Program Summary

CARE International in Uganda is implementing the Digital Care Package (DCP) and Chomoka Application in Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) groups in the Northern and West Nile regions of Uganda. The Digital CARE Package (DCP) is a program being implemented in Uganda to pressure test a new digital strategy, it focuses on addressing four of the barriers faced by women in rural settings that lead to the exclusion of women from the digital ecosystem, these being, access to devices, digital literacy, access to relevant content and the gender social norms. The program is structured to be easily integrated into any CARE program.

Summary of CARE’s work with VSLAs in Uganda:

CARE Uganda works directly with over 890,000 community members (70% women), mobilized in over 32,000 VSLAs, across four regions (West Nile, Northern, Eastern, and Western Uganda). CARE Uganda’s VSLA programming is included in both humanitarian/emergencies and development interventions and serves as a platform for community mobilization. Utilizing the VSLA model, CARE has managed to reach all categories of rural populations including the very poor and the extremely vulnerable by challenging their capacity to break the circle of poverty.

This is an exciting opportunity for the Project Officer-Digital CARE Package to step into a startup environment to support the launch of an innovative tech solution for informal savings groups in Uganda.  We are looking for someone who can drive the execution of key activities to move DCP forward. This position offers an opportunity to work in a dynamic environment that emphasizes innovative thinking, passion for driving development, and a bias towards action to achieve results.

Job Summary

They will be responsible for supporting Digital Care Package Pilot at CARE Uganda on digital literacy training, Chomoka, customer care support, monitoring of group activity rates, and field support supervision.

S/he will maintain a thorough understanding of the technical aspects of the DCP pilot and train and provide ongoing support to CARE & partner project staff on digital platforms and digital literacy, so they can successfully onboard SGs to digital platforms and build their skills on digital literacy. S/he will work closely with project field staff to ensure quality and effective customer service for all savings groups using Chomoka. S/he will continually engage with end users and trainers, oversee short surveys to gather and consolidate feedback on the DCP performance, and share reports and insights of this with the Digital Inclusion Coordinator, core team, and the country office.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES

Responsibility #1 (40%): Provide Training and Training of Trainers on Digital Literacy and digital platforms for CARE project staff.                                                                                                                                                                                       

·        Coordinate with the CARE project team to develop DCP training plans and integrate the DCP pilot activities within broader Project Activity plans.

·        Train and sensitize CARE Project staff and community-based trainers/agents on the DCP pilot.

·        Maintain a thorough understanding of the technical aspects of digital technology and provide support to trainers.

Responsibility#1 (40%): Provide customer care support for Chomoka monitoring, uptake, and usage

·        Clean up the Chomoka CRM ensuring all Chomoka data is cleaned up and up to date.

·        Act as the voice of the local customer to communicate emerging customer desires and any detected bugs or flaws in the Chomoka App

·        Provide remote support to users and trainers on digital platforms.

·        Work together with Digital Inclusion Coordinator to maintain and escalate any issues with the platform.

Responsibility #3 (10%): Generate continual feedback and support to the DCP core team on the DCP pilot.

Responsibility #4 (5%): Promote Gender Equity and Diversity and Safeguarding Practices

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

·        Plays 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 and 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 and Abuse and Child Abuse, The anti-discrimination and harassment policy, The code of conduct and the organization's Values.

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

·        Any other duties incidental to the role of DCP field officer or as assigned by the supervisor.

AUTHORITY

The Project Officer Digital CARE Package will report to the Digital Inclusion Coordinator and /he will take guidance from the Financial Inclusion Advisor to ensure all project-focused and Programmatic related issues fall within the scope and agreed priorities of the Livelihood Program. 

WORK CONDITIONS

The position is based in Gulu, but a significant amount of time (approx. 70%) will be spent on travelling in support of CARE Uganda Initiatives. The position will also invest time on liaising with counterparts and other stakeholders across the country office.

Qualification and experience:

·        Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Computer Science, Information Technology, or another relevant field.

·        3 years of working experience with financial digital solutions.

·        Passionate about technology, motivated by helping other people build digital literacy, and committed to promoting gender equality.

·        Digitally proficient with demonstrated ability to quickly learn and troubleshoot on Android devices.

·        Proactive, self-starter with strong critical thinking skills and ability to work independently.

·        Ability to communicate effectively in English, and other local languages appreciated.

·        Ability to thrive in team environments, with a strong understanding of diversity and other cultures.

·        Problem solving mindset- willing to work flexibly to achieve collective goals.

·        Knowledge of or experience working with informal saving groups (VSLA, SILC, AVEC, SfC) is an added advantage.