Afghanistan: Program Coordinator, Natural Resources Management (NRM)

The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) is a non-denominational international development agency established in 1967 by His Highness the Aga Khan. Its mission is to develop and promote creative solutions to problems that impede social development, primarily in Asia and East Africa. Created as a private, non-profit foundation under Swiss law, it has branches and independent affiliates in 19 countries.

AKF seeks to provide sustainable solutions to long-term problems of poverty, hunger, illiteracy, and health. In Afghanistan, AKF works with rural communities in mountainous, remote or resource poor areas to improve quality of life in the areas of natural resource management, market development, governance, education and health.

The Aga Khan Foundation, Afghanistan (AKF (Afg)) is an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), a group of international, private, non-denominational development agencies working to improve living conditions and opportunities for people in some of the poorest parts of the developing world. The Network’s organizations have individual mandates that range from the fields of health and education to architecture, rural development and promotion of private-sector enterprise and institutions that seek to empower communities and individuals, usually in disadvantaged circumstances, to improve living conditions and opportunities.

At present, it is seeking an exceptional individual to fill the position of Program Coordinator, NRM at its Kabul Office.

Position Objective:

Strengthen AKF efforts to facilitate natural resource management in Afghanistan by supporting programming and producing high quality written communications that respond to donor requirements and contribute to internal learning processes.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Act as the primary liaison to the Policy & Partnerships Team, Regional Programme Teams and Finance Team for grant and donor-related issues, monitoring expenditure against grants, and participating in data collection;


2. Oversee donor compliance in planning, implementation and reporting. Provide guidance and quality control for the facilitation of planning and inception workshops in consultation with the regional teams and the Policy and Partnerships Team, and ensure timely submission of donor reports;


3. Ensure delivery of high quality documents, including reports, proposals, and strategic communication materials to donors and other external audiences, in coordination with the Policy & Partnerships Team;


4. Develop new funding strategies for the sector, deepen and broaden relations with existing and potential donors through informed policy dialogue, articulation of achievement and impact, and exploration of new funding opportunities, coordinating with the Policy and Partnerships Team;


5. Provide guidance and quality control for the facilitation of planning and inception workshops in consultation with the regional teams;


6. Work with the Evaluation, Research and Learning Unit at the national level and sectoral monitoring team to develop monitoring plans and effectively capture qualitative and quantitative achievements of the sector, including producing case studies. Ensure compatibility between monitoring/database tools in use in the sector, and the requirements of key donor.

Occasional Significant Duties:

1. Travel to AKF programme regions to work with field staff;


2. Facilitate/organize workshops to build capacity and coordination among field teams related to new grants/programme components;


3. Any other duties relevant to this positions’ core responsibilities and duties, as assigned by the supervisor

Required Qualifications and Experience:

1. Master’s Degree in a relevant field or Bachelor degree with an equivalent relevant work experience;


2. Minimum three years proven experience in NRM programming or related fields;


3. Demonstrated ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines;


4. Good team player with ability to build and maintain collaborative relationships with colleagues;


5. Ability to critically analyze and provide constructive recommendations;


6. Experience in proposal writing and report writing;


7. Organized and self-motivated;


8. Previous experience in working in a development /post conflict country desirable;


9. Excellent English written and verbal skills; knowledge of Dari and/or Pashto and advantage;


10. Good knowledge of Microsoft Office applications.