Background

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Our goal is to achieve food security for all and make sure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. With 195 members - 194 countries and the European Union, FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide.

Context

FAO has maintained a continuous presence in Uganda since 1959, implementing emergency response, resilience-building, and rural development programmes in refugee-hosting districts and climate-vulnerable areas such as Karamoja. FAO provides lifesaving and risk-mitigating support to refugee and host communities to enhance food and nutrition security and safeguard livelihoods.

Uganda has been implementing the "open door policy", which plays host to over 1.9 million refugees, mainly from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). UNHCR and JICA cooperate to tackle the long-standing issues surrounding refugees and host communities, striving to foster self-reliance and harmonious coexistence between refugees and host communities.

However, in recent years, the situation of refugees in Uganda has been drastically deteriorating, marked by the international financial crisis. Refugees are in a severely negative situation due to the reduction of food support, but that there is an opportunity, through block farming, to gain access to more land and solve some of these challenges through economies of scale.

Land tenure and social cohesion are additional concerns. Refugees often negotiate informal leases or sharecropping arrangements with host landowners, which can be insecure and a source of tension. The block farming model offers potential to stabilize land access through formal agreements and shared benefits, reducing conflict and improving equity in resource use.

The dispatchment of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) to the Uganda office of FAO can pave the way to tackle with the financial hiccup and a lack of staff and strengthen the partnership between FAO and JICA.

Task description

Under the guidance of the Food Security and Livelihoods Coordinator, the UNV will execute the following tasks:

conduct an analysis of the needs of the displaced population and their host communities, as well as tasks aimed at enhancing self-reliance and economic empowerment of refugees and host communities, in collaboration with a range of implementing and operational partners, including bilateral and multilateral development partners, UN agencies (particularly UNHCR), private sector, NGOs, and the Government of Uganda, specifically the Office of Prime Minister (OPM) and Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries (MAAIF).

At the national level, the UNV will contribute to strengthening coordination with the above-mentioned stakeholders to ensure alignment of FAO’s refugee response programme with the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF), advance Global Refugee Forum (GRF) pledges, and ensure coherent, evidence-based implementation.

Key responsibilities include:

• Conduct needs assessments and evaluations of refugees and host communities, with a particular focus on block farming and income generation.
• Support in the continued development of FAO’s block farming model.
• Support tracking of development financing.
• Assist in the development of project proposals for funding opportunities such as the Japan Supplementary Budget (JSB).
• Engage in advocacy, partnership, coordination and networking of bilateral donors such as JICA and NGOs to assess project progresses.
• Engage with Japanese private companies to strengthen the PPP cooperation.

Eligibility criteria

Age

18 - 80

Required experience

3 years

Donor priorities

Assignment requirements

Relevant experience

3 years

Languages

English, Level: Fluent, Desirable

Required education level

Bachelor's degree in Agriculture, Economics, International Development, Political Science, Social Science, or related fields is highly favoured.

Competencies and values

• Accountability
• Adaptability and flexibility
• Creativity
• Commitment and Motivation
• Judgement and decision-making
• Planning and organising
• Professionalism
• Self-management
• Working in Teams

Skills and experience

A minimum of three (3) years’ experience in any of these areas, agriculture, communication, community development, crisis and emergency response, development programmes, energy and environment among others.

The Programme Associate will be responsible for the following.

• Ability to conduct assessments, evaluations, and data analysis in humanitarian contexts.
• Familiarity with tools and approaches of communications for development.
• Skills in stakeholder engagement, partnership-building, and coordination with a wide range of actors, including donors, NGOs, private sector partners, and government institutions.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills; drafting, editing, and reporting abilities.
• Organizational and coordination skills, with the ability to manage multiple tasks and priorities effectively.
• Excellent interpersonal and intercultural skills; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with diverse stakeholders.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision, take initiative, and work with tight deadlines.
• Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment; ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel.
• Sound security awareness.
• Strong interest in international development, Peace, Humanitarian–Development (HDP) Nexus, refugee response, and the mandate of FAO.
• Solid computer literacy, including proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), email, and internet.

Area(s) of expertise

Agriculture, Community development, Development programmes