Legal Jobs at Machakos County Public Service Board

 

JOB DETAILS:
Legal Officer

Overview
Job Level: GRADE 6
Job Ref. VQ/LO/12
Salary Scale: Ksh 71,860 – 93,850
Positions: 1

Job Descriptions
• Implementing policies and strategies on public interest litigation on behalf of the Council;
• Undertaking legal research and preparation of sound legal briefs and opinions to the Council;
• Conducting public interest litigation on behalf of citizens;
• Defending the Council against any form of action or litigation arising from the exercise of its public interest litigation over nomadic matters;
• Seeking the opinion of the Attorney General in matters of mutual interest;
• Conducting litigation and holding amicus curie briefs in appropriate cases on behalf of the Council;
• Drafting contracts and Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) and other legal documents on behalf of the Council in accordance with the law;
• Advising the Council on appropriate legal action in cases of breach of obligations;
• Ensuring compliance by the Council of its legal mandate;
• Undertaking public awareness creation on the protection of the nomadic communities through public interest litigation;
• Taking minutes during Council’s meetings;
• Preparing case briefs to the Council members for matters coming up for hearing or mention or determination on behalf of organization before any court of law or tribunal; and
• Preparing monthly reports on the activities of the Unit for consideration by the Council.

Person Descriptions
• Must have a Bachelor of Law (LLB) degree or equivalent qualification from a recognized institution;
• Must have a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Studies from the Council of Legal Education;
• Be an advocate of the High Court of Kenya;
• Have served in the grade of a Legal Officer for a minimum period of three
• (3) years or in a comparable and relevant position in a Public Service or any other reputable organization;
• Have a current Law Practicing Certificate; and
• Have a Proficiency in computer applications

JOB DETAILS:
County Attorney

Duties and responsibilities
The County Attorney shall:
• Be the principal legal adviser to the County Government;
• Attend the meetings of the County Executive Committee as an ex-officio member of the Executive committee;
• On the instructions of the County Government, represent the County Executive in Court or in any other legal proceedings to which the County Executive is a party, other than criminal proceedings;
• Advise departments in the County Executive on legislative and other legal matters;
• Negotiate, draft, vet, and interpret documents and agreements for and on behalf of the county executive and its agencies;
• Be responsible for the revision of County Laws;
• Liaise with the Office of the Attorney-General when need arises; and
• Perform any other function as may be necessary for effective discharge of the duties and responsibilities in exercise of the powers as the County Attorney

Skills and Competencies
• Excellent communication and leadership skills
• Highly developed negotiation and interpersonal skills
• Effective legal research and reporting
• High level of integrity

Requirements for appointment
For appointment to this position, the person should:
• Be a Kenyan Citizen;
• Be a holder of an LLB degree from a reputable and recognized university;
• Have a postgraduate Diploma in Legal Studies from the Kenya School of Law and be admitted as an advocate of the High Court of Kenya with a current Practicing Certificate;
• Master’s degree or a second degree from a reputable University will be an added advantage;
• Be a member of the Law Society of Kenya in good standing;
• Must be an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya of at least five (5) years standing;
• Meets the requirements of leadership and integrity set out in Chapter six of the Constitution of Kenya;

JOB DETAILS:
Requirements for Appointment
• Be a citizen of Kenya;
• Hold a degree from a university recognized in Kenya (a Master’s degree or higher academic qualifications from a university recognized in Kenya will be an added advantage;
• Have at least five (5) years knowledge, experience and a distinguished career in the field relevant to the portfolio of the department to which the person is applying for consideration;
• Possess general knowledge of the County Government and functions of the County Government;
• Demonstrate an understanding of the County goals, policies and developmental objectives;
• Demonstrate leadership and management capacity including knowledge of financial management and strategic people management skills; and
• Meet the requirements of Chapter Six of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 on leadership and integrity.

Core Competencies
• Ability to portray and uphold national values and principles of good governance;
• Be a visionary result oriented strategic thinker;
• Ability to work in a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity;
• Excellent organizational, interpersonal and communication skills; and
• Proactive and capacity to work under pressure to meet strict deadlines.

Duties and Responsibilities
• The County Executive Committee Member (CECM) shall be the head of the county department and in this regard, he/she is responsible for formulation and presentation of policy for that county department.
• He aids and advises the County Governor in the execution of government business and provides general direction, coordination and overall supervision and performance of the county department for which he/she is responsible.

Specific duties and responsibilities shall include: –
• Formulation, presentation and articulation of county executive committee memoranda, sessional papers, and other policy issues emanating from the county department to the County Executive Committee, and/or County Assembly or any other forums as may be appropriate;
• Responding to county assembly questions touching on his/her department;
• Guiding the department on policy issues to be developed and implemented and providing policy direction of the same;
• Overseeing the administration and delivery of services in respect of county government agencies falling under his/her department;
• Providing policy direction in the planning, formulation and adoption of the County Integrated Development Plan; and
• Performing any other business that the Governor may assign him/her from time to time.

JOB DETAILS:
Tax Justice Programme Strategist

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES (Technical, Leadership, People and Resource management)
Programme design, implementation and resourcing - 40%
• Provides thought leadership on the programme focus and contributing to the thematic area, staying up to date with the latest thinking, undertaking and commissioning research and analysis and spending time to develop a comprehensive understanding of the theme how it contributes to and can be delivered to challenge poverty and Inequality in the country and across multiple locations.
• Ensures effective implementation of the programme design by consistently ensuring that the design is aligned to the Country Strategy and is relevant to the current context;
• Has overall responsibility on all thematic projects in the programme including effective implementation of all projects as well as ensuring that the projects and reports are delivered on time and to high quality standards.
• Working closely with the Program Funding Relationship Manager and the Director Programmes in relevant fundraising activities, through the development of fundable concepts (at all levels including programme development with partners) and by taking lead in the development of donor proposals, budget submissions and other necessary activities to secure funding for programme objectives.
• Leads on Tax Justice programme budget process by designing and effectively managing spend monthly including variance reporting and ensures corrective actions are taken on deviation.
• Deliver an integrated Tax Justice program with impact that contributes to the principle of one program by seeking synergy with the other thematic areas.
• Works closely with the Women’s Rights and Gender Justice strategist to ensure that gender mainstreaming is upheld in all programmes, developing understanding of potential impacts (positive and negative) on gender and ensuring that programme interventions have been designed with gendered lens.
• Working closely with the Director – Programmes and the MEAL Advisor ensures that through a gender lens, an effective, transparent and robust monitoring, evaluation, learning and accountability system and processes are in place to ensure that the program delivers on the OCS.
• Assesses and advises the Country Director and Director – Programmes on risk emerging from the programme.

Partnership and coalition building, networking and support - 30%
• Develops a comprehensive understanding of Oxfam’s partnership approach, including work with coalitions and networks, adopting a strategic, proactive perspective on how to achieve partner led approaches to achieve sustainable change.
• Develops and facilitates links with civil society, the private sector and governments, initiating contacts and building associations that can be used to enhance Oxfam’s work, and identifying key partners to collaborate with on the delivery of the program.
• Provides technical support to staff and partners working on the programs with a specific focus on domestic resource mobilization tax justice, public finance management, campaigning and influencing.
• Identify and initiate cross-thematic collaborations with other Kenya programme themes, that is, the Women’s Rights and Gender Justice, Natural Resources and Humanitarian Systems Strengthening.
• Ensures compliance with donor requirements, managing internal and external relationships to minimise disallowances and deviations from plan.
• Coordinates and mobilises technical and capacity building support for the program partners, accompanying them and ensuring high quality of programming.
• Identifies and channels appropriate technical and material resources to the partners.

Research, knowledge generation, campaigns and policy influencing - 20%
• Develops written analysis and learning materials for publication for Oxfam and wider civil society analysis and learning.
• Collects and analyses programme information to produce timely, accurate progress reports for multiple audiences – partners, internal teams, donors and other external sudiences.
• Ensures that adequate monitoring and evaluation sytems, processes and tools are in place to manage programmes and to achieve the intended programme objectives.
• Support the development of a joint advocacy strategy and plan with allies and implement Oxfam’s role in the plan.
• Providing technical contribution, with campaigns and colleagues and through innovative approaches develop appropriate influencing materials for consumption by targeted groups.
• Source and analyse essential publications for relevant content, summary and distribution for internal, external audiences and donors.
• Provide regular information, briefings and publicity on the Tax Justice programme activities that support relevant policy formulation as well as profile the programme work to potential donors.
• Ensures research, learning and advice is disseminated widely, internal and externally, for maximum impact.

Human resource management - 10%
• Manage staff, consultants and researchers as required, in accordance with Oxfam policy and procedures

Technical Skills, and Knowledge
Skills
• Professional/Technical qualifications – Undergraduate/Post-graduate in International Development, Development Studies, Law, Economics and related field or at least 5 years’ experience in a similar programme role.
• Ability to engage and influence both development and corporate direction, contributing to and following it as appropriate and the ongoing development of program policy and quality to enhance the impact of Oxfam’s work
• Proven analytical and conceptual thinking, high level research, project management knowledge and skills and experience using participatory tools and methodologies for assessment, programme identification, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
• Proven ability to analyse complex contexts, monitor change and translate into appropriate planning, while maximising impact.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with good report writing skills.
• Proven ability to analyse complex contexts, monitor change and translate this analysis into appropriate plans which have impact.
• Ability to gather and apply lessons learned and to communicate this learning effectively to influence others for action – both internal and external audiences.
• Ability to build a people’s movement around the program theme and inspire followership.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively and sensitively with different values systems and cultures.

Knowledge
• Comprehensive knowledge and experience of implementing Tax Justice, Domestic Resource mobilisation and Public Finance Management programs and initiatives, ideally built on mature understanding of relevant issues derived from field experience and context.
• Strong programme management and quality knowledge, with ability to ensure consistent quality against standards and to implement effective monitoring and evaluation systems to assess and adjust performance.
• Good knowledge of and experience in developing advocacy and campaign strategies and plans and successfully achieving external impact and change.
• A strong understanding of gender, women’s rights, development issues and the political and economic context in Kenya
• Commitment to and good knowledge of working with networks, coalitions and a partnership approach across the spectrum of Oxfam’s work, including innovative approaches to capacity strengthening.
• Good knowledge of and experience with donor funding environment and good financial management skills, with experience of project budgeting and controlling financial risks.
• Fluency in English with knowledge of Swahili being an added advantage.

Experience
• At least five years’ experience on project management in a non-governmental (national or international) or similar institutional setting.
• Proven management experience at a strategic level in a complex, dispersed organisation with evidence of leading, facilitating and integrating a specific area of expertise across a wide network, providing clarity and focus of vision and impact, strategic planning and decision making and the delivery of agreed results.
• Politically astute, with high impact influencing and persuasive skills and personal gravitas to gain respect and build and maintain strong, credible relationships, with internal and external stakeholders at all levels
• Strong organisational and personal management skills, with ability to prioritise work issues to meet deadlines with minimal supervision and adjust to constantly changing situations while maintaining focus on delivery and follow-through
• Demonstrated experience of designing and implementing advocacy and campaigns programmes.
• Experience in fundraising for programmes and projects and managing programmes funded by different donors
• Experience in managing partners across all phases of the project/programme cycle.
• Excellent personal communication skills.
• A high level of self-awareness, initiative, sound judgement, personal energy and flexibility.