Vacancy title:
2 Food Security Monitors

Jobs at:
Jefferson Solutions

Deadline of this Job:
Open

Duty Station:
Kampala, Uganda

Job details:
Jefferson Solutions, the government consulting company of Jefferson Consulting Group, a well-respected, small government consulting firm founded in the United States. Jefferson Solutions is a woman-owned small business that enables federal agencies to achieve success through strategic and operational acquisition, human capital, and program management services. They are recruiting for the USAID/Uganda Mission.

Job Summary: The Food Security Monitor will ensure effective management and targeting of Food for Peace (FFP) resources in Uganda, particularly in the refugee settlements. His/her primary responsibilities are to monitor the food response in Uganda, the need for food assistance, and the effectiveness and quality of implementation of various FFP programs, and to prepare reports to inform the USAID/Uganda Mission, FFP/Washington and the regional FFP Office in Nairobi. The Food Security Monitor will regularly assess the needs of chronically vulnerable populations (specifically the refugees) and will provide reports to USAID to inform decisions. As needed, the Food Security Monitor will also monitor the food security situation in other parts of Uganda as needed including the Karamoja sub-region. These positions are indefinitely required.

2. Hiring Preference It is expected that these positions will be filled by qualified Ugandans. The positions are to be graded at low to mid-level.

3. Geographic Location: The monitors will spend at least 50% of her/his time working in the field in rural Uganda. The rest of his/her time will be spent in the USAID/Uganda Office of Economic Growth.

4. Logistics Support: During the time the monitor is working within USAID/Uganda, he/she will be provided with an office space, computer, printer and necessary offices supplies and equipment. If she/he works remotely, then this logistic support would be provided by the contractor.

Key Duties and Responsibilities: The Food Security Monitors will support the Vulnerable Populations Unit (VPU) in understanding the refugees’ food security situation in Uganda. Responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

a. In regular field monitoring visits, collects primary and secondary data about (50%)
i. Food security and underlying factors, including the role of food assistance in refugeehouseholds.
ii. The quality of implementation of USG supported food assistance including food aid, vouchers and/or cash, especially the effectiveness and accuracy of targeting, efficiency of distribution, and evidence of actual or potential for diversion of food assistance.
iii. Nature, prevalence, and outcome of prominent household livelihood pursuits and factors that enable or constrain their success.
iv. Market prices, to monitor if cash-based transfer (CBT) recipients are able to purchase a diverse food basket and ensure they are food secure as well as understand the effects of the CBT on the market prices and thus people accessing those market and not receiving a transfer. This market monitoring should occur at the settlement markets as well as the bigger markets near and feeding into the settlements.

This will be achieved by spending on average, 10-15 working days per month in rural Uganda interviewing men and women who engage in various livelihood pursuits:

b. These interviews are conducted in homes, in community meetings, at sites of income generating activities, and at sites of food assistance or other relief or development activities.
i. Care is taken to include interviews with both beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries of food assistance, to include both refugees and host community members, as appropriate.
ii. Interviews cover points outlined by a general interview guide, but the Monitor engages interviewees using an informal, conversational style to gain the interviewees’ trust, and gather and cross-check accurate information in a non-threatening manner.
iii. Monitors often join multi-agency assessments led by the government or another agency, especially WFP and FAO.
iv. Monitors work closely with FEWS NET so that the monitoring activities are complementary, and not redundant.

The monitor will devise monthly or quarterly monitoring plans, selecting the sites or areas to be visited, in collaboration with the team.

c. Reports findings of field monitoring visits and meetings with other experts to USAID/Uganda including recommendations to resolve issues that need to be addressed and other ways to improve programming (25%)
i. The Monitor submits written reports at least monthly to VPU about observations and interpretations from that month’s visits, highlighting evidence showing improvement or deterioration in food security, changes in needs for or targeting of food assistance, factors that constrain or enable the effectiveness of food assistance programs, and evidence that programming other than food assistance might be more appropriate.
ii. The Monitor triangulates the information they observed and collected in the field with other existing reports including market price monitoring.

d. Meets with relevant USAID, UN, NGO, and consultant experts to share, receive, and discuss information related to household food security and the targeting and use of food assistance. (15%)
i. Participate at monthly and extraordinary UN- or GOU- led inter-agency meetings at Kampala and field level, coordinating relief and development activities in: food assistance, food security and livelihoods, nutrition, and agriculture.
ii. Seek out experts in these relevant fields and engage with them for information exchange and in-depth discussion about needs for appropriate intervention.
iii. Regularly meet with those involved in implementing food assistance activities, including USAID’s direct partner, WFP and their implementing partners.
iv. Participates, as needed, in multi-agency assessments of food security, markets and food assistance, and other humanitarian needs.

e. Meets with other USAID/Uganda staff and accesses other professional sources to improve knowledge about the use of food assistance to improve food security and conditions that boost or limit its effectiveness (7%)
i. Approximately monthly or as needed, meet with the full VPU team to exchange, discuss, and interpret information gathered from the various locations by the Monitors.
ii. To expand his/her capacity, each Monitor independently accesses academic and journalistic sources regarding food security and the targeting and distribution of food assistance, in general and in Uganda, including nutritional or food security reports prepared by government, UN, NGO or FEWS NET teams.

f. Participates in USAID planning and strategy sessions regarding food assistance and food security and advise about food assistance needs.(3%)

6. Oversight: The Food Security Monitor will report to the Senior FFP Officer responsible for the refugee portfolio.

7. Post Entry Training: On-the-job training will be provided relating to USG-specific and FFP procedures, regulations, and methods. The Monitor shall attend mandatory annual Ethics training conducted at USAID/Uganda by the Resident Legal Officer.

8. Available Guidelines: USAID regulations (including the Automated Directives System) provide broad guidelines as to the conduct of work related to the duties described above. Since FFP provides the most significant amount of resources to food security in Uganda, s/he is expected to become familiar with regular and more specific guidance on FFP’s strategies, procedures, and requirements. The Monitor will also be required to be familiar with and operate in accordance with USAID/Uganda’s Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) and the Mission’s Collaborating, Learning and Adapting culture.

9. Exercise of Judgment: The Monitor must be able to work with a high level of independence in keeping USAID informed of the food security situation as well as making recommendations when the situation changes and a response is needed.

10. Authority to Make Commitments and Decisions: The Food Security Monitor has no authority to make commitments on behalf of USAID or the USG. The Monitor must communicate all information back to Kampala and Washington including their recommendations, but the decisions will be made by Activity Managers, Agreement Officer’s Representative (AOR), or Agreement Officer (AO) as appropriate.

11. Nature, Level and Purpose of Contacts: Contacts will be maintained with Mission personnel, USAID Implementing Partners, AID/Washington (as requested), and the Government of Uganda under the guidance of the Senior FFP Officer.

12. Supervision Exercised: No supervision of USAID staff will be exercised.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience: The Food Security Monitor will have:

• Bachelor’s degree in a discipline pertinent to food security and food aid program management, such as international development, agriculture, nutrition, or agricultural economics.
• At least five years of progressively responsible experience related to food security, including at least one (1) year of on-the-ground field experience in humanitarian needs assessment and/or assistance and one (1) year in implementation of food aid programs. This experience must show significant engagement with rural communities and the application of qualitative and/or participatory methods of inquiry.
•  Experience with coordinating and liaising with stakeholders.
• Ability to provide rapid, concise, and accurate reporting, both verbally and in written English.
• Ability to grasp and theorize the complexities of food security, the wide variety of dynamic influencing factors and the potential influence of international food assistance.
•  Ability in basic computer skills, to include knowledge of Microsoft Word and Excel, e-mail, and internet, is required.
• Experience working in a harsh environment with limited supervision and guidance.
•  Willingness to regularly undertake extensive field work assignments for weeks at a time. Monitor should anticipate spending approximately 50% of the time in the field and outside of Kampala.
• Strong analytical, communication, and leadership/engagement skills. More specifically, the position requires: (i) strong interpersonal skills; (ii) experience implementing, monitoring and reporting on emergencies and markets; (iii) strong writing and oral communication skills; (iv) the ability to engage with host country counterparts, donor partners, and USAID staff constructively and productively; and (v) the ability to work in team setting.

Job application procedure
All candidates who wish to join the USAID project should send an updated CV and cover letter to ugandafsm2018@gmail.com