Land Rights Advisor (National position, recruitment contingent on funding) At ZOA

About the job

The Land Rights Advisor is the technical lead in the area of Land Rights for ZOA Uganda, and contributes to quality implementation, monitoring and donor compliance of ZOA Uganda’s Land Rights projects.

S/He ensures that training of staff and partners, coaching, learning and technical monitoring is carried out regularly. The position requires significant time spent at project locations and coordinating with stakeholders, partners and donors.

Responsibilities

The main responsibility of the Land Rights Advisor is to ensure high quality Land Rights programme design, implementation and evaluation by providing technical support, expertise and knowledge on Land Rights in Uganda, with a primary focus on Customary Land Ownership and subsequent transactions. The Land Rights Advisor is also responsible for the development of high-quality Land Rights project proposals for potential donors.

Programme quality

• Provides high quality technical support to the implementation of ZOA Uganda’s Land Rights projects throughout the project management cycle.
• Contributes to the development and implementation of Land Rights Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEAL) plans.
• Develops and upholds a coherent ZOA Uganda Land Rights strategy in line with national and/or international trends, approaches and standards.

Learning and capacity strengthening

• Contributes to learning and knowledge development for ZOA (worldwide) specifically related to Land Rights.
• Builds capacity of Land Rights project staff on key project concepts and approaches; builds capacity and ensures capacity strengthening of partners.
• Recommends strategic training opportunities for project staff.

Proposal development

• Scopes for new opportunities for ZOA Uganda, including innovative and partner-based approaches.
• Leads or participates in development of high-quality Land Rights project proposals.
• Collaborates with finance department for proposal budget development.

Reporting

• Reviews donor reports in line with contractual obligations and technical standards.
• Contributes to ZOA’s internal meetings, reporting and the annual Country Plan development and reporting processes.

Stakeholder management

• Builds and upholds relationships with key Land Rights stakeholders in Uganda, specifically with the CCO Working group, and the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development (MLHUD).
• Represents ZOA Uganda externally in relevant Land Rights related meetings, at regional and national level.
• Collaborates with ZOA International’s Sector Specialist Land Rights concerning quality standards and policy compliance, learning, and funding opportunities.

Other activities

• Provides input to communications and visibility efforts, e.g., online, printed materials, ZOA’s international website.
• Supports the recruitment of project staff when necessary.
• Understand ZOA’s code of conduct and safeguarding policies, ensure adherence to these policies and that project activities are implemented with a “Do No Harm” approach.

Requirements

Knowledge & Experience:

• University degree (Masters preferred) in Land Management, Social Sciences, Development Studies, International Relations or other relevant field.
• At least 5 years of delivering high quality Land Rights related projects/programmes in similar contexts.
• Sound understanding of Land Rights and land tenure, including major trends and developments in the Land Rights sector, both in Uganda and wider contexts.
• Direct experience of field level cartography for land registration is a plus.
• Experience of designing and executing capacity building programs for (local) partners.
• Strong track record and (lead) writing experience in successful proposal development proposals to institutional donors and foundations, both standalone and in consortia.
• Strong reporting and writing skills.
• Experience working in consortia and with local partners; experience representing an organisation externally.

Skills:

• Excellent facilitation, communication skills and writing ability, in English.
• Innovative, creative and enthusiastic.
• Result oriented and possession of learning power.
• Good computer skills: MS Office (Excel, Word, Powerpoint).
• Self-motivator, able to take initiative with limited supervision.

Attitude/behaviour:

• High level of personal integrity.
• Flexibility and adaptability.
• Interpersonal and cross-cultural sensitivity.
• Able to work under pressures and meet deadlines.
• Able to work in a sometimes fluid and innovative environment.

Commitment to ZOA’s mission, vision and values (see https://www.zoa-international.com/corporate-identity)

Salary and other terms of employment

The Land Rights Advisor will be based at the ZOA office in Kampala. Regular field visits to the project locations/other districts in the region are anticipated, for several days at a time.

The role is 1.0 FTE (40 hrs/ week). Some flexibility on working hours may be required, e.g. for travel at weekends, or during proposal submission and reporting periods.

The position is recruited on the M2 scale (Sector Specialist) in the ZOA Uganda salary scale. In 2023 this scale starts at UGX 5.2 M gross / month.