Principal Accountant, ICT & HR Officers (3 Vacancies) – National Research Fund | Government Jobs in Kenya 2025

Principal Accountant, ICT & HR Officers (3 Vacancies) – National Research Fund | Government Jobs in Kenya 2025

Essential Job Details

• Position Titles & Reference Numbers:

  1. Principal Accountant – Ref. NRF/04/2025

  2. Principal Information Communication Technology Officer – Ref. NRF/05/2025

  3. Principal Human Resource Management & Development Officer – Ref. NRF/06/2025

• Total Vacancies: 3

• Grade: NRF 5

• Duty Station: Nairobi, Kenya

• Employment Type: Full-time, Permanent Government Contract

• Salary Scale: Competitive parastatal package (NRF 5) + comprehensive benefits

• Application Deadline: 30 June 2025, 5:00 p.m. (EAT)

• Reporting Line: Respective Departmental Directors, National Research Fund

Introduction

Government jobs in Kenya rarely place you at the nexus of national innovation funding, fiscal stewardship, and public-service impact all at once. These three Principal-level openings within the National Research Fund (NRF) invite seasoned accountants, visionary ICT architects, and strategic HR practitioners to shape Kenya’s scientific renaissance from the inside out. By joining the NRF’s elite management tier, you will steer multi-billion-shilling research investments, digitize grant-management platforms for thousands of scholars, and cultivate a high-performance workforce committed to the ideals of government jobs in Kenya: transparency, service, and inclusive prosperity. If your career ambition is to weave public finance rigour, cutting-edge technology, or human-capital excellence into Kenya’s Vision 2030 agenda, this triple-vacancy call is your springboard to national influence and professional distinction.

About the National Research Fund

Created under the Science, Technology and Innovation Act of 2013, the National Research Fund is the statutory engine powering Kenya’s knowledge-economy leap. We mobilise and disburse competitive grants to universities, TVETs, and industry consortia; host flagship calls in health, agriculture, blue economy, and green energy; and steward endowments that safeguard long-term research sovereignty. Our governance framework aligns to the Public Finance Management Act and International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), ensuring every shilling entrusted to us catalyses measurable socio-economic dividends. With over KES 12 billion committed to 2,400+ projects since inception, the Fund is scaling rapidly—mandating robust fiscal controls, secure digital infrastructure, and progressive talent practices emblematic of modern government jobs in Kenya.

Key Responsibilities

1. Principal Accountant (Ref. NRF/04/2025)

• Oversee Grant-Lifecycle Accounting: Lead end-to-end financial governance—from applicant due diligence and advance disbursement to milestone-based acquittals—across 500+ active projects annually.

• Drive IPSAS Compliance: Champion adoption of accrual IPSAS reporting, streamline month-end close, and supervise preparation of statutory statements, audit schedules, and Management Letters.

• Strengthen Internal Controls: Design automated budget-versus-actual dashboards, conduct risk-weighted sampling of grantee expenditure, and spearhead fraud-deterrence workshops with field monitors.

• Optimize Treasury & Investment: Manage multi-currency research endowment portfolios; liaise with National Treasury on cash-flow forecasts and advise ExCo on low-risk, high-yield instruments.

• Mentor Provincial Finance Leads: Coach county-based accountants on grant-compliance subtleties, elevating financial literacy across the NRF network.

2. Principal ICT Officer (Ref. NRF/05/2025)

• Architect Research-Grant ERP: Spearhead design and rollout of an integrated e-Grants platform featuring applicant portals, peer-review modules, and AI anomalies detection—core to digital-first government jobs in Kenya.

• Secure Mission-Critical Data: Establish ISO 27001-aligned cybersecurity protocols; deploy disaster-recovery sites to guarantee 99.9 % uptime and protect IP generated through NRF funding.

• Lead Digital Transformation Projects: Drive migration to cloud-native infrastructure, champion open-data APIs for public transparency dashboards, and automate core finance and HR workflows.

• Coordinate Stakeholder Training: Orchestrate nationwide capacity-building for 10,000+ researchers, ensuring seamless adoption of grant-submission and reporting tools.

• Steward Vendor & SLA Governance: Negotiate enterprise contracts, monitor KPIs, and drive value-for-money across software, connectivity, and cyber-defence partners.

3. Principal HR Management & Development Officer (Ref. NRF/06/2025)

• Craft Strategic Workforce Plans: Align talent pipelines with Vision 2030 research priorities; model 5-year headcount, capability, and succession scenarios.

• Modernise HR Policy Frameworks: Refresh schemes of service, performance contracts, and reward matrices to reflect global R&D best practice and public-sector equity norms.

• Champion Culture & Engagement: Launch diversity-in-STEM programmes, monthly innovation town-halls, and wellness initiatives that resonate with high-impact government jobs in Kenya.

• Digitise People Operations: Lead rollout of an HRIS integrated with payroll, learning, and e-leave modules; deliver self-service analytics for supervisors.

• Oversee Industrial Relations: Mediate union consultations, steer CBA negotiations, and manage disciplinary processes in accordance with Labour Laws and Public Service Commission guidelines.

Qualifications and Skills

Common Minimums for All Roles

• Kenyan citizen with impeccable integrity, meeting Chapter Six compliance (EACC & CRB clearance, valid tax, HELB & police certificates).

• Years progressive experience in a comparable public-sector, parastatal, or donor-funded environment, three (3) at senior-management grade.

• Demonstrable command of public-finance ethics, service-delivery charters, and transparency mandates that define elite government jobs in Kenya.

• Advanced communication prowess—able to distil complex data for Parliamentary Committees, National Treasury, and global research partners.

• Proven track-record of leading cross-functional teams through digital-change or policy-reform cycles.

Role-Specific Essentials

Working at the National Research Fund means fusing public-service ethos with entrepreneurial agility. Our values—Accountability, Knowledge, Innovation, Inclusion, Sustainability—animate every grant call, procurement cycle, and performance dashboard. Staff co-design quarterly “Research-to-Impact Challenges,” hackathons that seed disruptive ideas from within, while flexi-time and remote-work pilots reflect an evolving view of work–life balance in forward-looking government jobs in Kenya. Annual CPD budgets, mentorship exchanges with global funding councils, and Leadership-in-Science fellowships ensure you grow as Kenya grows.

How to Apply

Apply now for any of the above Principal-level positions and be the steward of Kenya’s research future.

1. Download the full job descriptions and qualification matrices from the NRF careers portal via this anchor: Access detailed role profiles on the NRF website.

2. Compile the following documents into a single PDF:

   • Application letter stating the reference number and vacancy title.

   • Comprehensive CV detailing academic credentials, professional certifications, and verifiable leadership achievements.

   • Certified copies of academic and professional certificates.

   • Chapter Six compliance clearances (EACC, DCI, KRA, HELB, CRB).

3. Submit your application: 

   Chief Executive Officer
   National Research Fund
   Nacosti Plaza, 3rd Floor, Upper Kabete
   P.O. Box 26036 – 00100, Nairobi

   Ensure your envelope/email subject line reads: “Application – [Position] – Ref. NRF/0X/2025”.

4. All applications must reach NRF by 5:00 p.m. (EAT) on 30 June 2025. Late submissions will not be considered.

5. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. NRF upholds equal-opportunity principles; women, persons with disabilities, and marginalised groups are encouraged to apply.

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