About US:
Established in 1981, Uganda Cooperative Alliance Ltd, (UCA) is an umbrella organization representing all registered cooperatives in Uganda. As the voice of the cooperative movement, UCA serves as the main cooperative policy advisor for the government and implements various development projects that focus on lobbying, advocacy, and capacity building for all types of cooperatives, including primary societies and district and national unions. Current projects include the Farmer’s Voice Project, which strengthens the capacity of participating POs to participate in policy discussions and advocate for their interests at the district and national levels. UCA also implemented the Maximizing Co-operators Benefits through Value Chain Linkages Project, which increased access to financial services for participating POs across 43 districts, and increased linkages across value chains.
About USAID FtF Project:
The Uganda Cooperative Alliances in partnership with TechnoServe Inc Uganda have been awarded to implement a three year Feed the Future (FtF) – Producer Organizations Activity (POA) in 12 districts of Uganda. The USAID funded Feed the Future Uganda Producer Organizations Activity seeks to strengthen the governance, management and service delivery capacity of producer organizations (POs) to realise durable and enduring institutions that are able to plan, mobilize resources, and deliver services that meet the evolving needs of their members in a rapidly changing competitive environment. The Activity will harness the potential of Uganda’s secondary POs in 12 of the feed the future focus districts in Uganda to serve as critical change leaders in equipping member POs with the skills, knowledge, and linkages and to mature and develop into sustainable businesses that meet the demands of their farmers.
Job Summary: The Advocacy Advisor will be responsible for leading the direct training, coaching and mentoring of ACEs in areas of advocacy, civil rights and demanding for proper governance from their district local governments. The ACEs will then cascade the training down through their membership; at the same time Advocacy Advisors will be responsible for training, coordinating and liaising with NUCAFE and UNFFE staff who have the mandate to provide the same trainings to their member DFAs who are secondary bodies of small, less formal fanner groups and coffee POs; respectively. They will also be responsible for aggregating local Advocacy issues and facilitate the implementation of district level advocacy agenda. This position will work in liaison with other team members of UCA and TechnoServe to enhance members’ benefit and leverage service delivery at each level of contact with both members and Local Governments. The Advocacy Advisor position will also initiate and build linkages between producer organizations and Local Governments.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
· Ensure sound operational and advocacy agenda and advocacy action plans for producer organizations at district level.
· Ensure timely execution of advocacy action plans and guidance to producer organization leadership and management to conduct reviews that will inform progress against set advocacy targets
· Ensure Local Advocacy plans are gender sensitive and take in to consideration issues of Youth and Women
· Provide technical assistance to producer organizations to come up with, and implement advocacy strategies that will increase their influence, ownership of issues, and establish a written value proposition to their membership
· Ensure advocacy issues identified by POs inform the local Government policy and legislative processes in relevant committees and Local Government councils (LG) including but not limited to planning and budgeting processes in LGs.
· Facilitate structured issue based engagements involving POs, LG decision makers and other stakeholders in the operational districts
· Build and strengthen working and mutually beneficial relationships between LGs and producer organizations
· Support initiatives that aim to ensure effective collaboration with other FtF and non-FtF implementing partners in the designated region to synergize interventions along common advocacy issues including participating in regional commodity platforms and forums to contribute to sector enhancements.
· Build advocacy capacity of board of directors/executive committees and management of producer organizations to grow their influence on LG processes on issues that affect POs and their members
· Ensure POs have the necessary capacity to deliver rights based civic empowerment trainings to their membership
Qualifications, Skills and Experience:
· The applicant should preferably hold degree qualifications in any of the following areas; Development, Social work, Economics, Agricultural Economics, or any related studies;
· At least three years’ experience in district or regional level advocacy in agriculture or related field and demonstrated technical experience in various advocacy strategies.
· Evidence of work related to Local Government engagements
· Excellent track record of Capacity building of focal organisations, members and boards
· Positive, holistic attitude towards work, and ability to solve problems and generate innovative solutions in work situations;
· Demonstrated oral and report written skills;
· High levels of integrity.
· Prior experience working with farmers cooperatives preferred
How to Apply:
All suitably qualified and interested applicants should send a single word-formatted document consisting of cover letter, resume and salary history to the General Secretary, Uganda Cooperative Alliance Ltd, Plot 47/49 Nkrumah Road, P.O. Box 2215 Kampala. Uganda. The applicant should send their E-mail applications via E-mail to imsemakweli@uca.co.ug and copy to ssentumbwe@uca.co.ug. Please indicate the job title and preferred geographical location, in the subject line. Applicants may also indicate district of preference though final decision on placement lies with UCA.
Deadline: 15th January, 2016