Social Dynamics Manager, Uganda Growth Activity (ugandan Nationals Only)

Social Dynamics Manager, Uganda GROWTH Activity (Ugandan Nationals Only)

At TechnoServe, we believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to build a better life. For over 50 years, we have given smallholder farmers and entrepreneurs the skills, connections, and confidence to lift themselves out of poverty. We leverage the power of markets and the private sector to create sustainable economic growth to benefit people and the planet. Our unique mix of business solutions, deep knowledge of local contexts, and data-driven insights is helping to fight poverty across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

TechnoServe staff are local–95% are from the countries in which they work. We put a high premium on collaboration and entrepreneurship. We hold ourselves and each other to the highest standards of integrity and transparency. And we focus on delivering lasting impact for our mission.

Job Summary

The Social Dynamics Manager will lead the design, integration, and oversight of all activities under GROWTH that address power imbalances, promote inclusion, and strengthen the participation of marginalized smallholder farmers (SHFs) and farmer organizations (FOs) in Uganda's horticulture sector. This role ensures that gender, youth, and other disadvantaged groups are meaningfully engaged in the program, with their voices shaping decision-making, governance, and market opportunities. Drawing on political economy analyses (PEA) and participatory planning processes, the manager will develop strategies to enhance equity, accountability, and resilience across all program components.

Building on the successes of TechnoServe's Horticulture Market Acceleration Program (HortiMAP), Growing Resilience and Opportunities for Wealth Through Horticulture (GROWTH) will deepen farmer ownership and drive lasting transformation in Uganda's horticulture sector. Over five years, GROWTH will support 200,000 smallholder farmers to engage in profitable and resilient horticulture markets. The program will increase and stabilize farmer incomes, reduce post-harvest losses, enhance food security, and create thousands of new jobs across value chains. At a systems level, it will expand access to affordable finance, strengthen compliance with food safety standards, and improve market linkages across domestic and regional trade. GROWTH is rooted in a farmer-led approach that leverages participatory planning, so that farmers and their organizations will define their priorities, shaping interventions that reflect local needs.

GROWTH aligns with the Dutch Embassy's Multi-Annual Country Strategy 2023–2026, contributing to food and nutrition security, sustainable land use, private sector growth, and climate adaptation. It also supports the Netherlands' broader ambition to connect aid and trade, facilitating partnerships between Dutch and Ugandan enterprises in areas such as irrigation, seed systems, and cold chain solutions. GROWTH will be a EUR 13 million investment over five years.

Primary Functions & Responsibilities

• Manage and support inception-phase Political Economy Analysis (PEA) to identify systemic barriers, power dynamics, and entry points for inclusive interventions.
• Design and implement a comprehensive inclusion strategy that integrates social dynamics across all program components.
• Ensure that marginalized groups (women, youth, remote farmers, minority groups) are actively represented in planning, training, and leadership opportunities.
• Provide technical leadership on social empowerment, accountability mechanisms, and governance reforms within farmer organizations and SACCOs.
• Collaborate with component managers (Production, Marketing, Finance, Food Safety) to mainstream social inclusion and equity into technical activities.
• Guide the development of inclusive leadership training and mentorship programs to prepare marginalized SHFs for FO board and committee roles.
• Support the integration of food safety, climate-smart practices, and financial services in ways that address the specific needs of disadvantaged groups.
• Report regularly to the Project Director and Senior Management Team on progress, risks, and adaptive strategies for strengthening social cohesion and inclusivity.
• Interpret complex issues within the project framework, providing conceptual analysis and proposing relevant solutions to continuously develop operational efficiencies and drive innovations
• Contribute to reporting requirements both within the program and other requests as needed
• Design, review, and continuously improve program implementation on the basis of feedback from program leadership as well as internal and external stakeholders
• Exercise independent judgment in determining objectives and approaches to assignments, with minimal managerial oversight

Basic Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of experience in international development and or field(s) plus a Master's degree, or a Bachelor's Degree plus seven years of experience.
• Experience developing and implementing activities that promote inclusion and strengthen the participation of marginalized smallholder farmers.
• Experience using farmer-centric participatory approaches, such as the PIP methodology, GALS, or others.

Required Languages

Excellent oral, written, and interpersonal skills, including fluency in English and the native language.

Travel

Travel up to 50% in Uganda.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in Uganda preferred
• Experience with EKN preferred

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Analytical, writing, social and management skills required for delivering technical assistance to development programs or initiatives.
• Ability to work both persuasively and diplomatically in a team-based environment with a high degree of complexity and ambiguity.
• Ability to communicate complex issues with clarity, precision and prioritization is a must.
• Strong capacity building skills, including participatory facilitation techniques, coaching, and mentoring

This position is contingent upon donor funding and approval. We encourage all qualified individuals who share TechnoServe's vision of improving the lives of others through proven business solutions to apply. With our commitment to diversity, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and affirmative action employer and do not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, HIV/AIDS status, protected veteran status, disability and all other protected classes. We are also proud of our commitment to protecting staff, partners, and beneficiaries from abuse and exploitation and thoroughly vet all final candidates through rigorous background and reference checks. If you have a disability that affects your ability to use our online system to apply for a position at TechnoServe please contact the Human Resources at recruitment@tns.org or call +1 202 785 4515.