Uganda DRG Support

USAID/Uganda’s Democracy, Human Rights and Governance (DRG) Office is seeking a qualified candidate to serve as a Program Specialist. 

USAID’s DRG Office’s portfolio is heavily funded with Office of Health and HIV (OHH) and PEPFAR funds, especially in the areas of good governance, civil society strengthening and human rights. With Uganda’s passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA) in May 2023, the DRG Office now jointly funds and manages awards with the OHH team providing lifesaving emergency response support to key populations.

Given the increasing shrinking civic space and the increase of human rights abuses in Uganda, in April 2024, the DRG Office released an Annual Program Statement (APS) with addenda soliciting concepts for human rights, conflict/social cohesion, and anti-corruption/accountability.  It is anticipated that other addenda will be released in the coming months on civic engagement and media.  Uganda/OHH will be actively involved in the concept reviews, presentations, and co-designs for each of these addenda – especially for human rights, anti-corruption/accountability and civic engagement as these programs will be implemented with health and PEPFAR funds and they support the success of our ongoing health portfolio.

Working closely with our Office of Acquisition and Assistance, the Program Specialist will facilitate and plan the co-design of these awards for the DRG Office. They will draft documents needed for approval and award of activities. They will also help move documents for clearance, address comments, and pull together GLAAS packages.  

The Program Specialist will also serve as the liaison between the Development Outreach and Communications (DOC) team in the Program Office and DRG for the identification and documentation of success stories and lessons learned for DRG’s ongoing activities which strengthen civil society (including organizations supporting key populations and administering health services) and nurture community engage on service delivery, which includes health services. The Program Specialist will support AORs/CORs by conducting site visits to monitor progress and develop outreach materials as a result.  The goal is to promote a better understanding of USAID’s democracy, human rights and governance assistance to Ugandans. To maximize communications efforts, support with storytelling, social media, photography, photo and video editing, filing/organizing, and using other communications to maximize awareness of USAID’s work might also be needed. 

The incumbent will be required to travel outside Kampala on three (3) weeklong field visits to conduct site visits of ongoing programs and planned events to assist AORs/CORs with monitoring and producing outreach material. Documentation of the programs outcomes with beneficiaries is an important outcome of these site visits.  Support for VIP visits and other public events are also possible needs.

The position will be under the overall supervision of the DRG Office Director and may also receive direction and/or supervision as designated by the Office Director.

DESCRIPTION OF THE WORK

1. Procurement support services (60%) 

• Working closely with the Mission’s OAA and the DRG Office, facilitate co-design process for multiple new awards under the Annual Program Statement.
• Support the drafting, review and clearance of documents needed for activity approval and GLAAS actions.

1. Program Management Support to AOR/CORs (40%)

• Conduct site visits and work closely with AORs/CORs on monitoring and evaluation of awards receiving health and PEPFAR funding.
• Liaise with USAID/Uganda’s OHH points of contact to ensure PEPFAR and other health indicators are being tracked and met.
• Work closely with Program Office’s DOC on to develop communication and outreach materials and efforts to better inform Ugandans about USAID’s work.

EDUCATION

• Bachelor’s degree in any relevant professional discipline such as pre-law, political science, media, journalism, communications, international relations, marketing and/or management is required.

PRIOR WORK EXPERIENCE

• From seven (7) years of increasing experience in the development field with experience in USAID procurement, communications, and co-design processes are required.
• Prior experience facilitating USAID’s co-design process with a consortium of international and local partners is required.
• Demonstrated experience with USAID’s communication protocol and able to support partners in capturing and communicating successes and lessons learned.
• Demonstrated experience with and understanding of development programs, preferably in the democracy, human rights, governance, conflict/peacebuilding, and civil society strengthening spaces are preferred.

LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION, AND COMPUTER SKILLS

• Demonstrated Level IV (fluent) English language proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Ability to work well as part of a team on very politically charged and high visibility issues (such as LGBTQI+).
• Demonstrated experience drafting and editing program briefing documents, talking points, speeches, success stories, social media posts and reports around DRG Office programs.
• Ability to use standard computer programs for word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations.

JOB KNOWLEDGE

• Working knowledge of USAID’s procurement processes, including Annual Program Statements and co-designs is required.
• Working knowledge of USAID program implementation requirements and related computer programs such as ASSIST, GLAAS, etc.

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Excellent interpersonal and networking skills and the ability to liaise with other development partners, local media, local government, within the USG interagency, and with civil society. 
• Excellent writing skills and the ability to identify and articulate success stories and design programmatic messaging appropriate for outside audiences.
• Excellent facilitation skills and ability to facilitate the co-design process with both international and local partners.