Junior Coordinator

Job Purpose

The Junior Coordinator provides day-to-day operational and administrative support to the KCC programme team delivering freight electrification and climate logistics initiatives across East Africa.
This is a core execution role ensuring structure, coordination, and continuity across workstreams, enabling senior staff to focus on technical and strategic work.
The primary value is operational reliability: keeping tasks on track, documentation updated, partners coordinated, and logistics executed accurately.
This is not a technical, research, or policy role, but a high-accountability coordination function in a fast-paced environment.
 
Working Environment
KCC operates in a dynamic regional and international setting where priorities shift quickly and multiple workstreams run in parallel.
The role involves collaboration across East Africa and with international partners, including governments, NGOs, and private sector stakeholders.
 
The postholder should expect:

• Fast-moving deadlines and frequent task switching 
• High-intensity periods around workshops and reporting cycles 
• Regular external engagement with partners and suppliers 
• Occasional travel within East Africa 
• A lean team environment requiring strong individual ownership 

This is not a remote-first role and requires active, in-person coordination within a team structure.

What you will do

Programme & Task Coordination

• Maintain workplans, task trackers, and milestone schedules across active projects
• Track action items and follow-ups from meetings and partner engagements; chase outstanding items proactively
• Flag risks, delays, and scheduling conflicts early, and propose practical adjustments
• Escalate complex matters appropriately while resolving routine issues independently
• Compile inputs for progress updates, status reports, and board-level summaries

Communication & Correspondence

• Manage shared inboxes, track correspondence, and maintain partner contact databases
• Draft routine external communications and coordination emails on behalf of senior staff
• Maintain distribution lists and ensure timely circulation of programme documents

Documentation & Knowledge Management

• Maintain organised, up-to-date filing systems for programme documents, contracts, and correspondence
• Produce and format documents, presentations, and one-pagers to KCC standards
• Take accurate meeting minutes and circulate agreed notes and action logs within 24 hours
• Support the collation and light editing of reporting inputs and templates

Procurement & Financial Administration

• Support vendor sourcing, quote collection, and purchase-order preparation in line with the organisation's procurement policy
• Submit expense reports and reimbursement requests using the prescribed organisational processes
• Maintain accurate records of expenditure, receipts, and reimbursement submissions
• Liaise with the finance function to support timely payment processing and follow-up on outstanding items

Logistics & Event Support

• Coordinate workshops, site visits, learning meetups, and study tours end-to-end — pre-event planning, on-site coordination, and follow-up
• Manage travel bookings, visa arrangements, accommodation, and reimbursements for staff and partners
• Prepare event materials — agendas, briefing packs, sign-in sheets, and post-event summaries
• Liaise with and coordinate venues, suppliers, and external facilitators on logistical arrangements, within approved suppliers and agreed arrangements

You‘re good at

Who Will Thrive in This Role

• Highly organised and adaptable under pressure 
• Comfortable managing multiple priorities 
• Strong sense of ownership and accountability 
• Interested in logistics, coordination, and execution work 
• Proactive in asking questions and escalating early 
• Motivated by fast-paced, hands-on environments 

Not suitable for candidates seeking analytical, research, or policy-focused work.

You bring

Qualifications & Experience

• 3–4 years’ experience in coordination, operations, or project support 
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field 
• Experience in fast-paced, multi-stakeholder environments 
• Eligibility to work in Kenya 
• Willingness to travel within East Africa 

Skills & Competencies

• Strong organisation and time management 
• Ability to manage multiple workstreams 
• Strong written and spoken English 
• MS Office proficiency 
• Experience with project tracking tools 
• Strong attention to detail 
• Event and logistics coordination experience 
• Exposure to procurement or finance processes 

You will work with

The Junior Project Coordinator reports to the KCC Senior Manager, Climate and Logistics Africa with a secondary strong functional reporting line to the Finance and Administration Officer.
Within KCCs lean structure, the role has a strong operational support and escalation line to Senior Officer  HELP logistics  who responsible for finance and administrative oversight, ensuring clear decision pathways and operational alignment.
The role carries full day-to-day operational responsibility while remaining supported within a structured oversight system.

What you can expect

Decision Rights
This role carries full operational ownership of coordination, communication, and documentation. Procurement, financial administration, and logistics are delivered in a support capacity: the postholder manages the process, but the following decisions are reserved for the Finance & Administrative function:

• Vendor selection, contract award, and vendor-relationship management
• Authorising financial commitments and payments
• Appointing or contracting venues and suppliers, and committing the organisation contractually 

Operational Expectations

• Same-day responsiveness to coordination requests 
• Strong follow-through on tasks without reminders 
• High accuracy in documentation and communication 
• Proactive identification of risks and delays 
• Strong ownership of assigned work 
• Clear escalation when needed 
• Discipline in tracking and filing systems 
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent tasks 

Additional information

The KCC is a subsidiary of the Kuehne Foundation in Schindellegi, Switzerland. Established in 1976 by the Kühne family and is one of the largest foundations in the German-speaking world. As an operational foundation based in Schindellegi, Switzerland, it is involved in the areas of logistics, medicine, culture and, since the beginning of 2023, climate action. The Foundation is independent, operational, and international.

Contact

If you are interested in applying, please submit your application using this link only (Personio Link TBD) by 01.08.2025. In case you have any questions about the role of the role, please reach out to olivial.lamenya@kuehne-foundation.org  Find out more about our current projects and activities by accessing our Kuehne Climate Center LinkedIn page

About us

The non-profit Kühne Foundation was established by the Kühne family in Switzerland in 1976 and is one of the largest foundations in the German-speaking world. The foundation focuses on education and training as well as research and science in logistics and the transportation industry, it maintains a medical campus with two large research programs in allergology and cardiology, and it supports festivals, opera houses and concert halls in Europe. In the area of climate, the foundation develops and implements innovative ideas on how the transport and logistics sector can support more climate-friendly and sustainable development. You can find out more about our climate projects and activities on our LinkedIn profile.