RESTLESS DEVELOPMENT
Apply by: 25th April 2025
About Restless Development
We have operated in Uganda since 1997. Our work is guided by four goals set out by young people; (1) Voice and Democracy: We support young people to lead as active citizens and create change in their communities by influencing social and political structures and those in power with evidence-based solutions. (2) Education and Livelihood: We want all young people to have the skills, knowledge, resilience and opportunities that enable them to thrive. We take a youth-led approach to ensuring that every young person has a quality education and access to training and opportunities that set them up for life. We want all young people, especially women and girls, to be able to stay in school and be able to make a sustainable, fulfilling living when they leave. (3) Gender and Sexual Health: We know that bodies, identities, gender and sexualities are subject to discrimination and violation. We empower young people to change attitudes and behaviours, as well as services and policies, to advance and uphold sexual and reproductive health and rights and gender equality and (4) Climate Justice: Young people risk losing the most from climate change, yet they are systematically excluded from conversations to address it. We support young people to be leaders in transitioning to a just and sustainable world by strengthening youth civil society and an intergenerational response.
We are currently present in 26 districts in Northern, North-Eastern, Central, and Eastern regions of the country. We have staff members across our 4 offices (Kampala, Jinja, Moroto and West Nile). Currently, we have 200 active young leaders (peer educators, advocates, and researchers) implementing our work on the ground and an alumni network of more than 1,200).
Our programmes are genuinely life-changing, but can’t do any of this without talented, creative individuals at every level of our organization! For more information, please visit www.restlessdevelopment.org.
Our approach to safeguarding
Restless Development considers the welfare and protection of children, young people and vulnerable adults to be an organisational imperative with primacy over the success of programmes or strategic objectives. We recognise that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility, and we expect all of our staff, volunteers and partners to ensure we protect the communities in which we operate from harm and abide by our Safeguarding Policy.
About the role
The Programme Coordinator will provide strategic leadership, coordination, and oversight for all activities aimed at improving youth participation in governance, accountability and decision-making processes that will lead to improved youth-responsive governance and service delivery in Uganda. This role is responsible for planning, implementing, monitoring, evaluation and reporting on initiatives that build the knowledge, skills, and awareness of youth to meaningfully engage in governance, policy advocacy, and decision-making processes.
The Coordinator will lead the design and delivery of capacity-building interventions, oversee the co-creation and dissemination of civic information materials, and facilitate the establishment of youth-led platforms for civic engagement and reporting on the results realised by the project. Working closely with implementing partners, youth structures, and stakeholders, the Coordinator will ensure that all project activities are delivered to a high standard, are youth-led, and effectively contribute to inclusive and accountable governance in the region.
Job title: Programme Coordinator.
Location : Moroto – Karamoja : Uganda
Salary: UGX 72,805,983 Per annum
Preferred start date: 1st June 2025
Length of contract: 1 year renewable depending on funding and performance.
Reports to: Programme Manager.
Direct Reports: Programme Officer.
Expected travel: National (including to rural areas ) and International travel will be required.
Key responsibilities:
Programme Delivery and Reporting:
Provide overall strategic oversight and leadership to ensure that the implementation of activities aligns with project goals and donor expectations. This involves leading the development of timely and high quality annual, quarterly and monthly detailed implementation work plans (DIPs), budgets, technical guides and tools needed to ensure quality implementation of the project.
Lead the development and review of the Meaningful Youth Engagement (MYE) capacity-strengthening strategy for district local governments and youth structures in Karamoja.
Support the Programme Officer in tracking the progress of youth feedback mechanisms and social audits.
Lead the documentation and reporting of programme activities, ensuring the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework is developed and adhered to.
Ensure that youth voices are reflected in the programme’s reporting, providing insights on feedback gathered through community events and digital platforms
Oversee the design and delivery of all civic education initiatives including the design training materials, targeted capacity-building sessions for district departments, ensuring the content on MYE principles and best practices is both relevant and high-quality.
Ensure the effective implementation, tracking, and review of MYE Action Plans for district local governments.
Collaborate with the M&E team to generate high-quality, evidence-based reports that highlight key insights, learnings, and challenges in youth engagement initiatives.
Represent the programme at district and national-level coordination forums to advocate for youth engagement and ensure it is prioritized in local government planning and decision-making processes.
Partnerships and Collaborations:
Coordinate and collaborate effectively with consortium partners, local government and other key stakeholders to ensure that the project deliverables are achieved as planned.
Manage the relationship of consortium members, project structures and key stakeholders to ensure smooth implementation, mutual learning and accountability to deliver on the project’s mandate.
Work with and supervise the overall project implementation across all consortium members, to ensure the technical and geographical coherence of the project.
Under the strategic guidance of the Programme Manager, participate in meetings with donors to share project progress updates and support in decision-making on various programmatic and operational issues of concern
Financial and People Management:
Oversee the budgeting and financial management of all activities, ensuring efficient allocation of resources and adherence to donor guidelines.
Monitor the proper financial management and forecast of budget lines across the partners in coordination with the finance departments.
Lead on the overall programmatic, logistic & financial management of the project, including the identification of risks and obstacles, to ensure donor compliance in terms of project deliverables & eligibility criteria.
Lead on generation of regular updates and reports such as monthly Management Accounts as required.
Line manage the Programme Officer.
Social Media Management
Lead the development of digital feedback tools that allow youth to provide input on governance and service delivery, ensuring these platforms are accessible and user-friendly.
Oversee the utilization social media and other digital platforms to raise awareness about governance issues, youth rights, and the importance of youth engagement in local governance.
Oversee the creation of high-quality media content (e.g., civic films, social media posts, and blog articles) that showcases the work of youth in governance and climate advocacy.
Manage the execution of media campaigns aimed at promoting youth participation and advocating for youth-led solutions in governance
Other duties as required
Other duties as required. Occasionally working on weekends, late night in case of emerging incidents and holidays for which time off in lieu can be taken.
About you
We are looking for a person with the right competencies and skills for the role, and who demonstrates the personal qualities consistent with our values and behaviours. Read more about our values on this link our Values
Head: Supports managers to embed a values-led values culture within their team. Uses values to guide decision-making and group actions. Is driven to generate ideas which continually improve ways of working, involving others in problem solving. Adapts style to cope with and support others through change.
Heart: Strives for continual improvement against individual goals, seeking opportunities to maximize their contribution to team priorities. Supports others to deliver quality and improve their work. Takes ownership for ensuring value-for-money in the areas for which they take partial ownership. With guidance, takes ownership for programme elements and/or internal processes. Considers underlying issues and Restless Values when making operational decisions.
Hands: Confidently adapts their communication style to suit their audience. Is able to influence others to build shared understanding. Seeks opportunities to collaboratively deliver quality against team goals by building strong relationships with colleagues from across the organisation. Works with external partners to maximise mutual benefits.
Voice: Confidently leads programme elements and/or internal processes. Will typically manage one or more junior staff members and is seen as a leader amongst their peers. Regularly seeks feedback and evaluates own performance, creating opportunities for personal development. Develops others through proactive sharing of knowledge, skills and opportunities.
Skills and experience
Essential
Graduate-level Degree in the relevant field of study (Environment, Climate, Advocacy, Social work, social sciences, development studies) or equivalent work experience.
Post-graduate in Project Planning and Management is an added advantage.
Past work experience in governance and accountability work, youth leadership and meaningful youth engagement.
Demonstrated ability to identify, develop and manage local/national/regional partnerships.
Ability to analyse problems and make sound operational decisions.
Excellent organizational skills and methodological approach to project management.
Excellent budget management skills
VALID RIDING PERMIT
Desirable
Experience in partnership management, and working with a diverse range of partners.
Experience in writing policy briefs, budget framework papers and other materials for external audiences
Experience in M&E systems and research
Experience in lobby and advocacy engagement
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (written and verbal), fluency in written and spoken English, and excellent IT skills
Experience working in a youthful, multicultural environment, including welfare provision
Risk mitigation, response and management
Excellent project management and team leadership skills
Restless Development is an Equal Opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sectors of the community. Restless Development will ensure that no applicant or staff member receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of gender, sexual orientation, marital status, social status, caste, race, ethnic origin, religious belief, age, HIV status, disability, or any other factor that cannot be shown to be relevant to performance.
What we do for you
Remuneration
We are proud to commit to a transparent global salary scale, ensuring a fair and comparable system of pay across all global locations. In addition to salary, we offer pension contributions and other benefits in accordance with the local Hub.
Values and Culture
At Restless Development, we’re proud that the strength and integrity of our Values has been recognised by staff, young people, donors and others who we work with. Beyond this, we have a culture of recognising and celebrating both our Values and our global achievements with monthly Values Champions and an annual Values Day.
Work-life Balance
It goes without saying that we work hard at Restless Development. We also recognise the importance of helping staff to maintain a positive work-life balance by offering:
24 days annual leave (in addition to public holidays and with an extra day of annual leave given for each full year of service, up to a maximum of 28 days).
Birthday Leave
Access to flexible working.
Generous study leave, maternity, paternity or adoption leave, and other leave allowances.
Professional Development
Restless Development is proud to be an employer who recognises potential and invests in the development of its staff. We are committed to the professional development of our staff through:
Empowering opportunities to work on significant projects which stretch and inspire staff – allowing them to develop on-the-job.
Regular performance management.
Training and development opportunities, including supporting our staff to identify mentors both within and outside of the agency.
Quarterly Staff Workshops for all staff to give and receive agency updates, receive training, and socialise.
Travel and Medical Insurance
When travelling abroad with work, all staff will be covered by Restless Development’s travel and medical insurance.
To Apply
Please submit your CV and a covering letter that explains why you are excited by this role, and provides examples of how your skills and experience respond to the essential and desirable criteria in the Job Description (using no more than 500 words)
