Background information about the job or company (e.g., role context, company overview)

Rural Development Advisor Peat4People (P4P). Ref No.GIZ-P4P/RDA/0226004

GIZ

Location: Kampala

Organization details

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is an international cooperation enterprise for sustainable development with worldwide operations on behalf of the German Government. The global Sustainable Peatland Management for People, Climate and Biodiversity (Peat4People) programme, funded by the BMZ via its Initiative for Climate and Environmental Protection (IKU) intends to improve the technical and financial capacities of relevant stakeholders for the sustainable management of peatland landscapes in selected partner countries.

The importance of peatlands for climate change mitigation and adaptation as well as the preservation of biodiversity is enormous: covering only 3% of the earth's land area, they are estimated to store a third of the world's soil carbon or about twice the carbon content of the Earth's forest biomass. Uganda is home to approximately 6,878 km² of peatlands, which constitutes about 3.7% of the total land area. Notably, it has the third highest peatland carbon stock in Africa. Halting the emissions and maintaining the peatlands’ carbon sequestration and storage capacity is crucial for achieving global climate goals, as degrading peatlands are among the hotspots for greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, forestry and land use change (UNEP GPA, 2022 & IPCC Wetlands Supplement, 2014). Despite their importance for biodiversity, important ecosystem services and climate protection, peatlands are endangered. The most common challenges to peatland integrity include land use change, pollution, human activities (e.g. population growth, overexploitation through extensive drainage for agriculture and forestry, peat extraction, untreated wastewater discharge) and climate change.

Enhancing the technical and financial capacities of stakeholders is essential for developing effective management strategies that can mitigate these threats and promote conservation and restoration efforts. By empowering local communities, small enterprises, academia and governments with the necessary tools and knowledge, the project aims to foster sustainable peatlands management that balance economic development with environmental benefits. Developed tools, approaches and capacities will also facilitate advanced peatland monitoring, enabling stakeholders to make informed decisions.

The project is implemented jointly by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the Michael Succow Foundation (partner in the Greifswald Mire Centre (MSF/GMC)), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

GIZ Uganda is recruiting a Rural Development Advisor to provide advisory service to relevant stakeholders and private sector actors

Responsibilities or duties

A. Key Responsibilities

The Rural Development Advisor will be in charge of:

• Support the development of economically viable, socially inclusive, and environmentally sustainable paludiculture value chains (Paludiculture is the productive use of wet and rewetted peatlands that preserves the peat soil and thereby minimizes CO2 emissions and subsidence).
• Strengthening business models along the full value chain ranging from sustainable harvesting and processing to market access and commercialization while ensuring local value creation and community benefits.

The Rural Development Advisor performs the following tasks:

B. Specific Tasks

1. Paludiculture Business Development & Innovation
   • Set up and coordinate tailored business development support to selected paludiculture initiatives, in cooperation with other project partners, including:
     • Business model refinement, product development and commercialization strategies
     • Market access facilitation and value chain development
     • Financial planning, investment readiness, and long-term sustainability strategies
   • Identify market opportunities, potential buyers, and partnership models for innovative paludiculture products at local, national, and regional levels.
   • Facilitate mentoring, networking, and strategic linkages with relevant stakeholders, including private sector actors, financial institutions, and research partners.
   • Provide guidance on financial viability, investment readiness, and scaling strategies.
   • Support the integration of environmental sustainability criteria into business models and harvesting practices.
2. Sustainable Peatland Use at Demonstration site
   • Advise partner institutions on integrating paludiculture into local livelihood strategies, and as an economic incentive for peatland conservation and restoration.
   • Support participatory identification of pilot biomass harvesting sites within demonstration site.
   • Support the development of inclusive business approaches that enhance local value addition and income generation.
   • Support local value chain actors from production to end markets, including processing, logistics, and commercialization pathways.
   • Identify policy, institutional, or market barriers affecting paludiculture adoption and propose solutions.
3. Coordination and Supervision of Field Activities at Demonstration site
   • Provide technical oversight of field activities implemented by researchers, consultants, NGOs, and community partners in Nabajjuzi peatland.
   • Ensure coherence between socio-economic research, awareness-raising, and business development activities.
   • Support the translation of research findings into practical business and livelihood strategies.
   • Contribute to stakeholder engagement with communities, private sector actors, and local authorities across concerned districts.
4. Knowledge Development and Learning
   • Document lessons learned on paludiculture value chain development and local economic impacts.
   • Contribute to guidance materials, case studies, and knowledge products.
   • Provide inputs to strategic planning, reporting, and communication outputs.
   • Support the planning and implementation of national, regional and international study tours, visiting delegations, exchange visits, missions and other official events.
   • Provide monitoring data and contextual knowledge to contribute to reporting and public and internal communication.
   • Organize internal and external events, workshops and meetings.

Other Duties/additional Tasks

Performs other duties and tasks at the request of Management.

Qualifications or requirements (e.g., education, skills)

Knowledge, skills and competences

• Experience coordinating multi-actor field initiatives is an asset.
• Strong analytical, facilitation, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Ability to communicate complex topics to be understood by different audiences.
• Pro-active attitude, flexibility and intercultural competence

Experience needed

Details of experience

• 5 years of professional experience in a comparable position.
• Proven experience in providing advisory services on agriculture value chains, private sector development and related fields
• Proven experience in value chain development, market systems approaches, or inclusive business models.
• Proven experience working in or in close cooperation with small-holder cooperatives and associations.
• Experience working for or in cooperation with the private sector.

Any other provided details (e.g., benefits, work environment, team info, or additional notes)

Number of vacancies: 1

Sector: NGO

Industry: Civil society

• Support the development of economically viable, socially inclusive, and environmentally sustainable paludiculture value chains (Paludiculture is the productive use of wet and rewetted peatlands that preserves the peat soil and thereby minimizes CO2 emissions and subsidence).
• Strengthening business models along the full value chain ranging from sustainable harvesting and processing to market access and commercialization while ensuring local value creation and community benefits.
• Set up and coordinate tailored business development support to selected paludiculture initiatives, in cooperation with other project partners, including: Business model refinement, product development and commercialization strategies, Market access facilitation and value chain development, Financial planning, investment readiness, and long-term sustainability strategies
• Identify market opportunities, potential buyers, and partnership models for innovative paludiculture products at local, national, and regional levels.
• Facilitate mentoring, networking, and strategic linkages with relevant stakeholders, including private sector actors, financial institutions, and research partners.
• Provide guidance on financial viability, investment readiness, and scaling strategies.
• Support the integration of environmental sustainability criteria into business models and harvesting practices.
• Advise partner institutions on integrating paludiculture into local livelihood strategies, and as an economic incentive for peatland conservation and restoration.
• Support participatory identification of pilot biomass harvesting sites within demonstration site.
• Support the development of inclusive business approaches that enhance local value addition and income generation.
• Support local value chain actors from production to end markets, including processing, logistics, and commercialization pathways.
• Identify policy, institutional, or market barriers affecting paludiculture adoption and propose solutions.
• Provide technical oversight of field activities implemented by researchers, consultants, NGOs, and community partners in Nabajjuzi peatland.
• Ensure coherence between socio-economic research, awareness-raising, and business development activities.
• Support the translation of research findings into practical business and livelihood strategies.
• Contribute to stakeholder engagement with communities, private sector actors, and local authorities across concerned districts.
• Document lessons learned on paludiculture value chain development and local economic impacts.
• Contribute to guidance materials, case studies, and knowledge products.
• Provide inputs to strategic planning, reporting, and communication outputs.
• Support the planning and implementation of national, regional and international study tours, visiting delegations, exchange visits, missions and other official events.
• Provide monitoring data and contextual knowledge to contribute to reporting and public and internal communication.
• Organize internal and external events, workshops and meetings.
• Performs other duties and tasks at the request of Management.

• Experience coordinating multi-actor field initiatives is an asset.
• Strong analytical, facilitation, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Ability to communicate complex topics to be understood by different audiences.
• Pro-active attitude, flexibility and intercultural competence

• Bachelor’s degree in Rural Development, Environmental Economics, Agribusiness, Natural Resource Management, or related field.