About this Role

The Project Coordinator will manage the implementation of the Kenyan component of a 12‑month Strengthening Responsive Caregiving for Children and Families Planning Project funded by Conrad N. Hilton Foundation in Kenya and Mozambique. The role oversees daily project activities, ensuring effective coordination between research, implementation, and stakeholder engagement in Kenya. Key responsibilities include coordinating the project’s research activities evidence synthesis and process evaluation activities, organizing multi‑country learning visits, and supporting a participatory project program costing exercise using the  Brookings Institute Childhood Cost Calculator. The coordinator will also support the design and facilitation of co‑creation workshops with government and community stakeholders to refine ChildFund’s Responsive Caregiving model Theory of Change

Required Experience and Education

Academic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Studies, Development Studies,  health sciences (Public Health, Health Education, Health Promotion), Psychology, Sociology, or a related discipline, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Additional training in project management and research and evaluation methods is desirable.

Professional Experience

• Minimum of 3 years of progressive experience in community development programming, ideally with at least one year focused on Early Childhood Development (ECD) and Nurturing Care initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience in managing or coordinating complex grants valued at over 500K USD, including budget oversight, work plan development, and results‑based reporting.
• Proven capacity to work with county governments in Kenya, especially within the Lake Region Economic Bloc (LREB), across health, education, and social protection sectors.
• Experience collaborating with international donors, external consultants, and multidisciplinary research teams is preferred.
• Work experience/contextual knowledge of Busia, Home Bay, Kisumu, Siaya, and Nyamira Counties is an added advantage.

Primary Responsibilities

• Strategic Project Leadership and Coordination
• Lead the overall coordination of the Strengthening Responsive Caregiving for Children and Families planning project in Kenya, ensuring full alignment with the approved project description, budget, and donor (Conrad Hilton Foundation) requirements.
• Manage the projects Detailed Implementation Plan (DIP), procurement plan, and activity budget, and ensure their timely and high-quality execution.
• Coordinate all partners and stakeholders involved in the project implementation and ensure smooth and timely execution of both their individual and joint project activities.  
• Regularly engage with the Mozambique project counterpart and share lessons, experiences and best practices.
• Actively participate in external workshops and relevant technical working groups that foster the objectives of the project.
• Evidence Synthesis, Evaluation and Research Management
• Coordinate the synthesis of past program evaluation results including findings from previous Nurturing Care Program projects, “Come Play with Me”, “Responsive and Protective Parenting,” and other comparative models like Tanzania’s “Familia Bora.”
• Coordinate the process evaluation activities in collaboration with Emory University including facilitating necessary fieldwork, data collection, and stakeholder interviews.
• Support the facilitation of the bottleneck analysis workshops addressing critical program delivery issues (birth registration, male caregiver engagement, mental health referrals) and consultation and partnership with the County health and children’s services teams.
• Organize a multi‑country learning visit to Tanzania’s Familia Bora program, including coordinating the plans, designing the agenda, participants selection and management of logistics.
• Support the costing study that will use the Brookings Institution Childhood Cost Calculator by coordinating the collection and provision of all programmatic and financial data.
• Coordinate the convening of co‑creation workshops with government and community partners to refine ChildFund’s Responsive Caregiving model Theory of Change.
• Participatory Research and Partner Capacity Strengthening.
• Coordinate the Learning and Reflection Workshops with local implementing partners and government stakeholders in Bunyala, Ndhiwa, and other target areas to generate insights on program delivery.
• Theory of Change Refinement
• Coordinate and manage the organization and facilitation of high-stakes co-creation workshops with county government partners (Health, Education, Children’s Services) and the Lake Region Economic Bloc (LREB) secretariat to refine ChildFund’s Responsive Caregiving model Theory of Change.
• Support the conduct of a high-profile learning dissemination event bringing together government ministries, local authorities, and implementing partners to share findings, affirm commitments, and advocate for the institutionalization of the updated Responsive Caregiving model.
• Support the documentation of insights, human-interest stories, and best practices from the planning phase for internal learning and external visibility.