JOB DESCRIPTION

Program Officer, Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD)

Country/Region: Uganda

Location: Wakiso

Organization: Save the Children International

Join us to lead sustainable change for children:

• Be part of a GLOBAL and DIVERSE technical community
• Get EXPOSURE in many different contexts
• Test and scale up INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS
• Influence policies that affect MILLIONS OF CHILDREN

OVERVIEW

Are you passionate about being an advocate for children? Do you want to use your expertise to bring about lasting change for children and be a part of an inspiring, dynamic global movement?

ROLE PURPOSE:

The Program Officer, ECCD is responsible for effectively planning and efficiently managing and delivering the ECCD project components of Sponsorship within the Impact Area. Reporting to the Project Coordinator, the Job holder is expected to lead ECCD Project implementation at community level, monitor implementation progress; write reports, facilitate project implementation meetings and workshops and maintain relationships with key education and program stakeholders in the district, sub county and the lower levels. He/she is expected to possess functional knowledge in ECCD including technical models, implementation structures, policies and frameworks. The post holder may be called upon as and when necessary to support the emergency team in cases of humanitarian crisis.

Sounds interesting? Read more below

THE ROLE

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

Planning and Implementation:

• Lead planning efforts at community and District levels to ensure effective and efficient resource tracking and use in line with approved project plans and budgets and within the complete project cycle.
• Participate in efforts to ensure availability of updated budgets, log frames, workplans, and proposal documents.
• Take an active role in unpacking and rolling out of new projects with staff, partners and eventually community or project areas.
• In line with the approved monthly, quarterly and annual work plans, ensure 100% implementation of ECCD project activities in the operation area and in accordance with Save the children’s policies and operational guidelines.
• Prepare and submit activity concept notes and budgets for review and approval prior to activity implementation

Budget Monitoring responsibility:

• Monitor daily expenditure to ensure project budgets are spent within acceptable limits and timelines as per set and approved monthly, quarterly and annual budget forecasts.
• Track budgets to avoid over and under expenditure and most importantly follow donor requirements.
• Take due diligence in ensuring correct coding and verification of expenditure as per financial reports. The officer will review financial reports with support from Line Manager and Program Manager to ensure accuracy of reporting.

Coordination and Collaborations

• Provide coordination of all ECCD/Education Programs at District and Sub County levels in the areas of intervention.
• Work closely with the District Education Department, other NGOs and Agencies in the Education sector, Schools, SMCs, CCTs among others to identify areas of collaboration and leverage against District resources to maximize impact.
• Network with other Save the Children interventions in their areas of operation to improve synergy and holistic approach to child support

Reporting and documentation

• Generate timely, consistent and accurate monthly and quarterly Progress reports.
• Actively participate in a generation of semiannual reports donor reports demonstrating clearly contributing towards overall goals and intended outcomes.
• Participate in and share progress during weekly regional meetings, document success stories
• Document key success stories and areas of innovation for sharing on quarterly basis
• Ensure regular update of PRIME and other Project Management systems

Partnership

• Continuously identifying and map potential implementing partners in their operational area and recommend potential partners for assessment where and when required.
• Support and monitor day-to-day partner implementation, identify capacity gaps and recommend capacity building where possible.
• Documenting best practices and unique experiences for sharing and learning.

To be a strong supporter and advocate for children in this role you will need to have:

• Minimum of a bachelor’s degree in education, Social Work, Social Administration, Psychology, Social Sciences, Development Studies, or any relevant field.
• Additional training in Child Development or related field is an added advantage.
• At least 3 years progressive experience in planning and implementation of Early Childhood Development programs or other education related projects in a reputable organization.
• Experience of working with local partners and District Local Government in, Education, Health or Child Protection program delivery.
• Excellent report writing skills and experience in generating Donor compliant reports of high quality.
• The ability to speak the local language (Luganda) and directly interact with the target group will be an added advantage
• Ability to establish and maintain conducive collegial relations and perform effectively as a member of a team.
• Willingness to travel and work in hard-to-reach areas, occasionally under strenuous conditions.
• Computer literacy and excellent documentation skills are a must.
• Availability and willingness to work extra hours during humanitarian responses.
• Highly developed cultural awareness and ability to work well in an international environment with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures.
• Ability to intervene with crisis management or troubleshooting as necessary.
• Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills including influencing, negotiation and coaching.
• Excellent time management and planning capacity.
• Availability and willingness to work extra hours during humanitarian responses.
• Motorcycle riding skills is essential for this role.

Application Information:

Please apply using a cover letter and up-to-date CV as a single document. Please also include details of your current remuneration and salary expectations. A copy of the full role profile can be found at https://hcri.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_1

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

Application closes on October 2, 2025 midnight Uganda time.

Save the Children is an equal opportunity employer and seeks to employ and assign the best qualified talent, persons with disabilities and female candidates are encouraged to apply.

Disclaimer: Save the Children International does not charge any kind of fee at whichever stage of the recruitment process and does not act through recruitment agents.

OUR DIVERSITY BELIEF

Save the Children International is committed to create a truly inclusive, effective and representative organisational culture, encouraging equity and diversity among its employees and eliminating unlawful discrimination. We want our people to be truly representative of all sections of society. Having a diverse profile of employees, different age groups, backgrounds, cultures, disabilities, gender identities and expressions, sexual orientation etc., including a range of different experiences and capabilities helps us understand, represent and serve our beneficiaries better. We are guided by our values in everything we do, and recognise that being a diverse and inclusive employer helps us fulfil our responsibility to make a difference for children around the world.