Technical Advisor I Community Engagement Specialist at Catholic Relief Services (CRS)
Organization:
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Job Type: Full-Time Job Category: NGO Duty Station: Uganda Department: Programming (Restore Africa) Reports to: Project Manager II Technical Coordination Deadline: 5 January at 5:00 PM Travel: Up to 50% to CRS field locations Eligibility: Open to Ugandan nationals only Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is hiring a Technical Advisor I Community Engagement Specialist to provide technical leadership and oversight to implementing partners under the Restore Africa (RESAf) project. The role focuses on strengthening community engagement approaches that follow the principles of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) and align with global best practices in farmer-led land restoration. You will support inclusive and continuous community dialogue processes, proactively identify risks and implementation challenges, and help partners deliver high-quality, compliant programming across the RESAf portfolio in Uganda.Role Overview
This role sits at the intersection of community engagement, program quality, and partner support. You will work closely with RESAf Implementation Managers and partner teams to ensure engagement standards are applied consistently, ethically, and in a way that builds trust with smallholder farmers and communities. Because community engagement affects adoption, safeguarding, and long-term restoration outcomes, your contribution will shape how the program performs across districts and over time. A key part of the job is ensuring FPIC is more than a checklist. It must be a practical, respectful, and well-documented process where communities understand what is being proposed, have time to consider it, can ask questions, can say no, and can revisit decisions as conditions change. Strong FPIC and community dialogue also protect program integrity and reduce risks linked to conflict, misinformation, exclusion, or unmet expectations.Roles and Key Responsibilities
1) Standards, Tools, and Best Practices
- Under the supervision of the Technical Unit Lead, develop and continuously refine standards, tools, guidelines, and best practices for community engagement in land restoration programming.
- Ensure a cross-sectoral approach that integrates gender equality, protection mainstreaming, and disaster risk reduction (DRR).
2) Capacity Strengthening and Training Support
- Support capacity strengthening for RESAf staff and implementing partner teams by contributing to learning and training strategies.
- Develop training curricula and agendas, facilitate workshops and trainings, and provide ongoing coaching on community engagement for land restoration and FPIC processes.
3) Partner Technical Support and Quality Assurance
- Provide high-quality technical support and practical solutions to implementing partners, remotely and through field engagements.
- Strengthen strategic planning and the application of standards, best practices, partnership principles, tools, and monitoring and evaluation systems.
- Proactively identify risks, raise implementation challenges early, and support the development of practical solutions for full compliance with program quality standards and donor requirements.
4) Learning, Evidence, and Documentation
- Contribute to the RESAf learning agenda by developing learning briefs, guidance notes, and case studies.
- Document and share best practices on effective community engagement approaches in smallholder farmer-led land restoration projects.
- Support analysis and interpretation of program data, capture lessons learned, and disseminate findings to strengthen decision-making and adaptive management.
5) Proposal Development and Technical Design
- Contribute to, and where required lead, the technical design of project proposals and concept notes.
- Support proposal preparation, submission, and approval processes, and act as a technical writer on proposal teams when needed.
- Advise teams on integrating donor strategies, priorities, and technical requirements into CRS programming approaches.
6) Partnerships and External Engagement
- Support the maintenance and strengthening of relationships with donors, peer organizations, research institutions, and other stakeholders.
- Participate in relevant technical forums on community engagement, agroforestry, and land restoration to exchange best practices and promote CRS work.
Qualifications and Experience
Basic Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Sciences, Forestry, or a related discipline relevant to community engagement for land restoration and or carbon market programming.
- Minimum of five years of relevant professional experience with progressively increasing responsibilities, preferably with an international NGO.
- At least two years of field-based experience in Uganda.
- Demonstrated experience implementing FPIC processes, particularly within carbon market-related projects.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Strong proficiency in MS Office applications (Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and familiarity with web conferencing tools, information and budget management systems, and knowledge-sharing platforms.
- Solid understanding of community engagement principles and practices, with enough related discipline knowledge to support cross-sectoral approaches.
- Experience in project design and proposal development, including drafting technical content for funding proposals.
- Proven capacity strengthening skills including training, mentoring, coaching, and facilitation.
- Experience in monitoring, evaluation, and data analysis, and using findings to support learning and adaptive management.
- Strong networking and partnership skills, including engagement with donors, peer organizations, and faith-based or civil society partners.
- Excellent relationship management and influencing skills, with ability to build consensus without direct supervisory authority.
- Strong strategic, analytical, problem-solving, and systems thinking abilities.
- Excellent technical writing, presentation, and communication skills.
- Proactive, resourceful, and results-oriented with ability to work independently.
Required Language
- Excellent command of written and spoken English.
- Knowledge of local languages from districts where RESAf is implemented is an advantage.
Competencies
Role Competencies
- Excellent leadership, coordination, and interpersonal skills.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and work under pressure.
Agency-wide Competencies (CRS Staff)
- Personal Accountability: Consistently takes responsibility for one’s own actions.
- Acts with Integrity: Models values aligned with CRS guiding principles and mission.
- Builds and Maintains Trust: Shows consistency between words and actions.
- Collaborates with Others: Works effectively in intercultural and diverse teams.
- Open to Learn: Seeks experiences that improve perspective and learning.
Agency Leadership Competencies
- Lead Change: Looks for ways to improve through agility, openness, and innovation.
- Develops and Recognizes Others: Builds capacity of colleagues and partners.
- Strategic Mindset: Translates and supports agency strategy and team principles.
Key Working Relationships
- Supervisory Responsibilities: None.
- Internal: Head of Programs, Chiefs of Party, Country Representative, and Uganda Country Office staff.
- External: Partner staff, donor compliance stakeholders, district coordinators, and safeguarding focal points.
How to Apply
CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages all qualified candidates to apply, including individuals from marginalized backgrounds and people with disabilities. This position is open to Ugandan nationals only.- Prepare an application package that includes an updated CV and a brief cover letter highlighting FPIC experience, field implementation in Uganda, partner support, and learning documentation.
- Apply electronically only using the official application link below.
- Submit your application no later than 5:00 PM on 5 January.