Executive Assistant Full Time

THE ORGANISATION
Plan International is a rights-based development and humanitarian organization working for better lives for all children. We are independent of government and have no political or religious affiliation. Our purpose is to strive for a just world that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We have been building powerful partnerships for children for more than 80 years, and are now active in more than 70 countries.

Our global strategy has an ambition of a world where all girls can claim and exercise their rights and live the life they choose. Plan International will work, alongside partners, to support girls in all circumstances, especially in fragile contexts, fighting injustice or facing crisis. By 2027 Plan International’s contribution, together with our partners, will be to positively impact the lives of 200 million girls and those that surround them.

With over 40 years of experience in implementing its programme, Plan International Kenya (PIK) mainly operates in 12 Counties namely; Nairobi, Machakos, Kajiado, Tharaka-Nithi, Siaya, Kwale, Kilifi, Homa Bay, Kisumu, Tana River, Turkana and Marsabit.

PLAN INTERNATIONAL KENYA
Plan International Kenya’s (PIK) strategic goal in the next five years is to end teenage pregnancies and end all forms of sexual and gender-based violence against adolescent girls and young women. We aim to help create an enabling environment where girls and young women are safe, valued, equally cared for, and have equal opportunities. PIK will contribute to the global strategy by aiming to reach directly approximately 2.75 million (children, including girls and young women over the period of the strategy running between 2022-2026 and to reach additional beneficiaries through its interventions.

ABOUT THE ROLE

This role provides high-level executive, governance, and administrative support to the Country Director (CD), the Country Management Team (CMT), and the Board, ensuring effective leadership, governance, and coordination for achieving organizational goals. The incumbent facilitates the country’s senior management meetings (i.e. CMT and the Plan Kenya Board) and co-ordinates follow-up of actions from proceedings of such meetings, ensuring effective communication of various stakeholders (i.e. Global Hub (GH). Regional Hub(RH), National Offices(NOs), Program Units, PIK Board and other internal and external stakeholders) with the director’s office to enhance organisational, programmatic and governance effectiveness. The role will proactively work to ensure that Plan Kenya’s Country Director, the Management Team and its governing bodies are well supported programmatically, logistically and strategically. The role serves as the liaison point for the Plan Kenya Country Director, the Country Leadership Team and the Board.

Accountabilities AND MAIN WORK ACTIVITIES

1. Executive Support to CD & CMT (40%)

• Provide both administrative and programmatic support to the CD, the Director of Programs, and the Country Management team, ensuring effective decision-making, governance, and programme implementation. In the Country Director’s Absence, support the nominee in coordinating the leadership duties.
• Manage the CD’s Calendar, prioritizing tasks to ensure that high-impact programmatic and governance activities, donors, strategic internal and external engagements, and meetings are well organized and coordinated.
• Co-ordinate, prepare minutes and compile background materials for CD, CMT, and/or Board members for external meetings with officials from Government, UN agencies, Embassies etc.
• Support the Country Director in compiling minutes and follow up on actions from meetings with external stakeholders e.g., donors, partner organizations, government agencies, etc
• Record and disseminate minutes of CMT and senior management meetings as appropriate.
• Liaise with key stakeholders, i.e. PIK CMT, Plan Kenya staff, RH, GH, NOs and external contacts, to ensure effective communication of information and follow-up for timely action on behalf of the CD as directed.
• Capture and monitor key action points from management and board meetings and ensure timely follow-up with the relevant stakeholders accountable for implementing management decisions.
• Manage CD’s office expenses by raising purchase requisitions/payments and expense travel reports as necessary.
• Manage the calendars for the Country Director and the Country Management Team, ensuring all meetings and appointments are organized and prioritized and agendas and relevant documents shared in a timely manner.

1. Board and Governance Support (10%)

• Coordinate timely submission of governance documents to both internal and external regulatory bodies, including the NGO board and Plan International’s Global Governance team ensuring compliance
• Monitor the progress of board decisions, providing timely follow-up on all pending actions, and ensuring that the Country Director and leadership team remain aligned with board expectations.
• Provide high-quality support to meetings, including drafting clear and well-structured minutes and action logs, maintaining an awareness of scheduling future plans and timetables and ensuring these are coordinated across the board.
• Assist the CD and the Board in knowledge management and proper record-keeping for the board by maintaining high-quality, accurate governance and other decision-making board records in line with applicable legal requirements, and good governance and decision-making practice
• Ensure coordination and quality control in the finalisation and distribution of agendas and board papers and ensuring that they are clear and shared in a timely manner
• Ensure timely dissemination of board minutes and follow up on action points, while supporting compliance with global governance and regulatory guidelines.
• Work with legal counsel to draft and finalize all necessary communications with the NGO board, ensuring timely and compliant reporting.
• In liaison with the Chair, and the Country Director, support the onboarding and induction programmes for new board members.
• Proactively work with the Country Director, Board Chair and the Board to ensure good governance practices are maintained as per the Board Constitution and PII Global Governance Standards

1. Liaison, Communication, Visibility and Public Relations (20%)

• Manage official communication and documentation to and from the CD’s office while ensuring confidentiality. This includes forwarding mails to respective departments/units.
• Collaborate closely with the Communications team to ensure effective dissemination of key corporate communications from the CD’s office, internally and externally, in line with the brand of the CDs’ office.
• Liaise and act as the initial contact point for the Country Director’s Office, by promptly responding to inquiries/ request for information from the issues from Senior Leadership, Managers and members of the Country Management Team.
• Support the Communications team in the planning and coordination of all external and internal events led by the Country Director’s Office, e.g., the International Day of the Girl, NGO week etc
• Support in protocol matters and organization of meetings with officials from the Government, NGOs, UN, embassies etc. for the Country Director and the Management Team.
• Provide strategic support to ensure effective and timely responses to requests from Donors, other NGOs, press and media, PIK and PII staff, and partners as directed by the CD.
• Coordinate any documents, including legal documents for CD’s approval, and disseminate the signed documents to the relevant internal and external stakeholders.
• Identify and facilitate opportunities to enhance the visibility of the CD in key programmatic and strategic forums, ensuring coordination with relevant departments for maximum impact.
• Direct requests for information or assistance from external bodies to staff as appropriate and ensuring actions are taken and that good public relations are maintained.
• Coordinate communications and correspondence from the CMT or Country Director to all staff regarding CMT decisions.

1. Coordination and Meeting Management (20%)

• Leads in CMT calendar coordination and updates to the whole team, ensuring that other functions are booking meetings in good time and that the CMT calendar is available to the leadership team.
• Working with relevant meeting chairs and managing the coordination of meeting agenda to ensure good use of time by ensuring a confirmed agenda, shared pre-reads and availability of agenda leads.
• Provide logistical and administrative support for the organization meetings, workshops, conferences, and training sessions organised through the CD’s office.
• Update CD’s scheduled meetings on a monthly basis and disseminate to CMT/eCMT/ staff, prepare agenda items, sharing of minutes and actions.

1. High Level Travel and Logistics Coordination (10%)

• Coordinate, monitor and make travel and logistical arrangements for the CD and other senior directors. Arrange amenities as needed, including ticket, visa, travel insurance, boarding passes
• Provide timely and effective programmatic, strategic and administrative support for all high-level visits coordinated through the Country Director’s office, including National Office Directors- and their teams, donors, and other stakeholders.
• Coordinate the preparation of briefing information for the CD relating to travel/conferences, working closely with departmental colleagues as appropriate.
• Preparation of invitation/visa letters and supporting documentation, where applicable, for visitors to enable them to acquire visas either prior to or upon arrival at the airport.
• Provide full logistics support as point of contact for high-level external visits from National Offices leadership and Donors, including flight bookings, preparation of Travel Request Forms (TRFs), accommodation bookings, and local travel arrangements.
• Organize pre-visit briefings for all relevant high-level stakeholders, including the Country Director, CMT, and visiting teams, to ensure alignment on visit objectives and expectations.
• Collaborate with high-level leadership teams to develop comprehensive itineraries and agendas for external visits, ensuring that all relevant meetings are booked on the CDs and CMT calendars in a timely manner

1. Information and Data Management (5%)

• Maintain an efficient and easily accessible filing system for the CD’s office, facilitating the rapid retrieval of information relevant to board governance, strategic programmatic priorities, and compliance.

1. Safeguarding (5%)

• Ensure that Plan International’s global policy for Safeguarding and PII policy for Preventing Sexual Harassment Exploitation and Abuse; and Gender Equality and Inclusion are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of responsibility. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures.

1. Other Duties (5%)

Perform any other duties as assigned by the Country Director or senior leadership team to support the overall strategic objectives of Plan Kenya.

Click here to access the full Job Description

Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the very heart of everything that Plan International stands for.

We want Plan International to reflect the diversity of the communities we work with, offering equal opportunities to everyone regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.
Plan International is based on a culture of inclusivity and we strive to create a workplace environment that ensures every team, in every office, in every country, is rich in diverse people, thoughts, and ideas.

We foster an organisational culture that embraces our commitment to racial justice, gender equality, girls’ rights and inclusion.

Plan International believes that in a world where children face so many threats of harm, it is our duty to ensure that we, as an organisation, do everything we can to keep children safe. This means that we have particular responsibilities to children that we come into contact with and we must not contribute in any way to harming or placing children at risk.

A range of pre-employment checks will be undertaken in conformity with Plan International’s Safeguarding Children and Young People policy. Plan International also participates in Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this scheme we will request information from applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.

Disclaimer: Plan International is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate applicants on any basis. We also do not charge Job seekers any fees at any point of the recruitment process.

Tagged as: Kenya, Plan International