Project and Youth Empowerment Officer

Egerton University is the oldest institution of higher learning in Kenya. It was founded as a Farm School in 1939 by Lord Maurice Egerton of Tatton, a British national who settled in Kenya in the 1920s. It is established through the Universities Act No. 42 of 2012. Egerton University has partnered with Michigan State University (MSU), United States International University-Africa (USIU), National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International (NCBA CLUSA) and the National Youth Bunge Association (NYBA) to implement the USAID Empowered Youth Program. This is a 5-year program that will be implemented by CoELIB at Egerton University. CoELIB builds on existing knowledge and capacity to foster innovation and business-oriented actions and recognizes that a collection of individuals, assets and other resources do not yet constitute a potent organization that can make an impact on livelihoods. Therefore, they harness capabilities into a sustainable organizational form that can contribute to the well-being of people for inclusive socio-economic development.

The Program aims to connect youth through social and economic opportunities. The program builds on existing evidence of youth social and economic challenges and opportunities from previous, and current USAID investments; key stakeholder engagement, including Kenyan youth and youth-serving organizations. MSU, EGU, USIU, NCBA CLUSA, and NYBA present a sustainable model of youth empowerment to achieve the Program goal. The USAID Empowered Youth Program will use a macro-level approach to strengthen the capacity of youth-serving systems and HEIs to support youth empowerment initiatives.

The Project and Youth Empowerment Officer role will be facilitating and assisting in the building of youth assets, agency, contribution, engagement, and enabling environments, therefore, leading to greater resilience, autonomy, and success of the program. He/she shall be instrumental in assisting youth gain the skills, knowledge and support they need to function well in their environment, such as leadership, teamwork, self-esteem, critical thinking, problem-solving, goal setting, cooperation, empathy, and resilience. He/she shall work with the Project Lead at EGU, and with all the other partners at MSU, USIU, NCBA CLUSA, and NYBA to attain efficiency in running the project. Specifically, the Project and Youth Empowerment Officer will be responsible for ensuring that program outputs and targets are met as per the program’s framework. He/she shall also ensure that activities are carried out as expected, within budgetary and time limits and that reporting, monitoring and evaluation functions are carried out as per the requirements of the program. He/she will also work in close coordination with the international and national technical consultants and other project staff. He/she will also plan and implement project activities in close collaboration with and relevant state and non-state stakeholders to ensure successful implementation of the program. In particular, the incumbent will perform the following tasks.