Cash and Innovation Advisor
About CARE
CARE is a global leader within a worldwide movement dedicated to ending poverty and advancing social justice. Working in more than 100 countries, CARE partners with communities, governments, civil society and the private sector to deliver locally led solutions that improve lives, strengthen resilience and create lasting change. In Uganda, CARE has a long history of delivering humanitarian and development programmes that support vulnerable women, girls, refugees and host communities, with particular expertise in economic justice, resilience, gender equality, market systems development and community-led development.
CARE international in Uganda is soliciting for CVs for the position of Cash and Innovation Advisor for a project that is under the design phase.
About the Project.
Refugee Support, Empowerment and Transformation (ReSET) Programme, a flagship UK-funded initiative designed to support Uganda’s transition from a predominantly humanitarian refugee response towards a more sustainable, locally led and self-reliance-focused model.
ReSET aims to safeguard Uganda’s progressive refugee policy while helping refugees and host communities meet immediate needs, build resilience, strengthen social cohesion and transition away from long-term aid dependency. The programme places a strong emphasis on localization, systems strengthening, accountability and sustainable solutions for refugee and host populations.
RESET comprises two complementary pillars:
- Pillar 1: Core Humanitarian Needs: Supporting vulnerable refugees and host communities to meet essential humanitarian needs through cash-based assistance, protection services and shock-responsive approaches, with particular emphasis on new arrivals and populations facing acute vulnerability.
- Pillar 2: Improved Self-Reliance and Resilience: Supporting refugees and host communities to transition from aid dependency towards sustainable self-reliance through livelihoods, graduation, lump-sum cash, cash-plus and market-based approaches, whilst strengthening local economic systems and engaging private sector actors.
- If successful, CARE Uganda will coordinate a consortium of national partners and an international partner focused on delivery of Pillar 2. Building on proven approaches and emerging evidence, the consortium will strengthen livelihoods, resilience and economic opportunities for refugee and host community households through graduation programming, market systems development, financial inclusion, climate-resilient livelihoods, cash-plus approaches and private sector engagement. The programme will contribute to Uganda’s self-reliance agenda, generate evidence on effective models for refugee resilience and help inform future investment across the refugee response sector.
The Cash & Innovation Advisor will provide technical leadership on cash transfer programming, cash-plus approaches, learning, evidence generation and adaptive management. The role will ensure ReSET contributes to national and global learning on refugee self-reliance by generating robust evidence on what works, for whom, under what conditions and at what cost. The advisor will help shape programme adaptation, policy influence and future investment decisions through evidence-based learning and knowledge sharing.
Key Responsibilities
Cash and Cash-Plus Programming
- Provide technical leadership on lump-sum cash and cash-plus interventions.
- Advise on transfer design, sequencing and complementary support packages.
- Ensure interventions align with global good practice and national cash coordination priorities.
- Support quality assurance of cash delivery approaches across the consortium.
Learning Agenda
- Lead implementation of the ReSET learning agenda.
- Develop and manage key learning questions around:
- Graduation models
- Cash-plus approaches
- Lump-sum cash
- Self-reliance
- Resilience
- Cost-effectiveness
- Facilitate reflection and learning processes across the consortium.
Evidence Generation
- Support operational research, assessments and technical studies.
- Lead analysis of programme performance and outcome data.
- Work with MEL teams to generate actionable evidence.
- Monitor and synthesise emerging evidence from Uganda and internationally.
Adaptive Management
- Support programme adaptation based on evidence and learning.
- Facilitate after-action reviews and learning workshops.
- Promote a culture of continuous improvement across consortium partners.
Policy, Coordination and Influence
- Represent ReSET within relevant technical forums and learning platforms.
- Engage with the Uganda Cash Working Group and other cash coordination mechanisms.
- Develop policy briefs, learning papers and technical products.
- Identify opportunities to influence sector practice and policy through programme learning.
Knowledge Management
- Lead production of case studies and technical learning products.
- Capture, document and disseminate lessons learned.
- Support knowledge sharing within CARE, the consortium and wider sector.
Qualifications and Experience
Essential
- Master’s degree in Economics, International Development, Humanitarian Studies, Research, Monitoring & Evaluation or related field.
- At least 8 years’ experience in cash programming, learning, research or evidence generation.
- Strong experience with cash transfer and cash-plus programming.
- Experience designing or managing learning agendas and operational research.
- Strong understanding of adaptive management approaches.
- Demonstrated experience translating evidence into programme and policy recommendations.
- Excellent analytical, writing and communication skills.
Desirable
- Experience working with Uganda’s Cash Working Group.
- Experience with similar resilience programmes in Uganda.
- Experience conducting value-for-money or cost-effectiveness analysis.
- Experience in refugee and displacement contexts.
- Experience supporting FCDO-funded programmes.