Training and Certification Manager

Location:

Kenya

Salary:

5000USD per month

Posted:

January 05, 2021

Contact this candidate

Resume:

CURRICULUM VITAE / RESUME

MARK MURIITHI NJERU

P.O BOX 1653-60100,

EMBU.

Mobile: 072*-******

Email: *******@*****.***

CAREER STRENGTH

• Creative Strong analytical skills Results oriented

• High integrity Team Player Intelligent

• High intra-personal Skills.

PROFESSIONAL COMMITMENT

Am an agribusiness professional with a bias on Agricultural Supply chain strengthening which includes producer groups and smallholder farmers capacity strengthening in Kenya and across the East Africa region with an aim of professionalizing the farming sector. As a professional, I also have an interest on improving the livelihoods of producers by engaging them in practices and strategies aimed at enhancing their capacities in sustainable farming practices and landscapes restorations & management practices in general.

CAREER AND PROFESSIONAL FOCUS

• Creating value while implementing development programs on a business model

(both producer and Market Based approach) with a special Focus on small - scale and medium scale agribusiness contexts, with personal commitment to improving farmers livelihoods

• Provision of Business Development Services and capacity strengthening among various players along SME value chains in agricultural sector.

• Positively influencing the environment with an aim of creating the requisite forces and factors for success in any activity.

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness

Management and Trade, Kenyatta University.

Kenya Institute of Management - Embu branch.

Diploma in Management: - Project Planning and Management. Egerton University-Njoro.

Associate Degree in Horticulture.

Moi High School-Mbiruri

K.C.S.E certificate.

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING

• Oct 2018 Master Trainer Program by UTZ Academy Senior Trainer.

• Oct 2018 Stretch Collaborations: REOS Partners, Amsterdam.

• May 2018 Gender Coaches training by Agriprofocus.

• Oct 2017 Trainer of Trainer Course, Training Methodologies. UTZ Training Academy

• August 2017 Project Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Course. Southern Hemisphere, South Africa.

• August 2016 ISO 9001: 2015 Lead Auditor Course

Trained by SGS and Certificated by IRCA.

• March–May 2016 Certification in Monitoring and Evaluation (3 months training). Kenya Institute of Management.

• June 2016 Performance Management Training.

Federation of Kenya Employers

• May 2016 ISO 9001:2015 Internal Auditor training. Trained on the requirements of the new standard and Equipped with auditing techniques and skills.

• April 2016 ISO 22000 Internal Auditor training.

Trained and Exposed to various standard requirements by an Organization based on clauses as well as audit techniques. 2010 Dec: Coffee Training at Coffee Research Foundation (CRF) – Ruiru. We were taken through on various phases/stages of coffee production and Processing from Farm level to marketing.

PROFESSIONAL AND WORK EXPERIENCE.

Jan 2020 - Present: Training and Certification Manager Rainforest Alliance

Roles;

- Develop Country Training Strategy for Rainforest Alliance

- Develop, customize and roll out Learning Plans for different stakeholders within Kenya and East Africa at large

- Coordinate and deliver training resources including development of training tools for targeted Audience.

- Assess and Build capacities of different stakeholders in Kenya and East Africa including RA certified certificate holders

- Manage local training team (Associated Trainers Network) for RA.

- Writing and co-creating project proposals

- Manage and report on funded Projects within Kenya

- Develop MEL framework for different funded projects in Kenya including tracking and reporting.

- Work closely with other functional heads/leads in developing country strategies including implementation.

Achievements:

- Successfully supported and trained RA/UTZ certified members in Kenya and within the East Africa region

- Involved in the roll out of the digital tools in Kenya and beyond, i.e. Multi trace

- Supported the Regional Director in planning and developing Kenya Country plans and budgeting.

- Together with the SP focal point, successfully managed the Sector Partnership program in Kenya (A program funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

- Successfully managed the different partnerships and relationships within the Sector Partnership Program in Kenya

- Supported the Regional Director in writing and pitching winning project proposals in Kenya (IKEA Mt Kenya Landscape Project).

- Also was involved in design stage of NORAD Mt Elgon Proposal for both Kenya and Uganda

Oct 2016 – Dec 2019: Program Officer – Kenya

(Training, M&E and First Mile Lead)

Rainforest Alliance, UTZ Program.

Roles:

- Maintain a strong support to partners in the Quality of implementation of UTZ Program by liasing with other relevant actors.

- Recruitment and acquisition of new clients (farmers and farmers organisations) into Rainforest Alliance - UTZ Program.

- Assessing and Identifying Learning needs and Developing Learning Interventions for UTZ members, partners and relevant stakeholders.

- Develop and update training curricula and materials to be used at ToT and farmer level.

- Monitor and report on the UTZ Certification projects by visiting farmer groups and supply chain actors.

- Support regional Representative East Africa in serving UTZ members in neighbouring countries (Tanzania and Great Lakes).

- Program development and Management with partners including producer organisations.

- Capacity building of partners on economic and social thematic issues.

- Development of Projects Monitoring, Evaluation tools and Learning Interventions and as well as Reporting to Partners/ Donors.

- Contributing to Development of stakeholders platforms within the coffee industry.

- Development of digital IMS (Internal Management System) platforms for our members.

Achievements:

- Managed and reported on different projects and activities funded by Dutch,Foreign Ministry,government in collaboration with UTZ.

- Successfully overseen formation and Launch of the National Coffee Multistakeholders Platform in the coffee Inudstry, Kenya Coffee Platform.

- Involved in the development of Strategies for Coffee reforms in Kenya in line with recommedations by the National Coffee taskforce reports.

- Built capacities of various partners we are working with on M&E, Gender Mainstreaming and Lobby & Advocacy.

- Successfully carried out a research study on Mobile knowledge Transfer for the Technical assistants and smallholder farmers.

- Designed and managed Several projects under the following thematic areas; Productivity/Farmer group Strengthening, Climate Change, Gender and Living Wage.

- Successfully Rolled out Regional Training Strategies for East Africa countries.

- Contributed to growth of UTZ members in Kenya and within the Region.

- Trained a team of Master Trainers in Kenya.

- Successfully created and launched an associated network of trainers(for UTZ activities) in Kenya.

May 2015- September 2016 – Field Operations Manager Kenya Nut Company.

Roles

- Working closely with other Functional managers to develop and implement all strategic business plans for the Company.

- Providing management with daily, weekly and monthly operational reports and updates to help in making informed judgment on critical strategic issues.

- Providing training and demonstrations of all new techniques to Branch Managers, field staff and Promoters.

- Preparing and updating farmers contracts and ensure timely distribution and signage of these contracts with copies filed.

- Ensuring that all input warehouses are secured with accurate stock records.

- Ensures that updated quality standards and guidelines of the Company are incorporated into all programme activities.

- Motivate, supervise and monitor all Branch managers and field officers (72 permanent staff and 182 during peak season including buying clerks).

- Ensuring that, up-to-date information from field regarding farmers, inputs distribution is kept for performance monitoring purposes.

- Undertaking regular project appraisal on activities in collaboration with other heads of department.

- Coordinating all projects and operational activities of the company with regard to farmers’ crop development, yield, post harvest training and maintenance of farms by Company members.

- Creating and overseeing the implementation of systems and processes in the field with the aim of enhancing operational effectiveness.

- Development of budget for the field department and ensuring adherence to the budgetary allocations.

Achievements

• Project Lead: - Successfully implemented the CFA Project (Connected Farmers Alliance) project. A mobile based solution in the supply chain of nuts in Kenya Nuts Co; - A partnership between GSMA, Safaricom, Techno serve and Kenya Nuts Co.

• Streamlined key field operations aimed at meeting key objectives of nuts sourcing as well as checking on operational objectives.

• Successfully Managed a team of 72 permanent Staff in the Field Department and helped in prioritization of issues and creating efficiencies within the branches

• Played a key role in implementation of ISO 9001 standard in the organization- I was a member of the QMS implementation secretariat in Kenya Nuts Company. Jan 2015-April 2015 – Africa Programme Assistant

Café Direct Producers Foundation (Currently Producers Direct) Roles.

- Support the implementation of CPF programme activities undertaken with producer partners.

- Support development of the farmer-led support services business Model.

- Support the producer-led governance model development

- Establish working relationships and maintain contact with CPF’s Africa producer partners, and encourage their proactive participation in CPF activities

- Support and facilitate CPF monitoring and evaluation work as needed including development of materials to support communication of CPF impacts.

- Facilitate communications with on-the-ground implementation partners and help to map out other local stakeholders and service providers.

- Support fundraising activities by development of business ideas

- Support CPF fundraising goals by liaising with producer partners and facilitating knowledge of, and contact with the relevant local stakeholders.

2010 – Dec 2014: Area Relationship Manager (Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Embu, Meru South) Kenya Co-operative Coffee Exporters Ltd (KCCE).

Specific Roles

- Generating partnership and relationships with both private and public sector players

- Project planning on various components of implementation, drawing of activity schedules according to project documents

- Facilitating market access and Farmer Market Linkages along the coffee value chains

- Conducting Market Based Project Feasibility Studies, Product Market Development,

- Evaluating performance of coffee co-operatives against set profitability standards

- Capacity enhancement for different clients (Buyers, co-operatives’ management committees and various value Chain players in the coffee sector.

- Green coffee mobilization against a set target.

- Involved in roasted coffee market survey.

- Ground coffee/Roasted coffee sales in the Mt Kenya Region. Auctioneer - Running of the auction during coffee trading and also interacting and closing of deals with various coffee dealers.

- Also involved in extension services whereby we train farmers, farmers’ organization and management on importance of good agricultural practices/agronomical issues in coffee quality and also good governance.

- Involved in setting up of demo farms in some selected coffee catchment areas.

- Coffee production projecting/forecasting every season. Achievements

• Linked coffee producers cooperatives to profitable overseas markets

• Enhanced capacity of co-operative members to better their coffee production

(quality and quantity) through sustainable farming and capacity building projects

(Kibirigwi farmer’s co-operative society).

• Helped some society in setting up structures of governance and gender and by so doing improving their sustainability and appealingness to producers/farmers.

• Facilitated partnership development with public and private sector players.

• Encouraged youth to revert to coffee farming by training them on GAP and also on governance and management of producers’ organizations (Kiangagwa Fcs).

• Successfully assisted producer organizations in carrying out baseline surveys and also involved in implementation of the capacity building project (Kibirigwi Fcs and Tendelyani Fcs).

• Helped some societies in their financial planning and also guided them in maintaining their credit worthiness to lending institutions in consultations with the respective stakeholders’ i.e. New Runyenjes Fcs, Kiangagwa Fcs, Kagaari south Fcs and Ndagani Fcs.

• Assisted and trained farmers in establishment of model farms and demo plots within the coffee growing zones.

• Assisted farmers in increasing their coffee production per tree from a low of 1.5kg per tree to at least 4kg per tree in some coffee zones. 2010 March –Nov Field officer (Embu)

KCCE - Kenya Co-operatives Coffee Exporters.

• Involved in training of farmers on GAPs

• Also involved in training of factory managers on best practices during primary processing so as to maintain high quality coffee bean.

• Forecasting of coffee production in my region.

• Evaluating performance of producer organization against a set standard.

• Creating awareness about the company products.

• Involved in sourcing/mobilization and assembly of parchment coffee from farmers

(small scale and estate farmers).

2009 Jan - May Assistant Consultant

Universal Technologies Associate

• Involved in training and creating awareness of ISO 22000 and ISO 9001 requirements at Kathangariri Tea factory, Kionyo Tea factory and Weru Tea Factory.

• Instrumental in the rolling out of ISO 9001 and ISO 22000 in the above three Tea processing factories.

• Trained staff in carrying out inspections/audits and establishment of HACCP along the value chain.

• Highlighted the various aspects of quality management. Achievements

Facilitated certification of these tea factories, i.e. ISO 22000and ISO 9001 certification 2008 October Office Marketing Assistant

Murphy Chemicals E.A Ltd.

• Was involved in selling and marketing of a range of products offered by the company.

• Dealt with prompt complaints, comments and enquiries from our Customers and area managers.

• Processed and administered cash transactions.

• Also involved in invoicing the customers, updating customers

• Accounts, serving the area managers, order processing and stock Achievements

• Helped the company to check on the ageing factor of its creditors and which in turn helped the management to make decision regarding some of its creditors.

• Helped the company with the control and positioning of its products in relation to the market demand.

PERSONAL DETAILS

Name; Mark Muriithi Njeru

Sex: Male

Date of Birth 5th

November 1982

Nationality: Kenyan

Religion: Christian

Languages: English, Swahili

REFEREES:

Lucy Kimani.

Deputy Director – Gatsby Africa.