Country Director – Uganda

Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA)

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  Location: Kampala, Uganda

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  Category: Administration

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  Job Type: N/A

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  Salary ( UGX) : Monthly

 About the Organization

The Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) is operating in the agricultural sector in Ethiopia, Uganda, Mali, and Nigeria. SAA envisions supporting Africa to food systems by catalyzing knowledge sharing with African farmers and enabling food, nutrition, and income security as its mission. The mission is guided by SAA’s three strategic pillars: Regenerative Agriculture, Nutrition-sensitive Agriculture, and Market-Oriented Agriculture.  Pre- and post-harvest agricultural technologies for smallholder farmers strengthen input-output markets, build the capacity of farmers, extension agents, and other actors along the agricultural value chains, and support agri-entrepreneurship and agribusiness development.

About the position  
Based in Kampala, the CD will have the overall strategic and operational responsibility for SAA staff, programs, and execution of its mission. The CD is also responsible for overseeing the development of strategic partnerships, fundraising, and communications.

Accountability
The CD reports technically and administratively to the President at SAA Tokyo HQ. In some cases, he/she is requested to report to the Management at Tokyo HQ and the Director of Strategic Partnership (DSP) at the  

1. Expected Role [Overall]

• Lead program development at the country level to ensure that country program goals, objectives, and activities are properly aligned with the overall SAA work plan and that appropriate expertise is brought to bear in timely ways.
• Provide oversight and quality assurance of project implementation, ensuring the delivery of impact to the satisfaction of key stakeholders and following monitoring protocols.
• Work closely with the Program Division in Tokyo HQ and SPO to strengthen the efforts of country technical staff to implement the organization’s program and activities successfully.  
• Lead the formation of innovative and mutually of SAA interventions. This includes developing a partnership framework and playing a lead role in the resource mobilization of new extra-core funds to complement core funding, which is provided by The Nippon Foundation. 
• Ensure that SAA organizational policies and regulations are in place and they are in full compliance with national laws.
• Use relevant monitoring information to Provide country leadership for SAA communications and public awareness strategies and programs.  

2. [Enhance the Organization]

• Foster SAA products and services innovation: facilitate learning, documentation, and evidence-based knowledge development in collaboration with SAA’s global team and partners.
• Collaborate with other SAA operating countries to exploit synergy opportunities, deliver at scale (including multi-country projects), exchange knowledge, and strengthen SAA’s position.
• Increase the visibility of SAA by enhancing communication and PR activities.
• Conduct the performance evaluation of each staff annually and motivate country staff to reach higher performance standards, both quantitative and qualitative, by creating a healthy working environment. 
• Strengthen the corporate governance in the country processes.  

3. [Planning & Management]

• Make a feasible plan for smooth operation and high-quality project design. 
• Ensure that technical, financial, and other required reports are produced promptly and to high-quality standards. 
• Show strategic leadership of the SAA program within the overall parameters of SAA global and country strategy  

4. [Support Supervisor(s)]

• Provide input to HQ and SPO for strategic decisions, especially in program and HR. 
• Provide highlights of regular progress reports (quarterly) and detailed annual country reports country and global log frame to HQ.  

5. [Stakeholder Management]

• Represent SAA at all levels of government in the country of operation. 
• Build partnerships and maintain excellent relationships with donors, partners, local governments, businesses, policymakers, and other relevant stakeholders.

 6. Required Expertise and Qualification:
The position requires a person who brings in a fair and thoughtful approach to management, and combines experiment with new initiatives.  

Required qualifications but not limited to include

• A postgraduate degree Ph.D. in Agri-Business, Agriculture Economics, Agriculture Extension,  years of relevant Senior Management and NGO experience. 
• Prior executive-level experience as a successful leader, including a proven track record of growing organizational capacity and programmatic impact in the country.
• Demonstrated success in building relationships with  Trade), private sector partners, funders, NGO (Local and International) partners operating in Uganda, and other diverse stakeholders to foster broad community support. 
• Strong leadership skills in fostering teamwork, developing and motivating others, managing change, 
• Ability to demonstrate support for innovation and organizational changes needed to improve the organization’s effectiveness; 
• Coalition-building capabilities, external networking, and experience in developing strategic partnerships; ability to understand macro development issues and develop strategized policy recommendations. 
• Knowledge and experience in organizational management.
• Ability to understand macro development issues and develop strategized policy recommendations. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills  o Strong oral, analytical, writing, and presentational skills  

Location: The Country Director position is based in Kampala, Uganda, with in-country travel as required, plus potential international travel opportunities.

Compensation: SAA offers a competitive benefits package. However, salary is commensurate with experience

How to Apply:
All applicants must submit to uganda-recruit@saa-safe.org:- a cover letter that indicates, background experience and why you are interested in the position and an updated CV (not listed candidates will be contacted. Applications will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. on 30th November 2023, East Africa Time.  

SAA is an equal-opportunity employer that fosters a multicultural work environment that values gender equity, teamwork, and respect for diversity. Women are highly encouraged to apply.