Director Registration And Compliance

Role Overview

This is a senior leadership post responsible for the national machinery that governs child welfare programmes and adoption in Kenya. The holder approves and oversees charitable children's institutions, licenses the agencies that handle domestic and inter-country adoptions, and runs the registers and databases that track children, prospective adopters and completed adoptions. The role carries direct responsibility for safeguarding children's best interests at scale, and it anchors the country's obligations as central authority under the Hague Convention on Inter-Country Adoptions.

Key Responsibilities

• Review applications from charitable children's institutions seeking approval for proposed child welfare programmes, test them against the governing Act, and recommend decisions to the Council; develop and periodically revise the criteria used to establish such programmes.
• Monitor charitable children's institutions and child welfare programmes to confirm they keep to prescribed standards, and compile and submit monitoring reports to the Council.
• Build, maintain and refresh a national database of children, ensuring records stay accurate and current.
• Constitute panels of persons from whom courts may appoint guardians ad litem in children's matters, including adoption, and keep the register of those appointments up to date.
• Accredit and license duly registered adoption and child protection agencies so that domestic and inter-country adoptions can proceed lawfully.
• Maintain databases for both domestic and inter-country adoptions, and keep the register of adopted children current in consultation with the Registrar.
• Receive records and reports on children available for adoption from charitable children's institutions, adoption societies, parents and guardians, authorised officers and other relevant parties; certify and declare children free for adoption; and maintain registers of children free for adoption and of prospective adoptive parents.
• Provide the operational platform through which the Council acts as central authority under the Hague Convention on Inter-Country Adoptions, and work alongside state departments and state and non-state agencies to monitor and evaluate how efficiently and effectively social programmes serving children deliver results.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Experience: At least fifteen (15) years of relevant professional experience, of which a minimum of three (3) years must have been served at senior management level.
• First degree: Bachelor's degree in Social Sciences, Education, Sociology, Gender, Women and Development Studies, Gender and Development, Community Development, Counseling and Psychology, Sociology and Religious Studies, Sociology and Economics, or an equivalent qualification from a recognised institution.
• Postgraduate degree: Master's degree in Guidance and Counseling; Sociology; Education; Counseling Psychology; Public Administration Policy; Gender Studies and Development; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Criminology and Security Management; Community Development; Development Studies; Project Management; or another related field from a recognised institution.
• Leadership training: A leadership course lasting not less than four (4) weeks.
• Registration: Membership of a relevant professional body where applicable, and a valid practising licence where applicable.
• Technical proficiency: Demonstrated computer proficiency.
• Core competencies: Strong communication and presentation ability; analytical thinking; organisation and planning; research capability; negotiation; and leadership.