Country Administrator – Kenya - Somalia

Duty station / Country

Kenya, Nairobi with missions in Somalia

Duration

6 months with possible renewal

Starting date

August 2026

Line Manager

Head of Mission

Functional Manager

Regional Administrator for East Africa

Salary range

According to COOPI salary grid and as per experience of the candidate.

About COOPI

Cooperazione Internazionale (COOPI) is an International Italian NGO established in 1965. Since its establishment, COOPI has been undertaking activities to help and empower the poor and needy in different countries.

COOPI in KENYA - SOMALIA          

COOPI has been present in Somalia since 1981 and for over 40 years, it has been promoting health, food security, livelihood development and access to water and hygiene and in Kenya since 1992 and has managed interventions in rural development; access to water, healthcare and education. Additionally, it has managed food security projects in response to the periods of severe drought regularly affecting the country and has also improved a number of slums in Nairobi by building houses and other basic infrastructures.

COOPI implements humanitarian response and resilience building programmes in Somalia with a multisectoral approach. Key areas of intervention in Somalia are Food Security, Livelihoods, Water and Hygiene (WASH) and Health. To respond to the current drought emergency in Somalia, COOPI has immediately implemented emergency programs, while integrating development and resilience projects in the most affected regions. Each intervention integrates one or more cross-cutting areas, namely Protection, Gender, Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), depending on the context. Given the fragile social fabric of the many post-conflict communities COOPI works with, great emphasis is placed on minimising conflicts, by adopting the Do No Harm (DNH) principle, so as to alleviate suffering, preserve people's dignity and save lives

Its activities are funded by institutional and private donors, including AICS, the Italian Ministry of Home Affairs, ECHO and private donors

A large proportion of COOPI's interventions are cross border (Kenya/Somalia) and focused on improving efficiency in the use of shared natural resources through support to existing traditional and social arrangements.

Purpose of the role

The Country Administrator (CA) is responsible for supervision, management and quality implementation of all aspects of COOPI financial and administrative operations in Somalia and Kenya.

Main responsibilities in Administration and Finance

·         Prepare and update on a regular basis the Country Coordination budget and accounting.

·         Monitor the economic-financial sustainability of the Country Coordination office and field offices, under the supervision of the Head of Mission.

·         Finalize, validate and control the new and the ongoing projects’ budgets, in collaboration with the Project Managers.

·         Check the economic and financial management of projects on a monthly basis: status of budgets, expenditure prospects, financial forecasts for the implementation of activities;

·         Supervise and control the financial transfers from donors to COOPI bank accounts, in coordination with the Head of Mission and the Regional Administrator.

·         Supervise and control the cash management (Nairobi coordination office and Somalia field offices), the cash flow to the projects and the cash safe.

·         Supervise and control all bank operations in the country, in coordination with the Head of Mission.

·         Ensure the collection, filing and control of all supporting documents of project implemented in Somalia.

·         Prepare the financial reports before the final validation of the Regional Administrator.

·         Coordinate the relations with the administrative/financial offices and delegations of the institutional donors and partners, under the supervision of the Head of Mission.

·         Prepare and carry out the audits conducted in Kenya and Somalia, and transmit to COOPI HQ all the project documents to be audited in Italy.

·         Provide technical support on the correct application of COOPI and donors’ administrative procedures to the Project Managers.

·         Carry out financial support and monitoring missions to Somalia field offices, whenever necessary.

·         Produce and periodically transmit to COOPI’s HQ the information and data requested in a timely manner.

·         Supervise and ensure that all financial documents are properly archived in hard copies and digitally on COOPI’s cloud and g-Project sections.

·         Update the assigned sections of g-Project on a regular basis.

·         Verify the correct application of COOPI’s Logistics and Procurement procedures before any payment.

Candidate profile

(education required, years of experience, technical skills, soft skills)

ESSENTIAL

·         Degree or diploma in economics preferred;

·         Certified experience of at least 5 years, gained in the economic-financial sector, in administrative coordination in international cooperation organisations;

·         Good knowledge of the procedures of the following donors: EU, OCHA, UN, ECHO, WFP, AICS;

·         Good knowledge of the English language;

·         Excellent knowledge of Office;

·         Excellent organisational skills;

·         Ability to work in a team and for objectives;

·         Aptitude for building positive relationships with co-workers;

·         Ability to work in a multicultural environment, under pressure and in difficult security contexts;

·         Aptitude to go beyond the simple task assigned;

·         Availability to travel to Somalia;

·         Motivation to work in a non-governmental organisation.

DESIRED

·         Previous work in Somalia and Kenya;

·         Knowledge of Somalia and Kenya contexts;

·         Previous experience with COOPI or with other international NGOs.

How to apply

Application Deadline: 30th June 2026

Duration of the contract: 6 months with possibility of extension

Duty starting date: August 2026

Interested candidates who meet the required qualifications and experience are invited to submit their applications through below https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSetUisVvRNM5aszXuBiYhRr9JYgj3NghdWDoC87CYOjqIwjCw/viewform?usp=publish-editor

Upload cover Letter & Updated Curriculum Vitae as one document.

NB: Only short-listed candidates who meet the requirements will be contacted.

Women and people with physical disability are highly encouraged to apply.