Technical Specialist Component 1: Customize Extension Services and Empowerment of Farmer Households and Communities – TRANSFORM - Soil Health - - Office of Programs
Current Job Openings --> Full Time --> Full Time Africa
About IFDC
IFDC is a public international organization active in 27 countries in Africa, Asia, and America. IFDC uniquely approaches the global issues of food security and poverty by bridging the gap between research and impact, combining science-based innovations, holistic market systems development, an enabling policy environment, and strategic partnerships to assist farmers and countries to identify and scale sustainable agricultural solutions, including improved nutrient use efficiency. These approaches are needed to boost soil health and crop productivity while reducing the environmental impact of fertilizer use. IFDC translates research into action by using locally driven, environmentally sound, and impact-oriented solutions. With our partners, we seek to close the yield gap, eradicate global hunger, safeguard the soil on which our lives depend, and generate economic resilience for farming households and the countries in which they live.
Position Summary
The Technical Specialist for Component 1 of the TRANSFORM program will be responsible for guiding and overseeing field activities related to the Customize Extension Services and Empowerment of Farmer Households and Communities to adopt the best agroecological practices for soil health and fertility. This role involves leading the implementation of tailored extension services and collaborating with the Regional Bureau of Agriculture (RBoA) from zone, woreda and kebele levels to empower farmers to adopt soil health practices in a participatory, bottom-up approach.
The Specialist will work closely with stakeholders, including both public and private sector actors, to facilitate a shift towards sustainable soil management. This will be achieved through the development, validation, and scaling of a Participatory Integrated Planning (PIP) approach that promotes soil health, fertility, and good stewardship of natural resources. The Specialist will ensure that the component’s activities contribute to a private-sector-led extension effort, while supporting farmer households and communities in transitioning to sustainable land management practices at the household, community and landscape levels. Additionally, the Specialist will facilitate and guide the development of vibrant soil input systems as well as guide farmers led action research and coordinate the linkage between research- extension-farmers through on-farm research activities.
Responsibilities:
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Facilitate the implementation and scaling of customized extension services in soil health and fertility management, vibrant soil input systems and strengthening the linkage between extension and research in the TRANSFORM Program;
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Collaborate with RBoA extension staff (from zone to woreda levels) to ensure the successful integration of participatory soil health and fertility practices;
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Introduce new technologies and soil extension system, participatory integrated planning (PIP), building vibrant soil input sector, improved access to various soil inputs and targeted business development services;
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Ensure effective day-to-day management and execution of relevant interventions related to soil health and fertility management;
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Facilitate and provide ToT training for Woreda experts and DAs together with Component leads and consortium partners on Soil Health and Fertility Management including Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM), organic fertilizer use, Climate Smart Agricultural practices to effectively disseminate the soil health management activities in the regions;
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Empower farmers, households, and communities to engage in sustainable land management through training and capacity-building activities;
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Empower farmers to lead action research and promote linkage between the research and extension system;
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Strengthen the capacity of the extension service to provide effective advisory services on soil management practices;
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Coordinate efforts between public and private sector stakeholders to foster effective collaboration in soil health practices;
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Support the adaptation and scaling of the PIP approach to ensure its effectiveness across different contexts and communities;
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Monitor and evaluate field activities to ensure objectives are met and provide technical advice to field staff;
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Document lessons learned, best practices, and share insights with stakeholders to inform future programming and policy development;
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Produce monthly, quarterly, and annual reports for effective communication;
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Collaborate with other Technical Specialists within the TRANSFORM program to ensure integrated approaches;
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Implement necessary tasks for the program success and for additional assignments from the immediate supervisor;
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Facilitate long-term, community-driven changes in soil health, and natural resources management contributing to the broader goals of the TRANSFORM program by empowering stakeholders at all levels to embrace sustainable agricultural practices.
Requirements
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Master degree in soil science, agronomy, natural resources management, agri-business, rural development, extension science, with proven experience of working with research institutions, development programs/projects, national extension system and private sector;
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At least 7 years of experience in successfully implementing/leading the management of soil health and fertility, natural resource management focused projects (multi-year programs) on soil health and fertility extension; developing last mile input distribution systems and research, agribusiness development with involvement of private sector focused contributing to agriculture development;
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Strong understanding of the private sectors role in the national extension system, including barriers in soil health extension, contributions to soil research, and opportunities for collaboration in extension programs;
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Demonstrated ability in concepts, principles, and approaches around bottom-up and participatory methods in farmer engagement; Public Private Partnerships, ISFM; role of private actors in fertilizer blending and fertilizer distribution systems; fertilizer extension and enabling environment;
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Excellent skills in MS Excel, Word, PowerPoint; proficiency in MS Access preferred and Knowledge of other statistical packages like SPSS, STATA has an added advantage;
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Fluency in English is required;
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Must be a self-directed, highly organized person who can effectively prioritize and follow through on multiple initiatives simultaneously.
Reporting and Work Relationships
The Technical Specialist will report to the Component 1 lead.
Location
This is a national recruitment with a duty station at the IFDC and/or one of the consortium partner offices based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with frequent travel to all program sites.
Benefits
IFDC's benefits include annual and sick leave, health and group life insurance coverage, a 13th month salary, social security and pension contribution in compliance with local laws and end-of-contract benefits.
Salary grade:
The salary grade for this position is BG 8 and the pegged salary is the local equivalent of USD 1,557 gross per month.
The determination of new employee salaries takes into account various factors. These include the salary range linked to the assigned job grade, the candidate's qualifications in relation to the job's responsibilities and prerequisites, internal fairness, the competitive state of the job market, as well as potential organizational and budgetary considerations.
About Program (TRANSFORM)
IFDC along with its consortium partners Stichting Wageningen Research- Wageningen Environmental Research (SWR-WENR), World Soil Information (ISRIC), and national partners Environment and Coffee Forest Forum (ECFF) and SOS Sahel Ethiopia, is supporting the Government of Ethiopia through the TRANSFORM Project. The TRANSFORM Project aims to enhance soil health and fertility management in Ethiopia through four main components. First, it focuses on customizing extension services to tailor soil fertility initiatives to the specific needs of farmer households and communities. Second, the project seeks to develop a vibrant soil input sector by improving the availability of quality organic fertilizers for small-scale farmers. Third, it emphasizes strengthening the linkages between research and practical application through farmer-led action research. Finally, the project fosters an enabling environment for soil health by promoting collaboration among soil sector stakeholders, thereby enhancing soil fertility management at both national and regional levels.
The program targets the sustainable increase in productivity of 100,000 small-scale food producers and the improved use of 65,000 hectares of farmland in the Amhara, Oromia, and Central Ethiopia Regional States by 2028. TRANSFORM also models a process for replication and scaling of soil health and fertility management nationally, focusing on elements of extension, research, private input supply, and creating an enabling environment. The project intentionally targets at least 30% women and 30% youth participation in all activities by implementing focused outreach strategies and affirmative actions.