Programme Officer – Organizational Development & Advocacy
Employer: Restless Development
Position: Programme Officer – Organizational Development & Advocacy
Duty station: Kampala, Uganda
Reports to: Programme Coordinator
Employment type: Full-time
Work arrangement: Hybrid, with field travel
Contract duration: Two years
Preferred start date: October 2026
Salary: UGX 47,084,760 gross per annum
Experience: At least 1–2 years
Travel: Fairly regular domestic and international travel
Deadline: Thursday, 10 September 2026 at 5:00 PM EAT
Jobspace Uganda vacancy summary
Restless Development is recruiting a Programme Officer to support organizational development and community-level advocacy within its youth-employment portfolio. The officer will work with youth-led organisations and consortium partners to strengthen governance, leadership, accountability, programme-delivery systems and the ability of young people to influence local decisions.
This opportunity is particularly suitable for an early-career development professional with practical experience in community engagement, organizational capacity building or advocacy. The successful candidate will support partner assessments, facilitate learning activities, document young people’s priorities and help organisations implement improvement plans.
About Restless Development
Restless Development is a youth-led development agency that supports young people to influence decisions, mobilise action and address challenges affecting their communities. In Uganda, the organisation works across several regions and coordinates the Uganda Youth Collective, a national platform of more than 600 youth-led organisations.
Who should apply?
This opportunity may suit candidates who:
- Hold a bachelor’s degree in a relevant social-development discipline.
- Have at least one year of organizational development, advocacy or community-engagement experience.
- Have worked with youth-led, community-based or grassroots organisations.
- Can support training, mentorship sessions and community dialogues.
- Understand basic governance, leadership, planning and accountability systems.
- Can prepare activity reports, case studies and other programme documentation.
- Are willing to travel regularly for field activities.
Purpose of the role
The Programme Officer will provide day-to-day implementation support for organizational strengthening and youth-led advocacy activities. The role will help partner organisations become more effective, sustainable and responsive to young people seeking dignified work, entrepreneurship opportunities and financial inclusion.
Key responsibilities
Organizational development
- Implement organizational development and advocacy activities according to approved work plans.
- Support organizational capacity assessments and partner reflection processes.
- Help partners prepare and implement organizational improvement plans.
- Follow up with partners to strengthen the application of new systems and approaches.
- Provide logistical, administrative and operational support for field activities.
- Promote learning and collaboration among youth-led organisations.
Youth-led advocacy and community influence
- Implement youth-led advocacy activities related to employment, entrepreneurship and financial inclusion.
- Support youth-led organisations to engage communities and other stakeholders.
- Facilitate dialogues, consultations, forums and other engagement platforms.
- Mobilise young people and community stakeholders for advocacy activities.
- Document community voices, young people’s priorities and emerging issues.
- Help partners prepare advocacy messages, evidence products and stories of change.
Monitoring, documentation and learning
- Collect and maintain accurate information on partner support and programme activities.
- Support monitoring visits, field verification and participant tracking.
- Document young people’s experiences, feedback and lessons from implementation.
- Prepare activity reports, partner updates, case studies and learning products.
- Contribute to programme reflection and adaptive-learning discussions.
Safeguarding and compliance
- Apply safeguarding, gender equality, diversity and inclusion standards in all activities.
- Identify and report safeguarding concerns through established procedures.
- Ensure ethical and respectful engagement with young people.
- Create safe spaces in which young people can participate confidently.
- Comply with organizational and programme policies during implementation.
Financial and operational responsibilities
- Prepare and manage assigned programme budgets and work plans.
- Follow Restless Development’s financial policies and procedures.
- Support the preparation of programme financial reports.
- Prepare accurate narrative explanations of programme expenditure.
- Requisition and account for activity funds on time.
- Promote value for money in programme transactions.
Essential qualifications and experience
- Bachelor’s degree in Development Studies, Social Sciences, Organizational Development, Public Administration, Community Development, Political Science or a related field.
- At least 1–2 years of experience supporting organizational development, capacity building, community engagement or advocacy programmes in Uganda.
- Experience working with youth-led organisations, community-based organisations or grassroots structures.
- Experience supporting training, mentorship or community-dialogue activities.
- Basic knowledge of governance, leadership, planning, documentation and accountability systems.
- Exposure to community advocacy, civic engagement or mobilisation.
- Experience in programme implementation, field coordination and reporting.
- Strong communication, facilitation and interpersonal skills.
- Ability to work respectfully with young people and diverse communities.
- Good written and spoken English.
Desirable experience
- Experience with donor-funded youth-development, livelihoods or systems-strengthening programmes.
- Understanding of advocacy, community organising or citizen-engagement approaches.
- Experience supporting organizational assessments or capacity-building tools.
- Knowledge of Uganda’s youth-development and civil-society landscape.
- Basic documentation, storytelling or digital data-collection skills.
Employee benefits
- Twenty-four days of annual leave in addition to public holidays.
- An additional annual-leave day for each full year of service, up to 28 days.
- Birthday leave and access to flexible working arrangements.
- Study, maternity, paternity, adoption and other leave provisions.
- Training, mentorship and professional-development opportunities.
- Travel and medical insurance when travelling internationally for work.
Application procedure
Applications must be completed through Restless Development’s online recruitment portal.
Deadline: Thursday, 10 September 2026 at 5:00 PM EAT.
Direct application link: Restless Development recruitment portal
Employer website: Restless Development Uganda
Important application checks
- Apply only through the official online recruitment portal.
- Show clearly how you meet the 1–2 years’ experience requirement.
- Highlight work with youth-led or community-based organisations.
- Include examples of advocacy, training or partner capacity-building activities.
- Mention your experience preparing reports and supporting programme budgets.
- Complete all required fields and upload every requested document.
- Submit before 5:00 PM EAT on 10 September 2026.
Date posted: 28 August 2026
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