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 Officer will be responsible for coordinating and implementing activities of the project, focusing on building the civic competence of youth in Karamoja. This includes strengthening their capacity to effectively engage in governance, policy advocacy, and decision-making processes.
The role involves training and supporting peer mentors, climate resilience champions, journalists, and youth leaders; co-creating civic content and policy briefs; and facilitating youth-led platforms such as leadership camps, civic education sessions, community dialogues, social audits, and national forums. The Programme Officer will ensure timely delivery of high-impact activities, foster meaningful youth participation, and support the creation of enabling environments for young people to influence policy and development agendas at district, regional, and national levels.
Job title: Programme Officer.
Location : Moroto – Karamoja : Uganda
Salary: UGX45,864,987 Gross Per annum
Preferred start date: 1st June 2025
Length of contract: 1 year renewable depending on funding and performance.
Reports to: Programme Coordinator.
Direct Reports: Young Leaders.
Expected travel: National (including to rural areas ) and International travel will be required.
Key responsibilities:
Programme Delivery and Reporting:
Support 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.
Assist in the design, planning, and coordination of youth engagement activities, ensuring they align with project goals and donor expectations.
Ensure that the delivery of youth capacity-building sessions and civic education initiatives are carried out effectively and meet quality standards.
Support the Programme Coordinator in tracking the progress of youth feedback mechanisms and social audits.
Assist in the documentation and reporting of project activities, ensuring the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework is adhered to.
Ensure that youth voices are reflected in the project reporting, providing insights on feedback gathered through community events and digital platforms.
Logistics and Communication:
Lead on logistical arrangements for recruitment of the project community volunteer structures, training, camps, community dialogues, travels, research and other programme related activities.
Lead procurement of all project items as well as establish and maintain contact database for the project.
Facilitate the trained youth advocates to conduct joint quarterly service delivery monitoring to enhance transparency and accountability and participate in review and district meetings.
Develop a logistical checklist to guide activities and keep consistent, detailed records of the logistical aspects of the project.
Provide ongoing support and mentorship to the youth advocates and other community structures to ably deliver on their mandate.
Support the programme coordinator to update Restless Development on project progress and seek advice as necessary
Lead on sensitization of key programme actors
Support selection and mapping of youth advocates, peer educators and other community volunteer structures to work with.
Conduct quarterly planning and reflection meetings with the youth Accountability advocates and peer educators and support the consolidation of their monitoring reports, share their achievements, challenges and prepare action plans for the next quarter.
Support the development of training materials to support the training of peer educators and youth Accountability Advocates drawing on best practices.
Safety and welfare of the project community structure:
Work with the youth advocates and peer educators to prepare for field monitoring and district engagement meetings and civic education sessions and plan for the support required
Keep regular communication with the youth advocates and peer educators and provide backstopping logistical support when necessary
Support the welfare of our youth community structures, i.e. peer educators and Youth Accountability
Advocates welfare, following up on any issues as required.
Develop a checklist of items to be used before the youth advocates and peer educators travel to any activity to ensure they are properly equipped
Log the youth advocates’ travel and check that all safety and security measures have been fulfilled before travel.
Ensure the youth Accountability Advocates and peer educators are aware of the Restless
Development Safe Guarding Policy
Financial Planning and Management
Support the Youth Accountability Advocates and peer educators to manage funds for field activities
Make payments for project-related activities and keep accurate records of financial expenditures.
Manage budgets to ensure that there is no over and underspend.
Ensure that financial management is undertaken according to Restless Development policies and procedures.
Assist the programme coordinator in tracking the project’s budget
Help track expenses related to community-level events, training sessions, and youth engagement activities, ensuring compliance with financial guidelines and donor requirements.
Provide regular updates to the Programme coordinator as required.
Social Media Management
Assist in developing and implementing digital feedback tools, ensuring youth can easily access and provide feedback on governance and service delivery issues.
Promote programme activities and key youth engagement initiatives through social media platforms, ensuring visibility and engagement with the target audience.
Support the creation of engaging social media content, including stories, photos, and videos, to highlight youth-led initiatives and advocacy work.
Assist in the development and distribution of high-quality digital content such as blogs, reports, and films to influence policy discussions and raise awareness on youth engagement issues
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 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 relevant field of study (Environment, Climate, Advocacy, Social work, social sciences, development studies) or equivalent work experience.
Past work experience in youth leadership and meaningful youth engagement.
Experience in making logistical arrangement for organizing events and meetings
Experience in asset management and procurement.
Excellent budget management skills and experience of finance management
Excellent organizational skills
Excellent computer skills, including Excel and Word
Ability to solve problems and make sound operational decisions
VALID RIDING PERMIT
Desirable
Effective verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills, Fluency in written and spoken English.
Ngakarimajong speaking candidate is an added advantage.
Experience in lobby and advocacy engagement.
Experience in partnership management and working with a diverse range of partners.
Experience working in a youthful, multicultural environment, including welfare provision.
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).
