12 Project Officer (Livelihoods, Value Addition, Digital & Financial Inclusion)

2025-12-09T09:01:26+00:00

FULL_TIME

Nonprofit, and NGO

Management

2025-12-14T17:00:00+00:00

 

Uganda

8

Finnish Refugee Council (FRC) is an INGO promoting self-reliance and resilience among forcibly displaced and vulnerable host communities via improved livelihoods and food security, protection and peaceful co-existence and human rights. FRC has been operating in Uganda since 1997 as an operational partner to UNHCR and OPM, and since 2020 as implementing partner to WFP.  

FRC is seeking for suitably qualified Ugandans to fill the following positions in a project called “General Food Assistance, Nutrition, Digital and Financial Inclusion, Resilience and Self-Reliance in refugee settlements and refugee hosting districts”; a consortium led by Hunger Fighters Uganda, with FRC and Medical Teams International (MTI) as partners:

Position          Project Officer – Livelihoods, Value Addition, Digital & Financial Inclusion, 2 positions
Contract         January 2026 to 31.12. 2026 with possibility of one year extension
Level                Junior, field level. Reporting to Project Manager / FRC and Team Leader / HFU
Location       1 position at FRC Field Office, Nakivale Refugee Settlement, Isingiro District
                      1 position at FRC Field Office, Kyangwali Refugee Settlement, Kikuube District

Job Purpose:

The Project Officer supports the day-to-day implementation of project activities (agri-enterprise development, post-harvest handling, VSLA digitalization and financial inclusion services) at the field level. S/he coordinates field plans, supervises community-based team members, ensures activities are delivered on schedule, and maintains strong communication between teams, community structures and the project team. The role is practical, field-driven and operational. 

Key Tasks and Responsibilities:

Activity Planning and Field Coordination – 30%

• Support the development of project workplans and activity schedules. Lead the development of weekly and monthly field activity plans.
• Coordinate field logistics, community mobilisation, and preparation for trainings and events.
• Coordinate and sequence interventions across value addition, digitalisation, enterprise development, and financial inclusion components.

Technical Oversight – 20%

• Provide basic advice on digital and financial inclusion, value addition and VSLA management.
• Ensure quality and consistency of after farm value addition activities, digital and financial inclusion and training approaches.

Staff Supervision and Field Support – 15%

• Directly supervise and mentor 2-4 staff and provide day-to-day support.
• Ensure team members understand their schedules, deliverables, and reporting timelines.
• Organise routine team meetings to review progress and troubleshoot issues.

Community and Stakeholder Engagement – 15%

• Participate in meetings with settlement authorities, district officials and community leaders.
• Assist in coordination with district, OPM, UNHCR, WFP, private sector, other actors.
• Coordinate community mobilisation together with assistants and local leaders.
• Support the development of market linkages, financial service provider collaborations.

Monitoring, Reporting and Data Management – 10% 

• Ensure accurate, timely data collection: training records, databases, activity outputs.
• Work with MEAL staff to conduct assessments and periodic monitoring.

Administration, Compliance and Safeguarding – 10%

• Manage small activity budgets / field advances, accountabilities and procurement requests.
• Coordinate materials, transport and training supplies needed by the field team.
• Ensure that field staff follow safeguarding, PSEA and data protection procedures.
• Report any concerns related to community safety, fraud, or misconduct.

Education and Qualifications:

• Primary: Bachelor’s degree in Agribusiness, Agriculture, Rural Development, Business Administration, Economics or related field.
• Combined with a short course in 1-2 of the following: Post Harvest value addition, Business training, Financial Inclusion, Small and Medium Scale Enterprise dev., VSLA digitalization.

Experience:

• Minimum 2-year hands-on-experience in livelihood sector and leading a small field team.
• Understanding of agricultural value chains and development, post-harvest management, small enterprise development and digitalization of VSLAs.

Essential Skills and Attributes:

• Practical problem-solving and initiative skills.
• Ability to work independently under minimal supervision.
• Commitment to gender equality, inclusion, safeguarding.
• Knowledge of Kiswahili, Runyakitara, French or Arabic is an advantage.

Position          Post-Harvest and Value Addition Assistant, 4 positions
Contract          January 2026 to 31.12. 2026 with possibility of one year extension
Level                Junior field level, reporting to Livelihood and Resilience Officer
Location       2 positions at FRC Field Office, Nakivale Refugee Settlement, Isingiro District
                      2 positions at FRC Field Office, Kyangwali Refugee Settlement, Kikuube District

Job Purpose:

The Post-Harvest and Value Addition Assistant is responsible for mobilizing groups, delivering practical skills development in value addition and post-harvest handling, promoting entrepreneurship, strengthening financial inclusion, and facilitating market and financial linkages. 

Key Tasks and Responsibilities:

Technical assessments and support – 40%

• Conduct assessments to identify income opportunities for adding value to farming products.
• Identify group needs in post-harvest handling, equipment uses, value addition, market readiness.
• Support linkages between groups and market actors, private sector, business services.
• Facilitate implementation of off-farm livelihood activities and support groups to adopt improved value-addition practices and appropriate technologies.
• Support groups to improve on product quality, visibility and competitiveness.
• Work closely with Digital and Financial Inclusion Assistants to connect groups to digital savings platforms and financial inclusion services.

Capacity building and Skills Training – 30%

• Organise and deliver trainings on value addition, post-harvest handling practices, basic business skills, financial literacy, off-farm enterprise development, income-generation.
• Conduct hands-on demonstrations and follow-up coaching sessions to strengthen IGAs.

Partnerships and Coordination – 15%

• Collaborate with local leaders and district to promote economic empowerment.
• Strengthen community awareness and acceptance of off-farm enterprise activities.
• Support mapping of service providers, buyers, suppliers and training institutions.

Monitoring, Reporting and Data Management – 15% 

• Track group progress and document performance and challenges.
• Maintain up-to-date beneficiary records, training attendance and monitoring tools.
• Submit monthly progress reports, case studies, lessons learned and success stories.
• Ensure reporting aligns with project indicators and donor requirements.

Education and Qualifications:

• Primary: Bachelor’s degree in Agribusiness, Business Administration, Entrepreneurship, Economics or related field.
• Combined with complementary diploma or short course in 1-2 of the following: Business training, Small and Medium Scale Enterprise development, Vocational Skills, VSLA.

Experience:

• Minimum 2-year hands-on-experience in value-addition practices and small-scale processing, community-based livelihood projects, financial inclusion work.
• Understanding of local markets, micro-enterprise dynamics and youth & women economic empowerment and practical understanding of small business development.
• Experience in community mobilization, working with refugees or vulnerable populations.
• Experience on M & E fundamentals. Essential Skills and Attributes:
• Ability to work independently in field conditions.
• Strong analytical, coaching and mentoring skills.
• Willingness to proactively assess project progress and take lead in solving issues.
• Commitment to gender equality, inclusion and protection principles.
• Strong teamwork and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Knowledge of Kiswahili, Runyakitara, French or Arabic is an advantage.

Position          Digital and Financial Inclusion Assistant, 4 positions
Contract          January 2026 to 31.12. 2026 with possibility of one year extension
Level                Assistant level, reporting to Project Officer – Livelihoods, Value Addition, Digital & Financial Inclusion
Location       2 positions at FRC Field Office, Nakivale Refugee Settlement, Isingiro District
                      2 positions at FRC Field Office, Kyangwali Refugee Settlement, Kikuube District

Job Purpose:

The Digital and Financial Inclusion Assistant will support the digitalization of VSLAs, facilitate access to formal financial services and integrate these interventions with broader livelihoods and resilience activities to promote household self-reliance. 

Key Tasks and Responsibilities:

Technical Support and Guidance – 40%

• Facilitate enrolment and capacity building of VSLA groups on digital platforms.
• Support VSLA members to adopt digital tools for record-keeping, savings, loans and financial management, including IT support.
• Assist in linking VSLAs to formal financial services to enhance access to credit and savings.

Monitoring, Reporting and Data Management – 20% 

• Monitor digitalisation progress and assess adoption among VSLA groups.
• Maintain up-to-date databases, and support reporting, success story documentation and lessons learned dissemination.

Community Engagement and Inclusion – 20% 

• Support mobilisation and sensitisation of VSLA members and communities on digital systems and financial inclusion.
• Facilitate participation of vulnerable groups, including women and persons with disabilities.
• Collaborate with refugee and host community leadership to promote inclusive engagement.

Integration with Livelihoods and Resilience – 10%

• Support linkages of digitalised VSLAs to on-farm, off-farm and non-farm livelihood activities.
• Work with consortium project staff to ensure digital tools enhance income-generating initiatives and market access.

Capacity Strengthening and Sustainability – 10% 

• Assist in training local government, co-partners and community facilitators on VSLA digitalisation and financial inclusion.
• Support skills transfer to community structures to ensure sustainability.

Education and Qualifications:

• Primary: Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Information Technology, Finance, Economics, Banking.
• Combined with complementary diploma or short course in 1-2 of the following: Digital Financial Services / VSLA management / Digital Payment Systems / Mobile Money.

Experience:

• Minimum 2-year hands-on-experience in digital financial services, financial inclusion and VSLA management, community-based livelihood projects.
• Experience in community mobilization and working with refugees or vulnerable populations.
• Experience on M & E fundamentals. Essential Skills and Attributes:
• Strong analytical, coaching and mentoring skills.
• Willingness to proactively assess project progress and take lead in solving issues.
• Commitment to gender equality, inclusion and protection principles.
• Strong teamwork and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Knowledge of Kiswahili, Runyakitara, French or Arabic is an advantage.

Position          Community Digitalisation Facilitator, 2 positions
Contract         January 2026 to 31.12. 2026 with possibility of one year extension
Level                Community level, reporting to Digital and Financial Inclusion Assistant
Location         2 positions at FRC Field Office, Nakivale Refugee Settlement, Isingiro District

Job Purpose:

The Community Digitalisation Facilitator will support community VSLA groups to adopt and use digital tools that enhance financial inclusion, record-keeping, communication, market access, and access to services. The role focuses on community-based training, coaching, and mobilization. 

 

Key Tasks and Responsibilities:

Community Digital Skills Training – 40%

• Deliver practical digital literacy sessions such as smartphone use, basic apps, mobile money operations, digital communication platforms and safe internet practises.
• Support groups to use digital tools for financial tracking, business management, coordination.
• Train community groups on using digital record-keeping tools where applicable.

Support Digitalisation of VSLA groups – 30%

• Work closely with VSLAs to introduce digital record-keeping options, mobile money usage and group communication tools.
• Facilitate demonstrations on safe and effective use of mobile financial services.
• Help group transition into more transparent, efficient and secure digital financial practises.

Facilitate Linkages to Digital Service Providers – 10%

• Engage mobile network operators, agents and financial service providers to support community adoption of digital services.
• Organise community outreach with service providers for awareness and product education.
• Troubleshoot common digital service challenges faced by community VSLA groups.

Community Mobilisation and Inclusion – 10%

• Mobilise groups to participate in digitalisation training and activities.
• Ensure safe, inclusive environment that consider literacy levels and diverse learning needs.
• Strengthen community-level structures to champion digital awareness.

Monitoring, Reporting and Data Management – 10% 

• Track training attendance, digital adoption, VSLA digitalisation progress and challenges. Collect stories of change, innovations, and lessons learned from the community
• Prepare weekly / monthly activity reports.

Education and Qualifications:

• Primary: Diploma in ICT, Information Systems, Business ICT, Community development, Development Studies, Adult Education or related field.
• Combined with short courses in 1-2 of the following: Digital Financial Services / Digital Payment Systems / Mobile Money / VSLA digitalisation.

Experience:

• Minimum 1-year hands-on-experience in digital literacy, community mobilization, financial inclusion programs, or VSLA management.
• Strong practical knowledge of smartphones, mobile money, digital communication tools. Essential Skills and Attributes:
• Ability to train individuals with low literacy using simple, hands-on, step-by-step methods.
• Patience and ability to explain digital concepts in simple terms.
• High integrity, reliability, and adaptability to field realities.
• Language skills relevant to the community (Kiswahili, Runyakitara, French) is an advantage.

Key Tasks and Responsibilities: Activity Planning and Field Coordination – 30% Support the development of project workplans and activity schedules. Lead the development of weekly and monthly field activity plans. Coordinate field logistics, community mobilisation, and preparation for trainings and events. Coordinate and sequence interventions across value addition, digitalisation, enterprise development, and financial inclusion components. Technical Oversight – 20% Provide basic advice on digital and financial inclusion, value addition and VSLA management. Ensure quality and consistency of after farm value addition activities, digital and financial inclusion and training approaches. Staff Supervision and Field Support – 15% Directly supervise and mentor 2-4 staff and provide day-to-day support. Ensure team members understand their schedules, deliverables, and reporting timelines. Organise routine team meetings to review progress and troubleshoot issues. Community and Stakeholder Engagement – 15% Participate in meetings with settlement authorities, district officials and community leaders. Assist in coordination with district, OPM, UNHCR, WFP, private sector, other actors. Coordinate community mobilisation together with assistants and local leaders. Support the development of market linkages, financial service provider collaborations. Monitoring, Reporting and Data Management – 10%  Ensure accurate, timely data collection: training records, databases, activity outputs. Work with MEAL staff to conduct assessments and periodic monitoring. Administration, Compliance and Safeguarding – 10% Manage small activity budgets / field advances, accountabilities and procurement requests. Coordinate materials, transport and training supplies needed by the field team. Ensure that field staff follow safeguarding, PSEA and data protection procedures. Report any concerns related to community safety, fraud, or misconduct.

Essential Skills and Attributes: Practical problem-solving and initiative skills. Ability to work independently under minimal supervision. Commitment to gender equality, inclusion, safeguarding. Knowledge of Kiswahili, Runyakitara, French or Arabic is an advantage.

Education and Qualifications: Primary: Bachelor’s degree in Agribusiness, Agriculture, Rural Development, Business Administration, Economics or related field. Combined with a short course in 1-2 of the following: Post Harvest value addition, Business training, Financial Inclusion, Small and Medium Scale Enterprise dev., VSLA digitalization. Experience: Minimum 2-year hands-on-experience in livelihood sector and leading a small field team. Understanding of agricultural value chains and development, post-harvest management, small enterprise development and digitalization of VSLAs.

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