Summary
Date Posted: Tuesday, November 22, 2022 , Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:

The Program
Present in Uganda since 2006, Mercy Corps Uganda’s aim is to catalyze change through the Ugandan private sector, civil society, and government to create resilient, economically inclusive, healthy, and secure communities.
REVIVE is the Climate Smart Land Management and Services component of the FCDO-funded Climate Smart Jobs (CSJ) programme implemented in Northern Uganda by Mercy Corps and its partners: Mandulis Energy, Viamo, Uganda Landcare Network and Uganda Cooperative Alliance.

The four-year programme will be realized through three outputs:
Viable and climate impactful sustainable land management products and services are identified and prepared for investment (stimulate supply);
Smallholder farmers, (including women and refugees within host communities) have increased information access and skills needed to adapt to, and increased resilience against climate shocks and stresses through sustained uptake of effective sustainable land management practices (stimulate demand);
Key barriers which confront the enabling environment and therefore the success of this programme are overcome (for both SMEs and smallholder farmers) with a focus on improving advocacy capacity at community level (improve the enabling environment).
The outputs will ensure that regenerated and improved ecosystem services at landscape/ watershed level are able to support smallholder farmers’, refugee communities' and women’s resilience and climate adaptive capacity.

The Position
The Program Officer will be responsible for facilitating the implementation of the REVIVE project activities at the community level. S/he will be in constant contact with partners, public and private stakeholders and targeted communities to ensure full participation, integration of activities, collaboration of partners and implementation. In coordination with Team Lead, Deputy Team Lead, Technical Leads, MEL officers and CARM assistant, s/he will conduct regular field visits to ensure that all stakeholders fully understand and utilize REVIVE approaches and methodologies. S/he will be responsible for working and building the capacity of the partners, supporting in developing institutional development plans for the local partners, participating in coordination meetings, and preparing activity work plans and budgets for approval.

Essential Responsibilities
Project Implementation
• Provide technical support in the responsibility areas for Climate Smart and Sustainable Land Management, Economic Development, Gender, Equity and Social Inclusion to ensure that planned activities are implemented timely and with required deliverable quality.
• Work with the community structures across refugee and host communities to plan and implement effectively the deliverables of the program in line with work plans and targets.
• Facilitate implementation of the activities across REVIVE implementation districts.
• Represent the project, displaying courtesy and tact in all interactions with community members, sub-county and district level authorities and other stakeholders.
• Conduct regular field visits to ensure proper implementation of activities and that all stakeholders fully understand and utilize REVIVE approaches and methodologies.
• In coordination with the Technical Leads and Deputy Team Lead, prepare activity plans, implement and compile the activity reports.
• Take part in facilitating and monitoring the work of project partners and community facilitators and ensure value for money for the tasks given.
• Contribute to the development of field activities and report writing.
• Contribute to the identification of lessons learnt and propose recommendations for programmatic adaptations.
• Contribute to project research activities including data collection, as needed.
• Support in developing capacity building materials for partners as well as participate in capacity building sessions based on identified needs.
• Carry out any other duties as required for the good functioning of the project.

Learning and Adaptive Management
• In coordination with REVIVE and Mercy Corps Uganda MEL team, facilitate learning sessions with project team and external stakeholders to reflect on evidence and drive planning and implementation of program inputs and activities.
• Organize and facilitate pause and reflect sessions to monitor performance of project activities and document to inform and adapt work plans taking into consideration the dynamic and complex contexts of climate change and project nature.

Supervisory Responsibility
None

Accountability
Reports Directly To: Deputy Team Lead
Works Directly With: Team Lead, Deputy Team Lead, Technical Leads and other Program team including officers and assistants as well as support departments including finance, operations and administration.

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders
Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills
• Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences, Agricultural Economics, Rural Development, Development Studies or related field;
• Minimum of three years’ professional experience in implementing resilience building, economic development, climate adaptation and related projects. Experience in the context of refugee-host community is highly preferred;
• Ability and commitment to teamwork;
• Ability to interact effectively with the diverse project stakeholders;
• Knowledge of local languages spoken in the context is an added advantage;
• Possession of a valid motorcycle license preferred.

Success Factors
The successful Program Officer will combine adaptive planning and communication skills in the delivery of the project activities in the community. Ability to quickly learn and implement new information/concepts. Willingness to travel frequently to remote locations. Ability to work with various community structures including but not limited to farmer groups, cooperatives, unions, VSLAs, local governments, refugees, etc. Multi-tasking, prioritizing, problem solving and simultaneous attention to detail as well as strategic vision are essential. The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations. A good sense of humor and the ability to learn from mistakes also goes a long way!

Ongoing Learning
In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity
Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.
We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics
Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

Disclaimer: This job description is NOT an exhaustive list of the skills, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.


Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: 36

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Job application procedure

Interested applicants must submit their Cover Letter & CV saved in 1 document as PDF of no more than 5 pages by 27th November 2022.
Please note that any application submitted that does not follow the above instructions will be automatically discarded.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Mercy Corps does not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process.

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