Project Lead at East-West Seed

Location: Gulu with regular travel to West Nile and Lira
Section: East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer (KT)

Overall Purpose of the Job

• The Project Lead will administer and assist the coordination of all pre-commercial project activities under the direction of EWS Knowledge Transfer (based in Asia) and in close cooperation with ISSD. By increasing the productivity of vegetable production with smallholder farmers it is expected that this will lead to long term opportunity for EWS to develop new markets in high quality vegetable seeds.
• He/She is responsible for providing technical support and to a team of Technical Field Officers and will guide them to implement project activities as planned.
• S/he will be the main point of contact between the team of Technical Field Officers, EWS-KT and ISSD.
• He/She will be in charge of Monitoring and Evaluation field work.

Scope
This position is responsible for:

• Administration of Knowledge Transfer activities:
  • Control of project expenses for field work (demo farm inputs, travel etc) in coordination with EWS-KT accounting dept
  • Support team of Technical Field Officers in use of computers or tablets
  • Support logistics and organization of project activities
  • Preparation of training materials
• Provide technical backstopping to team of Technical Field Officers
• Support team of Technical Field Officers to select areas and farmers and to plan activities in such a way that targets are met (number of demonstrations and number of farmers trained)
• Monitoring and Evaluation of project activities to provide accurate and up to date information on progress and impact of project activities
• Communication:
  • Report writing
  • Point of contact

Work Relationship:

• The incumbent will be responsible to supervise the team of Technical Field Officers.
• The Project Lead will report directly to the management team of EWS Knowledge Transfer (based in Asia).
• On a local level, s/he will also coordinate all activities with the Manager of the Vegetable Component of ISSD.
• He/she will coordinate Monitoring and Evaluation with EWS-KT Knowledge Manager.

Key Result Areas and Responsibilities
This position is responsible for providing direction, oversight and coordination for the following result areas:

• Coordinate activities, resources, equipment and information:
  • Monitor working hours, budget, plans and expenditure
  • Manage appropriate legal paperwork (staff contracts)
  • Support team of Technical Field Officers to make effective monthly activity plans; timeframes, schedule and budget
  • Regular visit to project areas to assure that targets are being met
  • Logistical organization for staff training events and visits from EWS-KT
  • Organise logistical support to field staff and key farmers
  • Reporting to management and ISSD as required
  • Ensure operations adhere to EWS and ISSD policies and regulations
• Monitoring and Evaluation:
  • Supervise the implementation of field activities
  • Use Monitoring and Evaluation tools provided
  • Monitor and track project’s progress and handle any issues that arise
  • Support team of Technical Field Officers to maintain up to date demo farm records, records of training participation and other monitoring data requested by ISSD/EWS-KT
  • Produce a monthly report of data on demo farms and training
  • Archive photos from field visits and demo plots
  • Communication, point of contact
  • Act as the point of contact between the team of Technical Field Officers the management team of EWS-KT and ISSD
  • Coordinate and liaise with other relevant stakeholders (government, projects etc)
  • Coordinate and liaise with village officials to assure active participation of farmers
  • Create and maintain comprehensive project documentation, plans and reports
  • Help preparing presentations for workshops and trainings
  • Help in the development (translation) of extension materials and other documents.
• Technical advice:
  • Provide technical backstopping to team of Technical Field Officers and assure that team is
  • Coordinate with ISSD and EWS-KT to assure that team of Technical Field Officers follows and shares technical recommendations promoted by project.

Qualifications

• MA/M.Sc in Agriculture or related field (preferred)
• Experience in writing report and communication
• Good understanding of vegetable production and markets in Uganda
• Excellent communication skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and local languages.-Acholi is amust
• Solid organizational skills including attention to detail and multitasking
• Independent thinking, practically oriented
• Analytical mind with problem-solving skills
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office and Google (preferred)
• Good team player able to work together with various stakeholders.