Agro Pastoralist And Rural Development Specialist

Federal Government of Somalia

Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation

Post Title: Agro pastoralist and rural development specialist, National Programme Coordination Unit

Name of Project:          Rural Livelihoods Resilience Programme

Duty station: Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, Mogadishu

Background

The Rural Livelihoods Resilience Programme (RLRP) is an 8 year project and the lead agency for the Programme is the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (MAI), Federal Government of Somalia. The project’s goal is “improved and resilient livelihoods of rural smallholders in Somalia”. The Programme Development Objective (PDO) is” to sustainably increase productivity, incomes and nutrition security and enhance the resilience of rural smallholder families in Somalia. The RLRP has 3 components: component 1 Suppoet to community resilience; component 2 support to smallholder livelihoods; component 3 Programme coordination and capacity building.

The RLRP’s primary target groups will be 30,000 poor small-scale agro-pastoral households (HHs. RLRP will further include proportions for vulnerable groups, including IDPs (15 percent), women-headed HHs (30 percent), and persons with disabilities based on prevalence. The RLRP is a nationwide programme. It will focus its comprehensive efforts on five Federal Member States (FMS) of Puntland, Galmudug, Jubaland, Hirshabelle and South West. Implementation will be sequenced, starting with the initial two FMS of Jubaland and South West, and a total of five regions in the two states: Jubaland: Gedo and Lower Juba; and South West: Bay, Bakool and Lower Shabelle.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation implements the Rural Livelihood and Resilience Program (RLRP). The program aims to enhance the livelihoods and resilience of rural communities. It focuses on promoting sustainable agricultural practices, diversifying income sources, and improving market access for farmers. Additionally, the RLRP works to build resilience by implementing measures such as water conservation, climate-smart agricultural techniques, and disaster preparedness. Community participation and empowerment are key program elements, fostering social cohesion and ownership of development initiatives. The

Ministry strengthens institutional capacity to ensure effective implementation and long-term program sustainability.

The National Programme Coordination Unit (NPCU), reporting to the MoAI, will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the Programme and will be in charge of planning, coordination, monitoring and evaluation, financial management, and procurement functions. The NPCU includes the Agropastoralist and rural development specialist position, which will be filled through a competitive recruitment process. The Agropastoralist and rural development specialist reports to the National Programme Coordinator.

Job Description

The role of the Agro pastoralist and rural development specialists to coordinate implementation of component 2 of the Rural Livelihoods Resilience Programme. In close collaboration with the other team members of the National Programme Coordination Unit and under the direct supervision of the National Programme Coordinator, s/he will provide overall strategic guidance on component 2 activities which includes:

•      Coordinate project activities to build the capacity of local communities in crop production and marketing (e.g., adoption of good practices and farming techniques, including climate resilient agricultural practices to increase productivity; access to and use of quality inputs, including seed and planting materials);

•      Coordinate the project activities to build the capacity of local communities in animal production and marketing (e.g., adoption of climate resilient animal husbandry practices to increase productivity; access to and use of quality inputs, including improved breeding stock and animal health facilities; (iii) fodder production for own use or as a business);

•      Engage the private sector for pluralistic extension services and market linkages

•      Coordinate activities to build entrepreneurship skills for targeted beneficiaries.

•      Coordinate the recruitment of services providers to support the project component 2 activities- Research, NGOs, private sector

•      Contribute to the preparation of the Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWPB)

•      Coordinate support from relevant technical departments, states and research to relevant project activities

•      Contribute to drafting project progress reports through consolidation of reports from partners supporting the project

•      In coordination with the M&E specialist of the NPCU, provide guidance to RLRP and partners in the design and/or enhancement of participatory M&E tools and protocols to strengthen data collection and analysis and reporting for component 2, as well as knowledge management about component 2 activities.

•      Assist the M&E specialist of the NPCU in the design and implementation of baseline, mid-term and final evaluations and ensure follow-up of findings/recommendations to improve program quality

•      Prepare contributions to progress reports focusing on component 2

•       Supervise the work of the Agro pastoralist officers in the project state units, organizing their work programme, training them, reviewing their reports, and conducting supervision and technical backstopping to review their performance in the field

•      Any other tasks requested by the National Programme Coordinator.

•      Master’s or higher degree in agricultural sciences majoring in crops or veterinary science.

•      8 to 10 years of working experience with in agro-pastoral systems and market linkages in the Somalia context.

•      Good understanding of Resilience approaches, Market Based Programming and Agro-pastoral Value Chains Development

•      Demonstrated capacity to take on a leadership position with strong managerial skills with at least 3 years in a leadership position

•      Demonstrated capacity to manage people with at least 3 years managing teams of 5-7 people

•      Demonstrated capacity to interact with a wide range of public and private sector representatives with at least 5 years coordinating with public sector services research an extension) and at least 3 years coordinating with private sector entities.

•      Excellent and writing communication skills - including fluency in English

•      Competency in field data collection, monitoring, analysis and reporting.

Duration: The initial contract will be for one year with a six-month probation period, renewable every year on continued satisfactory performance.

If your qualifications and experience meet this job requirement, please submit a written application letter and C.V and copy of academic qualification in one document, not three separate attachments, quoting your name, the job title including daytime contact phone numbers, as well as the names and contact information of three references to reach the below-mentioned by 17:00 on May 31th, 2024 to [email protected] or [email protected] Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for an interview.

Previous applications are accepted but please direct your applications to the [email protected] and Copy [email protected]