Job Title:   National Programme Coordinator for the project: Uganda: Sustainable Business for Uganda 2.0 – Trade and Investment Development (UN Jobs)   

Organisation: International Trade Centre (ITC)

Duty Station:  Kampala, Uganda

About US:

The International Trade Centre (ITC) a multilateral agency with a joint mandate with the World Trade Organization and the United Nations through the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. We provide country-and client-specific tailored support through unique advisory services, capacity building, training and mentoring, free tools and business data, and trade-specific publications.

Job Summary:   Under the overall supervision of the Chief, Office for Africa in ITC Geneva, and the guidance of the ITC Geneva Programme Manager, the National Coordinator will be recruited through an open and competitive process. His/her primary responsibility will be to ensure, following the principles of Results-Based Management (RBM), that the project achieves its expected outcomes (deliverables) within the specified timelines, meets the required performance standards, and remains within the allocated program budget, as outlined in the program document. He/she will ensure close coordination and consultation with the Office for Africa office in ITC and the national counterparts of the project.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:   The National Coordinator will perform the following functions:

• Under the guidance of the ITC Programme Manager, coordinate the activities of the project and ensure the achievement of results and the delivery of outputs at the national level, in accordance with the program document.
• Assist in updating ITC’s Workplan and disseminating it to all stakeholders.
• Facilitate missions by project staff and consultants, including domestic travel.
• Ensure visibility of the project in the country and beyond.
• Assist ITC in identifying and recruiting national consultants as needed.
• Act as a liaison between ITC, the national counterpart, UN Resident Coordinator’s office, UNCT, the European Union Office, and other program stakeholders, including government institutions.
• Participate in and assist in the preparation for meetings of project governance and decision-making bodies including the Project Steering Committee.
• Ensure timely preparation and submission of monthly project activity progress and financial reports, technical reports, and other documents required by ITC or programme partners (e.g. quarterly and annual work plans, budgets, mission reports, and minutes of key meetings).
• Actively participate in UNCT (UNSCDF Result Groups meetings) meetings on behalf of ITC, sharing about achievements of the project, challenges, good practices in support of the objectives of the Cooperation Framework.
• Identify and seize synergies with other trade development initiatives in Uganda.

Copyright Clause: The consultant has to ensure that she has obtained the necessary permissions with regard to intellectual property rights required to perform her services under this consultancy contract and for the subsequent dissemination by ITC in any form. Documentary proof is to be submitted to ITC. Should any license fee be due for the use of copyrighted materials of third parties, the consultant shall request the prior written permission from ITC. ITC champions workforce diversity, inclusion, gender equality and gender parity and considers all qualified persons – of all genders – equally, including those with disabilities, without discrimination or prejudice of any kind.

Background: 

The International Trade Centre (ITC) is a joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization for trade-related technical cooperation in developing countries. It is the only multilateral agency fully dedicated to supporting the internationalization of SMEs. ITC’s mission is to foster inclusive and sustainable growth and development through trade and international business development. ITC Headquarters is located in Geneva, Switzerland. ITC projects and programmes contribute to the global efforts to achieve UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development and the Aid for Trade agenda.   In this context, ITC serves as the implementing partner for the European Union-funded project, “Uganda: Sustainable Business for Uganda 2.0 – Trade and Investment Development”, which aims to boost Uganda’s economic performance through developing green, inclusive and technological dimensions of trade and investment. This framework will respond to current and emerging needs as well as opportunities to improve the performance of export sectors with a focus on greening value chains, generating sustainable investment, and stimulating job creation.

The Overall Objective of this action is to contribute to sustainable and inclusive economic growth and decent and green job creation in Uganda.  The Specific Objective of this action is to facilitate and promote inclusive sustainable and green trade and investment between Uganda and the European Union.

The Outputs to be delivered by this action contributing to the corresponding specific objective are:

• Output 1 – Strengthened policy framework and public and private stakeholders’ capacities for enhanced trade competitiveness in selected sectors and value chains
• Output 2 – Improved investment framework and opportunities
• Output 3 – Enhanced trade facilitation framework and tools
• Output 4 – Strengthened quality compliance and standards in selected value chains
• Output 5 – Strengthened e-commerce ecosystem, BSOs and MSMEs ITC will be the implementing entity for above-mentioned outputs.   In this perspective, ITC plans to recruit a National Coordinator in Uganda to support ITC in the effective implementation of the project.

• Holds a postgraduate degree (Master’s or PhD) in Economics, Commerce, or a related discipline.
• At least 5 years of experience in economic development, private sector support, or trade-related technical assistance, in designing, implementing, monitoring, and managing the administrative and financial aspects of development projects.
• Strong understanding of the economic context of Uganda, its development priorities, and export sector, particularly its integration into the multilateral trading system.
• Experience working within or with government institutions dealing with trade matters
• Familiarity the UN Sustainable Cooperation Framework of Uganda (UNSCDF)
• Proven experience in team management, facilitation, consultation, and building partnerships between diverse private sector and institutional stakeholders
• Mastery of the Results-Based Management approach
• Languages
• Advanced command of oral and written English is required. Knowledge of local languages would be an asset.