About Agriterra

Agriterra is a cooperative development organisation founded and governed by farmers’ organisations from The Netherlands, to strengthen the capacity of farmers’ organisations in the Global South. Our mission is to strengthen organised farmers in developing and emerging countries, given the importance of effectively organised farmers to improve the resilience of rural households and make the structural transformation of economies inclusive of rural communities. Through collective action, farmers can set the agenda for their own development ambitions and increase their voice and bargaining power to improve their food security, their economic development and their ability to cope with shocks. As an advisory organisation, Agriterra builds the capacities of farmers’ organisations in their quest to become self-sustaining rural centers of service delivery, in the fields of advocacy, production, finance, marketing and value addition.

About the job

Agriterra is looking to recruit one (1) project and finance officer for the Farmers’ Organisations for Rural Transformation (FORT) project in Uganda. The FORT project strives for the transformation of rural areas in five regions of Uganda, whereby a variety of organised farmers and their households are expected to increase their resilience to shocks through the strengthening of their farmers’ organisations (FOs). These FOs will have a variety of sizes, ranging from informal groups to primary cooperatives, Area Cooperative Enterprises and the Apex organisation. In addition to producers’ organisations, FORT intends to strengthen the functioning of rural SACCOs to better serve the needs of rural households while reinforcing their savings and credit portfolios and the foundations of governance and financial management. FORT will be implemented by a consortium of Agriterra (lead), Wageningen University CDI (WUR) and the Uganda Cooperative Alliance. The project has a timespan of five years and an objective to reach 200,000 farmer households through approximately 120 formal FOs and 180 informal FOs. Agriterra considers the FORT approach as the result of multiple years of incrementally innovating its vision of cooperative development, whereby the concepts of Leaving no one behind, sustainable land use and household resilience have taken a more prominent place. By integrating a farming systems approach in its cooperative development approach, Agriterra has deepened and widened its impact on rural communities, while consistently taking the farmers’ organisation as the entry point. FORT has been designed as a model project for rural development, where the national apex organisation is envisioned to take up the role of cooperative development service provider after the project’s ending, given its permanent character in the national cooperative landscape. New concepts, such as categorization and graduation, and milestone-based cooperative development will be put into practice in FORT, as well as our refined approaches towards salaried and peer-to-peer cooperative extension services, performance monitoring of SACCOs by rural leaders and the installation of rural agroecological product production centers.

In FORT, cooperatives are considered farmer-led enterprises that can develop a variety of farmer-led businesses which should be economically viable responses to genuine needs of farmer households in their communities. Through services provision, cooperatives should strengthen the economic position and resilience of members and non-members, with business models that convince non-members to join. Farmers should be able to access production services, financial services and marketing and value-adding services in their vicinity and farmers’ organisations should be capacitated to develop and sustain these services with business plans that have the potential to be upscaled, to enable cooperatives to maximize their potential based on the concepts of collective action and economies of scale. To ensure that the selected farmers’ organisations are structurally owned, controlled and used by their members, in an inclusive and representative manner, the capacity building will include advisory services, trainings and peer-to-peer exchanges to strengthen their governance framework, including the internal agency, institutional foundations and external agency of these farmer-led institutions.

As the lead partner in the consortium, our Project and Finance Officer will monitor not only our internal budgets but also monitor partner budgets and oversee the consortium budget. This includes verifying and entering all consortium-related expenses into the system (D365). The Project and Finance Officer will report directly to the FORT project lead and will receive functional supervision from the Regional Operations Manager. He/she will be responsible for monitoring the overall project budget and its depletion, financial reporting, accounting and ensuring that activities are executed on time and within budget, and maintaining compliance with donor and organizational requirements. The Project and Finance Officer will provide regular status updates on budget depletion to the project lead and facilitate seamless communication between the project team and stakeholders. In addition to financial oversight, the officer will manage project planning and execution, monitor expenses, ensure accurate fund allocation, and prepare detailed financial reports. He/she will also maintain comprehensive project documentation and proactively address any issues or concerns raised by team members or stakeholders. This role is critical to ensuring the smooth financial management and implementation of the project across the consortium.

Duties and responsibilities

Budget Management and Oversight

• Monitor and manage both internal and consortium-wide budgets, ensuring alignment with donor guidelines.
• Coordinate with consortium partners to consolidate financial reports and facilitate timely fund disbursements.
• Track budget expenditures across all partners, identifying variances and proposing corrective actions.
• Review partners' financial reports for accuracy and compliance before submission to the donor

Expense Verification and Data Management

• Collect, verify, and input consortium partners' expenses into the financial system.
• Ensure partners follow agreed cost structures and financial policies.
• Conduct periodic spot-checks or financial audits of partners' expenses to ensure accountability and transparency

Audit Coordination and Compliance

• Manage project audits, including planning, preparation, and coordination with auditors.
• Ensure consortium partners maintain accurate records and comply with audit requirements.
• Act as the primary contact for external and internal auditors, consolidating documentation from all partners.
• Oversee the implementation of audit recommendations and track progress to ensure timely resolution.

Communication and Coordination

• Serve as the liaison between the lead organization (Agriterra), consortium partners, and the donor on financial matters.
• Facilitate regular finance coordination meetings with partner finance teams to monitor progress and address challenges.
• Provide timely budget status updates to the team lead and the consortium partners, and ensure clear communication between project teams and stakeholders

Compliance and Reporting

• Ensure financial practices across all consortium partners align with donor requirements and internal policies.
• Prepare consolidated financial reports, integrating input from partners, for donor submission.
• Monitor compliance with procurement procedures and donor guidelines across the consortium.

Risk Management and Issue Resolution

• Identify financial risks across the consortium and propose mitigation strategies.
• Work closely with partners to resolve any financial discrepancies or reporting delays.
• Document decisions and actions taken to address financial challenges to ensure transparency.

Planning, Forecasting, and Fund Allocation

• Assist partners with financial forecasting and work plan alignment with the project budget.
• Analyze trends in budget utilization across the consortium and recommend adjustments or reallocations as necessary.
• Ensure the accurate allocation of funds across the project and consortium partners, preventing budget overages or shortfalls

What do you offer?

• Degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, Project Management, or a related field
• ACCA/CPA is of an added advantage
• Proven experience; 5 years in managing grants and donor-funded projects, preferably for international organizations supporting agricultural development projects
• Demonstrated experience in financial planning, budgeting, and reporting
• Experience in using project management software and tools
• Strong analytical and financial management skills
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work effectively with diverse teams
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Knowledge of accounting software (e.g., QuickBooks, SAP, Oracle, MS Dynamics)
• Personal Attributes - High level of accuracy and attention to detail, Strong ethical standards and integrity, Ability to adapt to changing project requirements and environments and Strong organizational and planning skills.

What do we offer?

• A position which requires you to show initiative and to operate in a dynamic network with the opportunity to exchange with and learn from colleagues across the world.
• A salary in scale 8 based in the Agriterra Uganda scale starting from Ushs 3,775,410.
• Additional benefits respecting the country’s legislation and Agriterra’s HR Policy.
• A collegial and ambitious work environment with a focus on achieving results.