Organization details

The Multi-Donor Action “Water Supply and Self-Reliance for Refugees (WASER) in Uganda – Transition and Integration of Refugees into national services (TransIn)” is co-financed by the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). It is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) as part of the project “Water Supply and Sanitation for Refugees and Host Communities in Northern Uganda (WatSSUP). It complements the EU Action’s improvement of self-reliance and resilience of refugees component (implemented by AVSI/World Vision consortium) and the infrastructure component (implemented by KfW).

The main outcome of Transition is to ensure that national efforts by key state and non-state actors in Uganda to adopt knowledge-based, integrated policies on transition, service integration, and self-reliance are supported at national and sub-national levels.

Transition refers to the smooth and phased transfer from partner managed parallel systems and services for refugees and host communities to a system sustainably managed by the Government with support from partners, adhering to national quality standards in the Water and Health sectors. It is part of the Government of Uganda’s (GoU) Global Refugee Forum (GRF) Pledges that were made at the Global Refugee Forum (GRF) 2023.

TransIn’s objective will be achieved through three interlinked areas of support:

1) Strengthening coordination structures for service provision in refugee hosting districts (RHDs) by supporting national and local institutions (including the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE), the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) and the Comprehensive Refugee Response Secretariat.

2) Strengthening the capacity of the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) Secretariat in their planning, oversight and transition management functions.

3) Promoting dialogue on transition between key actors at sub-national and national level.

4) Enhancing water service delivery and self-reliance, strengthening the operational capacities of national water utilities and implementing community-based hygiene and sensitisation campaigns.The key implementing partner is the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE), specifically the Water and Environment Sector Refugee Response Plan (WESRRP) Secretariat, together with its decentralized agencies, including water utilities such as Northern Umbrella of Water and Sanitation (NUWS) and National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC).Other key stakeholders include the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), particularly the CRRF Secretariat. The CRRF Secretariat supports the high-level CRRF Steering Group, which brings together representatives from line ministries, UN agencies, development partners, civil society, and refugee hosting districts. To ensure inclusive decision-making, the CRRF mechanism integrates input from the local level: representatives from District Engagement Forum (DEF) and Refugee Engagement Forum (REF) regularly participate in Steering Group meetings. This structure enables a continuous feedback loop between national policy-making and local realities and is central to Uganda’s implementation of the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) and the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework.The geographical implementation areas are the districts of Yumbe, Madi Okollo and Terego with a focus on the three refugee settlements of Imvepi, Rhino camp and BidiBidi. Additionally, limited activities are implemented in Kiryandongo District and settlement. The WatSSUP field offices are in Arua, Lira and Kampala.

GIZ WatSSUP is recruiting a Technical Advisor to support the implementation of Outputs 1 (strengthening coordination for service provision in refugee hosting districts) and Outputs 2 (promoting dialogue between sub-national and national levels).

Number of vacancies: 1

Sector: NGO

Industry: Civil society

Knowledge, skills and competences

Excellent understanding of the refugee response in Uganda and the institutional framework of the CRRF in Uganda.

Demonstrated knowledge of planning processes and coordination structures at district level; experience of working in and/or with local governments, preferably in refugee or other humanitarian settings.

Strong communication skills and ability to network and manage multi-stakeholder processes, build and maintain professional relationships with government, humanitarian and development partners as well as private sector.

Excellent knowledge of MS Office (especially Word, Excel, PowerPoint), proficient use of online meeting tools such as MS Teams, WebEx etc.

Responsibilities

A. Key Responsibilities

The Technical Advisor will ensure;

Advise and support selected refugee-hosting districts on the development of district-specific plans for service integration (transition plans) in collaboration with the CRRF Secretariat, the WESRRP Secretariat and other relevant stakeholders.

Provide technical guidance to districts on the inclusion of refugees into the District Plans for inclusive service delivery in the water and health sector.

Support information flow between CRRF stakeholders including government institutions, development partners, and humanitarian actors at district level and between national and district level.

Strengthen district local governments’ information management and data-collection capacities (with a focus on the WASH sector and the implementation of Global Refugee Forum Pledges).

Identify, document and share best experiences and lessons learned from the rollout of district-specific transition plans that can be replicated or adapted in other districts.

B. Specific Tasks

1. Strengthen the technical capacities of selected District Local Governments (DLGs) to develop and implement district transition strategy/action plans to shift from humanitarian service delivery to a sustainable, development-oriented approach

In collaboration with the District Planning Department and relevant programme departments, support service-gap assessments in Health and Water to evaluate the technical, financial, and structural capacities of the RHDs for the transition.

Support participatory planning workshops with the RHD’s departments of planning, health, and water with levant humanitarian and development partners to formulate district-level transition action plans.

Support the implementation of district transition action plans in close collaboration with district line departments, the CRRF Secretariat and local councils.

Facilitate documentation of a practical “how-to” guide for rolling out transition action plans and disseminate it to other refugee-hosting local governments through the District Engagement Forum (DEF).

2. Strengthening district coordination under the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF).

Support districts with the mapping of refugee-related development partner interventions, as well as the strengthening of district-level CRRF coordination mechanisms.

Strengthening collaboration between the WESRRP Secretariat and District Local Governments and support districts in the monitoring and reporting processes of the WESRRP.

Support members of the District Engagement Forum in communicating and providing feedback on CRRF Steering Group decisions back to the district level, ensuring information flows effectively to local actors.

Serve as a key liaison between the CRRF Secretariat and District Local Governments, facilitating coordination, information exchange, and follow-up on agreed actions.

3. Strengthen the capacity of selected Refugee-Hosting Districts (RHDs) and Refugee Engagement Forum (REF) members from selected settlements to implement their pledges made

• Advise and support selected refugee-hosting districts on the development of district-specific plans for service integration (transition plans) in collaboration with the CRRF Secretariat, the WESRRP Secretariat and other relevant stakeholders.
• Provide technical guidance to districts on the inclusion of refugees into the District Plans for inclusive service delivery in the water and health sector.
• Support information flow between CRRF stakeholders including government institutions, development partners, and humanitarian actors at district level and between national and district level.
• Strengthen district local governments’ information management and data-collection capacities (with a focus on the WASH sector and the implementation of Global Refugee Forum Pledges).
• Identify, document and share best experiences and lessons learned from the rollout of district-specific transition plans that can be replicated or adapted in other districts.
• Strengthen the technical capacities of selected District Local Governments (DLGs) to develop and implement district transition strategy/action plans to shift from humanitarian service delivery to a sustainable, development-oriented approach.
• In collaboration with the District Planning Department and relevant programme departments, support service-gap assessments in Health and Water to evaluate the technical, financial, and structural capacities of the RHDs for the transition.
• Support participatory planning workshops with the RHD’s departments of planning, health, and water with levant humanitarian and development partners to formulate district-level transition action plans.
• Support the implementation of district transition action plans in close collaboration with district line departments, the CRRF Secretariat and local councils.
• Facilitate documentation of a practical “how-to” guide for rolling out transition action plans and disseminate it to other refugee-hosting local governments through the District Engagement Forum (DEF).
• Support districts with the mapping of refugee-related development partner interventions, as well as the strengthening of district-level CRRF coordination mechanisms.
• Strengthening collaboration between the WESRRP Secretariat and District Local Governments and support districts in the monitoring and reporting processes of the WESRRP.
• Support members of the District Engagement Forum in communicating and providing feedback on CRRF Steering Group decisions back to the district level, ensuring information flows effectively to local actors.
• Serve as a key liaison between the CRRF Secretariat and District Local Governments, facilitating coordination, information exchange, and follow-up on agreed actions.
• Strengthen the capacity of selected Refugee-Hosting Districts (RHDs) and Refugee Engagement Forum (REF) members from selected settlements to implement their pledges made.

• Excellent understanding of the refugee response in Uganda and the institutional framework of the CRRF in Uganda.
• Demonstrated knowledge of planning processes and coordination structures at district level; experience of working in and/or with local governments, preferably in refugee or other humanitarian settings.
• Strong communication skills and ability to network and manage multi-stakeholder processes, build and maintain professional relationships with government, humanitarian and development partners as well as private sector.
• Excellent knowledge of MS Office (especially Word, Excel, PowerPoint), proficient use of online meeting tools such as MS Teams, WebEx etc.

• Excellent understanding of the refugee response in Uganda and the institutional framework of the CRRF in Uganda.
• Demonstrated knowledge of planning processes and coordination structures at district level; experience of working in and/or with local governments, preferably in refugee or other humanitarian settings.
• Strong communication skills and ability to network and manage multi-stakeholder processes, build and maintain professional relationships with government, humanitarian and development partners as well as private sector.
• Excellent knowledge of MS Office (especially Word, Excel, PowerPoint), proficient use of online meeting tools such as MS Teams, WebEx etc.