TITLE:  Community Agricaltural Programe Officer.(Two Positions)

TEAM/PROGRAMME:

LOCATION:  Bosaso

GRADE: 4

CONTRACT LENGTH:

12 months.

CHILD SAFEGUARDING:

Level 3:  the post holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work country programs; or are visiting country programs; or because they are responsible for implementing the police checking/vetting process staff.

ROLE PURPOSE:

 The Community Agriculture Officer will act as the direct contact person with the farmers and the co-operatives and will ensure the project deliverables are timely done and reported. They will also take an active role in beneficiary sensitization and mapping as well as the distribution of tools and seeds among other key duties. Working closely with the Child Poverty Reduction team in Puntland the Community Agricultural Officer will support individual Smallholder farmers and cooperatives to improve their output, consumption of locally produced foods, and resilience to climate-related shocks and stresses in drought-affected areas of Bossaso by placing responsible and regenerative environmental management at the centre of the Building Resilient Communities in Somalia (BRCiS) Operationalizing Agro-sustainability in Somalia (OASIS) project and using an inclusive integrated approach to comprehensively engage individual and cooperative agro-producers, service providers, authorities/regulators, and consumers (including individuals experiencing climate-related displacement) in resilience building.

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to: Program cooridator  

Staff reporting to this post: None

Indirect: DPM- PM -CPR

Budget Responsibilities:

Role Dimensions: (e.g. complexity, relationships, communication with stakeholders)

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY

Operational Responsibilities.

-       Responsible for the day-to-day implementation of the OASIS program in Bosaso Bari region of Puntland State of Somalia.

-       Prepare detailed action plans and ensure that the Program is implemented in accordance with the work plans with the involvement of partners and concerned stakeholders at all levels.

-       Take the lead in community mobilization, awareness raising, and sensitization on OASIS Programme beneficiaries.

-       Facilitate the delivery OASIS project objectives and overall goals

-       Liaise directly with farmers and coopartivies and local authorities, as well as other agencies operating in targeted programme sites regularly to ensure coordination and effective implementation of activities.

-       Farmers Cooperatives and Market Systems: the position holder will Facilitate the formation and creation of farmers' cooperatives to strengthen collective bargaining power, access markets, and improve value chain linkages. Promote the development of market systems that enhance the profitability and competitiveness of agricultural products. This involves conducting sensitization sessions to raise awareness about the project's objectives, benefits, and sustainable agricultural practices.

-       Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA): the officer will Facilitate the establishment and management of VSLAs within communities. These associations empower farmers to save money, access credit, and invest in agricultural inputs, equipment, and technologies.

-       Climate-Smart Agriculture: the officer will Promote and implement climate-smart agricultural practices that focus on enhancing productivity, resilience, and adaptive capacity in the face of climate change. This includes promoting techniques such as conservation agriculture, agroforestry, crop diversification, and water management strategies.

-       Community Action Adaptation Plans (CAAPs): The position holder will Facilitate the development and implementation of CAAPs that address community priorities, needs, and solutions to climate change. Support community participation and engagement in decision-making processes related to agriculture and climate resilience.

-       Resilience Building: An essential aspect of the officer's role is to strengthen the resilience of smallholder farmers and cooperatives to climate-related shocks and stresses, particularly in drought-affected areas in Bossaso. This involves providing technical guidance on climate-smart agricultural practices, promoting the adoption of resilient crop varieties, and facilitating access to climate information and early warning systems.

-       Improving Output and Local Consumption: the officer will develop strategies to increase agricultural productivity and enhance local consumption of nutritious food. Encourage farmers to diversify their production, promote high-value crops and livestock, and facilitate access to markets and value chains.

-       The officer will oversee the distribution of essential agricultural tools, equipment, and quality seeds to individual farmers and cooperatives. This support aims to enhance productivity and improve crop yields, ultimately contributing to increased food production and local consumption.

-       Ensure timely procurement, development, distribution and utilization of respective programme supplies.

-       Identifying programme related training gaps, planning, implementation, ensuring quality of the training and write and submit training reports.

-       Produce and implement monthly and quarterly plans in line with (Detailed implementation plan, procurement plans and phased budgets)

-       Assist line manager in tracking project expenditures to ensure budgets are strictly adhered in line with SCI financial procedures

-       Provide field reports with regards to the programme implementation and challenges encountered by the respective line manager to ensure timely action is taken.

-       Support the collection and documentation of the needs, impact and success stories

-       Preparation of IEC materials in different accessible formats for accountability, visibility and communication, with the purpose of promoting and disseminating of messages 

-       Support and ensure the implementation of cross cutting issues (Participation, gender, safeguarding, and disability inclusion) by identifying risks, concerns and mainstreaming to programme implementation.

-       Promote and advocate children’s rights, document and report child right gaps within the scope of the programme at community level.

Coordination and Representation:

-       Represent Save the children in relevant stakeholder forums such as meetings with local authorities and community leaders, keeping Program and field Manager informed of discussion points, issues arising and agreements made.

-       Participate in other external, partner or Implementing level meetings as requested.

-       Participate in Food Security cluster meeting  and actively contributing from field level 

Research, Evaluation, Learning and Monitoring (REALM) Responsibilities.

-       Facilitate and monitor implementation of community level activities

-       Ensure proper filling and documentation of relevant program documents.

-       Provide support to the REALM team to effectively implement thematic quality benchmark, IPTT, monitor ongoing programme activities and report progress

-       Work with REALM team in collecting information on needs assessment, baselines and post distribution monitoring ensuring the highest level of professional conduct by those collecting data to ensure data integrity.

-       Produce timely programme quarterly monitoring and supervision reports and ensure the documentation and dissemination to the concerned parties, using standards checklists, monitoring tools such as QBMs.

BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice)

Accountability:

-       holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values

-       holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.

Ambition:

-       sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same

-       widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others

-       future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale.

Collaboration:

-       builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters

-       values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength

-       approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.

Creativity:

-       develops and encourages new and innovative solutions

-       willing to take disciplined risks.

Integrity:

-       honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity

 Educational Qualifications:

Bachelor's Degree in Agriculture or a related field: A degree in agriculture, agronomy, agricultural economics, or a relevant field provides a solid foundation of knowledge in agricultural sciences.

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

Essential

Technical Skills required:

·         Communication and Interpersonal Skills: Effective communication and interpersonal skills are essential for building relationships with farmers, community members, and stakeholders. You should be able to listen actively, convey information clearly, and engage in dialogue to understand community needs and concerns.

·         Technical Expertise: A strong understanding of agricultural practices, including crop production, soil fertility management, pest and disease control, and water management, GAP practices, Value addition,greenhouse management and fortification is crucial. You should possess technical knowledge and skills to provide guidance and training to farmers.

·         Problem-Solving and Analytical Skills: The ability to analyze complex agricultural challenges, identify appropriate solutions, and adapt strategies based on the local context is important. Problem-solving skills will enable you to address issues related to climate change, market access, and resource management effectively.

·         Community Engagement and Facilitation: The role requires the ability to engage with diverse communities, facilitate participatory rural appraisal (PRA) processes, and encourage community ownership in decision-making. You should be able to facilitate meetings, workshops, and training sessions.

·         Project Management: Strong project management skills, including planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation, are valuable for effectively managing agricultural projects and initiatives.

·         Networking and Collaboration: Collaboration with various stakeholders, such as government agencies, NGOs, and farmers' cooperatives, small holders farmers, agro-dealers & market actors value chain is essential. Strong networking skills will help you establish partnerships and leverage resources to support community agriculture.

·         Basic understanding of child right frameworks.  

·         Knowledge in Climate smart Agriculture, Community Action Adaptation Plans (CAAPs), Village Saving loan association (VSLA) & market systems development Aproach.

Desirable

• Computer skills
• Reporting skills
• Agronomic extension skills
• Communication skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Psychological and first aid skills
• Climate Adaptive smart  Agriculture techniques
• Market systems development approach.
• Participatory rural approaisal (PRA) approach/tools
• TOT skills -
• Humanitarian sphere standards and Core humanitarian standards (CHS)
• SCI common approaches
• Basic pedagogical skills

Additional job responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.

Equal Opportunities

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI Equal Opportunities and Diversity policies and procedures.

Child Safeguarding:

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.

Adult Safeguarding.

The post holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI anti-harassment policy, all employees are also expected to carry out their duties in accordance with SCI protection from sexual exploitation abuse.

Health and Safety

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Health and Safety policies and procedures.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At SCI, we uphold the principle of equal rights and opportunities for all our employees. In our commitment to fostering a more inclusive workplace and addressing gender gaps, we have implemented additional efforts aimed at supporting female qualified candidates: -

·         Maternity leave (6 months)

·         Annual Leave 30 working days

·         10% *gross salary. (female allowance)

1.5 flexible working hours for lactating mothers

Save the Children is an equal opportunity employer and seeks to employ and assign the best qualified talent.

Link: https://hcri.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com:443/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/job/5344?utm_medium=jobboard

Female qualified candidates are strongly encouraged to apply

Interested and qualified applicants can view the profile and apply for this position through the below URLs:-

Closing Date will be 10’th Jan’ 2024.