Project Officer - Agriculture

Job Description

Position Title: Project Officer - Agriculture

Duty Station: Field-based Kismayo.

Reports To: Livelihoods Coordinator

Contract Type: Fixed-term (Project-based)

Contract Period: 6 Months

Posted date: 9th August 2026

Deadline: 17th August 2026

Job Purpose

The Project Officer - Agriculture will support the implementation of the Early Recovery Project (ERP) activities under the WFP and ALIGHT partnership, focusing on strengthening smallholder farmer resilience.

The Overall Objective is to improve food security and household resilience among drought-affected internally displaced persons (IDPs) and vulnerable host communities in Kismayo through Nutrition-Sensitive Early Recovery interventions over six Month period. Specific objectives include;

a)       Strengthen the food security and livelihoods of vulnerable households in Kismayo by implementing early recovery activities that restore productive assets, improve income-generating opportunities, and reduce reliance on negative coping strategies during the project implementation period.

b)      Enhance community resilience and promote equitable access to humanitarian assistance by mainstreaming gender, protection, accountability to affected populations (AAP), and community engagement across all project activities, ensuring that women, men, youth, persons with disabilities, and marginalized groups participate meaningfully and benefit equitably from project interventions by project completion.

Target Area: The project will be implemented in Kismayo District, targeting 2,000 vulnerable beneficiaries. The intervention combines temporary income support with the creation of productive community assets that generate sustained livelihood opportunities beyond the project period. Participating households will receive conditional Cash for Work transfers of USD 80 per month while rehabilitating irrigation canals and farm access routes, establishing community compost production sites as a climate-smart agriculture, community tree nurseries, and women-led kitchen and vertical gardens, supported by the provision of essential agricultural tools and irrigation equipment.

Key Responsibilities                                    

The Project Officer will drive field-level implementation of agricultural recovery activities under the Emergency Recovery Project. This role focuses on restoring food security and building climate resilience through modern farming techniques and cash-based assistance.

Activity Implementation:

Execute daily field activities for agricultural recovery and emergency response.

·         Support day-to-day implementation of project activities in target communities, ensuring alignment with work plans and technical guidelines.

·         Mobilize and register IDPs households through WFP’s vulnerability-based targeting and ensuring inclusion of women and youth targets.

·         Assist in the establishment and strengthening of community integrated farmer-block/ producer groups.

·         Facilitate community sensitization and awareness campaigns on project interventions.

·         Farmer Training: Deliver hands-on training sessions on Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP).

·         Gardening Supervision: Establish and manage community kitchen gardens and hydroponic farming systems.

·         Soil Management: Train beneficiaries in high-quality compost manure production and organic soil restoration.

·         Cash for Work: Design, supervise, and monitor Cash-for-Work (CfW) community infrastructure and land rehab interventions.

·         System Management: Use the WFP SCOPE platform to register beneficiaries and manage data transfers securely.

·         Monitoring & Reporting: Track project progress, collect field data, and write weekly updates.

Required Qualifications

·         Education: Bachelor’s degree in Agronomy, Agricultural Extension, or a related field.

·         GAP Knowledge: Deep understanding of Good Agricultural Practices and crop management.

·         Technical Mastery: Advanced, proven expertise in kitchen gardening and hydroponic system setups.

·         Manure Production: Practical experience in turning organic waste into compost manure.

·         Experience: Minimum 3 years of field experience in emergency recovery or humanitarian agricultural programs.

Added Advantages (Desirable)

·         Cash Interventions: Proven experience implementing humanitarian recovery activities via Cash-for-Work modalities.

·         WFP SCOPE: Practical knowledge and hands-on experience using the WFP SCOPE beneficiary registration system.

Key Competencies

·         Clear communication skills for training diverse, low-literacy farmer groups.

·         Strong problem-solving abilities in resource-constrained emergency settings.

·         Data collection accuracy for donor compliance and reporting.

Coordination & Stakeholder Engagement

·         Liaise with local authorities, community leaders, and cooperative committees.

·         Support coordination with project partners and government counterparts (MoAI)

·         Participate in field-level meetings and review sessions.

·         Promote accountability through community feedback mechanisms.

Languages

·         Fluency in English and Somali (required)

Working Conditions

§  Extensive field travel to rural and remote locations; Holder primarily field-oriented, ensuring effective delivery of training, farmer mobilization, organization of integrated farmer blocks, and monitoring of agricultural interventions at the community level.

·         Interaction with vulnerable communities in fragile settings

Safeguarding & Compliance

·         Adhere to organizational safeguarding policies.

·         Promote protection, gender equality, and inclusion in all activities.

·         Ensure accountability to affected populations (AAP) principles are upheld.

Note: Qualified women are strongly encouraged to apply. 

How to Apply: 

Submit a one-page motivation letter and a current, updated CV (2-4 pages) with three references to [email protected] before the closing date. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. 

For more information about our work and impact: https://wearealight.org