Vacancy title:
Project Coordinator

Jobs at:
Farm Africa

Deadline of this Job:
Friday, 19th January 2018 by 5.00pm EAT

Duty Station:
Uganda

JOB DETAILS:
Reports to: Country Representative

Farm Africa is an international non-governmental organization working to end hunger and bring prosperity to rural Africa. We work to increase the incomes and improve food security of smallholder farmers, pastoralists, agro-pastoralists, and forest dwellers in East Africa. A core part of our strategy is to ensure that our interventions are both economically sustainable and scalable. The systematic integration of market linkages in implementing programmes is crucial to our ability to scale our interventions cost-effectively.

About Project:
During this four year programme Farm Africa will work with local civil society, SMEs, cooperatives and farmer organisations to develop market systems that support livestock services and enterprises for 21,000 women, contributing to women’s economic empowerment, reduced poverty and improved nutrition of women and children. The project will address market failures in animal health and breeding services to improve livestock productivity, build capacity and assets of herders, establish trade and enterprise opportunities and improve household nutrition practices through behavioural change. It will demonstrate how nutrition interventions can build on women’s economic empowerment to contribute to both increased income and improved household nutrition.

Job Summary: The Project Coordinator is a key role in the senior management team in Uganda and the post holder will be responsible for leading L4L project implementation by Farm Africa and our partners in Uganda. The project will be implemented across four districts of Karamoja sub-region (Moroto, Napak, Kotido & Nakapiripirit). The PC will be required to manage the planning, implementation, monitoring & reporting of all aspects of the L4L project in Uganda. This will include playing a leading role in internal and external project reporting, financial management, partner management, monitoring and evaluation of the project activities, outputs and impacts, and ensuring that all stakeholders at the project area are fully engaged. The incumbent will plan and manage L4L implementation in Uganda in accordance with the programme’s agreed objectives, work plans and budgets. The post-holder will be based in Farm Africa’s Moroto office, and will be reporting in to the Country Representative, Uganda (CRU).

Key Duties and Responsibilities:
Project planning:

• Work in close consultation with the Country Representative (CRU) and Technical Manager for Livestock (TML) review and prepare the project’s work plan and budget as part of the quarterly and annual planning process.
• Manage monthly, quarterly and annual work plans for project activities and logistics, identifying and responding to the implications of interdependencies between different sub-project work stream activities.
•  Ensure all project staff and partners are clear on project plans and required resources during planning.
•  Project delivery, implementation and internal reporting:
•  Ensure the methodologies for each activity are clearly understood by the project team and delivered according to Farm Africa Approaches.
• Ensure that project activities are implemented and outputs achieved as planned and within the agreed budget.
•  Review progress regularly, submitting quarterly internal progress review reports outlining progress, issues and actions being taken in the standard format.
• Participate in quarterly programme progress review sessions with the Steering Committee (including Country Heads) including: in-depth review of financial spend/burn rate; achievement against activity and output plan, and a forward look on whether the project is achieving against its objectives, indicators and beneficiaries.
• Proactively identify and monitor any risks to non-delivery and, where required, develop and implement action plans to address issues identified;
• Ensure the timely submission of narrative and financial reports to the TML to facilitate compliance with donor reporting requirements indicated in the financing agreement
  Financial management and governance:
•  Manage the project within the agreed budget
• Work with the Project Accountant & Administrator to regularly forecast budgets in line with any changes in implementation plans, and where required, to reflect the changing financial context (e.g., inflation, exchange rates)
•  Identify and analyse the causes of spend variances to the budget and take action as needed
•  Implement internal project financial controls, ensuring that financial management in the project field office is in compliance with and exceeds the basic standards contained in the Farm Africa finance procedures manual
• Review budget monitoring reports, and provide timely explanations and corrective actions for any significant variances
•  Ensure that all procurement of goods and services is carried out in line with Farm Africa procedures and also follows the terms and conditions stipulated in the financing agreement.
• Work with the CRU, Finance & Administration Manager and wider Farm Africa finance team to monitor financial risks, developing and implementing mitigation actions as needed
  Monitoring and evaluation of the project’s outcomes and impact
• Work closely with the M&E Knowledge Management Specialist and TML to contribute lessons learned, ensure dissemination and maintain dialogue on key project findings
• Ensure the project’s log-frame and data collection plans are regularly reviewed and refreshed, and the project is collecting the breadth of indicators required at a frequency and timing in line with reporting purposes
• Lead the project’s annual self-assessment process ensuring that necessary evidence is collected and all staff are actively inputting into the process
• Ensure that the project is regularly conducting beneficiary surveys, collecting other data through relevant sources, developing case studies and collating photos
• Oversee baseline, mid-term, final evaluation and other external evaluations, ensuring that learning and recommendations from those evaluations are explicitly incorporated into the project’s future implementation activity
  Supporting the contract management for the project, ensuring that donor reports are of a high standard
• Support annual PPR reflection processes to assess any adjustments needed to budget allocations for the project
• Ensure timely narrative and financial reporting from the region is secured, in good time for collation by the TML and submission to the donor
• Proactively identify any required changes to donor-agreed regional work plans, objectives and/or budgets, working with the TML and Uganda Country Representative to agree and implement any necessary contract revisions or renegotiations
•  Ensure compliance with donor procurement and other contractual requirements
•  Support management and oversee the quality of donor visits to the region
  Leadership and management of a project team of 11 staff
•  Spend a high proportion of the time in the field visiting project activities to ensure activities are on track and are in line with Farm Africa Approaches/Methodologies
• Working with the Country Office team, TML and Project Accountant & Administrator, lead on the recruitment of new staff to the project team
•  Hold (at least) monthly staff meetings and send minutes and key action points to partners and any relevant stakeholders
• Provide leadership and motivation to all project staff building values-based team working and individual staff skills relevant to the project.
•  Regularly provide both informal and formal coaching and feedback to all project staff
•  Effectively and promptly deal with any poor performance and actively recognise and encourage strong performance
•  Actively seek feedback on own performance and effectiveness from both country leadership as well as own project staff.
•  Hold in-person supervision sessions with all line-managed staff at least once per quarter (to discuss progress against their personal development objectives and work targets) and carry out in-person annual appraisals with all line-managed staff
  Manage and nurture mutually beneficial partnerships with stakeholders
• Proactively identify and raise with the Country Representative, TML (and others as appropriate) any project-related delivery risks, and work with project partner staff to implement action plans to resolve identified issues
• Act as a regional level ambassador, promoting the project, including hosting visitors, speaking at workshops and conferences, and meeting donors and other officials when required
•  Provide formal representation of the project at regional level with respect to key signatory government parties; ensure periodic reports are submitted to them on a timely basis
• Convene quarterly project meetings, involving representatives from all stakeholder groups
• Support organisation of external events, forums and conferences to share project lessons and experiences
  Play an active role as a member of the Farm Africa Country team
• Contribute to the development and implementation of Farm Africa’s strategy
•  Identify and explore opportunities to grow and expand the country project pipeline, both in relation to the current project or related to new project opportunities
• Work with the Country Representative and the UK Programme Funding Unit to prepare funding proposals where requested, ensuring that any lessons learned during implementation are documented and built into future project design
• Participate in country-level or pan-Farm Africa programme meetings with other project coordinators, as reasonably requested

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

• The ideal candidate for the Farm Africa Project Coordinator job placement must hold a post graduate degree or equivalent in Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Pastoral Development, Rural Livelihoods or other relevant field
• Five years’ experience as a senior project manager in an INGO or agri-business evidencing knowledge and understanding of project strategy, design, implementation, monitoring and reporting.
• Previous experience in operationalising project plans for complex programmes with multiple partners and external stakeholders
• Experience in financial management, including the ability to develop, read and manage budgets; and rapidly spot potential issues and solutions
• Experience in implementing gender transformative programming
• Experience in Designing for Behaviour Change (DBC)approaches
• Experience in working in consortia
• Experience of leading projects delivering change using a market-systems approach
• Experience as senior manager working within a pastoralist systems context
• Experience of working in Karamoja
• Trained in DBC techniques
• Experience in working in consortia on DFID (UK Aid) funded project
• Demonstrated leadership, line management and team building experience - including appraisal and managing under-performance.
• Knowledge and understanding of the livestock and pastoralism sector in Uganda, in particular with relation to small ruminants
• Detailed understanding of market-based approaches to development and particularly approaches which encourage greater participation of women
• Detailed understanding of participatory community-based project approaches, gender mainstreaming in development and economic opportunities.
• Detailed understanding eco-system management, ideally in a rangeland/fodder context
•  Further relevant academic qualification in the area of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Pastoral Development, Rural Livelihoods or other relevant field is desired
• Detailed understanding of the interdependence between livelihoods and nutrition programming
• Ability to build strong relationships with stakeholders based on trust, collaboration, demonstrated commitment and impact, deploying a wide range of influencing techniques as required
• Excellent network and excellent relationship with government partners
• Experience in leading teams in problem solving
• Experience in combining coaching with effective and insightful feedback on strengths, development areas and ways to grow
• Excellent written and oral communication and presentation skills with the ability to work with both Government and Private Sector stakeholders
• Excellent record of writing including briefs, project reports, communication and dissemination materials
• Fluent written and spoken English
• Ability and willingness to travel widely and frequently both within and outside the Karamoja sub-region
• Adept in Microsoft Windows including Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint
•  Fluency in Karamojong is desired

Job application procedure
All suitably qualified and interested candidates should send an updated CV, salary history, and a two-page supporting statement detailing how you meet the person specification to ugandarecruitment@farmafrica.org  including ‘Project Coordinator L4L’ in the subject line.

NB: Please DO NOT send additional documents such as certificates and references with your application. Shortlisted candidates ONLY will be required to provide these documents during the interview process. Interviews are expected to take place w/c 29th January 2018 at Farm Africa's country office in Kampala. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.