Senior Project Officer – Agroforestry At Catholic Relief Services

Title: Senior Project Officer -Agroforestry
Department: Programs VINES
Report to: Project Manager- Agroforestry
Duration: Full Time
Job Location: Kampala/Uganda
Vacancies: 01

About CRS
Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. CRS works to save, protect, and transform lives in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding.
CRS has been working in Uganda since 1965 and has a vibrant portfolio of projects, serving over a million vulnerable Ugandans and refugees each year through the Country Program 2030 Strategy. CRS programs in Uganda currently support five strategic priority areas, including Health and Social Services Systems Strengthening, Resilient Food Systems, Emergency Preparedness and Management, Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation, and Local Leadership. CRS Uganda implements its programs through partnerships with local organizations, including international and local NGOs, Ugandan government departments and ministries, the Catholic Church, and community-based organizations for maximum impact and sustainability.

Background:
The Vines Project, implemented by CRS Uganda, is a five-year (2020-2025), $13 million Food for Progress project that will make Uganda the world’s next leading supplier of high-quality vanilla. Vines will leverage the expertise of CRS and its partners to enhance the production of safe, pure vanilla and develop sustainable market links with US vanilla companies, directly transforming the lives of 16,200 farmers, 836 supply chain actors and create 15,820 new jobs to reach 32,856 vanilla stakeholders. The Vines strategy reflects best practices in sustainable development and will leave Uganda with a robust vanilla farming community resilient to the boom/bust nature of the market and a cadre of private sector agricultural extensionists to support more sophisticated production, processing, and marketing needs.

Job summary:

The Senior Project Officer Agro-forestry will lead all field activities related to the coordination, collaboration, training, and monitoring of project agro-forestry approaches, good agricultural practices, and climate smart adaptations to increase the production, productivity, and quality of Ugandan vanilla, and other income diversification crops. The specialist will lead the analysis of farming systems and implement the capacity building of farmers in key areas such as soil and water management, diversified agroforestry systems among others. This position will report to Project Manager Agroforestry. Your technical, training, and collaborative skills, as well as vanilla and other crop value chains’ knowledge will ensure that CRS delivers high-quality programming and continuously works towards improving the impact of this project.

Roles and Key Responsibilities:
•Lead the implementation of technical, coordinating, collaboration, monitoring, and reporting activities among all Vines project partners – in line with CRS program quality principles and standards, donor requirements, and good practices.
• Lead the training, coaching, monitoring, and coordination in all project activities related to agro-forestry, good agricultural practices, and climate smart adaptation while promoting farm and income diversification practices among target farmers.
• Ensure documentation of key learning from the project activities throughout the project cycle. Support accountability through participation in project evaluation activities following MEAL Policy. Proactively identify issues, report them to inform adjustments to plans and implementation schedules.
• Participate in the strengthening of partnerships relevant to Vines project, applying appropriate application of partnership concepts, tools, and approaches.
• Identify capacity needs and technical assistance needs of partner organizations and contribute to capacity strengthening and required interventions to support quality project implementation.
• Assist with preparation of trends analysis reports, learning agenda and disseminate results.
• Coordinate research related activities for the project agroforestry component.
• Work closely with other project components to enhance and implement the project’s sustainability plan, including working with the Government stakeholders within districts and at Central Government level.

Basic Qualifications:
•Bachelor’s degree in agriculture, Horticulture, or a related field. A master’s degree in related fields would be an added advantage.
•Minimum of 3 years of work experience in technical or management positions in the field of Agriculture, preferably for a donor funded, time-bound project.
•Proven understanding of agro-forestry approaches and good agricultural practices.
•Experience in value chain projects or programs.
•Experience in private sector engagement and vanilla value chain would be an added advantage.

Preferred Qualifications:
• Relevant technical experience, especially for USG or other public donors, a plus.
• Experience in farmer trainings, coaching and capacity building related to Agroforestry, farm diversification, good agricultural and climate smart practices.
• Experience working with stakeholders at various levels and strengthening community partnerships.
• Experience analyzing data and contributing to evaluation reports.
• Experience using MS Windows and MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint).
• Critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills with ability to make sound judgment.
• Strong relationship management skills and the ability to work effectively with local stakeholders.
• Representation abilities.
• Ability to contribute to written reports.
• Proactive, results-oriented, and service-oriented.
•Attention to details, accuracy, and timeliness in executing assigned responsibilities.

Required/Desired Language Proficiency: Excellent oral and written English skills required.
Travel Required: Approximately 50%.

Agency REDI Competencies (for all CRS Staff):
Agency competencies clarify expected behaviors and attitudes for all staff. When demonstrated, they create an engaging workplace, help staff achieve their best, and help CRS achieve agency goals. These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.
•Personal Accountability – Consistently takes responsibility for one’s own actions.
•Acts with Integrity – Consistently models values aligned with CRS Guiding Principles and mission. Is considered honest.
•Builds and Maintains Trust – Shows consistency between words and actions.
•Collaborates with Others – Works effectively in intercultural and diverse teams.
•Open to Learn – Seeks out experiences that may change perspective or provide an opportunity to learn new things.

Agency Leadership Competencies:
•Lead Change – Continually looks for ways to improve the agency through a culture of agility, openness, and innovation.
•Develops and Recognizes Others – Builds the capacity of staff to reach their full potential and enhance team and agency performance.
•Strategic Mindset – Understands role in translating, communicating, and implementing agency strategy and team priorities.

Disclaimer: This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.

CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer
Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. We welcome as a part of our staff people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need. CRS’ processes and policies reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.

By applying to this job, I understand and acknowledge that CRS requires its staff to treat all people with dignity and respect and to actively prevent harassment, abuse, exploitation, and human trafficking. Further, I understand that if I am a successful candidate, I will be subject to a comprehensive background check, and my personal/professional references will be asked to evaluate my behaviors related to the above safeguarding related topics.