Program Design Officer

About the role

The Program Design Officer will lead the creation and adaptation of community‑focused programmes that increase household income and production in partner villages. Working from Mbarara, the role combines strategic planning, evidence‑based design and close collaboration with technical and monitoring teams to deliver impact‑driven interventions.

Key responsibilities

• Design and adapt country‑specific programmes aligned with local needs, national policies and donor requirements.
• Develop evidence‑based, scalable models that incorporate gender‑sensitive, inclusive and climate‑resilient approaches.
• Prepare detailed design documents, logic frameworks and implementation guidelines for new interventions.
• Collaborate with technical leads in agriculture, WASH, health and livelihoods to embed best practices.
• Integrate impact measurement frameworks with Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) teams.
• Engage local governments, community leaders and civil society to ensure designs reflect community priorities.
• Coordinate with grants and donor teams to align proposals with funding criteria.
• Support scaling of successful models and recommend innovative solutions to enhance effectiveness.

Required profile

• Minimum 3 years of experience in programme design, development or project planning within the development sector.
• Demonstrated ability to work across multidisciplinary teams and with external stakeholders.
• Strong analytical mindset and experience with evidence‑based design processes.
• Willingness to travel up to 30 % of the time.
• Based in Mbarara, Uganda.

Required skills