Background

Adam Smith International is a global advisory company that works locally to transform lives by making economies stronger, societies more stable, and governments more effective. We work on behalf of governments, foundations and companies that share our ambition to take on the big challenges facing the world.

Our core team of managers and technical experts, in offices around the world, ensures the quality of delivery and high ethical standards that we and our clients require. We bring together a global network of specialist experts, who contribute their experience and know-how, where and when it is needed. ASI is owned and operated by its employees, and we are all dedicated to making a meaningful difference in complex, challenging situations. We are committed to corporate integrity and a triple bottom line of social, environmental and financial performance.

Company-wide, both our pipeline of business opportunities and portfolio of programmes are growing. We want to recruit high calibre candidates to support the continued growth and delivery of our global portfolio against the quality and high ethical standards that we and our clients require. This is an exciting time to join Adam Smith International and become part of a team of bright, dynamic and committed people, determined to transform lives for the better.

This role will specifically support the Danida-funded Civic Engagement Facility programme (CEF), a 4-year initiative that aims to expand civic space and strengthen collaboration between government, civil society, and the private sector around Somali people’s priority issues. It provides catalytic funding to strengthen civil society networks, support innovative channels for civic engagement, and foster more inclusive citizen-government dialogue to drive collective action towards a people-centered governance agenda.

ASI is the lead implementing partner, in consortium with two organisations. The programme will be delivered through a grants facility, contracted to a range of partners in Somalia and Somaliland.

About the Role

The Project Administrator is responsible for providing comprehensive operational, financial, administrative and contractual support on CEF, to ensure seamless execution and alignment with ASI’s objectives. This role serves as a critical link between (amongst others) operations, finance, and project teams, overseeing the onboarding of associates and consortium members, managing financial and procurement processes, programme support, issuing contracts, and coordinating asset management and IT support.

By facilitating payments, maintaining accurate records, and resolving cross-functional challenges, the  Project Administrator key tasks will be to ensure efficient project delivery, compliance with financial and contractual standards, and effective collaboration across stakeholders.

The  Project Administrator will be responsible for driving operational excellence, supporting team integration, and contributing to the timely achievement of project milestones. This position requires strong financial, procurement and compliance management skills, organisational skills, attention to detail, and effective collaboration with both internal teams and external stakeholders to ensure project success.

This role is expected to start in January 2026; only candidates who are available to start in January are requested to apply.

Key responsibilities

Financial processing and management

• Guide associates and partners through the invoice process.

• Review and approve purchase orders (POs), and process expenses and invoices submitted by suppliers, verifying accuracy and timeliness.

• Follow up with the finance team and facilitate payments to suppliers, associates, implementing partners, and one-off selected enumerators.

• Contribute to the preparation of quarterly invoices and quarterly Facility’s budget monitoring report to the Client, as well as profit share analysis to the consortium partner, ensuring completeness and accuracy of supporting documentation.

• In support of the Project Manager and the Project Accountant, conduct monthly financial reporting and budget reconciliations that track actual expenditure recorded against the approved budget and work plan, escalating issues where necessary.

• In support of the CEF Chief Financial Officer, ensure accurate monthly and quarterly grant facility disbursement forecasts and payments, including working with grantees to ensure accuracy of expenditure and forecasts.

• Support the finance team with requests from the auditor, providing documentation and clarifications as needed.

• Maintain asset registers to track project equipment and resources.

Team management support

• Facilitate the onboarding of associates and consortium members onto the Operating System (OS), including training and access setup.

• Coordinate the ASI OS setup and review of the team profile to ensure accurate configurations.

• Address team IT/OS issues and troubleshooting, such as password resets and team IT error messages, to maintain system access.

• Follow up on timesheet completion to ensure compliance and accurate tracking of hours.

• Support regular communication and coordination with the Client, the project team and the consortium partners, including scheduling meetings, preparing agendas, drafting minutes and following up on action items.

   

Contract Management

• Draft and issue supplier and subcontractor agreements, incorporating project terms, deliverables, and payment schedules.

• Draft and issue associate contracts, ensuring clarity on roles, responsibilities, and compensation.

• Draft and issue grant agreements, reflecting agreed deliverables, payment milestones, and monitoring and evaluation requirements.

• Formulate, design, and negotiate addendum procedures for supplier and associate contracts to address changes or extensions.

• Issue asset transfer agreements to formalise the handover of resources to grantees.

Procurement Support

• Support procurement activities related to the grants facility by assisting project leadership in drafting and reviewing procurement documentation, as well as assisting the workflows of the grants management system.

• Support the coordination of procurement planning and timelines, ensuring procurement activities are tracked and aligned with project deliverables, funding windows, and delivery modalities (as appropriate).

• Manage the end-to-end onboarding process for grantees and implementing partners, ensuring all ASI compliance and operational procedures are followed from initial third-party screening to system integration.

• Ensure procurement processes are compliant with internal procedures and client requirements.

• Support due diligence processes of grantees and downstream partners.

Cross-Functional Support and Coordination

• Facilitate the logistics of the project activities, for field missions and the organisation of workshops and events, in coordination with ASI Operations team.

• Act as a liaison between the operations and finance teams to address overlapping needs (e.g., database updates, audit preparation).

• Ensure timely communication and resolution of issues related to onboarding, financial processing, payments, IT/OS systems or contract execution.

• Dispatch assets to grantees, coordinating logistics and verifying receipt.

• Support the Operations team with project database maintenance, ensuring data integrity and accessibility.

• Participate in the quality assurance process of project deliverables, particularly from a proof reading and formatting point of view.

Other

• Any other tasks assigned or requested by line manager or other senior team members within the projects.

About you

Our work requires people with a ‘can do’ attitude tempered with insight and pragmatism. The successful candidates will not just be evaluated on their technical knowledge and skills, but also their alignment with our values and culture.

You should have demonstrated ability to think creatively about complex problems; build productive relationships with people from a wide range of professional and cultural backgrounds and work effectively in politically sensitive and challenging environments. You should be energetic, positive, a team player and committed to achieving lasting positive change. It is this combination that ensures we deliver real societal impact and measurable results with high integrity.

Candidates must have the right to work in Kenya.

Key qualifications

• An undergraduate degree in finance and administration, business management, economics, international development, or other relevant field from an internationally recognised university;

• Professional qualifications and experience in financial and contract management will be an added advantage;

• A minimum of four years’ work experience in project management roles within a consultancy or development-focused organisation;

• Demonstrated experience of using initiative, client-orientation, risk taking, and working in complex and time-pressured contexts;

• Enthusiasm, flexibility and a strong attention to detail;

• Excellent communication, inter-personal, and team-working skills;

• Strong grasp of Microsoft Word, Excel & PowerPoint;

• Must have a ‘hands-on’, practical mentality, be self-driven and be very motivated;

• Outstanding written and spoken English. Knowledge of Somali would be a major asset;

• Familiarity with grant facilities or civil society development programmes would be considered an asset;

• Previous exposure and knowledge of the Somali operating environment/context would also be an asset.

What We Offer You

Our people are at the heart of our strategy and our decisions. We offer a competitive salary and benefits package, a dynamic and friendly team environment, the opportunity to support a highly successful portfolio of programmes, and support to develop your skills and progress in your career.

The diversity of our workforce makes ASI a great place to work, more creative and resourceful, and underpins strong partnerships. We keep a sharp focus on diversity and inclusion, including through our Equality Action Plan and our Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and through leadership from our Executive Team and oversight by our Board.

We recognise the importance of your life outside of work. We are proud to support flexible working arrangements and commit to make a success of flexible working arrangements wherever possible. We’ve built a culture to reflect our values, full of likeminded professionals who are smart, passionate and great at what they do.

ASI is committed to continually improving the diversity of our workforce through the attraction, retention and development of a diverse range of talented people. We want people to be comfortable bringing their whole self to work and recognise that inclusion brings further opportunities for innovation and creativity.

Deadline for applications is 16th January 2026.