Soils in Western Kenya are subject to continuous degradation due to unsustainable soil management practices that increase the severity of wind and water erosion, contribute to nutrient mining and reduce soil pH levels. Inadequate knowledge and skills at farm level, insufficient access to soil health inputs and services, absence of incentives for farmers to intensify production and insufficient public investment into the agricultural extension system are some of the underlying causes of soil degradation in the region. As a result, cultivation caters only for a part of the population’s food requirements and environmental services provided by healthy soils such as clean water, carbon sequestration and biodiversity are severely affected.

The “Soil Matters – Udongo ni mali” project is embedded in in the Global Programme “Soil Matters – Innovations for Soil Health and Agroecology” that covers six partner countries of German Development Cooperation. Its objective is to contribute to the scaling of innovations for soil health and agroecology at national, regional, continental and global level. In doing so, it builds on the experience of the preceding Global Programme “Soil protection and rehabilitation for food security” (ProSoil) and contributes to the implementation of the Nairobi Declaration adopted by the African Union member states at the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit (AFSHS) 2024.

The project has three fields of action that result in corresponding outputs:

I. Strengthening technical and institutional capacities of farmers and relevant private sector

II. Transforming framework conditions for soil health andagroecology

III. Documenting and disseminating learnings from the implementation processes

A. Responsibilities

• Coordinate monitoring, evaluation and knowledge management-related activities for the “Soil Matters – Udongo ni mali” project. In particular
  

• Develop the project’s M&E system in accordance with the requirements of the Global Programme Soil Matters and its donors BMZ and EU
  

• Coordinate the implementation of annual monitoring surveys and other monitoring activities
  

• Support the Soil Matters – Udongo ni mali project manager in steering and its technical advisors in implementing the project through analysis of data as well as the identification and documentation of learnings from project implementation
  

B. Tasks

Core tasks:

Monitoring tasks and duties:

• Develop and continuously refine the project’s indicator definition sheets, documentation files and databases, reporting templates for implementing partners as well as data generation methodologies
  

• Ensure timely and high-quality contributions of the project’s technical advisors and implementing partners according to the project’s M&E system; provide capacity building on the existing standards as required
  

• Plan, organize and implement annual data collection surveys on key project indicators through training and coordination of enumerators and other monitoring activities as required
  

• Prepare and coordinate additional short-term expert assignments for generation of additional data as required
  

Evaluation tasks and duties:

• Analyze quantitative survey results and qualitative data to support the project manager in ensuring that the project maintains its strategic vision and to support the project’s technical advisors to achieve the intended outputs and outcomes
  

• Support external evaluation efforts of the project as required
  

Knowledge management tasks and duties:

• Contribute to the sharing of information, knowledge and learnings within and among Soil
  Matters project incl. its various implementing partners

• Contribute to the development of knowledge products on learnings and good practices as
  well as cross-country knowledge exchange

• Support the project manager and the technical advisors of the project in identifying and documenting learnings from the implementation of all fields of action in adherence with the Global Programme’s knowledge management concept
  

• Act as knowledge management focal point towards the Global Programme’s steering
  unit and thereby contribute to knowledge management activities at the global level

Reporting and communication tasks and duties:

• Support the timely compilation of project reports to BMZ and EU as per monitoring framework and donor requirements
  

• Respond to further reporting needs of GIZ Kenya´s Agriculture and Rural Development Cluster and the Global Programme Soil Matters
  

• Contribute to the project’s communication and visibility activities with facts and figures about the project’s impact, successes and failures
  

• Participate in fora and meetings relevant for the project
  

C. Required qualifications, competences and experience

Qualifications

• University degree in agricultural economics, agriculture, social sciences or any other related field
  

• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English and Kiswahili
  

Professional experience

• 10 years of work experience in a M&E position in international cooperation
  

• 5 years of work experience in the field of agriculture and rural development
  

• Proven track-record in designing, implementing and operating project M&E systems
  

• Experience in organizing large scale surveys with support of enumerators
  

• Strong quantitative and qualitative analytical skills utilizing relevant software programs such as Stata, SPSS, R and Power BI
  

• Experience in contracting and coordinating consultants and other external service providers is an advantage
  

Other knowledge and additional competence

• Profound understanding of sustainable soil management
  

• Ability to produce high-quality reports and publications
  

• Ability to organize and facilitate workshops
  

• Self-starter who works independently, has a flexible attitude and is a strong team
  player

• Strong interpersonal skills and binding communication towards team members and
  partners

• Ability to act under pressure
  

• Integrity regarding GIZ values and ethical standards
  

• Excellent command of Microsoft Office applications
  

• Command of GIS applications is an advantage
  

Submission of Application:

Duty Station: Kisumu

Duration of Assignment: Up to August 2026

Vacancy Reference Number: GIZ/ARD/13/04/2026

Equal Employment Opportunity

At GIZ Kenya, we are committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and respectful workplace. We are an equal opportunity employer and do not tolerate discrimination of any kind. We actively seek individuals with diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills to build a stronger, more impactful global team.

We provide an environment of respect and psychological safety, ensuring equal employment opportunities for all. Discrimination based on race, color, ancestry, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, disability, marital status, or any other protected status is not tolerated in any of our workplaces.

Ethics

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All staff are expected to behave professionally, respect local laws and customs, and complete mandatory ethics e-learning courses upon hire.

Data Confidentiality

In accordance with GIZ’s data protection policy, all candidate applications are stored in our database for six (6) months and deleted thereafter.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.