Shelter Depot Innovation Lead Alight

Alight on behalf of Every Shelter is looking for a Shelter Depot Innovation Lead. The position will be based in Nakivale with significant in-country travel. Potential to move to Kampala depending on needs and ongoing program strategy. Shelter Depot is a model that builds on the entrepreneurial and market-participatory behaviors of refugees to accomplish enhanced shelter, WASH, and livelihood goals in a manner that is nimble and responsive to the real-time needs of refugees.
Every Shelter is seeking to invest heavily in its change thesis by advancing strategic priorities in Uganda. As such, Every Shelter is in the process of registering as an INGO operating in Uganda with a fully staffed regional office in Kampala. Every Shelter seeks to hire a Shelter Depot Innovation Lead, who will have the main objective of advancing Every Shelter’s store adaptation strategy, research & development interests, settlement research, and work in cooperation with the Alight Shelter Depot Social Enterprise Lead to make Shelter Depot stores, current and future, a success.
This position will be ultimately accountable for Every Shelter’s in-settlement pilot, project, and program success. There are always roadblocks to every new work, especially when working in refugee settlements, but this position ultimately requires an employee who can successfully navigate relationships and partnerships to ensure our work progresses on a timely basis. This position will be supported by the Program and Operations Assistants who will be project managing the work from Kampala.

KEY DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
Leadership and Innovation
• Spearhead pilot initiatives and be Every Shelter’s frontline field testing agent.
• Analyze dashboard information trends to identify ideas, opportunities, and gaps for Shelter Depot’s growth and economic sustainability.
• Ensure collaboration across both organizations in idea development.
• Ensure everyone involved in the project clearly understands their role and participates to the best of their ability and ensures no lags in the projects.
NGO Partnerships and Humanitarian Guide
• Ensure that protection and gender mainstreaming is upheld during idea testing and piloting.
• Carefully and strategically engage with OPM, UNHCR, and other partners in the region to advance the interests of Shelter Depot.
• Serve as a focal point for development of partnerships that are part of the piloting phases of the project.
• Serve as occasional guide to international teams visiting the work, either from Every Shelter, Alight, or other partner visits.
Program Development and Implementation
• Work closely with Project Managers and Program and Operations Assistants to develop idea briefs, idea piloting implementation and roadmapping for ideas that are approved for adoption as a core function of the Shelter Depot stores
• Ensuring that programming around the various idea pilots remains within budget
• Updating the Shelter Depot Dashboard through Power BI
• Monitoring and Evaluation: Collaborate with Every Shelter, Alight Staff, and in-settlement representatives to track and evaluate the effectiveness of piloted ideas, gathering data and insights to inform decision-making and refine strategies.
Communication with Every Shelter leadership
• Prioritize communication with Every Shelter staff in Kampala, specifically the Program and Operation Assistants as they generate strategy and ideation with Every Shelter global team members around innovation briefs, and adaptation strategies.
• Ensure Every Shelter leadership is fully briefed on all Shelter Depot program developments and have ample opportunity to input and guide program development. This will include regular progress reports to Every Shelter leadership, weekly evening virtual calls with Every Shelter US staff, and regular photo and video updates.
• Leading idea implementation with the Alight on ground staff and sharing feedback reports from the ideas that have been piloted.
Communication with Alight
• Serve as a reliable bridge of communication between Every Shelter and Alight. Ensure that each organization’s guidance, preferences, and strategy are clearly communicated to one another and incorporated in the project.
• Represent the branding and PR interests of Every Shelter.
Communication with NGO partners
• Serve as a focal point for development of partnerships that are part of the work-for-credit aspect of programming (ie HYT).
• Clearly communicate Shelter Depot programmatic goals to partners and navigate the path forward for joint programming.
Communication with OPM, UNHCR, and other governing bodies in the settlement
• Carefully and strategically engage with OPM, UNHCR, and other partners in the region to advance the interests of Shelter Depot and Every Shelter with the understanding that we are operating under the banner of Alight for this project as Every Shelter is not yet registered in Uganda.

REQUIREMENTS
• Bachelor’s Degree in a related field (ie Business, Commerce, Economics, Community Development). Master’s Degree in related fields preferred.
• Minimum 5 years experience working with INGOs or for humanitarian organizations in a refugee camp or settlement setting.
• Must be fluent in English (written and spoken). Fluency in local languages used is helpful but not required.
• Proficient in MS Office and Google Suite. ○ Experience working with OPM, UNHCR and other partners.

Strengths:
• An entrepreneurial mindset. ○ Extremely self-motivated and able to stay on task with remote supervision.
• Ability to demonstrate a proactive approach to their work, taking initiative to identify and tackle tasks without constant direction. ○ An activator who excels at taking an abstract idea and bringing it to reality.
• Strong planning and organizational skills. ○ A team player who can work well with others and lead by example.
• Strong understanding of both humanitarian response and social impact business development.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.

Physical Requirements:
• Willingness to travel as needed and to live near the settlement.
• Willingness to put in “sweat equity” to get involved in physical tasks as needed.
• Ability to walk, squat, lift heavy objects, and tolerate the conditions associated with long days (inside and outside) at the Shelter Depot site.

OTHERS/EXTRA DETAILS
Alight is an Equal Opportunity Employer offering employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, citizenship, physical or mental disability, or protected veteran status. Alight complies with all applicable laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. Any form of canvassing in the recruitment process will lead to automatic disqualification.