Field Officer at CARE

REF: FO/01/2018

JOB SUMMARY & PURPOSE:

Reporting to the Project Officer under “EVALUATING IMPACTS OF GENDER INTEGRATION ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SECURITY OUTCOMES” project, the position holder will work closely with the communities in target project sites and work as a member of the project team based in Nyandarua County, Kinangop constituency. The suitable candidate will support coordinating and implementation of all project level activities/events within the project sites. Successful candidate will support establishment of FFBS/FFS from farmer groups in project target areas in line with objectives and approaches of the project. The field officer will support identification and selection of community groups engaged in horticultural value chains to engage in FFS/FFBS activities.

Tasks and responsibilities

• R 1: Facilitate participatory CBA analysis and planning processes for the ALP communities and the project stakeholders (30%)
• Tasks
  • Support farmer groups identification, selection and initiation to FFS/FFBS activities
  • Support institutional mapping exercise to identify local actors and organisations in agriculture within project locales
  • Participate and support facilitation of regular training, planning and coordination sessions amongst FFS/FFBS at the community level
  • Support to entrench FFS/FFBS activities within community households in collaboration with the county MoA and other project stakeholders
  • Support capacity and needs assessments within farmer groups project stakeholders
  • Support all field surveys organized for the project (i.e baseline, mid and end-line evaluations)
• R 2: Capacity building and support to FFS/FFBS on implementation of project plans, strategies and activities (40%)
• Tasks
  • Support training/capacity building of farmer groups within target communities on establishment and management of pigeon pea and Irish potato value chains
  • Participate in formal and informal FFS/FFBS sessions as part of planned project implementation activities
  • Support farmer groups implement FFS/FFBS project activities in a gender-sensitive, sustainable and environmentally friendly approach
  • Identify support needed by farmer groups to adapt to planned field level project activities
  • Support farmer groups by providing linkages with the relevant service providers
  • Capacity build farmer groups on issues relevant to pigeon pea and Irish potato environmental conservation and management
  • Provide supports and mentoring to farmer groups through formal and informal trainings and cross learning sessions
  • Support data collection, entry, synthesis and reporting to project management office
  • Support activity, monthly, quarterly and annual reporting project activities
  • Conduct any other project related task as required by the project officer.
• R3: Building capacity of County level partner organizations and community groups (20%)
• Tasks
  • Assist to evaluate capacity of partner organizations working at Community and County level
  • Support and participate in development of a capacity building strategy
  • Assist to provide training, mentoring and ongoing technical advice to project and community level partners
  • Assist to facilitate external training opportunities for farmer groups and other project partners as needed
  • R4: Monitoring, evaluation, reporting and documentation of processes and results at community and County (20%)

Tasks

• Implement the project information and knowledge management system
• Facilitate monitoring of processes and results by farmer groups working at community level.
• Assist to support partners in reporting and documentation on results, processes and lessons learnt.
• Facilitate reflection and learning formal and informal sessions among farmer groups and identify key lessons learned
• Support in compiling farmer groups and county level partner reports for submission
• Management of Project Resources

Tasks

• Support distribution of field inputs to ensure adequate and timely provision to participating farmer group/communities and partner organizations communities
• Ensure proper maintenance and use of assigned project resources

AUTHORITY:

Spending Authority:

The position does not have authority to approve expenditure.

Supervision:

The position holder has no supervisory roles

Decision Making:

The position holder can make decision at the field level based on the field conditions but in consultation with the project officer and/or project manager

CONTACTS/KEY RELATIONSHIPS (internal & external):

• Project Officer
• KALRO project team lead and its support staff
• UoN project lead and its pro-graduate students
• County and sub-county Ministry of Agriculture staff and field officers
• Target Community farmer groups and participating households
• Any other institution/organization as required from time-to-time

WORKING CONDITIONS:

The position is 100% based in Nyandarua County, Kinangop constituency with 60% field travel.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

The Field Officer will have a minimum qualification of a university degree, in a relevant discipline such as as Agriculture, Agronomy, Rural development, community development and livelihoods. The candidate must have practical experience in community facilitation and working with research and academic teams both locally and internationally.

S/he is expected to interact closely with members of the technical team both nationally and internationally as well as County MoA officials and local project stakeholders and community project beneficiaries.

Experience:

• At least four years of experience working with agricultural based research organisations, including a minimum of three years working with communities
• Strong experience and knowledge of agricultural value chains, sustainable livelihoods and disaster risk reduction approaches or all the three.
• Practical experience in planning, implementation and reporting of agronomic practices/value chains
• An understanding of climate change effects on agricultural value chains and the need to build community resilience
• Positive experiences working with county governance structures and community relationship-building
• Demonstrated awareness of and sensitivity to gender and diversity

Competencies:

• People Skills: Ability to work as a team player.
• Demonstrated ability to listen to and work with communities in a sensitive and participatory manner.
• Communication Skills: Well developed written and oral communication skills in English. Able to communicate clearly and sensitively with internal and external stakeholders.
• Computer Skills: Basic computing skills Ms Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook;
• Integrity: Works with trustworthiness and integrity and has a clear commitment to CARE's core values and humanitarian principles.
• Flexibility: Willing to be in the field up to 70% of the time
• Fair knowledge of local language and environment will be an added advantage