ILRI Consultancy: Recruitment Consultant for Coordination and Delivery

International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) seeks to recruit a Recruitment Consultant for Coordination and Delivery for the Rural Employment through Animal Feed production (REAP) Program. The consultant will provide coordination and delivery recruitment support to P&C, ensuring assigned recruitment activities are completed accurately and on time and that candidates, panels and hiring managers receive timely support.

ILRI is an international organisation working for better lives and better planet through livestock. ILRI’s mission emphasises the interconnections between people, animals, and the environment, aiming to improve the lives of more than 300 million people in low- and middle-income countries through livestock science that supports equitable and resilient livestock systems, ultimately contributing to food systems transformation with climate and environmental benefits. This mission is delivered through two core strategic objectives: co-designing and deploying sustainable, science-based livestock solutions, and leveraging science to inform and influence policy and investment decisions.

ILRI is a member of the CGIAR, a global research alliance that works to transform food, land and water systems in a climate crisis and is the only CGIAR centre dedicated to addressing multiple development challenges through sustainable livestock solutions.

About the program: REAP is a five-year multi-country initiative intended to advance education and relieve poverty by enabling 1,000,000 financially disadvantaged young women and men, aged 18 to 35 years, to access new work opportunities in sustainable feed and livestock value chains across the seven countries. The Program will equip young people with technical, entrepreneurial, financial; digital and workplace capabilities linked to real economic opportunities and enable financially disadvantaged young people to access work, finance, productive assets, markets and income-generating opportunities that improve household resilience and wellbeing. Among its participants, the Program shall target 70% young women and at least 5% youth with disabilities and 20,000 refugees and displaced young people.

The programme will support youth-led and youth-inclusive enterprises to enter, stabilise and grow in feed and livestock markets; strengthen market systems, services, and commercial relationships; and improve policy, finance, innovation, extension, and other enabling systems required for youth-led enterprises to succeed and generate additional employment opportunities. Across these areas, it applies gender-transformative and inclusive approaches to address restrictive gender and social norms, reduce barriers to young women’s participation, and strengthen their agency, voice, leadership and access to resources and opportunities. Safeguarding measures are embedded throughout the programme to protect young people from harm and support their safe participation.

Led by ILRI, the consortium includes ICARDA, IITA, the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, and icipe, working with downstream delivery partners, enterprise-support organisations, financial institutions, government and private sector actors. The Director draws on partners’ expertise in feed and livestock systems, enterprise development, market systems, inclusive finance, digital innovation, policy, and gender and social inclusion to guide country delivery and achieve measurable youth work outcomes, adapting implementation in response to evidence.

Scope of Work for the Consultant

• Prepare advertisements and support approved sourcing activities for assigned positions using approved job descriptions and criteria.
• Screen applications and prepare documented longlists and candidate profiles for panel shortlisting; use approved recruitment technology with human review.
• Coordinate candidate availability, assessments, interviews and panel logistics; prepare schedules, interview packs, assessment forms and candidate instructions.
• Attend interviews and take accurate notes of candidate responses and panel discussions to support candidate assessment, selection decisions and the preparation of recruitment records and reports
• Conduct reference and other approved background checks, document findings and escalate discrepancies to P&C.
• Update applicant tracking systems and recruitment records, maintain complete electronic files and provide weekly status updates for assigned positions.
• Work closely with the senior recruitment consultant on agreed schedules and priorities, flag delays promptly, and complete assigned follow-up and handover actions.

The consultant reports to the Senior Consultant/ Interim Head of People and Culture or designate. Day-to-day activities will be coordinated with the senior recruitment consultant under P&C direction. ILRI retains responsibility for shortlisting, selection, employment terms, approvals, offers and appointments.

The consultant must declare conflicts, protect personal data, observe safeguarding and ethical recruitment requirements, and charge no fees to candidates. All outputs belong to ILRI.

FINAL PRODUCTS

• Agreed activity schedule for assigned positions aligned with the consolidated recruitment plan.
• Advertisements, documented longlists and profiles, assessment and interview materials, consolidated results, recruitment reports and approved check reports.
• Accurate recruitment records and weekly status updates for assigned positions.
• Monthly progress report on completed outputs and outstanding tasks; complete recruitment files and final handover of pending actions.

Consultancy Fee: By mutual agreement based on agreed milestones and deliverables

Post location: ILRI Nairobi campus, remote or other agreed locations.

Duration: Nine months; contract dates to be confirmed.

Terms of Appointment: This consultancy is only open to Kenyan Nationals.

Essential skills and qualifications

The interested candidates should possess:

• Degree in human resource management, business administration or a related field. Relevant professional certification is required.
• At least seven years of relevant recruitment experience at officer including coordination and operational support for several concurrent recruitments. Experience supporting technical and business support roles is required; international research, development or non-profit experience is an advantage.
• Strong operational recruitment, screening, interview coordination, candidate communication and records management skills. Highly organised, responsive and attentive to detail, with proficiency in applicant tracking systems and recruitment reporting.
• Strong written and spoken English.

How to apply:

Applicant should their CV stating their qualification and experience in the relevant areas expected for the position with a covering letter justifying the candidature for the position to the Head of People and Culture, by clicking on the "Apply Now" tab below on or before 6 November 2026. The position title and reference number REAP/06/2026 should be clearly marked on the subject line of the cover letter.

We thank all applicants for their interest in working for ILRI. Due to the volume of applications, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

ILRI does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing, or training).

To find out more about ILRI, visit our websites at http://www.ilri.org/

ILRI is an equal opportunity employer