Project Officers ( 2 Positions)

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is the world’s largest on the ground conservation
organization that has been operating in Uganda for more than 60 years. WCS works to conserve biological diversity and ecosystems through applied research, conservation education, and provision of technical assistance to the government of Ugandan while inspiring people to value nature.

Project Brief:

WCS’s core business is to conserve wildlife and wild places, working in partnership with
government institutions mandated to manage and conserve biodiversity in Uganda. The
government of Uganda and its development partners have invested hugely toward the
conservation of biodiversity and protection of the environment. However, due to the increasing human population driving forest and wetland loss, these natural resources face enormous threat from people, including refugees fleeing countries experiencing civil unrest such as DR Congo, South Sudan, Burundi, and Ethiopia among others. Political instability in these countries has resulted in sharp increase of refugee population in Uganda leading to the accelerated loss of forest cover and vegetation in refugee hosting communities. In a bid to address environmental degradation in refugee-hosting districts of Uganda, WCS in partnership with Uganda Biodiversity Fund (UBF), Nature-Uganda (NU), and Ecological Christian Organization (ECO) received a grant from the European Union to implement a four (4) year project titled “Restoring and Conserving degraded fragile ecosystems for improved Community Livelihoods among the Refugee and Host Communities of West Nile Region and the mid-Albertine Rift”. The project is aimed at mitigating forests, woodlands and bushlands, wetlands losses, and improve livelihoods of refugee hosting communities. The project will focus on restoration of degraded forests, woodland and bushlands and wetlands, support sustainable land management practices such as climate smart agriculture, soil and water conservation measures, and build capacity of refugee host communities, relevant governmental and non-governmental institutions responsible for environment protection and biodiversity conservation, and improve environmental planning with respect to refugee settlements in West Nile region (districts of Yumbe and Terego) and Western Uganda.( Kikuube, Kyegegwa, and Kamwenge).

As such, WCS is seeking to recruit two Project Officers to work on this project over a period of four years. One project officer will be stationed in West Nile region and the other in Hoima.

These officers will work closely with the Projects Coordinator and other WCS technical staff to ensure effective implementation of project activities.

Position Locations:

a) Hoima Office, with frequent travels to project sites within 15 Km buffer around
Kyangwali Refugee settlement in Kikuube district; Kyaka II refugee settlement in
Kyegegwa district; and Rwamwanja Refugee settlement in Kamwenge district.

b) West Nile liaison Office (TBD) with frequent travels to project sites within 15 Km buffer
around Bidibidi and Imvepi refugee settlements in Yumbe and Terego districts.

Application Deadline: 25th January 2021

Expected Start Date: February 1, 2021

Project officers’ Key Duties and Responsibilities

The Project Officers will;

1. Support implementation of the project within the respective regions (60 % Full time
effort). Specific activities will include, but not limited to:
a) Planning, coordination, and implementation of the project activities;
b) Participate in the development of work plans and budgets;
c) Conduct stakeholder engagements and collaboration within the project area on all
matters related to the project implementation;
d) Conduct socio-economic and ecological surveys in the project area.
e) Participate in the writing of reports, documents, lessons learned and experiences
acquired, project briefs, and prepare presentations;
f) Supervise and monitor project activities, including collection of data for
monitoring, evaluation and learning.

2. Create and maintain a high level of multi-sectoral networking and collaboration
mechanism with key stakeholders to ensure proper project implementation, (20 % Full
time effort).

a) Support creation, and/or strengthening of existing district and regional networks
and collaborations among key stakeholders including, but not limited to UNHCR,
Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), government environmental pillar institutions
(e.g. UWA, NFA, line ministries, Local governments), local NGOs/CBOs, the
project implementing partners;
b) Regularly organise district and regional network/collaborative meetings and
engagements with key stakeholders;
c) Effectively represent the project at the district and regional network, ensuring
continual collaboration with UNHCR, OPM, NGOs, and any other relevant
stakeholders.

3. Assist in all aspects of project management and administration (Human, financial &
WCS assets) (15 % of the Full time effort).

a) Responsible for proper management of project funds and property in line with
WCS’s relevant policies, procedures and standards;
b) Oversee the recruitment, deployment and supervision of a network of communitybased extension workers to support implementation of the Climate Smart
Agriculture (CSA) and other technical areas related to Sustainable Land
Management (SLM) components of the project;
c) Ensure project implementation is always harmonized with approved project plans
and budgets.

4. Reporting (5% of Full time effort).

a) Ensure timely collection of data and information needed for project monitoring,
evaluation and learning;
b) Work closely with the communications manager and the Monitoring, Evaluation
and Learning Manager to document success stories, and reporting internally in
WCS and its partners and to the donor;
c) Provide feedback to project participating persons about the project surveys and
implementation results.

Qualifications and Experience

 Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in Forestry, Environmental Management/ Sciences,
Wildlife Conservation, rural development studies, and Agricultural Sciences.

 Master’s Degree, or Post graduate professional training in any of the above fields will be
an added advantage.

 Solid proficiency in Microsoft Office Applications namely MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint
and Outlook.

 Knowledge and demonstrated experience / application of Global Information System
(GIS), Biological and social survey techniques, Global Positioning System (GPS)
applications, Open Data Kit (ODK) and KOBO data collection tools is desirable.

 Demonstrated knowledge and experience of working with government institutions and
NGOs.

 Minimum of 3-5 years of professional work experience in similar position.

Personal Attributes

 Ability to work in a multicultural diverse environment.
 Work with minimum supervision and under tight deadlines.
 Demonstrated ability to adhere to strict confidentiality involving internal/ external
information management.
 Good verbal, written communication in English.
 Strong interpersonal skills.
 Willing to work in remote areas and passionate about nature conservation.

Application Procedure

Interested person should send the application documents (a cover letter and Curriculum vitae) ONLY by email to wcsuganda@wcs.org and copy to mnyago@wcs.org with the subject: Project Officer Position.

The letter should be addressed to:

The Country Director
Wildlife Conservation Society
Uganda Country Program
Plot 802, Kiwafu Road, Kansanga
P. O. Box 7487, Kampala, Uganda