The Ugandan Jobline

• United States Agency for International
  Development (USAID)
• Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
• Peace Corps 

• The Political Assistant must initiate and
  maintain a broad range of contacts in his/her portfolio at the highest
  levels, which includes government (members of parliament, senior military
  officers, and civil servants in key ministries), political parties,
  diplomatic missions (DRC, Somalia, Rwanda and others), academia, Diaspora
  communities, civil society and the media. To maintain and expand these
  contacts, incumbent attends civil society gatherings, important public
  meetings, legislative sessions and conferences and seminars as well as
  track social media accounts relevant to his/her portfolio. Drawing on
  his/her broad base of contacts, the incumbent assists with the selection
  of candidates for Public Affairs programs.
• The incumbent is also responsible for
  suggesting new contacts with which the Section can engage. He/she helps
  orient new American officers by introducing them to key political contacts
  and opinion leaders.
• The incumbent also develops guest lists for
  representations events, and advises them on relative importance and
  experience of state policy makers.
• The Political Assistant must therefore keep
  abreast of domestic and regional events as well as its various actors and
  trends.

• Uganda is increasingly carving out a niche as
  a regional security leader and its relations with its neighbors
  significantly influence peace and security in the region.  The incumbent has reporting and research
  responsibilities of broad scope, complexity, and sensitivity in the fields
  of political-military affairs, Uganda’s bilateral external relations,
  regional foreign policy, and other external affairs and reports jointly to
  the Political Section’s Political-Military Officer and the External
  Affairs Officer. Often at his/her own initiative, the incumbent must
  gather information, initiate meetings with new and existing contacts,
  conduct research, and develop extensive contacts on complex military and
  regional foreign policy-related issues. The incumbent is responsible for
  monitoring developments within the Ugandan military, including promotions
  and shake-ups of top military leadership. Due to Uganda’s influence as a
  regional military leader, as well as a key U.S. partner on security
  issues, the incumbent also drafts cables, memorandum, and official
  correspondence for the Political Section, Embassy Front Office and
  Washington. The incumbent also reviews, verifies, and distributes
  information from a wide range of media sources in English and local
  languages.
• As a result, the incumbent maintains regular
  contact with Ugandan government and military officials as well as the
  Somali Diaspora community living in Uganda. Due to the wide range of
  multilateral efforts related to issues in Somalia, the incumbent must also
  maintain contact with diplomatic, governmental and civil society contacts
  in Kenya, Ethiopia, Burundi, and other nations. This work requires the
  incumbent to follow military, political, and social developments in
  Somalia in order to provide timely reports on strategic issues for the
  United States.
• The incumbent follows military and
  humanitarian programs related to the counter-LRA efforts and is Post’s
  primary expert on issues related to the post-LRA reconstruction in
  northern Uganda where the United States has invested over $700 million
  since 2008. The incumbent is responsible for providing up-to-date
  information on the LRA in response to requests from the highest levels of
  the U.S. government.
• The incumbent also assists regular TDY staff
  working on LRA issues and frequent visits by Congressional delegations and
  government officials to examine LRA issues.

• The incumbent must possess an understanding
  of governance and conflict issues in the Great Lakes Region (DRC and
  Rwanda especially), the East African Community (Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi
  and Rwanda), South Sudan and Horn of Africa (Somalia especially), the
  African Union, and the United Nations as well as maintaining contacts with
  regional bodies (civil society and governmental) working on these issues.
• Uganda was the primary supporter of South
  Sudanese independence and remains heavily engaged in all issues related to
  South Sudan and Sudan.
• The incumbent studies and reports on Uganda’s
  relations with South Sudan and Sudan and provides context for policymakers
  on Uganda’s views. The incumbent must use discretion and judgment to
  maintain regular contact with Ugandan officials and other regional
  contacts based in Uganda. 
• The incumbent must maintain a variety of
  contacts and be able to make sense of and summarize complex security and
  legal issues, including the high-profile trials of terror suspects.
• The incumbent is responsible for following
  and reporting on issues related to human rights abuses and management of
  the Ugandan military and police. As the police often intervene to halt
  protests related to domestic grievances, the incumbent must also maintain
  an understanding of how domestic issues affect the military and police.
• The incumbent is also responsible for
  monitoring developments within the Ugandan police and security forces,
  including promotions and shake-ups of top leadership. 

• The incumbent also serves as the back-up for
  human rights and democracy issues and is the primary person responsible
  for covering Trafficking in Persons and Child Labor issues; including
  researching and drafting the content for the Congressionally-mandated
  annual reports on trafficking in persons and child labor.
• The incumbent assists the Political
  Specialist by monitoring domestic politics, civil society, human rights,
  democracy and governance. Due to Uganda’s religious diversity, complex
  social and political issues, and poor human rights record, compiling the
  mandated reports requires an extraordinary amount of organization, effort,
  professionalism, and tact, and the incumbent must sort through multiple,
  often contradictory claims in a fair and objective manner. 
• The incumbent must develop and maintain
  effective working relationships with a wide range of senior government,
  police, prisons, military, civil society representatives and social media
  opinion leaders involved in human rights and governance related issues.
• Democracy and human rights developments are
  significant components of the bilateral relationship and these issues
  receive high-level attention from officials in the State Department,
  National Security Staff, and White House. Both issues are sensitive,
  particularly when researching human rights violations allegations against
  the Ugandan government or military, and require the incumbent to exercise
  discretion, tact, and keen judgment. 
  Due to the difficult democratic environment, the incumbent must
  coordinate closely with American officers to report on these complex issues
  while being conscious of misperceptions by some officials that democracy
  and human rights issues threaten the sovereignty and stability of the
  Ugandan government. 

• The incumbent may travel independently
  especially in Kampala and the surrounding districts and other parts of
  Uganda as the need arises, to keep up-to-date on political and social
  developments of importance to US interests across the board. Through this
  travel, incumbent keeps the Political Section informed about developments
  in decentralization, grassroots reach of political parties, human rights
  issues, communal relations and tensions, political personalities among
  others.
• The incumbent assists in the planning and
  organizing of visits by state Department officials, Cabinet Secretaries,
  other Executive Branch officials and Congressional Delegations. Although
  this is done under the supervision of American officers; the incumbent
  plays a role not only in logistical arrangements but also in suggesting
  site visits, tours and meetings with key Ugandan personalities.
• The Political Assistant arranges meetings
  with key political contacts ensuring that American officers and official
  visitors are able to gather comprehensive information and take full
  advantage of the visit. S/he recommends approaches to be taken by American
  principals in the meetings and prepares background and biographic
  material. Incumbent assists Protocol and Front Office as required.

• The applicants for the United US Embassy Political
  Assistant career placement opportunity should hold a university degree in
  political science, political economy, economics, history, journalism and
  human rights is required.
• At least five years’ experience in foreign
  policy, political, social development, academia or journalism.
• Broad knowledge of the host country’s
  political, economic, social structure and regional security environment.
  Must have a comprehensive understanding of U.S. foreign policy, U.S.
  interests in Uganda, and U.S. development assistance to Uganda.
• Exceptional interpersonal, analytical,
  communication, planning and organizational skills.
• Ability to develop and maintain an extensive
  range of high-level contacts within the host country government, local
  political parties, security forces, local NGOs and civil society.
• Ability to plan, organize and execute complex
  research projects and prepare precise, accurate and factual analytical reports
  often on sensitive topics that require a high degree of personal courage
  given prevailing political circumstances in Uganda.
• Language Proficiency: 
  Level IV fluent English in speaking, reading and writing
  required.  Level III local language
  skills also required

• Download a completed and signed Universal
  Application for Employment as a Locally Employed Staff, Download
  it Here.
• Any additional documentation that supports or
  addresses the requirements listed above (e.g. transcripts, degrees, etc.)

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