Restless Development
Senior Technical Advisor – Livelihoods
Apply by 7th August 2026 at 5:00 PM (E.AT)
About Restless Development:
Restless Development Uganda is an agency for youth-led change; we support the collective power of young leaders to create a better world. We make sure that young people’s voices are heard and that they have the power to mobilize action in their communities to respond to long-standing challenges. Across Karamoja, West Nile, Eastern and Central Uganda, we support young people to influence the decisions that affect their lives while strengthening the systems and institutions that enable them realize their full potential. We also coordinate the Uganda Youth Collective, a national platform of over 600 youth-led organisations working together to amplify youth voices and influence policies through the National Youth Working Group. We are committed to creating an organisation that walks the talk on power shifting, using the power shifting checklist, both internally and externally.
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 recognize that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and we expect all of our staff, young leaders and partners to ensure we protect the communities in which we operate from harm and abide by our Safeguarding Policy.
About our Youth Employment Work:
Restless Development is implementing an inspiring youth employment portfolio designed to improve the economic resilience and livelihoods of young people by expanding their access to dignified and fulfilling work, entrepreneurship opportunities and inclusive financial services. Working across 13 Districts in Karamoja sub region, Eastern, West Nile, Western Uganda, and in central region. Our approach places young people at the center of programme design and delivery while strengthening the local systems that support dignified and fulfilling work. Our work equips young women and men with market relevant technical, entrepreneurial, and financial capabilities while connecting them to employers, markets, business development services and affordable financial products. We work through youth-led organisations to create coordinated pathways that support young people to transition successfully into employment, self-employment and enterprise growth.
Beyond supporting individual young people, we invest in strengthening the capacity of youth-led organisations and youth-led enterprises to deliver high quality employment pathways, promote youth leadership, and influence policies and systems that shape youth economic opportunities. Through this integrated approach, we are building stronger inclusive employment eco-systems that enable young people, particularly young women, refugees and young people with disabilities to access dignified and fulfilling work.
About the Role:
The Senior Technical Advisor will provide strategic technical leadership and thought partnership for Restless Development Uganda’s youth employment and livelihood portfolio. The role will serve as the organisation’s technical authority on youth employment, entrepreneurship,economic inclusion and market systems approaches, ensuring that programming is based on evidence, innovation and national best practices.
He/she will serve as the key technical focal point for our consortium work and donor engagements, providing technical guidance, facilitating learning and ensuring alignment on programme strategy, technical approaches, evidence and adaptation. Working closely with the programme manager – Youth Employment and Market systems, the senior technical advisor will strengthen the quality, relevance, and effectiveness of interventions that enable young people to access dignified and fulfilling work. He/she will focus on shaping programme models, strengthening technical capacity, generating learning and influencing the broader youth employment ecosystem, rather than directly managing day to day implementation.
Job title: Senior Technical Advisor – livelihoods.
Location: Kampala, Uganda
Salary: UGX.141,063,750
Preferred start date: 1st October 2026
Length of contract: 2 years
Expected travel: Fairly regular domestic travel
Key responsibilities
1. Technical Leadership and programme innovation.
- Serve as technical lead for youth employment and economic inclusion approaches.
- Provide strategic advice on programme models, including scaling discipline, methodologies and approaches to improve youth transitions into employment.
- Lead the development and refinement of technical frameworks, models, guidance and standards that strengthen programme quality throughout the delivery model — mobilisation, market-responsive skilling, VSLA-based financial inclusion, enterprise development, mentorship, and market linkage — ensuring these function as one connected pathway rather than isolated interventions.
- Ensure programming reflects emerging evidence, labour markets trends, national practices and realities of young people.
- Support organisational positioning on youth employment and livelihoods issues.
2. Quality Assurance, Learning and Capacity Strengthening
- Establish and promote technical standards that ensure high-quality youth employment and livelihoods programming.
- Provide technical accompaniment and coaching to programme teams, Youth-Led Organisations, and partners to strengthen delivery capacity.
- Lead the development of technical resources, tools, guidance materials and learning products.
- Work with MERL teams to strengthen evidence generation, learning agendas and adaptive programming.
- Translate programme evidence and learning into recommendations that improve approaches, influence practice and strengthen organisational knowledge
3. Consortium, Donor Engagement and Strategic Partnerships
- Serve as the key technical focal point for consortium partners and donor engagement on livelihoods, youth employment and market systems components.
- Provide technical leadership during donor engagements, consortium meetings, programme reviews and strategic discussions.
- Ensure technical coherence across partners and support alignment of approaches, methodologies and learning.
- Build strategic relationships with government, private sector actors, and financial institutions, to strengthen programme influence and effectiveness.
- Represent Restless Development Uganda in relevant technical forums and contribute to sector learning and advocacy. E.g. Sit as a full member of the Consortium Steering Committee, providing the technical and performance perspective
4. Business Development, and Thought Leadership.
- Lead or contribute technical inputs into concept notes, proposals, funding applications and strategic partnerships related to youth employment and livelihoods.
- Identify emerging funding opportunities and support the development of competitive, evidence-based programme designs for programme scale up.
- Develop technical briefs, case studies, learning papers and other knowledge products to support organisational visibility and influence.
- Support strategic engagement with donors and partners to expand and sustain Restless Development Uganda’s youth employment portfolio.
5. Team Leadership
- Provide line management and technical supervision to Programme Managers and other assigned staff within the livelihoods portfolio.
- Build capacity of programme teams and consortium partners through coaching, mentoring, and technical support.
- Foster a culture of high performance, accountability, innovation, and continuous learning across teams.
- Support recruitment, performance appraisal, and professional development of technical staff.
- Promote cross-functional collaboration between technical, MERL, finance, and communications teams.
6. Others responsibilities
- Other duties as required, including occasional work on weekends for which time off in lieu (TOIL) can be taken.
About you
We are looking for people with the right competencies and skills for the role, and who demonstrate the personal qualities consistent with our values. At Restless Development, we’re proud that the strength and integrity of our Values are recognized by staff, young people, donors and others who we work with. Beyond this, we have a culture of recognizing and celebrating both our Values and our global achievements with an annual Values Day.
Restless Development is an Equal Opportunities Employer and welcomes applications from all eligible candidates. Restless Development will ensure that no applicant or staff member receives less favorable treatment on the grounds of gender, marital status, social status, race, ethnic origin, religious belief, age, HIV status, disability, or any other factor that cannot be shown to be relevant to performance.
Skills and Experience
Essential
- Advanced technical expertise in youth employment: Master’s degree in Development Studies, Economics, Business Administration, Public Policy, International Development, or a related field, with 8–10 years of experience in youth employment, livelihoods, entrepreneurship, economic inclusion or market systems programming, including significant experience in a senior technical or advisory capacity.
- A Bachelor’s degree (Honours) in the same fields, combined with substantially more years of senior experience.
- Experience in programme strategy and technical design: Demonstrated ability to develop technical frameworks, employment models, livelihoods strategies and adaptive programme approaches that strengthen pathways for young people into dignified work.
- Evidence-based innovation quality assurance: Proven experience using research, data and learning to shape programme innovation, improve technical quality, influence practice and strengthen the effectiveness of programmes.
- Strategic partnership, donor engagement and business development experience: Demonstrated ability to engage senior stakeholders including donors, consortium partners, government, private sector and development actors, with experience contributing to proposal development, and technical designs.
- Understanding of inclusive youth economic systems: Knowledge of youth employment ecosystems, labour markets, entrepreneurship development, financial inclusion and market systems approaches, with a strong commitment to gender equality, disability inclusion, safeguarding and youth-led development.
Desirable
- Experience working on large-scale youth employment or economic inclusion initiatives in Uganda or East Africa.
- Experience applying market systems development, adaptive programming or systems-strengthening approaches.
- Experience working with youth-led organisations and community-based delivery models.
- Familiarity with Uganda’s youth employment and economic development landscape.
- Membership in relevant professional networks related to livelihoods, youth employment or development programming.
Remuneration
We are proud to commit to a transparent salary scale, ensuring a fair and comparable system of pay across all global locations. A total annual amount of UGX.141,063,750 and a Housing allowance of 9% will be provided in addition.
Values and Culture
At Restless Development, we’re proud that the strength and integrity of our Values has been recognized by staff, young people, donors and others who we work with. Beyond this, we have a culture of recognizing 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 recognize 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 recognizes 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 socialize.
Please note: This position is contingent upon the availability of funding.
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 cover letter that provides tangible examples of how your skills, knowledge and experience will support your ability to perform the key priorities outlined in the above job description (using no more than 750 words)
