Vacancy title:
Project Officer

Jobs at:
Fairtrade Africa (FTA)

Deadline of this Job:
19th February 2018

Duty Station:
Kampala and Busia, Uganda

Job details:
Reports to: Director
Salary Range (Gross): UGX 4,155,000 – 6,580,000

Fairtrade Africa (FTA) is the umbrella network organisation representing Fairtrade certified producers and workers in Africa. It has four (4) regional networks – Eastern & Central Africa; Southern Africa; Western Africa; and the Middle East and North Africa. Established in 2005, FTA aims to effectively represent producers and workers within the International Fairtrade system and provide services to them that contribute to the improvement of their livelihoods. The FTA Board directs policy and strategic development of the organisation.

Job Summary: The Project Officer will effectively tackle child labor in ASM communities, a partnership was created between NGOs that are experts in addressing child labor and responsible mining (Hivos/Stop Child Labour (SCL), UNICEF, Fairtrade and Solidaridad) and two sustainable frontrunners in the electronics industry - Fairphone and Royal Philips. The parties agreed to join forces and implement a two years program, known as the Anti Child Labour (ACL) programme, with the aim of tackling child labor in Uganda by working closely with mining communities and connecting more responsible gold to the electronics industry supply chains, starting by the ones of Philips and Fairphone. The Project Officer will be the Local Liaison for the implementation the ACL Programme and IMPACT Projects (herein referred to as ‘The Projects’). This will entail mainly:

• Coordinating the implementation of the Projects’ activities in close cooperation with all local implementing partners in Uganda.
• Continuously monitor progress of the Projects in Uganda.
• Spearheading implementation of FTA outputs in the IMPACT Project.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• Overall programme coordination for the projects (ACL Programme and Fairtrade’s IMPACT
• Projects) in Uganda based on a joint country programme and workplan.
• The co-development and constant review of the local implementation strategy with the Project Managers of the IMPACT Project and ACL Projects in Uganda.
• Development of annual work plans, in close cooperation with the Project Manager(s) and respective Program Team(s), the facilitation and coordination of programme development, country alliance communication and certain external relations pertinent to the Projects.
• Monitoring the implementation of the project plan and activities at field level with diverse stakeholders, both local and international.
• The coordination of local activities of different parties involved in the Projects and communication between the local partners.
• Supporting the in-country programme team to deliver optimal results and flagging areas where more action is needed.
•  (Co)-organisation of in-country workshops, planning and review meetings with implementing partners and assisting in the reporting.
• Facilitation of shared learning and joint initiatives with regard to programme implementation and PME activities at country level.
• Establish and maintain stakeholder relations, including relations with the government departments in all tiers (local and administrative) as well as key CSO’s and development agencies / networks to enhance stakeholder engagement in the project.
• Regular follow up and visits to local program sites and engagement with community/local organizations and stakeholders for larger impact of the project.
• Project representative at local level and Fairtrade’s liaison for the Gold category in Uganda.
• Assist with context sensitive training materials on formalisation and responsible mining to Local Partners and ASMOs.
• Support in the roll out of ASMO Assessments and ASMO Improvement Plans in Fairtrade’s IMPACT Project.
• Travel in Uganda and occasionally internationally will be required.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

• The applicant must hold a graduate level degree
• Three years of relevant work experience.
• Experience in social development, working with Community Groups/ Rural Enterprises.
• Experience with Artisanal and Small-scale Miners or in Child Protection programmes will be an advantage.
• Experience working with consortia of project partners and proven record of bringing multi-stakeholder projects successfully to an end.
• Knowledge or experience in sustainability standards such as Fairtrade can be desirable.
• Skills
• Excellent written and spoken English and working knowledge of Swahili/ Luganda.
• Good track record in Project Management (report writing, programme planning, etc.)
• Strong administrative and planning skills.
• Community engagement, alliance building, negotiation and mobilisation skills
• Microsoft Office computer skills.
• Proactive and can-do attitude.
• Result oriented, and able to use their initiative to reach objectives set.
• Able to handle varied, demanding and complex tasks.
• Ability to work independently.
• A flexible and enthusiastic approach to work with the ability to be part of a team.

Job application procedure
All candidates should send an application form, download here, and send to recruitments@fairtradeafrica.net . All applicants should state how they meet essential requirements of the job in the application form, and should include email address and telephone contact details in their applications.