129 Acting Program Manager - Changing Lives Project (Internal Advert)

3. ABOUT THE ROLE

The acting Program Manager will have overall day-to-day responsibility for the successful implementation of the Changing Lives Project in Kakuma, ensuring that project activities are delivered on time, within budget, to the required quality and in accordance with the approved project design, adaptations made, donor requirements and BOMA’s standards.

The role will translate the project strategy and results framework into a high-performing field delivery operation, coordinating staff, key stakeholders, resources, data and relationships to achieve measurable improvements in participant livelihoods, income, resilience and economic inclusion.

The acting Program Manager will be responsible for ensuring that the project is managed as an integrated program and in close collaboration with World Food Program (WFP) office Kakuma. The acting Program Manager will provide strategic and operational leadership for high-quality delivery, ensuring that the project achieves its intended participant outcomes, contractual commitments and agreed targets.

This is an acting role for 4 months (October 2026- January 2027) and the successful candidate will be required to act in this capacity while performing in their current role.

1. Strategic Leadership and Program Accountability

• Provide program leadership and accountability for day-to-day program delivery, quality, performance and results in Kakuma/Kalobeyei.

• Translate the project strategy, Theory of Change, logframe, WFP requirements and approved workplan into a clear and executable delivery strategy.

• Establish clear performance expectations and accountability across the project team and implementation partners.

• Maintain a strong focus on results, quality, timeliness, cost-effectiveness and participant outcomes as adapted during program implementation and co-creation with WFP

• Monitor achievement against participant, output, outcome, targets and take timely corrective action where performance is off-track.

• Lead regular project performance review meetings and ensure agreed actions are followed through to completion.

• Escalate strategic, operational, financial, safeguarding and security issues requiring senior management decisions.

• Ensure the project remains aligned with BOMA standards, WFP co-creation adaptations, donor requirements and the operating context in Kakuma.

• Serve as the primary point of accountability for program delivery performance in Kakuma.

2. Delivery Planning, Performance Management and Achievement of Targets

• Follow the approved detailed annual, quarterly and monthly implementation plans.

• Follow the established milestone trackers and delivery dashboards covering participants, mentoring, grants, enterprise development, linkages, graduation and other project outputs.

• Monitor performance against targets monthly.

• Ensure underperforming or delayed activities are identified early and addressed through targeted management action.

• Maintain a clear project health assessment covering program, financial, operational, safeguarding, partnership and risk dimensions.

• Fastrack achievement of all project milestones within revised timelines and budgets.

• Lead weekly, monthly, quarterly and periodic performance reviews with BOMA management and relevant WFP/project stakeholders.

3. Programme Quality and Field Delivery

• Ensure program activities are delivered in accordance with the approved design, implementation standards and participant journey using the Differentiated Assistance Framework

• Establish strong field supervision and quality-assurance mechanisms, conduct field visits to monitor progress and provide feedback to field officers and mentors

• Identify recurring quality issues and lead corrective action.

• Ensure adaptations to program delivery are implemented, evidence-based and documented.

• Promote a culture where staff are accountable for outcomes and quality, not simply activity completion.

• Ensure participant experience and feedback inform program improvements.

4. Progress Grant Assessment, Preparation and Disbursement

• Lead the planning and scheduling of Progress Grant assessments. 

• Ensure proper communication to the participants and that they understand Progress Grant eligibility criteria and assessment requirements and banks are prepared for the progress grant disbursement according to BOMA’s policy and financial protocols

• Coordinate the assessment of participants against approved readiness and performance criteria

• Lead the consolidation and quality review of Progress Grant assessment results, approval process and smooth coordination of progress grant disbursement with finance and operations departments.

• Ensure disbursements are made accurately and within approved timelines.

• Monitor utilization of Progress Grants after disbursement for their intended productive purposes.

• Track post-grant enterprise performance and identify groups requiring additional mentoring.

• Identify risks of grant misuse, fraud and ensure appropriate controls are applied.

• Ensure grant-related participant complaints and feedback are addressed promptly.

5. Mentorship and Participant Progression

• Provide strategic oversight of the participant mentorship model tailored to the needs of the participants

• Ensure mentors have clear caseloads, workplans, tools and performance expectations.

• Monitor frequency, quality and effectiveness of mentorship.

• Review participant progression data to identify groups or individuals requiring intensified support.

• Ensure mentoring addresses enterprise performance, savings, financial management, resilience, market access and household economic decision-making.

• Ensure mentors support participants before and after Jump and Progress Grants.

• Strengthen coaching approaches for underperforming enterprises.

• Ensure participant progression is systematically tracked through the graduation pathway.

• Use mentorship data to identify emerging program risks and opportunities.

• Organize mentor learning and reflection sessions to improve practice.

6. Market and Financial Linkages

• Collaborate with the Business Development Service (BDS) officer to provide participates with relevant linkages to markets, access to finance, access to government services and other services as may be required including referral for protection and psychosocial services. 

• Monitor whether linkages result in actual transactions, increased sales, improved prices or other measurable benefits.

• Collaborate with other organizations to support participants strengthen their financial readiness, financial literacy and access to more formal financial products and services

7. WFP Coordination, Learning Events and Assessments

• The PM will serve as the primary program delivery focal point for coordination with WFP and relevant assessment/learning processes.

• Maintain a strong operational and strategic relationship with WFP Kakuma and relevant WFP technical teams.

• Coordinate project planning, implementation updates and performance discussions with WFP.

• Ensure timely preparation for WFP monitoring visits, assessments, reviews and learning events.

• Coordinate BOMA's inputs into WFP-led assessments and studies. And ensure project data, participant information and documentation required for assessments are available and of good quality.

• Coordinate field logistics and participant engagement for assessments and learning exercises.

• Collaborate with Research and learning team to ensure findings from assessments are documented, discussed with the project team and translated into practical program adaptations and that agreed actions arising from assessments are tracked to completion.

8. Protection Referrals and Safeguarding of Refugee Participants

• Ensure project staff and mentors understand basic protection risks affecting participants.

• Establish and maintain appropriate referral linkages with UNHCR, DRS, protection partners, health/social services and other relevant providers.

• Ensure staff know how to identify and safely refer protection concerns and that protection referrals are handled confidentially and in accordance with applicable protocols.

• Monitor protection-related risks emerging through program implementation and appropriate referral pathways are communicated to participants.

• Escalate serious protection concerns through BOMA's established safeguarding and protection procedures.

9. PSEA, Safeguarding and Community Feedback Mechanism

• Ensure all project staff, mentors and partners understand BOMA's Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA)and safeguarding standards.

• Integrate safeguarding and PSEA into staff and mentor onboarding. Ensure that staff and participants understand and adhere to mandatory reporting and escalation procedures.

• Immediately escalate safeguarding and PSEA concerns through approved BOMA procedures.

• Lead community sensitization and operationalization of the Community Feedback Mechanism (CFM) and ensure participants know how, where and to whom they can provide feedback or raise complaints.

• Conduct regular CFM sensitization through mentors, Business Groups, community meetings and other appropriate channels.

• Review feedback and complaint trends regularly. Ensure complaints are referred and resolved within agreed timelines.

• Close the feedback loop by communicating appropriate responses to communities and ensure no participant experiences retaliation for raising concerns.

• Use feedback trends as an input into program quality improvement.

10. Partnership Engagement and Representation in Kakuma

• Represent BOMA in relevant Kakuma/Kalobeyei coordination forums.

• Maintain effective relationships with WFP, UNHCR, DRS, Turkana County Government and other relevant institutions in Kakuma

• Coordinate partner meetings and joint planning where required.

• Identify partnership risks and opportunities and communicate them to senior management.

• Ensure BOMA participates constructively in the wider refugee economic inclusion ecosystem.



11. Budget Management and Budget vs Actuals (BVA)

• The PM will have direct program accountability for budget performance, working closely with Finance.

• Lead preparation of program budgets and budget revisions and translate the implementation plan into realistic budget requirements.

• Review monthly Budget vs Actual (BVA) reports, analyze budget variances and identify underlying causes, develop corrective actions for over- or under-spending.

• Ensure program expenditure is aligned with approved activities and donor requirements.

• Monitor expenditure against implementation progress and participant targets.

• Forecast expenditure for upcoming months and quarters.

12. Risk Management and Mitigation

• Maintain a live project risk register.

• Identify emerging risks through field supervision, partner engagement, participant feedback and data.

• Assess risks and develop clear mitigation and contingency actions. Monitor whether mitigation actions are actually reducing the risk

• Escalate high and critical risks promptly.

• Ensure staff and participants understand relevant safety and risk-management measures.

• Ensure program adaptations respond to changes in the operating environment.

13. Monitoring, Data Quality and Evidence

• Work closely with MEL to monitor progress against all indicators and review project dashboards regularly.

• Ensure quality, reliable and complete data is available for timely management decisions.

• Support data-quality assessments and corrective actions.

• Review participant progression towards achieving graduation outcomes

• Ensure data informs mentor supervision and program adaptation.

• Leverage assessment findings to translate into program decisions.

14. Team Leadership, Accountability and Reporting

• Set clear objectives and deliverables for project staff.

• Conduct regular performance reviews and provide coaching support to the staff to enhance performance

• Ensure staff have appropriate workplans and performance indicators.

• Hold staff accountable for missed deliverables and quality gaps.

• Ensure effective communication between field, technical, MEL, Finance and Operations teams.

• Lead timely and high-quality monthly narrative reporting and ensure that reports clearly explain progress, challenges, adaptations and results.

• Integrate WFP assessments, M&E activites into BOMA project calendar

• Ensure project documentation is complete and audit-ready at all levels of intervention

• Ensure significant program deviations/adaptations are documented and appropriately approved.

15. Project Close-Out and Sustainability

• Lead operational planning for successful project transition and close-out. Develop and implement a close-out plan.

• Ensure project activities are completed against approved targets and standards.

• Ensure participants are prepared for transition beyond project support.

• Strengthen sustainable market and financial linkages, community structures and private sector engagement for participant transition and support beyond the project

• Ensure all grants, assets, documentation and financial obligations are appropriately closed.

• Capture and communicate lessons for BOMA's future refugee livelihoods programming especially under the Differentiated Assistance Framework

• Support WFP and other partners to identify approaches suitable for continuation or scale.

4. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor's Degree in Development Studies, Economics, Social Sciences, Business Administration, International Development, Agriculture, Community Development, Project Management or another relevant discipline.

• A Master's degree in a relevant field would be an advantage. 

• Professional training/certification in Project Management such as PMP, PRINCE2 or equivalent would be an advantage, but should not substitute for substantial program-management experience

• Minimum 5-7 years of experience managing complex livelihoods, economic inclusion, refugee and resilience programs, preferably in Kakuma/Kalobeyei or comparable displacement contexts. 

• Demonstrated experience leading multi-disciplinary field teams and delivering programs involving graduation approaches, entrepreneurship, business development, cash or grants, savings, financial literacy, market linkages and household resilience.

• Demonstrate Capabilities in combining strategic program leadership with strong operational discipline to manage people, budgets, partnerships, program quality and results while maintaining close visibility of implementation at household and community level.

• Possess excellent interpersonal skills; candidates should be able to relate well to both the participants with whom we work and the BOMA Field Officer.

• Strong community engagement and communication skills.

• Be self-driven and able to work with minimal staff supervision.

5. Internal Acting Candidate Eligibility

• Employees eligible to apply for this position must have served in their current substantive position for more than one (1) year at the time of recruitment as stipulated in our Acting Policy.

6. HOW TO APPLY:

This is an acting, field-based position based in Kakuma with occasional travel. 

The job advert is open to Internal Candidates Only. Interested and suitable qualified candidates to submit their application, through BOMA’s recruitment portal on FlairHR.

Qualified applicants should submit their applications on/by 24th September 2026. Late applications will not be considered. 

BOMA is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and respectful workplace. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, age, disability, or any other protected characteristic. BOMA is equally committed to safeguarding the welfare of all staff, participants, partners, and the communities we serve. We have zero tolerance for sexual exploitation, abuse, harassment, and all forms of safeguarding misconduct. Successful candidates will be expected to uphold BOMA's Code of Conduct and Safeguarding Policy and will undergo appropriate pre-employment screening 

While we thank all applicants for expressing interest in the role, please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.