Ethical Tea Partnership - Kenya Country Manager

Credit Abbie Trayler-Smith

About Ethical Tea Partnership

The Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP) is a global membership organisation that is catalysing long-term, systemic change, to benefit everybody who works in tea – especially people in tea-producing regions.

Our work addresses the key issues within economics, equality, and the environment. We focus on:

• delivering locally-led projects, often in partnership with other organisations, that seek to involve communities and ensure their voices are heard;

• supporting the private sector to pioneer responsible business models; and

• engaging stakeholders to support policies that positively impact people in tea.

At ETP, we believe businesses have the power to be a force for good. Our members include a range of tea companies, from start-ups to multi-nationals who have joined us to address the complex systemic issues that the tea sector faces. We convene and facilitate collaboration between communities on the ground, our members, businesses, governments, and civil society, enabling us to mobilise our resources and deliver our transformational strategy.

In all our work, we seek diverse partnerships with stakeholders across the tea sector, helping us evolve new ways of tackling issues. We share our learnings across regions and the sector to raise awareness of emerging issues, deepen understanding, and galvanise action.

We know the challenges are vast and that systemic change will not happen overnight. But we believe that by listening to workers, farmers, and communities and working collectively we can realise our vision of a tea sector that is thriving, socially just, and environmentally sustainable.

Our Mission

Our mission is to catalyse long-term, systemic change, to benefit everybody who works in tea – especially people in tea-producing regions.

The partnership drives this change by listening to workers, farmers, and communities, convening our members, facilitating collaboration, and mobilising resources to deliver our transformational strategy.

Our Vision

Our work has improved the lives of people living in tea communities. To date, our work has reached over one million tea workers, small-scale farmers and their communities.

Our Intentions

The core of our strategy is to empower teams in teaproducing regions, for that, we are looking for a motivated and ambitious Country Manager to lead our work and team in Kenya.

Credit - Andy Hall

ETP Organisational Structure*

The Role

Title: Kenya Country Manager

Location: Kenya (Nairobi or Kericho)

Kenya Country Manager will be responsible for the delivery of Ethical Tea Partnership’s (ETP) strategy and country plan in Kenya. They will support ETP’s mission to catalyse long-term, systemic change, to benefit everybody who works in tea – especially people in tea-producing regions, with a focus in Kenya. The Country Manager will lead on in-country stakeholder engagement, oversee the development and implementation of project, policy and business pilots work and ensure that management of contractors and activities in line with ETP’s policies and principles.

The tea sector in Kenya is facing challenges and the Kenya Country Manager will be required to keep a watching brief on the dynamics of the industry, including market challenges and over-supply; investigations into reports of systemic genderbased violence; the role of certification; mechanisation; minimise the environmental footprint of tea production; and the development of a National Tea Policy. This is an exciting opportunity to support the industry to thrive and to provide healthy and safe livelihoods to many workers in tea. Reporting line – Regional Director Africa.

Ethical Tea Partnership Kenya Country Manager

Salary: Competitive Kenya Country Manager

Responsibilities

01. Development and implementation of ETP Country Plan in Kenya

• Develop and be accountable for ETP’s Country Plan in Kenya that delivers the fundamentals of the ETP Strategy2030, including:

• Participatory approach (Community Development Forums, labour committees, etc)

• Demonstrable impact in Economics, Environment and Equality for the tea industry in Kenya

• Robust Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) plan

• A supporting communications plan, including advocacy and influencing strategy

• Effective budgetary oversight and control

• Partnership and fundraising recommendations

• Assess key risks/issues impacting supply chains relevant to the ETP membership.

• Develop and propose contextually appropriate programmes in Kenya, including developing the related budgeting, to address key sustainability issues identified in Kenya and align with ETP’s Strategy2030.

02. Strategic development and maintenance of key stakeholder relationships, including:

• Producers and tea related organisations (e.g.Tea Board of Kenya, KTDA and KTGA

• Government officials and elected representatives • Organisations involved in certification (e.g. Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade)

• Existing and potential partners (e.g. UNICEF, GIZ, IDH, ActionAid and other NGOs etc)

• Oversee and carry out in-country meetings and trips with members to support their understanding of issues and existing and potential programmes and ensure that ETP understands their perspectives.

• Identify new partners and build partnerships with them.

• Engage with senior staff from ETP member companies.

• Represent ETP at high level meetings in Kenya

03. Programme Management and implementation

• Manage and oversee project implementation with project implementing partners and/or other contractors and ensure high quality projects are delivered on time and to budget and targets are reached. Where necessary, make recommendations on adapting projects midimplementation to ensure best possible outcomes.

• Deliver training and other project activities including but not limited to organising meetings, exchange visits or stakeholder engagement.

• Act as the in-country liaison with partner organisations, key funders and members to ensure that ETP is delivering

projects and programmes that meet their priorities.

• Travel regularly to programme sites to support and trouble shoot with partners and ETP team members.

• Support programmes and colleagues in other regions by sharing learnings, knowledge, and expertise.

04. Monitoring & Evaluation and reporting

• Ensure all programmes are high-achieving, impact driven and in line with the ETPs Monitoring and Evaluation framework in coordination with the M&E lead.

• Report on progress and impact of projects and programmes to different stakeholders including ETP’s board and funders through quarterly progress reports.

• Ensure ongoing and complete monitoring and evaluation of each project and capture and disseminate learnings effectively.

05. Communications & Events

• Work with the Communications team to support ETP’s communications strategy in relation to Kenya including developing relevant content.

• Manage the organisation of, and provide logistical oversight for, ETP conferences and key meetings in Kenya.

• Represent ETP at external meetings and conferences (as may be relevant).

06. Team Development & Management

• Supervise and line manage any ETP contractors/ team members in Kenya, providing guidance, setting objectives, conducting bi-annual structured performance reviews (appraisals) and providing development and capacity building opportunities.

• Support ETP contractors/team members in Kenya to enable the achievement of their objectives and in specific in terms of partnership and programme management.

• Comply and promote ETP’s internal processes and policies that applies to the job role and to other contractors in Kenya.

• ETP Managers will be evaluated on their contribution to champion the development of junior team members and particularly females (who encounter disproportionate challenges in their careers). This includes giving opportunities for development, supporting and coaching, inclusion in decision-making and publicly acknowledging the contribution from these colleagues.

Candidate Profile

Experience

• 10 to 15yrs of relevant work experience, including work related to sustainability, ethical standards and/or the tea industry or other agricultural sector

• Degree level qualification relating to the job role, e.g. business, agriculture, environment, or social science. Postgraduate qualification is an advantage.

• Significant project management experience, including the management of contractors/consultants.

• Experience of monitoring and evaluation and report writing.

• Proven delivery of effective and practical solutions to complex and sensitive issues through building understanding and engaging the support of a variety of key stakeholders.

• Experience of working in an (international) organisation with multiple internal and external interfaces.

• Experience of planning and implementing environmental management and poverty alleviation activities.

• Experience of designing, setting up and implementing multistakeholder partnerships.

Skills & Knowledge

• Knowledge of a number of social, environmental, and economic sustainability issues, e.g. wages, gender equality, income diversification, food security, health, entrepreneurship, strengthening of farmer groups, climate change adaptation, natural resource management

• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to successfully forge partnerships between tea producers, government agencies, NGOs, and other stakeholders for the delivery of project activities

• People management skills including ability to motivate and support team members and develop their skills

• Well-developed presentation skills

• Excellent IT skills

• Fluency in spoken and written English in addition to the local native language.

Personal Attributes

• Self-motivated, with the ability to deal with conflicting demands and balance short- and long-term priorities

• Ability to deal with senior people from a variety of organisations

• Comfortable working as part of a virtual, small team

• Ability to prioritise own workload and meet deadlines

• Ability to liaise effectively with tea producers and partner organisations and maintain their respect

• Analytical, organised and focused

• High degree of personal integrity with strong belief in ETP’s values

• Flexibility to adopt different tasks/roles as required

• Flexibility to travel, with some overseas visits

• Believe in business as a force for good and a willingness to support responsible business practices

Credit - Abbie Trayler-Smith, Panos

How to Apply

All correspondence, at this stage, should be via Oxford HR. To apply for this post, click on the “Apply” button on the job advert page, complete our online application form, and submit your CV and cover letter as two different documents, which should be prepared before applying as they will be considered in the application process.

The cover letter should be no more than two pages long and explain why you are interested in this post and how your skills and experience make you a good fit.

The document should be saved in PDF in the following format: Your First Name-Your Last Name-Document NameDate (mmyy) e.g., Pat-Jones-CV-082023-ETP or Pat-JonesCoverLetter-082023-ETP.

Timeline

Closing date: 15th September 2023

First stage interviews: 2nd – 12th October 2023

Final panel interviews: TBD

Equality Statement

Equality and diversity are at the core of ETP’s values. Staff are expected to work collectively and individually to promote a constructive and sensitive approach to others from a variety of backgrounds, where the work of others is valued and respected.

Selection Process

All candidates will receive an update regarding their application after the closing date. We advise candidates to add the role email to their safe senders list and regularly check their spam folder.

Queries

If you have any queries on any aspect of the appointment process, need additional information, or would like to have an informal discussion, please email at etp-country-manager@ oxfordhr.com in the first instance.

About Oxford HR

Exceptional leaders can inspire change and propel purpose-led organisations towards reaching their worldchanging goals. Finding such leaders can be a challenge; and yet their transition into leadership is vital to an organisations mission and success.

Oxford HR is a global leadership consultancy dedicated to searching for and supporting remarkable leaders and teams in purpose-led organisations.

We understand the nuances of purpose-led leadership because we’ve worked in organisations across the breadth of the sector ourselves. We’ve also worked with such organisations since 1995; so we appreciate just what benefits impactful people can bring.