Institutional Clean Cooking Project Coordinator at DanChurchAid (DCA)

• Lead the operational coordination of the Mwangaza Kitchens pilot, ensuring timely, high-quality delivery across all participating early adopter schools.
• Working closely with team focal points within the respective counties/areas, drive the identification, engagement, and onboarding of faith-based early adopter schools, working closely with diocesan leadership, school boards, principals, and kitchen staff.
• Coordinate the full school transition pathway, including:

• Review and validation of existing and new energy audits
• Support to system sizing and technology selection based on technical, financial, and operational suitability
• Coordination of kitchen design and remodelling requirements
• Oversight of installation, commissioning, and initial technical support
• Act as the central point of coordination between schools, technology providers, energy auditors, financial partners, and Mwangaza Light field teams.
• Proactively identify implementation bottlenecks and resolve them pragmatically to maintain momentum during the pilot phase.

• Support the structuring and execution of blended finance arrangements for early adopter schools, including grants, concessional finance, and innovative repayment mechanisms.
• Coordinate closely with financial institutions, SACCOs, and church-linked financing mechanisms to ensure agreements are practical, understood, and implemented as designed.
• Support the operationalisation of carbon market components at pilot level, including data requirements, monitoring systems, and alignment with emerging dMRV approaches.
• Ensure that financial and carbon-related assumptions are grounded in real-world school cash flows and usage patterns, feeding learning back into model refinement.

• Ensure that high-quality data on system usage, performance, costs, savings, and user experience are collected consistently across pilot schools.
• Work with technical partners to ensure that IoT, monitoring, and reporting systems are functional and fit for purpose.
• Working closely with data analysis and management focal points, compile, analyse, and synthesise pilot data to inform internal decision-making, adaptation of the model, and preparation for scale-up.
• Contribute to the development of evidence products, learning notes, and practical insights that strengthen the credibility of the Mwangaza Kitchens model.
• Working closely with the Mwangaza Light CEO and Communications Officer, document lessons learned, operational challenges, and best practices to support replication and scale of the Mwangaza Kitchens model.

• Lead day-to-day grant management for the pilot phase, ensuring activities, expenditures, and reporting align with approved proposals and donor requirements.
• Prepare high-quality narrative and financial reports in close coordination with DCA and Mwangaza Light finance and programme teams.
• Track deliverables, milestones, and risks, proactively flagging issues and proposing mitigation measures.
• Support donor engagement, learning visits, and external communications related to the pilot phase.

• Represent the Mwangaza Kitchens pilot in relevant technical discussions, partner meetings, and sector forums as required.
• Work in collaboration with Mwangaza Light team to maintain strong working relationships with church institutions, technology suppliers, financiers, auditors, and sector stakeholders.
• Ensure close alignment between DCA and Mwangaza Light roles, responsibilities, and expectations throughout pilot delivery.

• Proactively identify and monitor technical, financial, and operational risks associated with project implementation, including infrastructure installations, financing mechanisms, and multi-stakeholder coordination.
• Develop and implement risk mitigation strategies and escalate critical issues where necessary to ensure successful delivery of the pilot.

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field such as engineering, energy, environmental science, economics, development finance, or a related discipline. A Master's degree is an added advantage.
• At least 5-7 years of progressively responsible experience in project coordination or management within clean energy, climate, infrastructure, or market-based development initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience working with blended finance, results-based financing, or commercially oriented development models.
• Practical knowledge of clean cooking, renewable energy systems, or institutional energy solutions.
• Experience using digital monitoring tools, data dashboards, or project management platforms.
• Strong familiarity with carbon markets, carbon project development, or dMRV systems is a significant advantage.
• Proven experience coordinating multiple technical and commercial actors, including private sector suppliers and financial institutions.
• Experience managing donor-funded grants and producing high-quality reports.

• Strong implementation instincts and the ability to “get things done” in complex, multi-stakeholder environments.
• High level of comfort engaging at both technical and institutional levels, from kitchen staff to senior school boards and donors.
• Solid analytical skills, with the ability to translate operational data into practical learning.
• Excellent organisational and coordination skills, with strong attention to detail.
• Clear, confident written and verbal communication.
• Ability to work independently while maintaining disciplined coordination with multiple partners.

• Pragmatic, solutions-oriented, and resilient under pressure.
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity and adapting approaches based on real-time learning.
• Credible and grounded, with the confidence to engage senior stakeholders without losing sight of operational realities.
• Strong alignment with the values and mission of DCA and Mwangaza Light.

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