About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible.
In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions
into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within.
Now, and for the future.

Mercy Corps has been present in Uganda since 2006, focusing its interventions on economic and agricultural development, maternal child health and nutrition, governance, conflict management and humanitarian response. With funding from USAID, DFID, BPRM, Master Card Foundation and other donors Mercy Corps has been able to work together with communities in Uganda to respond to the needs of our target population, which is focused on women, youth and more specifically adolescent girls. In 2018, Mercy Corps had an impact on almost 1 million beneficiaries in Uganda through our work focusing on building resilience and enabling economic growth, improving opportunities to attain better health and nutrition, and improving governance and conflict management. Common themes include social behavior change, inclusive development, gender, and working in partnership with local government, the private sector and civil society actors.

Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps is implementing a five year USAID funded food and nutrition security Activity called Apolou in Karenga, Kaabong, Kotido, Amudat and Moroto Districts. In addition to this funding, Mercy Corps was awarded funding for an Animal Health for Resilience Activity on Animal Health interventions and policy in the Karamoja sub-region through USAID’s Resilience Challenge Fund. Activities will be focused on Kaabong and Amudat Districts. The overall goal of the Animal Health for Resilience Activity is to increase veterinary governance and increase public and private investment in disease prevention, surveillance, control, and response systems to strengthen productive assets for improved resilience in Karamoja.

General Position Summary

The Livestock officer will be at the fore front of implementation the Animal Health for Resilience Activity within the broader Apolou Activity. And work in close collaboration with the Apolou Activity livestock team and the broader Apolou teams, government stakeholders especially the district veterinary offices and Ministry of Agriculture Animal industry and fisheries, USAID and other implementing partners in Karamoja. The position will have the responsibility to Improve veterinary governance and increased public and private investment in disease prevention, surveillance, control and response systems to strengthen productive assets for improved resilience in Karamoja.

Essential Job Responsibilities

● In partnership with the Government of Uganda at national and district levels, the position will participate the design and implementation of a 1-2 cost-effective livestock disease surveillance, monitoring and response systems.

● Livestock officer will be responsible for the development and operationalization of active and passive livestock disease surveillance, Livestock Early Warning System LEWs and response mechanisms in Kaabong and Amudat districts

● Participate in desk review and interview experts in public animal health systems to capture lessons learned and recommendations. With this information and in close consultation with district officials, Propose and co create different models such as an event- and indicator- based surveillance, and community-based surveillance systems in Kaabong and Amudat

● Pilot disease surveillance/response systems including overseeing the completion of a cost-benefit analysis of different models.

● Will work in coordination with Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) to prepare and endorse an animal health services capacity-strengthening plan for the Karamoja region.

● Coordinate with other program Livestock, Livelihoods and Apolou teams to support activity integration and information sharing within Apolou and other similar programs.

● Coordinate with GoU to provide technical expertise, analyze surveillance data, conduct studies, provide recommendations to partners, and conduct epidemiologic and programmatic assessments using program-developed instruments and tools.

● Coordinate and assist government and CBO organizations that conduct animal health and disease outbreak response in Karamoja.

● Plan, lead and organize meetings and workshops to support strengthening of veterinary epidemiology capacities

Team Management

· Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback informally and formally via regular one on ones and performance reviews.

· Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.

· Liaise with other team members to ensure consortium is integrated in approach, on-scope, on-time and on-budget.

Finance & Compliance Management

· Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations related to Livestock Activities

· Develop team budgets, ensure adherence to MC Uganda Field Finance Manual and Field Procurement Manual for all livestock activities

Influence & Representation

· Identify, build and manage collaborative partnerships with key private sector gatekeepers

· Represent Mercy Corps’ approach at key government, coordination and advocacy platforms.

Organizational Learning

· As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.

Accountability to Participants

· Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically
to our participants and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Accountability

Reports Directly to: Animal Health Manager

Works Directly with: Livestock and Livelihoods teams, other Sector Teams Save the Children and Whave teams within the Apolou Consortium

Knowledge and Experience

• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine with 2-3 years’ direct experience partnering with governments on animal health and disease surveillance systems, experience working with public health programs is an added advantage.
• Willingness to work in the field with agro-vet shops, Community animal health workers, kraal leaders and communities;
• Possess the ability to interact effectively with a wide range of partners; private sector, government and civil society
• Basic understanding of and experience of working with Resilience concepts
• Excellent analytical skills and experience working on livestock research
• Skills in team work, holding community consultations and organizational development;
• Excellent reporting, communication and representation skills
• Skills in networking, team-working, and community consultations

· Good spoken and written English. Fluency in Ngakarimojong and Pokot is an advantage

Success Factors

The success of the Livestock Officer will be based on the ability to work to Improve veterinary governance and increased public and private investment in disease prevention, surveillance, control and response systems to strengthen productive assets for improved resilience in Karamoja, the second will be the degree to which the person promotes and captures learning with her/his team, institutionalizing activity reviews, identifying and evaluating preconceptions and promoting a culture of inquisition. The third success factor will be the degree to which that person drives results, making critical decisions and producing scheduled outputs at deadline and to the expected quality.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The positions are based in Kaabong and Amudat and require travel to other locations in Karamoja The region is secure with access to most basic amenities.

Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all locations.