-solving skills with strong decision-making capability.
- Work effectively both independently, as well as, in a team-oriented, collaborative, and collegial environment.
- Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills and is effective in developing positive and productive relationships with all levels of staff and management across the organization.
- Excellent project management and organizational skills with a demonstrated ability to deliver high-quality, accurate work on time.
- Technical proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and ability to learn new applications quickly.
- Experience booking and managing international travel. International work experience is a plus as well as intercultural competence.
- Experience in private sector development, supply chain management, running a food/agribusiness enterprise, or in employing market-based solutions to address complex social and development challenges or impact investing, development finance institutions, and/or grant-making institutions will be an added advantage.
Qualifications And Competencies
- Bias for Action: Takes on new opportunities and tough challenges with a sense of urgency, high energy, and enthusiasm.
- Communicates Effectively: Develops and delivers multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences.
- Decision Quality: Makes good and timely decisions that keep the organization moving forward.
- Strategic Learning: Actively learns through experimentation when tackling new problems, using both successes and failures as learning fodder.
- Values Differences: Recognizes the value of different perspectives and commits to inclusion, equity, and diversity in every aspect of work.
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