Job Title: Technical Advisor I – Community Engagement Specialist

Department: Programming (Restore Africa)

Report to: Project Manager II: Technical Coordination

Duration: Full-time

Job Location: Kampala, Uganda

About CRS:

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. CRS works to save, protect, and transform lives in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion, or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance, and peacebuilding.

CRS’ Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Portfolio

Under the Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation strategic priority area, CRS aims to ‘drive uptake and scaling of nature-based solutions and novel financing mechanisms to support national and community level efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change’.    CRS currently has three projects which fall explicitly under this strategic priority area, and is in discussions with other donors to start additional and related programs:  

• Restore Africa, which aims to restore 560,000 hectares of land with 352,500 smallholder farmers across 31 districts (Climate Asset Management funded)
• Accelerating and Scaling Climate Smart Jobs within Restore Africa - Market Linkages for Livelihoods and Land Restoration (M4R – FCDO funded) in 17 districts, focusing on 60,000 small-holder farmers and 40,000 hectares also engaged in Restore Africa.
• Mixed-Use Agroforestry in Refugee Hosting Districts (World Bank / MinWE funded), targeting 17,550 hectares and 87,782 smallholder farmers.

These projects aim to assist smallholder farmers, with an average landholding of 2 hectares (minimum 0.5 hectares, maximum 20 hectares) to diversify production within their agroforestry systems, including through payments for carbon sequestration through integration of trees into their plots. The projects also aim to incentivize smallholder farmers to be able to invest in activities which restore health to their soil and increase productivity over time, as well as meet their own food security and economic needs.

Job Summary:

As the Technical Advisor for Community Engagement, you will provide technical leadership and oversight to all implementing partners under the Restore Africa (RESAf) project. You will offer strategic guidance and hands-on technical support to ensure that community engagement approaches are implemented in accordance with the principles of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) and aligned with global best practices in farmer-led land restoration, including the facilitation of inclusive and continuous community dialogue processes.

Working closely with the RESAf Implementation Managers, you will proactively identify risks, raise implementation challenges, and support the development of practical solutions to ensure full compliance with program quality standards, donor requirements, and industry best practices. Your technical expertise and advisory support will play a critical role in strengthening program quality, effectiveness, adaptability, and innovation across the RESAf portfolio in Uganda.

In addition, you will contribute to organizational learning by supporting the documentation, adaptation, and scaling of FPIC and farmer-led restoration approaches across all countries where GEA manages land restoration programs with smallholder farmers.

Roles and Key Responsibilities:

• 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).
• Support capacity strengthening for RESAf staff and implementing partner teams by contributing to the design of learning and training strategies, developing training curricula and agendas, facilitating workshops and trainings, and providing ongoing coaching on community engagement for land restoration and Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) processes.
• Provide high-quality technical support and practical solutions to RESAf implementing partners, both remotely and through field-based engagements, to strengthen strategic planning and the effective application of standards, best practices, partnership principles, tools, and monitoring and evaluation systems, ensuring high-quality program implementation.
• Contribute to the RESAf learning agenda by developing learning briefs, guidance notes, and case studies, and by documenting and sharing best practices on effective community engagement approaches in smallholder farmer–led land restoration projects.
• Support the analysis and interpretation of program data, systematically capture lessons learned and best practices across projects, and disseminate findings to inform adaptive management, strengthen decision-making, and enhance program quality.
• Contribute to, and where required lead, the technical design of project proposals. Support the preparation, design, submission, and approval of concept notes and full proposals, act as a technical writer on proposal development teams when needed, and advise project teams on integrating donor strategies, priorities, and technical requirements into CRS’s programming approaches.
• 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, contribute to thought leadership, and promote CRS’s work.

Basic Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in environmental sciences, Forestry, or a related discipline relevant to community engagement for land restoration and/or carbon market programming is required.
• A minimum of five (5) years of relevant professional experience with progressively increasing responsibilities, preferably with an international NGO, including at least two (2) years of field-based experience in Uganda.
• Demonstrated experience in implementing Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) processes, particularly within carbon market–related projects, is required.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Strong proficiency in MS Office applications (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), web conferencing tools, information and budget management systems, and knowledge-sharing platforms.
• Solid understanding of community engagement principles and practices, with sufficient knowledge of related disciplines to support a cross-sectoral approach.
• Demonstrated experience in project design and proposal development, including drafting and contributing technical content for funding proposals.
• Proven knowledge of capacity-strengthening approaches and best practices, including training, mentoring, coaching, and facilitation.
• Experience in program monitoring, evaluation, data analysis, and use of findings to support learning and adaptive management.
• Strong networking and partnership skills, with experience engaging donors, peer organizations, and faith-based or civil society partners, and a clear understanding of partnership principles.
• Excellent relationship management and influencing skills, with the ability to build consensus and secure buy-in from stakeholders without direct supervisory authority, and to work effectively across diverse cultural and geographic contexts.
• Strong strategic, analytical, problem-solving, and system-thinking abilities, with capacity to see the big picture and exercise sound judgment.
• Excellent technical writing, presentation, and communication skills.
• Proactive, resourceful, and result-oriented, with the ability to work independently and drive high-quality outcomes.

Competencies:

• Excellent leadership, coordination, and interpersonal skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and work under pressure.

Required Languages: Excellent command of written and spoken English is required, and knowledge of local languages from districts where RESAf is implemented an advantage.

Travel: Must be willing and able to travel up to 50% in the CRS field location.

Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS Staff)  

Agency competencies clarify expected behaviors and attitudes for all staff. When demonstrated, they create an engaging workplace, help staff achieve their best, and help CRS achieve agency goals. These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.

Personal Accountability—consistently takes responsibility for one’s own actions.

• Acts with Integrity—consistently models values aligned with CRS Guiding Principles and mission. Is considered honest.
• Builds and Maintains Trust—shows consistency between words and actions.
• Collaborates with Others—works effectively in intercultural and diverse teams.
• Open to Learn—seeks out experiences that may change perspective or provide an opportunity to learn new things.

Agency Leadership Competencies:

• Lead Change—continually looks for ways to improve the agency through a culture of agility, openness, and innovation.
• Develops and Recognizes Others—builds the capacity of staff to reach their full potential and enhance team and agency performance.
• Strategic Mindset—understands role in translating, communicating, and implementing agency strategy and team principles.

Key Working Relationships:

• Supervisory Responsibilities: None.
• Internal: Head of Programs; Chiefs of Party; Country Representative; Uganda Country Office staff.
• External: Partner staff, donor compliance, district coordinators and safeguarding focal points. 

“Disclaimer: This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position”.  

How to apply

CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer: We encourage all qualified candidates to apply for this position, including individuals from marginalized backgrounds and people with disabilities. Please ensure you follow the instructions outlined below when applying.

• This position is open to Ugandan nationals only.
• Submit your application no later than 5:00 PM on January 5, 2026.
• Applications will be accepted exclusively through the online system. Interested candidates are required to submit their applications by clicking on “Apply here.”

Please Note: Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.