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Job
Title:          Market
Development Officer  

Organization: Mercy
Corps

Duty Station: 
Uganda

Reports to: Project
Manager

About US:

Mercy Corps is an
International NGO that exists to alleviate poverty and oppression by helping
people build secure, productive and just communities. Mercy Corps has been
fully registered in Uganda as an operational NGO. Currently Mercy Corps has an
office in Kampala and is implementing Food Security programs which comprise of
Water and Sanitation, Livelihood and Agriculture and Conflict Mitigation Management
Program in North and North Eastern Uganda. We implement programs in the
northern districts of Pader, Kitgum, Agago, Lamwo, Kaabong, Abim and Kotido
with funding from USAID, USDA, Walmart Foundation, SDC, DFID as well as other
private donations.

About DYNAMIC:

Working in consortia
with GOAL, VSO and Restless Development, the Driving Youth-led New Agribusiness
and Microenterprise (DYNAMIC) program will strengthen systems and facilitate
creation of sustainable economic opportunities for disadvantaged youth.
DYNAMIC’s goal is to increase the number of young people who are in secure
employment or self-employment and to promote agricultural market systems for youth.
DYNAMIC will reach 125,000 out-of-school youth aged 15–24 in nine districts of
northern Uganda over five years. Through a market facilitation approach, youth
already engaged in on-farm activities will move from subsistence to more
productive and profitable farming. DYNAMIC will increase the employability of
youth by facilitating access to demand driven technical skills, knowledge and
market information. In parallel, DYNAMIC will link agribusinesses and
microenterprises to market opportunities and diverse stakeholders, and ensure
they can utilize financial services.

Job Summary:  The Market Development Officer will be implementing
all aspects of the market systems development component of the district and
lower level DYNAMIC program. S/he will be required to apply a wide variety of
market development tools and approaches in order to catalyze innovative
services and facilitate linkages between market actors in the assigned program
areas.

Key Duties and Responsibilities: 

Strategy &
Vision

•                    
Gather
and analyze relevant market information for the purpose of accurate and
confident decision-making in determining program strategy and selection of
potential partners.

•                    
Actively
participate in assessments in the target geographic areas to assess current
situation, economic opportunities and resources, needs and potential programs
as well as challenges.

•                    
Identify
value-addition opportunities that strengthen economic opportunities, especially
for young women and rural youth, in the livestock and agriculture sectors as
identified by local and national government as well as independent market
studies and needs assessments.

•                    
Support
in setting direction by prioritizing and organizing actions & resources to
achieve objectives and contribute to countrywide strategy development.

Program Management

•                    
Introduce
program to relevant stakeholders including local business owners, local
representatives and community members.

•                    
In
coordination with technical specialists and local partners, plan, implement and
monitor market development activities.

•                    
Ensure
that beneficiaries are effectively targeted according to established
vulnerability criteria.

•                    
Ensure
program implementation is on time, target and budget, using effective M&E
systems to reach desired impacts.

•                    
Fulfill
Mercy Corps’ Program Management Minimum Standards based on the
organization-wide guide.

•                    
Ensure
all interventions adhere to Mercy Corps’ Gender Policy, Do No Harm principles,
and beneficiary accountability standards.

•                    
Work
closely with supervisor to capture data for measuring output and impact of the
program; and to ensure accurate and timely flow of information from the field.
Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where
alternative viewpoints are welcomed.

•                    
Prepare
and submit timely weekly, monthly, and quarterly reports that will be
indicative of program progress during implementation. Respond to queries if and
when necessary.

•                    
Maintain
proper filing system.

Team Management

•                    
Assist
team members with information, tools and resources to improve performance &
reach objectives.

•                    
Create
and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to
achieve excellence.

Finance &
Compliance Management

•                    
Ensure
compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations related to emergency
programming.

•                    
Draft
and/or review scope of work to hire and manage any technical consultants,
including review for technical efficacy and contract budget.

Influence &
Representation

•                    
Identify,
build and manage collaborative partnerships with consortium partners,
sub-grantees, donors, local governments and other stakeholders.

•                    
Communicate
effectively to ensure overall project targets and donor obligations are met.

Security

•                    
Ensure
compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country
leadership.

•                    
Proactively
ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of
policies.

Organizational
Learning

•                    
As part
of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our
understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and
relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5%
of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as
themselves.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience: 

•                    
The
ideal candidate for the Mercy Corps Market Development Officer job opportunity
should hold a Bachelor’s degree in business, agribusiness, economics or other
relevant field

•                    
Good
understanding of business and knowledge of private sector, with a minimum of 3
years’ practical experience in the private sector or related industry.

•                    
Knowledge
of the agricultural sectors highly desirable.

•                    
Excellent
(English) verbal and written communication skills.

•                    
Strong
computer literacy with a full knowledge of office applications.

•                    
Good
negotiation skills and high tolerance for uncertainty

•                    
Demonstrated
flexibility, creativity and enthusiasm as well as a willingness to learn and to
be continually adaptive within a dynamic and often self-directed working
environment mandatory.

•                    
Willingness
to spend much time in the field and work closely with program target groups.

•                    
Ability
and or willingness to ride motorcycle is an added advantage.

•                    
The
successful candidate will be one with a coherent sense of strategy to
prioritize and guide activities, context sensitive and open to criticism and
constantly step back from details to look for bigger picture.

•                    
He or
she is persistent; able to deal with rejection/failure (trial and error) and
motivated and enthusiastic

How to Apply:

All suitably
qualified and interested candidates should send their E-mail applications
including a cover letter clearly stating the salary requirements, updated CV
(with three professional referees), and copies of academic
qualifications/certificates addressed to the Senior HR and Legal Manager, Mercy
Corps Uganda to: ug-mcjobs@mercycorps.org

Deadline: 8^th May 2019

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