Agricultural Finance Lead Jobs – FSD Uganda

Job Title: Agricultural Finance Lead

Organisation: FSD Uganda

Duty Station: Kampala, Uganda

About Organisation:

FSD Uganda (FSDU) is an independent, not for Profit Company. We support innovation, conduct research and help improve policy and regulation. Our objective is a deeper, broader and more inclusive financial sector in Uganda. Our aim is to improve the livelihoods of Uganda’s low-income households through a market-development approach.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

KRA 1: Thought Leadership & Strategy

• Act as a thought leader in Agricultural Value Chain development and Digital Finance; seeking to support value chain actors, financial service providers and digital platforms and to develop more innovative interoperable and appropriate financial products, digital ecosystems and business models that will deliver value to all actors at an affordable cost, while aligning with Uganda’s National Digital Transformation Agenda (MoICT) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) National Digital Agriculture Strategy.
• Keep abreast of new development and trends in Agricultural value chains, and in Uganda’s financial markets in general (including any global trends which might inform or impact programming).
• Oversee and coordinate the implementation of FSDU’s DIGA program; identifying opportunities for collaboration and prioritising interventions to strengthen financial inclusion, agricultural digitization, digital onboarding, interoperability, market access and last-mile service delivery
• With reference to the FSD strategy – which provides macro/ long term direction – develop FSD Uganda’s strategy for market interventions in the Agricultural Finance & MSME space. Including but not limited to:

Agricultural Technology Platforms

Cooperatives

Big Data

Value Chain Finance

Digital Payments

• Digital Financial Services (i.e., Savings, Credit, Insurance, Investments & Pension)
• Further, the strategic focus areas shall also align with Uganda’s national digital priorities and Digital Public Infrastructure agenda, including but not limited to:

Digital Identity & Trusted Farmer/SME Registries

Shared Payments & Transaction Infrastructure

Shared Data Exchange & Interoperability Frameworks

Open APIs & Consent-Based Data Sharing Models

• Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) ecosystems

Last-Mile Digital Inclusion Infrastructure

Rural Connectivity & Offline-First Digital Solutions

Digital Agriculture Enablement Platforms

AI-enabled Agricultural Advisory Ecosystems

Shared Ecosystem Infrastructure & Interoperability Standards

• Staying true to market system development principles, and working with colleagues to ensure cross-pillar collaboration, conceptualise potential interventions; submit concept notes for approval, including logical Theories of Change and Results Chains
• Work with the DoP and with intervention managers to prioritise interventions; aiming to achieve fund utilisation targets whilst allocating resources for optimum impact (Value for Money) at all levels of the ecosystem.
• Manage and facilitate phased implementation approaches for DIGA programme interventions including ecosystem mapping, foundational infrastructure development, pilots, institutionalization and scale-up models.
• Support ecosystem mapping and diagnostics of existing Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)
• initiatives, agricultural digital ecosystems, interoperability gaps and inclusive digital finance opportunities across agriculture and MSME sectors.
• Identify duplication, infrastructure gaps and opportunities for shared ecosystem
• infrastructure and interoperable digital service delivery models.

KRA 2: Team Leadership

• Lead the teams of staff and consultants deployed to each intervention in a manner that empowers them to contribute effectively towards achievement of FSD Uganda’s strategy:
• Ensure that each intervention is resourced with the necessary talent through a combination of recruitment and management of staff and procurement of consultants
• Lead and manage each team towards high standards of performance through clear roles and responsibilities and provision of appropriate support; proactively address performance issues through timely constructive feedback, coaching and appropriate corrective action
• Ensure the utilisation of a leadership style that will drive employee engagement and keep the team motivated to achieve results
• Ensure development of an inclusive environment; implement policies and ways-of-working that provide for diversity and equal opportunities
• Support technical capacity strengthening of implementing partners, cooperatives, fintechs, agritech platforms, Farmer Field Schools, VSLA groups and ecosystem actors on digital transformation, interoperability, digital financial services and inclusive digital delivery models.

KRA 3: Influencing & Facilitating Change

• Clarify the ways in which achievement of FSD Uganda’s objectives depends upon influencing the mindset or behaviour of others (e.g., Implementing Partners, policymakers, end-users & other stakeholders); lead the development, and implementation of an innovative Communications & Influencing plan for the Digital Financial Services pillar:
• Build on the strategic ecosystem analysis and stakeholder mapping to understand and navigate the ‘political economy’ – understand how various stakeholders fit into the market system, their ‘will and skill’ regarding FSD Uganda’s Agricultural development agenda, and how they hope to benefit from a relationship with FSD Uganda
• Set clear goals for stakeholder mindset or behaviour change and work collaboratively with the Communications Lead to convert this understanding into a concrete action plan; clarifying which activities can be delivered by the Comms function, and which should be built into intervention plans for the pillar
• Support development of governance structures, interoperability blueprints and stakeholder coordination frameworks required for implementation of inclusive Digital Public Infrastructure ecosystems
• Build strategic relationships with key actors; use a variety of influencing strategies to gain traction, by negotiating a win : win between stakeholder interests and FSD Uganda’s strategic agenda; establish formal partnerships and MOUs as possible & appropriate
• Contribute to the implementation of both FSD Uganda and Pillar Communication & Influencing plans. Including, but not limited to:
• f Organising influencing forums and events – workshops, conferences, webinars – may include developing workshops, webinars, educational materials etc. f Networking & bringing stakeholders together for collaboration & collective action (convening) f Producing knowledge products and other communication outputs (publications, blogs, digital or media materials etc.) f Contributing to the development of annual and quarterly reports/newsletters
• Supporting policy dialogue and ecosystem coordination around digital financial inclusion, inclusive digital ecosystems and interoperable agriculture-finance ecosystems

KRA 4: Portfolio Management

• Lead the development of the Agricultural finance portfolio; ensure that well written and conceptualised Program Appraisal Reports (PARs) are submitted to, and approved by, the Investment Committee:
• Work with the intervention managers to develop relevant sub-portfolios of work within this pillar that will directly contribute to the gender inclusive results and the learning agenda of FSDU’s strategy.
• The strategic focus areas will include but is not limited to the following: f Conceptualisation, design and implementation of appropriate financial products, shared digital infrastructure and ecosystem business models for digital platforms, financial service providers, government systems and Agricultural value chain actors to deliver more affordable, accessible, and transformational financial services to farmers and MSMEs f Harnessing big data to design better approaches to managing financial and credit risk for farmers/MSMEs to increase their accessibility and attractiveness to formal banking and non¬bank financial institutions f Support implementation and scale-up of DIGA programme aligned with Uganda’s National Digital Agriculture Strategy and broader Digital Public Infrastructure priorities.
• Once an intervention is approved, confirm, or develop the strategy for attracting potentially impactful implementing partners (IPs):
• f Proactively approach influential stakeholders who have been identified via market systems analysis, ensuring a good understanding of their needs & determining fit with FSDU’s strategic objectivesf Follow procurement procedures to develop Expressions of Interest (EOIs) and or Requests for Proposals (RfPs) and identify suitable implementing partners f Communicate to partners concerning the ‘yes’, ‘no’ and ‘maybe’ decision
• Support development of sustainability and institutionalization models for scalable Digital Public Infrastructure ecosystems including private sector onboarding, commercialization pathways and long-term ecosystem governance approaches.
• Ensure that partners are supported in developing concept notes and proposals that meet Investment Committee standards, including but not limited to theories of change, learning and results measurement plans, risk management frameworks and budgets for resources (financial, HR, Comms)
• Provide business development and impact management advice and support to partner; support them in processing feedback on their drafted proposals
• Liaise with the designated Project Accountant to ensure that due diligence and contracting processes are carried out efficiently, and that partners are provided with a quality briefing concerning FSD Uganda’s procedures for project / grant management

KRA 5: Managing Results & Learning

• Manage the delivery of portfolios by Intervention Managers, Partners and Consultants, so that results are achieved, and quality program interventions are delivered; ensuring that learning from program interventions is fully utilised to maximise impact and innovation:
• Provide technical advisory services to IPs &/or engage with them to check their satisfaction with any services or capacity building that have been delivered
• Provide business advisory services in case of Implementing Partners (IPs) experiencing difficulties; including adjusting project plans as necessary
• Manage and coordinate the entire schedule of reviews and visits (program, M&E and financial accountability) as necessary to adaptively manage the performance of interventions and achieve targeted outcomes and impact
• Promote adaptive learning and ecosystem-wide knowledge sharing on interoperable digital agriculture ecosystems, digital inclusion and scalable digital transformation approaches
• Review accountability reports provided by the IP; produce accompanying reports as per results measurement plan (up to and including 1 year after project closure)
• Collaborate closely with the MRM team to ensure collection of data, analysis of results and identification of opportunities for improvement in a blame-free spirit of academic enquiry:
• If desired results have been achieved, initiate strategies for widespread awareness-raising
• If desired results have not been achieved, either manage performance of the implementation
• team teams (both FSDU’s and the IP’s), or take corrective measures such as adjusting the strategy/a pproach f Periodically review theories of change, revising as appropriate
• Document and disseminate lessons learned, innovation insights and ecosystem best practices from DIGA pilots and interoperable digital ecosystem initiatives.
• Support generation and dissemination of ecosystem learning, innovation insights and case studies related to DIGA, interoperability ecosystems, digital agriculture platforms and inclusive digital financial services

KRA 6: Risk and Resource Management

• Secure, manage and safeguard programme resources; ensuring that each intervention achieves optimal financial efficiency, value for money, and impact, all the while ensuring compliance with FSD Uganda and donor policies:
• Support ED and DOP initiatives to develop FSD Uganda’s funding base; personally contribute by building relationships with potential and current donors
• Ensure the development of detailed implementation plans, budgets and cash-flow forecasts that will, achieve fund utilisation targets, ensure project success, and address capacity gaps of partners
• Liaise with the Finance team to support the processes associated with sub-granting; liaise with Implementing Partners to ensure their compliance with FSD Uganda’s financial procedures and donor accountability requirements
• Liaise with the Operations Manager to support the processes associated with procurement of the goods and services that are required for each intervention being managed; ensure compliance with relevant policies and procedures
• Manage the risks associated with all pillar activities; ensuring that a comprehensive understanding of risks has been developed and that strategies are in place and implemented for effective risk management:
• Ensure that the Director of Programs (and ED where applicable) is updated on a regular basis and alerted of any risks
• Ensure that key policies e.g., Safeguarding, VfM and Gender are fully understood and implemented by all Staff, Consultants and Implementing Partners
• Cooperate with both internal and external audit plans; lead the implementation of corrective actions arising, and create a culture of continuous improvement
• Digital ecosystem and interoperability risks
• Data governance, privacy and consent management risks
• Cybersecurity and shared infrastructure risks
• Technology adoption and digital inclusion risks

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

• A Bachelor’s degree preferably in agriculture, agricultural economics or agricultural finance
• Master’s in Agriculture, Agricultural Economics or Master’s in finance or Master’s in Business Administration (MBA)
• Certification in Project Management (e.g., PMP/ PRINCE2) preferred Relevant Experience:
• At least 10 years’ experience, 5 of which are in the agriculture sector in an emerging market context,
• Experience of business leadership, resulting in an ability to empathise with, and provide experience-based advice to Implementing Partners
• Track record of managing relationships and influencing key stakeholders at a national level and across cultures; experience in building and maintaining networks and linkages
• Experience of policy research and analysis, with a track record of successfully influencing senior levels of government / financial sector regulators
• Track record of effective management of complex multi-stakeholder projects
• Familiarity with major players in Uganda’s agricultural, trade, light manufacturing and finance sectors (desired)

Critical Technical Skills & Knowledge:

• Good general knowledge of financial management practice and high ethical & financial standards for managing funds
• Understanding of Digital Public Infrastructure principles including Digital identity systems, Shared payment ecosystems, Open APIs, Shared data exchange frameworks, Consent-based data sharing, Interoperability standards and Inclusive digital ecosystem approaches.
• Appreciation of digital agriculture platforms, rural connectivity models, offline-first digital solutions and AI-enabled agricultural advisory ecosystems.
• Good understanding of M4P principles, with ability to understand a complex ecosystem and design interventions that will drive the growth and inclusiveness of financial markets
• Deep and extensive technical knowledge in relevant fields (Agriculture sector and MSME development)
• Appreciation of financial sector and business development through an MSME and Agricultural sector lens; ability to understand financial product development and business modelling.
• Understanding of monitoring and results management concepts and processes; track record of using learning to drive innovation
• Excellent spoken and written English language communication skills

Behavioural Competencies or Character:

Initiative & Decisiveness – Level 3

Innovation & Value Addition – Level 3

Drive for Results – Level 3

Relationship Building – Level 3

Communication & Influencing for Impact – Level 3

Thought Leadership – Level 3

Learning & Resourcefulness – Level 3

How to Apply:

All suitably qualified and Interested applicants should apply online at the link below.

Click Here

Deadline: 12th June 2026

NB: Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

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Level of Education: postgraduate degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: 120