COOPERATIVE STRENGTHENING OFFICER

Job Title: Cooperative Strengthening Officer

Project: She Works project

Location: Rwenzori with Frequent travels to Kigezi

Available Opportunities: 01

Start Date: August 2026

Organisational Setting

Integrated Seed and Sector Development Uganda (ISSD Uganda) is an independent local NGO in Uganda, which aims to be a leading agricultural development organization in fostering resilient seed and food systems for sustainable agricultural production. ISSD Uganda builds on the impactful outcomes and experiences of the successfully implemented seed projects that focused on; seed sector transformation; capacity building and knowledge transfer; partnerships and sector coordination, as well as supporting fragile communities including refugees. Over the years, ISSD Uganda development work has evolved to multiple sectors including skilling development for decent livelihoods in various agricultural chains, Tourism and hospitality

Our mission is to support the development of a vibrant, pluralistic, and market-oriented seed sector that provides smallholder farmers, including youth and women, with access to quality seed of superior varieties for resilient farming systems & increased farmer income

Project Overview

The Empowering Young Women Entrepreneurs in Agriculture stimulated by Coffee (EYE-C) program is a 5.5-year initiative designed to alleviate poverty by creating dignified and fulfilling work opportunities for 300,000 disadvantaged young women (aged 18-35) in Uganda. The program implemented by a consortium of aBi Development, Café Africa, & International Women in Coffee Alliance together with Cluster partners targets the coffee value chain and complementary enterprises (horticulture, pulses, poultry, banana, apiary, and briquettes), with a specific focus on including 3% young women with disabilities and strengthening 300 young women-led MSMES.

The EYE C She Works Project is a cooperative-anchored women’s economic empowerment initiative targeting young women aged 18-35 in Uganda’s Kigezi, Rwenzori, and Albertine regions. It equips participants with skills to transition into dignified employment, entrepreneurship, and income-generating opportunities. While centered on coffee value chain transformation, the program also integrates horticulture, pulses, poultry, apiculture, and Agro-input services to diversify women’s access to resources, strengthen income resilience, and expand market integration. Through enhancing agricultural skills, building collective voice through farmer groups, and improving access to profitable markets, She Works empowers women coffee farmers to increase their incomes and strengthen their decision-making power within households and communities, positioning them as drivers of inclusive agri-food transformation.

Position Overview

ISSD Uganda is seeking dynamic and experienced Cooperative Strengthening officer who will lead efforts to strengthen participating cluster cooperatives project region. The role focuses on building institutional capacity, improving governance, enhancing market access, and fostering inclusive growth for cooperatives as a one stop centre for bundled services (inputs, markets & finance). The officer will work closely with cooperatives, local government, private sector partners, and Cluster partners to ensure cooperatives are sustainable, gender-responsive, and economically viable

Main Duties & Responsibilities

Cooperative & young women entrepreneurial Capacity Building

Conduct Cluster cooperative Institutional Diagnostics/assessments on governance, digital readiness & safe guarding, gender, youth and disability inclusion.

Design and deliver training programs on cooperative governance, financial literacy, record-keeping, and business management.

• Identify women and youth led entrepreneurial initiatives that emerge because of enhanced collaboration within the project communities and guide them into clustering around a common interest Provide the selected entrepreneurial groups & cooperatives with tailor made trainings to improve their business skills, governance, financial sustainability, accountability and client focus and support them into participatorily developing of business plans.

Identify a range of relevant financial services products for the cooperatives & entrepreneurial groups, assess groups’ constraints to access of each product and broker access to finance and investment

between the entrepreneurial groups and various financing structures

Monitor implementation of the young women business enterprises and report the performance of each entrepreneurial initiatives as per the set milestones

Establish and maintain effective links with all key project stakeholders (e.g. district authorities and other development organizations) to strengthen collaboration with the project on agribusiness related issues Identify areas for synergy with other aBi Development funded interventions within the project site to complement project interventions and address issues beyond the project’s scope

• Support the project M&E team to develop and maintain an M&E system for the project interventions especially development of a proper data collection system

Document best practices and lessons learnt of the project and support to replicate it Compile and prepare periodic progress reports highlighting progress made in improving marketing opportunities for young women & their entry into cooperatives based on project periodic plans

Market Linkages and Value Chain Integration

Facilitate partnerships between young women traders, cooperatives, agro-processors, retailers, and exporters.

• Support cooperatives in accessing certifications & formal markets
  Build capacity of cooperatives on coffee quality improvement & handling.
• Train cooperatives on digital platforms for market information (e.g., e-commerce, price tracking).
• Support piloting ware house receipt system engagements at selected cooperative

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness Management, Agricultural marketing, Rural Development, or any agricultural related degree obtained from a reputable Institution
• At least five (5) years’ experience working with rural micro-to-small scale businesses providing either business development services, training and/or technical assistance
• At least five (5) years’ experience in managing market-led value chain development projects and market systems development
• Working knowledge of identifying opportunities for value addition and market access at the producer and aggregator level
• Experience in working with financial institutions to improve farmers’ access to financial services

• Experience in coffee value chain development and agribusiness finance

• Ability and demonstrated experience of appraising business cases;
• Experience in female and youth entrepreneurship programs;