The Ugandan Jobline

Job Title:      Project Coordinator –
Commercialising Chilli Production

Organization: Farm Africa

Duty Station:  Lira, Uganda

Reports to:  Programme Manager

About US:

Farm Africa, founded in 1985, is an international
non-governmental organization working in Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania.
We drive agricultural and environmental change to improve lives. Our strategy
has three pillars: agricultural expertise, management and preservation of
ecosystems, and the power of business to drive prosperity. We believe Africa
has the power to feed itself and are helping make this happen by establishing
and spreading the best farming and forestry techniques so that poor farmers and
herders have more food to feed their families and to sell. We help smallholders
manage their natural resources sustainably so that they can withstand climate
change challenges and shocks and ensure their families have enough food in the
future as well as now. Farm Africa works in partnership with communities,
government, local and international organizations, and the private sector to
innovate, learn and share best practices for maximum impact of our projects.

About Project:

Farm Africa is mid-way through implementation of a
three-year project in partnership with aBi Development Limited and the North
East Chilli Producers Association (NECPA). The project is focussed on creating
a more competitive and profitable chilli value chain within Lira, northern
Uganda to capitalise on growing international demand for varieties of Ugandan
African Birds Eye (ABE) dried chillies. The project will strengthen the
technical capacity of NECPA and their extension team to support
market-orientated chilli production across their entire area of operation. Key
project activities include; delivering an enhanced extension package to 3,000
(120 groups of 25) chilli farmers in Aromo, Barr and Amach sub-counties; reforming
input supply within Aromo, Barr and Amach sub-counties to ensure there is an
adequate flow of high-quality inputs to service growing demand from farmers;
supporting NECPA to obtain the proper certification and licencing required in
order to begin accessing and selling their farmers’ chillies directly into
high-value export markets. At the same time, the project will promote greater
inclusivity within the value chain, encouraging female and youth led production
by educating on gender mainstreaming and creating new enterprise opportunities.

Job Purpose: The
Project Coordinator (PC) is a key role in the senior management team in Uganda
and is ultimately responsible for planning and leading the implementation of
the Commercialising Chilli Production (CCP) project by both Farm Africa and our
implementing partner, NECPA. The PC will be required to manage the planning,
implementation, monitoring & reporting of all aspects of the CCP project.
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 post-holder will be
based in Farm Africa’s Lira office, and will be reporting in to the Program
Manager, Uganda (PM). 

Key Duties and Responsibilities:  The
Project Coordinator will oversee project implementation by both Farm Africa and
our partner, NECPA, and will be responsible for the following:

Plan and manage the CCP project implementation in accordance with the
objectives, work plans and budgets agreed with the donor.

Project planning:

·       
Work in close consultation with the Program
Manager (PM) to 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.

·       
Work closely with NECPA management team to
develop an implementation plan and budget in line with donor requirements and
contractual plans for the overall programme.

·       
Regularly review delivery progress against
plans, highlighting areas of concern in a timely manner and proactively
addressing them in good time.

Project delivery, implementation and internal reporting:

·       
Ensure the methodologies for each activity are
clearly understood by the Farm Africa and NECPA project teams and delivered
according to Farm Africa Approaches.

·       
Ensure that project activities are implemented
and outputs achieved as planned and within budget and timelines that have been
contractually agreed with the donor

·       
Ensure that accurate and detailed records are
kept of activities delivered by both Farm Africa and NECPA teams and extension
staff, and logged using GPS devices as stipulated by the donor

·       
Participate in quarterly programme progress
review sessions with the Program Manager and other key staff 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;

·       
Provide high-quality and accurate narrative and
financial reports in line with contractual agreements

·       
Work closely with the NECPA management team,
providing hands-on support with managing programme delivery in line with
contractual agreements

Financial management and governance:

·       
Closely monitor project expenditure, ensuring
that requests for variances are requested from, and approved by, the donor
ahead of time.

·       
Work with the Project Accountant &
Administrator (PA&A) and Finance & Administration Manager (FAM) for
Uganda 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)

·       
Implement 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 and is in line with the requirements outlined in

·       
the aBi Financial Management Guidelines

·       
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 donor’s Financial Management
Guidelines

·       
Work with the PA&A, FAM and PM to monitor
financial risks, developing and implementing mitigation actions as needed

Monitoring and evaluation of the project’s outputs, outcomes and
impact:

·       
With support from the wider Monitoring &
Evaluation team, develop and implement a Monitoring & Learning Plan (MLP)
for the project in line with Farm Africa’s guidelines and the donor’s
requirements

·       
Ensure the project’s log-frame and data
collection plans are regularly reviewed and refreshed

·       
Ensure that KPI data is regularly and accurately
recorded and submitted to the donor on a quarterly basis in line with
contractual requirements

·       
Closely monitor progress against the project’s
‘payment by result’ indicators – reporting on progress and highlighting any
concerns to the PM on a quarterly basis

·       
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

·       
Ensure that activities delivered by the Farm
Africa and NECPA teams are logged using GPS devices provided by the donor, and
in line with the donor requirements

·       
With support from the wider Monitoring &
Evaluation team, oversee the joint procurement of baseline and EoP evaluations
by the Farm Africa and aBi teams, ensuring that learning and recommendations
from those evaluations are explicitly incorporated into the project’s future
implementation activities.

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

·       
Produce accurately and timely narrative and
financial reporting information for review and submission by PM and Programme
Support Team

·       
With support from the PA&A, ensure that full
transactional reports for all expenditures are received promptly in Kampala
within one week of the month end to ensure timely onward reporting to the donor

·       
Proactively identify any required changes to
donor-agreed work plans, objectives and/or budgets, working with the PM, CD and
Programme Support Team 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 project team:

·       
Spend a high proportion of the time in the field
guiding the delivery of project activities and ensuring timely and high-quality
delivery in line with donor expectations and requirements

·       
Working with the Country Office team, lead on
the recruitment of new staff to the project team

·       
Hold weekly 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 M Proactively mentor and support
NECPA team and their extension staff to achieve their project objectives

·       
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 month (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 PM (and
others as appropriate) any project- related delivery risks, and work with NECPA
staff and other stakeholders 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 PM, CD 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:

Essential

·       
The ideal candidate for the Farm Africa Project
Coordinator – Commercialising Chilli Production job must hold a Postgraduate
degree or equivalent in Agriculture, Agribusiness, Rural Development, Rural
Livelihoods or any other related field.

·       
Demonstrable understanding of private sector
agriculture value chains and rural development in Uganda

·       
Knowledge and understanding of the chilli value
chain in Uganda and key dynamics and stakeholders within it.

·       
Excellent understanding of market-based
approaches to development and particularly approaches which encourage greater
participation of women and youth

·       
At least three years management experience with
an INGO or agri-business evidencing knowledge and understanding of project
strategy, design, implementation, line management monitoring and reporting.

·       
Experience of operationalising project plans
with multiple external stakeholders and managing implementing partners

·       
Experience in financial management, including
the ability to develop, read and manage budgets; and rapidly spot potential
issues and solutions

·       
Direct experience of delivering business
development services to agribusinesses and supporting them to access finance
and grow.

·       
Experience in combining coaching with effective
and insightful feedback on organisational strengths, development areas and ways
to grow

·       
Direct experience of formalising smallholder
producer supply chains, or supporting agribusinesses to do the same

·       
Experience of using a range of tools to monitor
project outcomes on an ongoing and regular basis

·       
Experience of using a range of tools to monitor
delivery of activities and collating this information for sharing with donors.

·       
Experience of producing high-quality narrative
reports for large-scale donors

·       
Excellent written and oral communication and
presentation skills with the ability to work with both Government, CSOs and
Private Sector stakeholders.

·       
Ability to lead and mentor both Farm Africa and
partner staff

·       
Excellent training/facilitation skills and
experience

·       
Excellent network and excellent relationship
with government partners

·       
Ability and willingness to travel widely and
frequently both regionally and nationally

·       
Ability to build strong relationships with
stakeholders based on trust, collaboration, demonstrated commitment and impact,
deploying a wide range of influencing techniques as required

Desired:

·       
Further relevant academic qualification in the
area of Agriculture, Agribusiness, Rural Development, Rural Livelihoods or
other relevant field

·       
Experience of working in Lango sub-region and
northern Uganda

·       
At least three years field-based experience
implementing private sector and smallholder projects in agriculture

·       
Experience of working on aBi-funded projects

·       
Experience of working within the chilli
(ideally) or other horticultural value chains

·       
Experience of supporting Ugandan businesses to
enter the international export market, and gain the necessary licences

·       
Experience of developing strategies for
small¬scale private sector actors working in the agricultural input supply
chains

·       
Experience of designing production planning
tools for smallholder farmers.

·       
Demonstrated leadership, line management and
team building experience – including conducting appraisals and managing
under-performance.

·       
Experience of establishing and supporting the
development of VSLA initiatives (or similar group saving schemes).

·       
Negotiating & managing partner relationships

·       
Experience in leading teams in problem solving

·       
Fluency in Langi/Luo

How to Apply:

Please submit your CV, salary history and a two page
supporting statement demonstrating how your skills and experience meet the
requirements outlined in the person specification to ugandarecruitment@farmafrica.org.

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 30th March 2020 at Farm
Africa’s country office in Kampala or Lira field office. Only shortlisted
candidates will be contacted.

For full job description, click
here

Deadline: 18^th
March 2020 by 5:00pm EAT

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