Resilience Coordinator (Project Coordinator)

Job title: Resilience Coordinator (Project Coordinator)

Reporting to: Head of Programme

Location: ARUA with 75% travel to the field and Kampala

Overall purpose of the role:

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is the DANIDA implementing partner for rural infrastructure (RI) and water resource management (WRM) under the Northern Uganda Resilience Initiative (NURI). As part of the program, DRC is constructing market access roads, rural market infrastructure, dams, protected springs and developing food forests. Unique to the program, DRC implements the aforementioned RI and WRM projects by applying permaculture-based resilience design which supports people’s ability to claim their socioeconomic rights, access markets, have increased water and food security while being buffered from extreme weather events as well as the shocks and stressors caused by climate change and the collapse of local ecological cycles. DRC applies a resilience approach as a means to demonstrate the powerful impact that design thinking can have on resilience and climate change adaptation and that by working in partnership with nature, it is possible to restore abundant, vital food systems that work to heal the land, recover indigenous biodiversity, and restore local natural cycles.

To lead and ensure quality application of resilience design principles throughout the NURI program, DRC is seeking a highly qualified, dynamic and creative Resilience Coordinator to support existing implementing teams across Northern Uganda. Qualified candidates should have a diversity of experience in topics pertaining to the intersection of socioeconomics, market systems, water and food security, climate change and ecology, as well as experience in the practical application of resilience design principles and hands-on training.

This appointment is subject to DRC successfully securing funding from DG-ECHO.

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Technical Oversight and Coordination:

• Advise DRC’s NURI team as well as the NURI Climate Smart Agriculture implementing partner on work planning and budgeting pertaining to the integration of resilience design principles and materials.
• Provide general technical oversight of the implementation of permaculture-based resilience design elements across the NURI program. This includes ensuring adherence to technical standards and linkages with NURI Climate Smart Agriculture as well as community and local government sensitization and engagement around planting and links to farms, food forestry and the importance of protecting soils and trees for resilience to climate shocks and stresses. This will be achieved through frequent site visits and follow-up to ensure proper implementation and maintenance of systems and through regular engagement with communities to receive feedback and updates, to observe and document.
• Oversee the integration, application and monitoring of resilience design in swales, dams, check dams, gully plugging and diversion ditches. This includes, but is not limited to, designing earth and stonework and planting with grasses, perennial crops and the integration of bamboo, ensuring spacing and quality of check dams, the monitoring of erosion and subsequent follow-up with local teams to identify means to mitigate damage in earthworks from erosion.
• Ensure quality control over food forest systems to ensure correct design and construction, including technical correctness of bioswales on contour including size, width, placement, technical standards, spillways, and relationship to other earthworks, and ensuring construction of smile berms are of correct technical standard and spatial relationship to one another. Furthermore, quality control will oversee species composition, relevance to species recovery, ecological restoration with indigenous species, market crops, food and soil security, companion planting and maintenance. This will entail liaising with ecological actors, such as universities and government, to ensure bioregional appropriateness of species as well as a complex and ecologically rich mix of species, particularly in support of hydrological recharge.
• Contribute to good governance within areas of interventions by supporting planning and budgeting calendars as well as seasonal calendars pertaining to resilience design planning.
• Support and advise implementing teams on how to ensure meaningful engagement of women in community mobilization and decision-making processes within NURI as well as the role of gender in markets, including farm and off-farm livelihoods. 
• Identify opportunities to support regenerative livelihoods by identifying and overseeing market and needs assessments which link to concepts of regenerative practices and circular development, including resource recovery for food, soil, energy and water security.
• Identify and support linkages between the NURI program and opportunities to promote and engage in circular bioeconomies through market designs and engagement of private sector actors and small to medium enterprises to engage in and support regenerative practices. This includes working with the broader NURI team to identify opportunities to strengthen opportunities for financial inclusion of women and late adolescent girls, elderly and people with disabilities, particularly as it related to activities pertaining to permaculture and circular bioeconomies.

Capacity Building and Learning:

• Provide technical trainings for NURI staff, beneficiaries and stakeholders on the application of resilience design principles to RI, WRM and Climate Smart Agriculture as well as broader shelter, homestead and community-based initiatives.
• Build the capacity of DRC, NURI staff, beneficiaries and stakeholders by liaising with DRC’s Regional Resilience and Livelihoods Coordinator to identify ways and means to scale-up the application of regional and global guidance on resilience and regenerative and circular approaches.
• Engage in frequent visits to NURI program sites across Northern Uganda to document and archive the application and integration of resilience design and associated lessons learned. Take learning and best practices and further organize informational and learning events with a diversity of stakeholders including national-level line ministries, donors, other implementing organizations and universities.

Experience and technical competencies: 

• An advanced degree in a related field, such as ecology, environmental design and planning, international development or the natural and social sciences.
• A minimum of 8 years of experience working in international humanitarian and/or development aid, preferably with displaced populations, and with at least 4 years in resilience design.
• Demonstrated technical expertise and experience in the application of resilience design principles in humanitarian or development contexts.
• Robust analytical and strategic planning skills
• Highly diplomatic with excellent political awareness and understanding
• High-level communications and interpersonal skills
• A demonstrated ability to build and maintain relationships with host governments, donors, partners, local organizations, and other stakeholders
• Fluent in written and spoken English

Education:

• Master’s degree or comparable practical experience in ecology, environmental design and planning, international development or the natural and social sciences.

Languages

• Excellent verbal and written English.

Interested candidates who meet the required qualifications and experience are invited to submit updated CV and cover letter explaining their motivation and why they are suited for the post.

We only accept applications sent via our online-application form on www.drc.dk under Vacancies. Applications close on 18th April, 2021.

Equal Opportunity

Gender Equality: DRC is committed to achieving gender parity in staffing at all levels in light of this, women candidates are particularly encouraged to apply to bridge the gender gap.

Equal Opportunity: DRC is an equal opportunity employer, we value diversity and we are committed to creating an inclusive environment based on mutual respect for all employees. We do not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, disability status, religion, ethinic origin, colour, race, marital status or other protected characteristics.