Project Summary

Climate Innovations for Resilience in Karamoja and Kyangwali (CLIRK) Project is under Climate Justice which is part of a bigger four-year program that covers seven countries in West Africa, Asia, East, and the Horn of Africa. The program is funded by DANIDA under the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) with CARE Denmark.  The major project objective is to strengthen food and energy security among 13,000 poor and vulnerable households (60% women & girls). Based on the innovation cycle, the CLIRK project will promote gender-transformative solutions for food production (both crop and livestock) and energy, some of which have been tested under the CAMP+ project.

Beyond the innovations, the project will catalyze actions for disaster preparedness and response and will support actions of relevant civil society organizations, the private sector, and coalitions to influence the enaction and implementation of green and just policies.

Job SUMMARY

The partnership and innovations specialist will report to the Initiative manager and will be responsible for the quality delivery of innovative solutions. Specifically, the specialist will facilitate the learning and iteration process as required under the innovation process as well as the networking, lobbying, and advocacy that is necessary for the uptake and scaling up of the innovative solutions. The specialist is tasked to ensure that CARE’s standards for gender transformation and building resilience are adhered to and will be expected to liaise with relevant project team members to train, coach, and mentor project stakeholders in a bid to facilitate systemic change. This will be a field-based role, with 20% travel time to other project locations and CARE offices.

 SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES

Responsibility #1: Technical Leadership and steering of the innovation cycle (30% of the time)

·        Take the lead on the ideation process in liaison with the SIM and the relevant partners, ensuring that proposed innovations address the needs of targeted communities.

·        Develop clear value propositions for solutions using tools such as the business canvas.

·        Define proof of concept and testable hypothesis for the innovative solutions

• Validate the food and energy solutions and their pathways to scale.

·        Support the identification of scaling partners and facilitate their sustained engagement along the innovation cycle.

·        Coordinate the interventions of private sector partners in liaison with the different Local Government and/or settlement level structures from ideation to scaling of innovative solutions.

Job Responsibility #2: Program quality and Learning (20%)

• Support continuous iteration of solutions and a rigorous learning process, including the use of an innovation Log.
• Developing concrete prototyping and testing plans for the solutions together with partners.

·        Support documentation, and management of knowledge from implemented interventions (including the innovations), to support decision-making, reporting, and presentation at different national and international fora.

·        Coordinate research and analytical processes (such as GCVCA) in close collaboration with program partners and the Program Quality and Learning team, for purposes of generating climate and gender disaggregated information and knowledge.

·        Support the development of knowledge and learning products, working closely with the SIM and the Communications team.

·        Support the SIM to design and implement the project feedback and accountability mechanism.

Job Responsibility #3:  Networking, lobbying and advocacy (20% of the time)

·         In liaison with the IM, identify spaces for influencing policy and practice at local, national, and global levels level, and support to organize the necessary engagements.

·         Initiate and/or strengthen multistakeholder platforms (where needed) for response to local adaptation needs.

·         Support initiatives for learning and influencing climate-related policy and practice within CARE, using the available spaces.

·         Support both CARE and stakeholder-led processes for implementing climate change policies, strategies, and plans at national and sub-national levels, including advising CARE on the relevant actions that need to be taken.

·         Support program-level actions that are geared toward positioning CARE Uganda as a Climate Change organization among donors and the government of Uganda.  

·         Identify networks, coalitions, and movements that are relevant for advancing CARE’s climate and gender agenda and in liaison with the IM and the Program Manager (Climate Justice), use these for gleaning and/or sharing best practices.

 Responsibility #4: Gender transformation and Climate Resilience (20%)

·        Initiate and implement actions for strengthening gender agency based on proven CARE models and best practices, working closely with the Gender advisor and the SIM.

·        Take the lead on all key interventions for building resilience to climate change at the community and household level, based on the CARE resilience framework and using tested CARE and/or other models and approaches.

·        Promote approaches for sustaining climate change adaptation and gender behavior change, ensuring that these approaches are integrated along the entire innovation and project cycle.

·        Work closely with the SIM and the gender advisor to facilitate partner learning and systemic change towards gender transformation and building of resilience to climate change.  

·        Closely monitor partner interventions to ensure adherence to gender and resilience standards, with the use of CARE tools such as quality markers.

Responsibility #5: Promote Gender Equity and Diversity and Safeguarding Practices (5%)

·        Practice a behavior consistent with CARE’s core values, and promotion of gender equity and diversity goals.

·        Play a leadership role in identifying and implementing initiatives that enhance CARE’s commitment to gender and diversity.

·        Ensure that CARE Safeguarding policies and procedures are adhered to by all and the staff that S/he supervisors both directly or indirectly.

·        Ensure that staff and related personnel under your jurisdiction are familiar with the following organizational policies and procedures and can identify when needed how these may have been breached. The CI Safeguarding policy, Protection from Sexual Harassment, Exploitation Abuse, and Child Abuse, The anti-discrimination and harassment policy, The code of conduct, and the organization's Values.

 Responsibility #6: Any other duties assigned from time to time (5%)

·        Any other duties incidental to the role or assigned by the supervisor.

EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

• Bachelor’s degree in business management, entrepreneurship, or another business-related field.  Alternatively, a bachelor’s degree in public health/nutrition, international development, business administration, or related studies will be considered if the candidate demonstrates additional relevant experience. A postgraduate Diploma in any field is a MUST.
• Minimum of 6 years experience in facilitating community development programs. Experience working in the Innovation ecosystem is a MUST. 

• 5 years experience in an incubator, a start-up, social enterprise, innovation space, and/or project management /NGO experience
• Experience in business administration or project management
• The incumbent will need to demonstrate expertise in innovation and partnership management.

 Essential skills and competences

• A team player and self-starter with good networking skills and project management skills
• Eagerness to build partnerships and projects outside of traditional humanitarian/ development fields and to challenge traditional ways of working.
• Experience working with and managing innovation projects.
• Knowledge of issues connected to climate change and resilience in the Karamoja region.
• Good analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Capable of working independently.
• Demonstrated experience in building excellent relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.
• Excellent commination skills and ability to synthesize information from various sources.
• Good oral/written and interpersonal skills.
• Confident communication and documentation skills; ability to represent CARE to a variety of stakeholders in a range of forums.
• Able to work in a cross-cultural environment with multi-national staff.
• Good knowledge of Microsoft Office tools (PowerPoint, Excel, word, etc.).

 Desirable

• Basic understanding of innovations, new technology, and entrepreneurship skills
• Good understanding of innovation and the issues and challenges around it
• Experience working in the private sector and with start-ups.
• Able to produce high-quality reports/papers.