About HEKS/EPER:
HEKS/EPER (Swiss Church Aid) is a faith-based international development and humanitarian organization committed to justice, human dignity, and sustainable development. In Uganda and South Sudan, our work focuses on supporting marginalized communities and building resilience through a triple nexus approach that integrates humanitarian response, sustainable development, and peacebuilding. We promote a rights-based, participatory, and conflict-sensitive approach that upholds dignity, inclusion, and accountability to affected populations.

Standard functions:

The Market Systems Development (MSD) Officer will lead the implementation of the skilling, enterprise development, private sector engagement and market linkage components of the project Empowering Youth and Women through Inclusive Skills Development (EWISE) in Nakivale Refugee Settlement. The project aims to improve the self-reliance and inclusive economic participation of vulnerable youth and women in refugee and host communities while enhancing environmental restoration. The MSD Officer will be responsible for the delivery of market-driven vocational and business skills training, apprenticeships and job placements with the private sector, business development services (BDS), market linkages, and financial inclusion. The MSD Officer works closely with the co-implementing partner, Department of Possibility (DoP), the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), Refugee Welfare Councils, Isingiro District Local Government, UNHCR, the Directorate of Industrial Training (DIT) and private sector actors, and coordinates with the MEAL, Grants, Finance, and Procurement & Logistics teams to ensure quality, safeguarding, accountability, donor compliance and learning are integrated in the project management cycle. In addition, the MSD officer will provide technical support Market Systems Development (MSD) across other projects, dedicating approximately 10% of the position’s time to technical guidance, and promoting consistent application of the MSD approach across the country programme.

Main responsibilities:

1. Programme Strategy and Implementation

• Ensure effective and efficient planning and implementation according to approved budgets, workplan and HEKS/EPER policies
• Ensure that the project adopts the humanitarian-development Nexus approach and is aligned to the thematic areas of livelihoods, conflict transformation, climate adaptation, and protection
• Lead the labour market and skills demand assessment to ensure its integration into the project implementation cycle.
• Conduct private sector mapping and analysis of the systemic barriers to transition to work and dignified employment in Nakivale, Isingiro and Mbarara markets, including assessment of facilities and potential private sector actors.
• Ensure development of gender inclusive and appropriate Assessment and Training Packages (ATPs) and integration of a market systems approach to ensure interventions respond to market skill needs.
• Provide technical input to the development of project proposals across the country programme, ensuring that Market Systems Development (MSD) principles are appropriately integrated into context analyses, market assessments, theories of change, intervention strategies, and results frameworks.

2. Project Cycle Management (PCM)

• Coordinate beneficiary profiling and gender-inclusive selection of women and youth using vulnerability capacity assessment and market-alignment criteria.
• Oversee the development of inclusive training materials and curricula, with the private sector engaged in the design of the ATPs and support the profiling and engagement of trainers, instructors and facilitators.
• Ensure decentralized zonal-based technical, vocational and business skills training in the three zones of Nakivale through engagement of local artisans, including life skills, financial literacy, entrepreneurship and soft skills (FLESS), digital literacy and workplace readiness, with gender equality, safeguarding and conflict-sensitivity modules integrated.
• Coordinate beneficiary capacity and competency assessments, and certification of trainees with the Directorate of Industrial Training (DIT) to ensure work readiness.
• Support specialized training and market linkages of youth and women in community-based plastic-waste collection as a green business.
• Identify, verify and engage artisans, SMEs, cooperatives, employers and service providers in private sector for work-placements, apprenticeships and on-the-job training.
• In consultation with the Head of Programs, Head of Finance and Administration and Grants and Acquisition Coordinator, develop and ensure safe apprenticeships, job placements and private sector linkages through formal agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs).
• Conduct structured risk assessments of host enterprises (employer policies, feedback and response mechanisms, labour law compliance, safe pathways to self-reliance) to ensure the safeguarding of trainees in line with the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS).
• Support the establishment and strengthening of micro and small businesses and green enterprises by managing the selection and distribution of toolkits, start-up kits and start-up capital.
• Design and deliver tailored Business Development Services, business incubation and mentorship to trainees.
• Develop a gender inclusive business tracker to track trainee graduation and enterprise growth and use it to tailor BDS to each business’s stage and support a graduation pathway from aid dependency to dignified employment or self-employment.
• Facilitate contracts between groups and buyers, traders and local markets, trade fairs and exhibitions; link plastic-waste collection groups with recycling companies and aggregators to secure reliable market access and fair prices.
• Work with the MEAL team to track logframe indicators, conduct tracer studies, and document success stories, case studies and impact stories; contribute to the internal mid-term and end-term reviews.

3. Donor Compliance, Reporting and Representation

• Ensure compliance with donor contracts, HEKS/EPER’s Field Financial and Administrative Guidelines (FFAG), and national regulations as applicable to each thematic area.
• In consultation with the MEAL Officer and Grants and Acquisition Coordinator, ensure communications, visibility and advocacy efforts are aligned with programme goals.
• Prepare high-quality narrative inputs for donor reports, programme briefs and case studies on skilling, placements and enterprise development.
• Liaise with the MEAL Officer and lead the preparation of programme briefs, success stories, and case studies in compliance with HEKS/EPER and donor guidelines and requirements.
• Represent HEKS/EPER in livelihoods and economic inclusion of working groups and coordination platforms at settlement and district level (OPM, UNHCR, Isingiro District Local Government, CRRF structures) and build partnerships with the private sector.

4. Budget Oversight and Financial Accountability

• Develop project workplans, procurement plans and budget follow-ups (BFUs) to contribute to monthly forecasts and variance analysis.
• Review and approve procurement requests and expenditure plans within delegated thresholds.

5. Partner Capacity Strengthening, MEAL and Learning

• Provide technical assistance and capacity building to DoP on BDS, market systems approach, digitalisation, MEAL and safeguarding.

6. Team Management and Capacity/Building

• Provide day-to-day technical guidance to the project team and to DoP field staff working on skilling, business support and VSLAs; support performance appraisals of staff as delegated.
• Support HR processes such as the recruitment and onboarding of project staff and trainers.
• Ensure age, gender, disability, conflict sensitivity (Do No Harm) and environmental considerations are mainstreamed in all activities.
• Promote team cohesion and ensure staff, partners, trainers and private sector partners adhere to Do No Harm, Protection and HRBA principles and to HEKS/EPER’s Gender and Adversity, PSEAH and child safeguarding policies.

Any other task relevant to this role, assigned by the Supervisor.

Minimum requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Economics, Agribusiness, Entrepreneurship, Development Studies, Vocational Education or a related field (a master’s degree is an added advantage).
• Minimum 4 years of relevant experience in market systems development, skills development/TVET, youth and women economic empowerment, enterprise development or private sector engagement in humanitarian and/or development settings.
• Strong knowledge of project cycle management, budget control, donor reporting and community engagement.
• Demonstrated experience in business development services (BDS), business incubation, coaching and mentorship/apprenticeships, job placement and building partnerships or MoUs with private sector actors, artisans and SMEs.
• Experience working in refugee-hosting contexts and with refugee and host communities, women, youth and persons with disabilities.
• Good knowledge and understanding of DO NO HARM principles, safeguarding and the Human Rights Based Approach in development.
• Proficiency in MS Office and data tools (Excel, Power BI, KoboToolbox, etc.).
• Fluency in English; knowledge of Runyankole/Rukiga, Kinyarwanda, Kinyabwisha, Swahili or French is an added advantage.