About US:
Restless Development is an international non-profit organization which is embarking on becoming the global banner carrier for youth-led development; demonstrating at the grassroots and policy levels that young people can and must play a lead role in development. Over the past five years, Restless Development has more than tripled the size of its budgets and programmes, and has been repeatedly cited as a model of best practice in youth-led development by the World Bank, DFID, UNICEF and others.
About DYNAMIC Programme:
Working in consortia with GOAL, Mercy Corps, VSO, the MasterCard Foundation Driving Youth-led New Agribusiness and Microenterprise (DYNAMIC) programme will strengthen systems and facilitate the creation of sustainable economic opportunities for disadvantaged Ugandan youth. DYNAMIC’s overall goal is to increase the number of young people who are in secure employment or self employment and to promote effective and efficient agricultural market systems for youth. Through a market-driven and holistic approach, DYNAMIC will engage an array of public and private sector actors to increase access to goods, services, markets, information and productive and social assets to increase productivity of Ugandan agribusinesses and non-farm enterprises. DYNAMIC will reach 125,000 out-of-school youth aged 15 – 24 living in peri-urban and rural areas within eight districts of northern Uganda over five years. Through an innovative, market facilitation approach, DYNAMIC will promote long-term efficiency in existing agricultural systems. Youth already engaged in on-farm activities will move from subsistence to more productive and profitable farming. DYNAMIC will increase the employability of Ugandan youth by facilitating access to demand driven technical skills, knowledge and market information that directly respond to business opportunities in the agricultural sector. In parallel, DYNAMIC will link agribusinesses and microenterprises to market opportunities and diverse stakeholders, and ensure they can utilize appropriate (formal and informal) financial services. DYNAMIC’s design recognizes that youth are a diverse age group requiring tailored interventions to fit their stage in life and transition into the workforce. In particular, DYNAMIC will ensure that participating youth, particularly young women, are engaging in appropriate, safe, and productive economic opportunities.
Job Summary: The Youth Engagement Officer will provide the technical backstopping to the peer models. The incumbent will take full responsibility of capacity-building of youth throughout the project by offering oversight to the delivery of the Peer Educator model.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
1. Programme Implementation:
· Oversee the recruitment and selection process for peer educators which will involves developing selection criteria and materials, advertising in the target communities and management of peer educator agreement of responsibilities through formal MOUs
· Work closely with other Dynamic team members to organize foundation and topup trainings for peer educators
· Manage peer educator outputs through monthly work plans, regular support, supervision and mentorship visits
· Ensure linkage of Peer educators to the oriented private sector actors to identify and develop opportunities to engage youth effectively in their businesses.
· The incumbent will render support in the development of programme progress reports
· Work in liaison with peer educators to strengthen youth groups by supporting registrations, networking and resource mobilization
· Organize peer educator debrief to ensure learning from each peer educator cohort is factored into the next
· Support the youth-led market research to inform program design, implementation and advocacy
· Support the DYNAMIC evaluation and learning component that will add to the body of knowledge on viable models to support access to secure employment and self-employment for youth in Uganda
· Ensure achievements and best practices in the Peer Education model are documented and shared for programme learning and improvement
2. Management of peer educator welfare:
· Provide discipline, care and guidance in an approachable, supportive and helpful way to all the peer educators
· Ensure peer educators adhere to the provided policies and procedures governing the Dynamic Programme
· The incumbent will mediate between the volunteers and communities, when and if communication or programme related problems occur
· Ensure peer educators’ relevant activity funds are spent in accordance with donor and DYNAMIC guidelines
· Ensure Programme Manager is aware of emerging issues related to the work of peer educators
3. Partnerships and relationship building:
· Build and maintain working relationships with District and sub-county government as necessary to support implementation of the DYNAMIC programme
· Support the establishment and maintenance of relationships with target communities, and local government.
· Ensure regular engagement of youth groups with youth structures including the Youth MPs and National Youth Council
· Ensure information on government programs is shared with youth
· Work closely with peer educators to ensure youth are linked and represented in relevant networks such as farmers’ groups and business associations
· Ensure opportunities are created for youth and policy-makers to dialogue and make joint decisions.
Qualifications, Skills and Experience:
· The Restless Development Youth Engagement Officers should hold Degrees in Development studies or other relevant field
· A minimum of three years’ experience designing and delivering youth engagement programmes
· Past exposure and experience in Agribusiness and Microenterprise
· Broad knowledge and understanding of contemporary development issues particularly those related to economic opportunities for youth
· Ability to analyse problems and make sound operational decisions
· Excellent organizational, written and verbal communication skills
· Prior experience working in a consortia type of programmes
· Past exposure and experience with Monitoring and Evaluation systems and research, including participatory research approaches
· Strong computer literacy with full knowledge of office applications
· Experience as a volunteer will be an added advantage
· Prior experience working in Northern Uganda
How to Apply:
All suitably qualified and interested candidates are encouraged to send a completed application, form, download here and send it to: ugandajobs@restlessdevelopment.org, stating the vacancy job title Uganda – Youth Engagement Officer.
Deadline: Monday 12th October 2015 by 5pm (East Africa Time)