Job Title:   Women Economic Empowerment and Market Linkage Advisor  

Organisation: CARE International in Uganda (CARE)

Duty Station: Kampala, Uganda

About the Company:

CARE is a global leader within a worldwide movement dedicated to ending poverty. We are known everywhere for our unshakeable commitment to defending the dignity of people. CARE works around the globe to save lives, defeat poverty, and achieve social justice. We seek a world of hope, tolerance, and social justice, where poverty has been overcome and all people live with dignity and security. We put women and girls at the center of our work because we know that we cannot overcome poverty until all people have equal rights and opportunities.

Project Summary

The Gender Equality and Resilience Project (GEAR) is a five (5) years project funded by Austrian Development Agency through CARE Austria with an overall goal to empower marginalized women, girls, and youth (15-59 with a focus on 15-35 years) to be more self-reliant and live in a responsive and inclusive environment in Northern Uganda and Eastern Rwanda.

The project seeks to achieve four output areas such as : i)  promoting positive gender norms that protect women and girls and advance gender equality & women and girls’ social and economic rights in the target communities; ii) ensure that marginalized women, girls and youth have sustainable and dignified income opportunities; iii) women and girls have increased voice and leadership to influence decisions and effectively take action to address their priorities; and iv) ensure knowledge on effective approaches of transforming gender norms and women’s empowerment is disseminated at program, national and international level.

Job Summary:   As a member of the senior program team of GEAR, the WEE& market linkage Advisor is responsible for providing technical support and leadership to the project economic empowerment component. He/she is responsible for supporting the GEAR project to ensure its beneficiaries have increased capacity to access and utilize safe, sustainable, and dignified income generating and livelihood opportunities both as an economic empowerment and as strategy to reduce high risks coping mechanisms, leading to GBV and various forms of abuse and exploitation.

The incumbent will be responsible for designing and implementing Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) and Youth SLA (YSLAs) for refugee and displaced populations, including urban youth; Linking better performing groups to financial service providers for access to more formal financial services that can support the businesses and Income Generating Activities of select beneficiaries, Promote women in business networks to increase women and girls’ access to and control (voice and leadership) over economic networks and rolling out a job placement and vocational training program. S/he also supports the MEAL function and ensures lessons learnt and impact of above interventions during displacement and in the urban context are captured and disseminated.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Responsibility 1: Provide technical leadership support to GEAR on V/YSLAs in the urban and displacement contexts (25%)

• Based on lessons learnt from CARE’s VSLA and YSLA methodologies, and results from the formative studies during the inception phase, adapt the V/YSLA methodology to propose an approach that will be relevant to the needs of targeted beneficiaries, with specific attention of what is required to create V/YSLAs with refugee youth, and with urban poor populations, particularly women.
• Pilot test V/YSLAs that bring together refugees and host communities to create trust and social cohesion between these groups.
• Adapt and ensure quality and relevance of the different curricula to be delivered to V/YSLAs: life and soft skills (including building self-esteem and self-confidence of members, integrating GBV prevention activities, etc.), Women Leadership and PSS (in collaboration with Gender and Advocacy Advisor), V/YSLA management committee and governance training, financial literacy training, business development skills, etc.
• Train selected partners in the roll out of the above adapted V/YSLA methodologies and provide ongoing technical support to ensure timely and quality implementation, detecting what works, what does not and proposing corrective measures.
• Roll out the digital care package model to increase women and girls’ access to and control (decision making) over digital/technology resources and promote women in business networks to increase women and girls’ access to and control (voice and leadership) over economic networks

Responsibility 2: Design and roll out a job placement and vocational training program (25%)

• Work with partners to Identify participants with potential to be linked to more “formal” job opportunities, particularly in the urban context, through the design and roll out of “job placement” program; this will include identifying youth and matching them with potential employers to gain practical work experience, developing a curriculum for youth and employers and training employers on expectations of the program, including on fair treatment and prevention of Sexual Harassment, Abuse and Exploitation at the work place in collaboration with the Gender and Advocacy Advisor;
• Work closely with partners to identify participants in need of vocational training and opportunities for vocational training, building on CARE’s youth skills model; design the training package, roll it out and ensure close monitoring and oversight during the vocational training.
• To the extent possible, link the vocational training and job placement by transitioning youth from vocational training to the job placement program.
• Train women and girls on business communications and leadership skills with focus on ability to effectively manage their businesses and partners.

Responsibility 3: Support V/YSLA members to engage in micros and small businesses and form economically viable livelihood groups (20%)

• From V/YSLA members who took loans from V/YSLAs to invest in Income Generating Activities, identify individuals to be supported with development of micro and small business ideas aligned with the market. Initial investments in these businesses are through the Loan Fund of the V/YSLAs but also with additional injections of start-up capital for those who start businesses as groups, which will be encouraged.
• Support VSLA members to start Livelihood groups, small businesses, and Income Generating Activities (IGA) as groups, including with non-members and particularly if these non-Y/VSLA members can bring expertise and / or capital (cash or in kind) to the venture. Once organized in Livelihood groups, ensure appropriate technical, financial and governance support is provided until the group can operate on its own.
• Identify private sector actors, social enterprises (e.g., leveraging on partnership with Ashoka) who can be linked to above livelihood groups and micro and small businesses for access to markets, to technology, to inputs, etc.

Responsibility 4: Provide technical leadership and support to linkages of V/YSLAs to Formal Financial Institutions (10%)

• Support linkages of best performing and “mature” V/YSLAs with formal Finance Service Providers (FSPs). This will include identifying suitable FSPs, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and adequate user-friendly products (e.g., E-wallets, etc.).
• Training and provision of ongoing technical support and accompaniment to implementing partners involved in supporting linkages activities.
• Collaborate with partners to identify FSPs, MNOs and adequate products; support signing of agreements of selected FSPs & MNOs and implementation of these agreements, with customer protection always at the centers.
• With support from Gender and Advocacy Advisor, ensure training of FSPs and MNOs on gender barriers to financial services is conducted.
• Ongoing monitoring and evaluation of linkages’ component, including monitoring of Do No Harm to ensure linked groups and / or individuals do not get indebted.

Responsibility 6: Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) 10%

• Train implementing partners in the use of SAVIX, the global Management Information System for VSLAs and ensure IPs report all V/YSLA activities (of groups, number of members, groups performance indicators etc.) in SAVIX.
• Support team to monitor the quality and impact of the implementation of all Economic Empowerment and Financial Inclusion activities, ensuring data is tracked by age, gender, origin, livelihood group, rural versus urban etc.).
• This contributes to generating and documenting lessons learnt and knowledge on all economic empowerment and financial inclusion activities with particular attention to documenting and tracking the impact of economic empowerment on resilience and reduction of GBV risks; on implementing YSLAs in the urban context and with displaced populations, and on the linkages between V/YSLAs.

Responsibility 7: Promote Gender Equity and Diversity & Safeguarding Practices all the time (5%)

• Practice a behavior that is consistent with CARE’s core values, and promotion of gender equity and diversity goals.
• Plays a leadership role in identifying and implementing initiatives that enhance CARE’s commitment to gender and diversity.
• Adhere to CARE Safeguarding policies and procedures, Protection from Sexual Harassment, Exploitation and Abuse and Child Abuse, the anti-discrimination and harassment policy, The code of conduct and the organizations values are always adhered to.

Responsibility 8: Any other responsibility as may be assigned by the Supervisor (5%)

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in micro finance, Business Administration, entrepreneurship, agriculture, agribusiness, or related field. A post graduate diploma in this field is a MUST.
• Advanced technical knowledge and at least 6 years of hands on proven practical professional experience in women economic empowerment programs, particularly Y/VSLAs, enterprise management, vocational skills program, and cash transfer.
• Excellent teamwork, networking, and collaboration skills with a wide range of actors, both within the CARE International network, including CARE Austria.
• Ability to network, build relationships and establish collaboration with different partners, agencies local and international networks.
• Strong commitment to Gender Equity and Diversity (GED).
• Strong inter-personal communication and facilitation skills
• Knowledge of Monitoring and Evaluation including report writing, documentation and presentation.