POSITION OVERVIEW

·         Position Title: Agronomist – Resilience Design

·         Number of Positions: Two (2)

·         Organization: Access Development and Relief Organization (ADRO)

·         Department: Food Security and Livelihoods (FSL) / Climate Resilience

·         Duty Station: Field-based, with frequent travel to project implementation sites and community location

·         Reports To: Program Manager / FSL Coordinator

·         Contract Type: Full-time

BACKGROUND

Access Development and Relief Organization (ADRO) is a women-led, national, non-profit, non-governmental humanitarian and development organization committed to strengthening the resilience, dignity, and self-reliance of vulnerable communities affected by climate shocks, displacement, conflict, food insecurity, and livelihood disruption. In Somalia, agricultural livelihoods are shaped by both riverine production systems along the Juba and Shabelle river basins and rainfed farming areas that depend heavily on seasonal Gu and Deyr rainfall. These areas face recurrent droughts, riverine and flash floods, erratic rainfall, land degradation, water scarcity, pest outbreaks, limited access to quality agricultural inputs, weak market systems, and repeated shocks that undermine household food production, nutrition, income security, and community resilience.

To respond to these challenges, ADRO implements integrated Food Security and Livelihoods (FSL), climate resilience, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Community-Managed Disaster Risk Reduction (CMDRR), Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA), and community recovery interventions. These interventions promote climate-smart agriculture, sustainable land and water management, improved crop and fodder production, nutrition-sensitive livelihoods, community preparedness, locally led adaptation, savings-led resilience, and market-oriented recovery. ADRO is therefore seeking a qualified and field-oriented Agronomist – Resilience Design to provide technical leadership, quality assurance, and practical agronomic support for agriculture-based resilience programming in both riverine and rainfed farming contexts.

PURPOSE OF THE POSITION

The purpose of the Agronomist – Resilience Design position is to provide technical guidance for the planning, implementation, supervision, and monitoring of agricultural, fodder production, kitchen garden, nursery, and demonstration plot activities in Somalia’s riverine and rainfed farming areas. The position will support communities to adopt climate-smart and regenerative agronomic practices that improve productivity, soil health, water-use efficiency, flood and drought preparedness, household nutrition, and resilience to climate-related shocks. The Agronomist will also contribute to DRR, CMDRR, and VSLA-linked resilience activities by ensuring that agricultural interventions are risk-informed, technically sound, context appropriate, environmentally responsible, inclusive, and aligned with ADRO policies, donor requirements, cluster standards, and community priorities.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Technical Design and Climate-Smart Agricultural Programming

·         Lead the technical design and implementation of context-specific, climate-resilient agricultural interventions, including agroecology, permagardening, conservation agriculture, regenerative farming, and nutrition-sensitive production models.

·         Guide the selection, testing, and promotion of drought-tolerant, early-maturing, flood-tolerant, locally acceptable, marketable, and high-nutrition crop and fodder varieties suitable for Somalia’s riverine and rainfed farming conditions.

·         Develop practical agronomic recommendations, technical specifications, seasonal crop calendars, and input packages for seeds, tools, fertilizers, irrigation materials, nursery supplies, and fodder production.

·         Integrate water harvesting, soil moisture retention, small-scale irrigation, flood mitigation, drainage improvement, erosion control, and sustainable land management measures into riverine and rainfed community farming systems in coordination with WASH, DRR, and technical teams.

·         Provide technical justification and evidence for proposed agricultural approaches, adaptations, and innovations for project teams, donors, authorities, and coordination platforms.

·         Ensure agricultural designs are informed by local hazard profiles, seasonal calendars, early warning information, CMDRR action plans, and community priorities for reducing drought, flood, pest, and market-related risks.

2. Capacity Building, Extension Support and Community Engagement

·         Establish, support, and monitor Farmer Field Schools (FFS), Pastoral Field Schools (PFS), demonstration plots, and farmer learning groups as practical platforms for community-based learning and adoption of improved practices.

·         Train smallholder farmers, agropastoralists, farmer groups, project management committees, community facilitators, and local extension actors on good agronomic practices, integrated pest management, sustainable land management, post-harvest handling, and safe input use.

·         Facilitate participatory community planning to ensure agricultural interventions respond to local ecological conditions, seasonal calendars, traditional knowledge, gender considerations, and community priorities.

·         Promote inclusive participation of women, youth, displaced households, persons with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups in agriculture and resilience activities.

·         Support communities to link Farmer Field Schools, farmer groups, and producer groups with CMDRR committees and VSLAs so that agricultural learning, disaster preparedness, savings, and livelihood recovery planning reinforce each other.

3. Field Implementation, Agronomic Supervision and Demonstration Plots

·         Provide day-to-day technical supervision for crop, fodder, kitchen garden, nursery, and demonstration plot activities across assigned project locations.

·         Conduct field assessments to identify suitable land, riverine irrigation opportunities, rainfed production potential, crop choices, drainage needs, flood exposure, soil constraints, pest and disease risks, and seasonal production opportunities.

·         Prepare and update seasonal crop calendars, input distribution plans, planting schedules, field visit plans, and activity workplans aligned with Gu and Deyr rainfall patterns, river water availability, flood-risk periods, and local livelihood priorities.

·         Provide hands-on guidance to farmers on land preparation, seed selection, spacing, planting, thinning, weeding, mulching, composting, crop rotation, harvesting, and post-harvest handling.

·         Establish and supervise demonstration plots that compare improved practices with traditional methods, document performance, and generate lessons for scale-up.

4. Soil Health, Water Management and Environmental Stewardship

·         Promote soil fertility improvement through composting, manure management, organic matter restoration, cover cropping, crop residues, crop rotation, and appropriate soil amendments.

·         Support practical soil and water conservation measures such as contour bunds, zai pits, half-moons, trenches, mulching, windbreaks, runoff harvesting, and erosion control where suitable.

·         Provide technical guidance on efficient irrigation and water management practices, including water scheduling, canal or pipe management, drip or bucket irrigation, water storage, drainage, and safe water use for crop production in riverine and rainfed areas.

·         Coordinate with WASH, engineering, DRR, CMDRR, and field teams to ensure agricultural water systems are technically appropriate, environmentally sound, conflict-sensitive, flood-aware, drought-responsive, and accessible to target communities.

·         Identify environmental risks linked to farming activities and promote sustainable land management practices that reduce erosion, salinity, overgrazing, vegetation loss, and land degradation.

5. Crop Protection, Integrated Pest Management & Plant Health

·         Monitor crop health and identify common pests, diseases, nutrient deficiencies, invasive weeds, and climate-related stress affecting crops, fodder, nurseries, and kitchen gardens.

·         Develop and deliver practical Integrated Pest Management (IPM) guidance that prioritizes prevention, regular field scouting, biological and cultural control, safe pesticide use, and farmer awareness.

·         Support safe handling, storage, transportation, and application of agricultural inputs in line with ADRO procedures, donor requirements, environmental standards, and relevant national guidance.

·         Maintain pest and disease surveillance records and provide timely recommendations to reduce crop losses, protect livelihoods, and support household food security.

6. Monitoring, Data Collection, Learning & Quality Assurance

·         Collect, verify, and analyse agronomic data on acreage, germination, crop performance, yield estimates, input utilization, farmer adoption rates, production constraints, and climate-related risks.

·         Work with MEAL teams to develop and apply simple monitoring tools for field visits, beneficiary feedback, training attendance, demonstration plot performance, post-distribution monitoring, and outcome tracking.

·         Conduct regular field visits to assess activity quality, verify progress, identify implementation gaps, and recommend corrective actions to the Program Manager or FSL Coordinator.

·         Document best practices, technical lessons, success stories, case studies, field observations, and evidence to inform adaptive programming, learning, and donor reporting.

·         Support baseline assessments, endline surveys, market assessments, seasonal food security analysis, and other studies relevant to agriculture and resilience programming.

7. Coordination, Partnerships & Technical Representation

·         Coordinate with local authorities, agriculture extension officers, community leaders, farmer groups, vendors, input suppliers, cooperatives, and partner organizations to support smooth implementation.

·         Represent ADRO in agriculture, food security, livelihoods, resilience, climate adaptation, DRR, CMDRR, VSLA, and technical coordination forums when delegated by management.

·         Provide technical input into procurement planning, bid review, quality verification, and distribution processes for seeds, tools, irrigation materials, fertilizers, nursery materials, and other agricultural inputs.

·         Verify the quality, appropriateness, quantity, and timely delivery of agricultural inputs before distribution or use in project sites.

·         Support market linkage activities by connecting producer groups with traders, cooperatives, agro-dealers, processors, service providers, and relevant private-sector actors.

8. Compliance, Safeguarding, Accountability & Risk Management

·         Ensure agricultural activities are implemented in accordance with ADRO policies, donor requirements, approved project documents, technical standards, and community accountability commitments.

·         Apply conflict-sensitive, do-no-harm, DRR, and CMDRR approaches when supporting land use, water access, beneficiary selection, input distribution, flood preparedness, drought mitigation, and community-level agricultural planning.

·         Identify operational, environmental, social, security, seasonal, and protection-related risks affecting agricultural implementation and propose timely mitigation measures.

·         Work with CMDRR committees, VSLAs, farmer groups, and community structures to identify agricultural livelihood risks, update community risk maps, support contingency planning, and promote household and community preparedness for droughts, floods, pest outbreaks, and market shocks.

·         Promote safe, respectful, and accountable engagement with communities, including confidential handling of feedback, complaints, and sensitive information.

·         Uphold safeguarding, protection, anti-fraud, anti-corruption, transparency, and accountability principles during all field activities and interactions with beneficiaries, partners, suppliers, and stakeholders.

9. Reporting, Work Planning & Technical Documentation

·         Prepare clear and timely weekly, monthly, quarterly, and activity-specific technical reports covering progress, outputs, challenges, risks, lessons learned, and recommended actions.

·         Contribute technical content to project proposals, concept notes, budgets, logframes, technical annexes, donor reports, resilience design documents, and internal learning products.

·         Maintain accurate and well-organized records of training materials, attendance sheets, field visit reports, input verification forms, distribution lists, demonstration plot results, farmer group profiles, and technical recommendations.

·         Provide practical recommendations to improve agricultural productivity, household nutrition, climate resilience, DRR, CMDRR, VSLA-linked livelihood recovery, environmental sustainability, and long-term adoption of project interventions.

·         Perform any other relevant duties assigned by the Program Manager, FSL Coordinator, or senior management in line with the role, project objectives, and ADRO’s organizational mandate.

Required Qualifications and Experience

·         Bachelor’s degree in Agronomy, Agriculture, Crop Science, Soil Science, Plant Protection, Horticulture, Natural Resource Management, Agricultural Extension, Climate-Smart Agriculture, or a closely related field. A master’s degree in a relevant discipline is an added advantage.

·         Minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in agricultural programming, agronomic advisory services, climate-smart agriculture, food security and livelihoods, resilience, or rural development, preferably with NGOs, INGOs, UN agencies, or government agriculture services.

·         Demonstrated experience working in Somalia’s riverine and rainfed agricultural contexts, including understanding of Gu and Deyr seasons, drought and flood risks, irrigation constraints, crop production challenges, and community livelihood systems.

·         Practical knowledge of climate-smart agriculture, conservation agriculture, soil and water conservation, integrated pest management, fodder production, kitchen gardens, nursery management, and demonstration plot establishment.

·         Experience supporting Farmer Field Schools, community extension approaches, DRR, CMDRR, VSLAs, resilience planning, and participatory community-based livelihood interventions.

·         Strong skills in field assessment, farmer training, technical reporting, activity planning, input quality verification, data collection, and coordination with local authorities, partners, and community structures.

·         Fluency in Somali and English, both written and spoken, is required.

11. Core Competencies

·         Strong technical agronomy and climate-resilience programming skills, with the ability to translate technical guidance into practical farmer-level support.

·         Excellent facilitation, training, mentoring, and community engagement skills, including the ability to work respectfully with farmers, women, youth, displaced households, VSLAs, CMDRR committees, and local authorities.

·         Strong analytical, problem-solving, field observation, and adaptive management skills for identifying production constraints and recommending timely agronomic solutions.

·         High integrity, accountability, cultural sensitivity, and commitment to safeguarding, protection, do-no-harm, inclusion, and ADRO’s values.

·         Ability to work independently in field locations, manage competing priorities, meet deadlines, and maintain quality documentation under challenging operating conditions.

12. Equal Opportunity Statement:

ADRO is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, safeguarding, protection, and respectful workplace practices in all aspects of its humanitarian and development work.

Applications from qualified female candidates, persons with disabilities, and candidates from minority, marginalized, and underrepresented communities are strongly encouraged, provided they meet the requirements of the Agronomist – Resilience Design position.

13. How to Apply

Interested and qualified candidates are invited to submit their applications, including a cover letter, updated CV, and three professional references in a single PDF document to [email protected], quoting “Agronomist – Resilience Design” in the subject line. The submission deadline is strictly 7th July 2026 at 11:59 PM (EAT). Applications received after this deadline will not be accepted.

Please note that applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and only shortlisted candidates may be contacted prior to the deadline.