Officer, Project Management Office

Job Description

This position is open to people with the right to work in Kenya

Job Summary

The Officer, Project Management Office (PMO) supports the effective delivery of TMA’s country and regional Programmes by strengthening project planning, mobilisation, performance monitoring, and quality assurance across the project cycle. The role sits within the Programme Delivery Department (PDD) and works closely with Programme Implementation Teams and corporate functions to ensure Programmes are implemented in line with TMA’s Project Cycle Management (PCM) guidelines, internal controls, and donor requirements. The role also supports project governance processes, cross-programme coordination, stakeholder engagement, and reporting to management and donors, while contributing to continuous improvement of PMO tools, processes, and ways of working.

Roles and responsibilities

Programme and Project Management

• Supports the alignment of project deliverables with overarching Programme strategies, ensuring coherence with TMA’s objectives, Theory of Change, and donor commitments.
• Conducts regular project health checks and implementation reviews to assess compliance with TMA’s Project Cycle Management (PCM) guidelines, internal controls, and donor requirements, and flags issues for corrective action or escalation.
• Supports Programme Implementation Teams in the development, updating, and quality assurance of key project documents, including work plans, risk and sustainability plans, delivery chain maps, and other approved planning instruments.
• Supports Programme mobilisation by coordinating the preparation, tracking, and updating of procurement mobilisation plans and expenditure forecasts in collaboration with Procurement and Finance teams.
• Monitors Programme performance across budget execution, procurement progress, and milestone delivery, and supports the preparation of dashboards, management reports, and periodic updates for leadership.
• Reviews implementation data to identify bottlenecks, trends, and emerging risks, and works with Programme teams to resolve issues or escalate matters requiring management attention.
• Supports project formulation processes, including the preparation and quality assurance of Concept Notes and Project Appraisal Reports, as required.
• Supports project governance processes by serving as Secretary to the Peer Review Group (PRG), coordinating PRG meetings, documenting decisions and actions, and subsequent follow-ups for accountability.
• Provides technical PCM backstopping to Programme Implementation Teams, offering guidance on planning, reporting, and delivery challenges.
• Contributes to PCM capacity building initiatives, including the design and delivery of training sessions for staff and implementing partners within assigned responsibility centres.
• Contributes to after-action reviews, project closure processes, and the documentation of lessons learned to inform continuous improvement and future programming.

Stakeholder Engagement and Communication

• Supports the development and implementation of stakeholder engagement approaches that promote effective collaboration, buy-in, and accountability across Programme stakeholders.
• Facilitates PMO and Programme-related workshops, meetings, and reviews to communicate progress, surface implementation challenges, and support collective problem-solving.
• Supports internal and external reporting processes within the Programme Delivery Department, including the preparation of senior leadership and management papers, donor reports, presentations, and briefing materials.
• Promotes regular communication and coordination between Programme teams, regional and country offices, and corporate functions to strengthen PCM practice and cross-Programme learning.

Quality assurance and process improvement

• Supports the maintenance of consistent quality standards and best practices in project planning, implementation, reporting, and closure across assigned responsibility centres.
• Identifies gaps, inefficiencies, or duplications in PMO and Programme delivery processes and proposes practical improvements to strengthen effectiveness and efficiency.
• Supports the implementation of approved process improvements and contributes to the institutionalisation of PMO tools, templates, and standard operating practices.

This role may, from time to time, be required to provide support to TradeMark Africa’s wholly owned subsidiary, Trade Catalyst Africa, as would be communicated by your line manager. When this happens, the specific task(s) will be reflected in your OKR and assigned to a relevant task(s) manager.

Academic and professional qualifications

A postgraduate or an undergraduate degree in business administration or social sciences.

Work experience

Five years (for undergraduate degree holders) or three years (for postgraduate degree holders) of relevant experience in administration and project management with strong communication, administration, and coordination skills.

About the Organization

TradeMark Africa (TMA) is a leading African Aid-for-Trade organisation founded in 2010, with a mission to grow intra-African trade, increase Africa’s share in global trade, and make trade more pro-poor and environmentally sustainable. TMA operates on a not-for-profit basis and is funded by: Canada, Denmark, the European Union, Finland, France, the Gates Foundation, Ireland, the Mastercard Foundation, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. TMA works closely with regional and continental organisations, national Governments, the private sector, and civil society.

Since its inception, TMA has contributed significant progress in trade facilitation and economic integration across East Africa and the Horn, including a reduction of 16.5% in cargo transit times on the Northern Corridor from Mombasa to Bujumbura, and an average 70% reduction in border crossing times at selected one stop border posts. Today, TMA operates in 14 countries across East, West and Southern Africa as well as the Horn. Registration is underway in a further six countries.

In 2022, TMA set up a catalytic finance company – Trade Catalyst Africa – to pilot commercially viable projects in trade infrastructure (both physical and digital) and to expand access to trade finance for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs).

Both TCA and TMA are headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. Country and regional offices are in: Arusha (EAC Secretariat), Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Rwanda, Somaliland, Tanzania, and Uganda, with operations in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, South Sudan, Togo and Zambia, and Zimbabwe. For more information, please visit www.trademarkafrica.com

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