Program and Administration Officer

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Job Reference: PAO/ATO/01/2026

AGRA and its Work to Transform Agriculture

AGRA is an African-led institution that actively supports the drive towards inclusive agricultural transformation and sustainable food systems. We do this by empowering the continent’s 33 million smallholder farming households to transform their agriculture from a struggle to survive to profitable businesses. The continent’s farmers regularly face challenges, and we aspire to provide uniquely African solutions that respond to their agricultural and environmental challenges, leading to increased harvests for reduced hunger and more income aligned with the Kampala CAADP and national priorities.

Working in alignment with the development priorities of our focus countries, we enable farmers to access improved and high-yielding seeds, gain knowledge on sustainable farming, and linkages to profitable markets. In our work, we aspire to build the alliances, partnerships, and networks required to drive an inclusive agricultural transformation. We work with our partners to create an equitable youth-friendly environment that harnesses the youth dividend on the continent to drive growth and facilitate open employment opportunities for young women and men. We achieve our key objectives through a focus on the following four areas of intervention:

1. Policy and state capability – We support governments in creating an enabling environment for private sector involvement in agricultural transformation.
2. Seed systems – We trigger higher productivity by increasing the availability and access to improved seeds by farmers allowing them to increase their harvests for food security and better incomes.
3. Sustainable farming – We support farmers in building resilient farming systems for sustained high yields through interventions such as mechanization and irrigation.
4. Inclusive markets and trade – We work to increase the linkages between farmers, and other market actors for a positive, sustained cycle of commercialization and reinvestment.
5. Youth, Gender, and Inclusiveness – We enable women and youth to contribute to and benefit from agriculture for their economic empowerment.

Implementing Our New Strategy Through People

People are the heartbeat of our organization and remain the true drivers of our delivery, impact, and success. We have cultivated a workplace that fuels Depth in Collaboration, Excellence in Execution, Constructive Engagements, and a spirit of being Increasingly Entrepreneurial; all underpinned by our cherished I-RISE Values (Integrity, Respect, Innovation, Stewardship and Equity)

We work with incredible people and partners who have roots in farming communities across the African continent combined with an inclusive, diverse, and talented workforce from over 25 nationalities. Our commitment to a call to action goes beyond ourselves as we arise to catalyze African Food Systems transformation and improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.

We are looking for people who are passionate about being part of a mission-driven team that is making a real difference on the continent; love to work on cutting edge Ag technologies; and able to grow their skills, expertise, and experience career growth, while enjoying very competitive compensation and benefits.

Background

AGRA, with the support of its partners, is hosting the African Agriculture Transformation Initiative (AATI) – an initiative to strengthen delivery structures (called Agriculture Transformation Offices in some instances) for the National Agrifood Systems Investment Plan accelerated implementation. Under this effort, AGRA is establishing a dedicated unit – a center of excellence – under its policy and state capability unit to enhance its delivery and related capabilities. The center of excellence (CoE) will have a continental outlook and serve to strengthen government agri-food delivery structures, as called for by the implementation guidelines of the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Plan 2026-2035 (CAADP 3.0).

The Position

Program and Administration Officer Job Reference: PAO/ATO/01/2026

The Program and Admin Officer will ensure the smooth operations of the ATO, including coordinating with and backstopping the in-country program coordinators. The role supports the full grants management cycle for AATI-funded programs—including the grant-related documentation to support grants design, review, and monitoring of in-kind grants—ensuring timely donor and other reporting, processes adhere to AGRA’s policies and donor requirements. This role further contributes to efficient office operations, event coordination, information management, and reporting, thereby enhancing the overall performance and effectiveness of the CoE and its support to Agriculture Transformation Offices (ATOs).

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• Coordinate day-to-day administrative, financial, and logistical functions of the CoE to ensure seamless implementation of planned activities.
• Support the development and tracking of workplans, budgets, and procurement plans to align with CoE and ATO priorities.
• Manage documentation workflows and filing systems to ensure easy retrieval and information integrity.
• Contribute to drafting and consolidating reports, presentations, and other internal or donor-facing documents.
• Support the design, preparation, and monitoring of in-kind grants and ensure compliance with AGRA’s grant management procedures.
• Facilitate internal reviews and quality checks on project and grant documentation before approval.
• Coordinate training, workshops, and learning programs.
• Act as the primary administrative liaison between the CoE, the AATI-supported AATIs, and other AGRA departments (Finance, HR, Procurement, Partnerships, Communications, M&E) to always ensure smooth running of ATO and CoE operations.
• Coordinate internal and external meetings, workshops, and missions, including scheduling, logistics, travel
  arrangements, and documentation.
• Support communication with ATO teams to monitor progress, follow up on deliverables, and ensure alignment of timelines.
• Build and maintain effective relationships with administrative focal points and program teams to strengthen coordination and information flow.
• Support internal communications, announcements, and dissemination of updates within the CoE.
• Ensure timely preparation of donor and other reports and processing of contracts, procurement requests, and expense reports in collaboration with relevant departments.
• Track implementation of grants and administrative activities, providing periodic updates and alerts on pending tasks.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date databases and dashboards for grant tracking, deliverables, and performance indicators
• Support compliance monitoring by ensuring accurate documentation and audit readiness of grants and procurement records
• Draft and circulate minutes, action trackers, and follow-up matrices from meetings, ensuring timely closure of action points.
• Document and share lessons learned, success stories, and best practices from CoE operations and
  administrative processes.

Key Qualifications and Experience Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Project Management, Development Studies, or related field from an accredited institution.
• An advanced diploma or postgraduate certificate in Administration, Grants Management, or Program Coordination is an added advantage.
• Familiarity with ERP or project management systems (e.g., SAP, Salesforce, or Asana) will be an asset.
• Certification in Project Management (e.g., PMP, PRINCE2), Office Administration, or Grants and Compliance Management is desirable.
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in administrative, program coordination, or operations management roles within international or donor-funded organizations.
• Proven experience in grants management, reporting, compliance monitoring, and operational coordination.
• Strong record in supporting complex projects involving multiple partners and timelines.
• Experience in report preparation, data management, and stakeholder coordination.
• Demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities and meet deadlines under pressure.
• Demonstrate the ability to manage multiple administrative processes simultaneously while maintaining high standards of accuracy and timeliness.
• Effectively prioritize tasks, streamline workflows, and ensure administrative procedures are completed in accordance with organizational policies.
• Ability to align work plans, timelines, and deliverables with program objectives while ensuring proper documentation is maintained.
• Demonstrated ability to support the preparation of accurate, timely, and comprehensive reports in line
  with donor requirements and CoE performance reporting standards.

If you believe you are the right candidate for this position, please apply for this vacancy by clicking the link
below:

https://ekjd.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX/jobs

Applications must be received on or before 2nd February 2026. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

For more information on the AGRA, visit www.agra.org.

AGRA is an Equal Opportunity Employer