Community Livelihoods Officer - Microfinance

About the role

Child's i Foundation, a Ugandan non-profit founded in 2009 that advocates child rights and creates community-based alternatives to orphanages, is hiring a Community Livelihoods Officer for its Mpigi program. The post-holder works with the Mpigi program team to implement microfinance projects for grandmothers and the wider community, leading planning, coordination and implementation of microfinance activities. The goal is to build a microfinance strategy that encourages investment in agriculture, business and other income-generating activities while strengthening grandmother resilience through savings, assets and social capital.

Key responsibilities

• Plan, coordinate and implement microfinance activities, including establishing microfinance groups and village saving and loan groups (VSLAs)
• Appraise beneficiaries' microfinance needs and eligibility for loans, and train grandmothers and communities on VSLA methodology, group governance and leadership
• Maintain the microfinance loan performer application and monitor share purchases, social contributions, borrowing and repayments
• Prepare activity budgets, work plans and progress reports, and compile monthly, quarterly and annual reports
• Visit groups regularly, give technical advice and mentoring, and track group progress
• Act as secretary to the Revolving Fund Planning Committee, keep meeting minutes and records, and help resolve conflicts within groups
• Link groups to life skills training, government programs and economic development activities

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in community development, business administration, accounts, microfinance, economics or a related field
• At least 1 year of experience in VSLA methodology, livelihoods and income-generating activities
• Experienced facilitator and trainer with training materials development skills; experience in resilience initiatives highly preferred
• Willingness to travel to several rural project locations and to work with minimal supervision
• Experience with NGOs, local communities and authorities; ability to use standard computing packages
• Some knowledge of Central Ugandan languages such as Luganda and English