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Job Title:  Project Coordinator

Organisation: Farm Africa

Duty Station:  Moroto, Uganda

Reports to: Program Manager

DURATION & HOURS: Six months fixed-term contract, full-time, renewable based on availability of funds

 

About Organisation:

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 CASCADE Project:

Farm Africa operates in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and we are pursuing pipeline development opportunities in DRC. Farm Africa and CARE International in Uganda entered into a partnership to implement a project, CAtalyzing Strengthened policy aCtion for heAlthy Diets and resiliencE (CASCADE). The project aims to improve food security and contribute to reduction of malnutrition among women of reproductive age and children under 5 years. The primary goals of the CASCADE project are twofold: first, to boost the availability and consumption of nutritious diets, and second, to enhance the nutritional resilience of households in these six countries. The project places a special emphasis on the well-being of women of reproductive age and children. Farm Africa will implement the CASCADE in Karamoja sub-region.

 

Job Summary:  The Project Coordinator (PC) will be responsible for coordination, planning and implementation of the CASCADE project by Farm Africa. The PC will manage relationships with key stakeholders and have overall responsibility for delivering and reporting on all project activities. Your role will involve facilitating technical trainings, linkages, and catalyzing relationships behavior change that leads to healthy diets in households. You will work closely with farmers, local government agencies, community structures, community leaders, partners and project staff to deliver high-quality training programs and support the adoption of healthy diets in households.

 

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Project planning: Plan and manage the CASCADE project implementation in accordance with the objectives, work plans and budgets agreed with the donor.

• Work in close consultation with the Program Manager (PM) to review and prepare the project’s work plan and budget as part of the monthly, 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 are clear on project plans and required resources during planning and that it aligns with that of broader CASCADE Project.
• Work closely with CARE International CASCADE project team to develop an implementation plan and budget in line with CARE International 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 project team and delivered according to Farm Africa and CARE International CASCADE project 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 Farm Africa
• Participate in quarterly programme progress review sessions with the Program Manager, CARE International CASCADE project as necessary 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 CARE International CASCADE project team, ensuring compliance in 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 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 donor requirements
• 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 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 output data is regularly and accurately recorded using agreed tools and submitted to the donor on a quarterly basis in line with contractual requirements
• Closely monitor progress against all 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
• With support from the wider Monitoring & Evaluation team, oversee major evaluations, assessments, and studies by the Farm Africa and CARE International CASCADE project 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 FAM, 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 share minutes and key action points to PM 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
• Proactively and regularly liaise with CARE International CASCADE project team to harmonize one project approach.
• 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 CARE International CASCADE project team 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, MELC, 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

• Postgraduate degree or equivalent in Agriculture, Agribusiness, Nutrition, Rural Development, Rural Livelihoods or any other related field.
• Demonstrable understanding of food security and nutrition and rural development in Karamoja context
• Excellent understanding of inclusive -based approaches to development and particularly approaches which encourage greater participation of women and youth
• At least three years management experience with an NGO 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
• 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 Farm Africa staff and work well with 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 Karamoja sub-region
• At least three years field-based experience implementing sustainable food security and nutrition projects in Karamoja.
• Experience of working in a consortium, and collaborating with district local government at various levels
• 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 delivering sustainable food security and nutrition practices (FFBS, CSA, PHH, GAP, GALS, SAA, EMB etc)
• Negotiating & managing partner relationships
• Experience in leading teams in problem solving
• Fluency in Ngakarimojong

 

How to Apply:

To apply, please send a CV, salary history, and a two-page supporting statement detailing how you meet the person specification and your availability/notice period to ugandarecruitment@farmafrica.org including ‘Project Coordinator’ in the subject line.

 

NB: Please DO NOT send additional documents such as certificates and references with your application. Successful candidates ONLY will be required to provide these documents during the referencing process.

 

Due to the urgent requirement to fill this position, applications will be assessed and suitable candidates invited for interview on a rolling basis. This may mean that the position is filled before the closing date so qualified candidates are urged to submit their applications promptly.

 

Deadline: 14th June 2024 by 5:00pm

 

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