Learning officer at FIPS Africa

Role purpose

The Learning officer makes evidence of a routine part of how FIPS plans, delivers and adapts its programmes. The role helps teams ask decision-relevant questions, generate and interpret credible evidence, and act on what they learn within the agricultural season, not after it.

Strategic contribution

• Sharper decisions: management and programme teams can see what the evidence supports, what remains uncertain and what it would take to find out.
• Faster adaptation: learning is timed to seasons and review points so that findings change delivery while it still matters.
• Stronger positioning: credible, well-documented evidence and publications strengthen FIPS with research partners, funders and the wider sector.
• Stronger capability: colleagues build their own inquiry and reflection skills, so learning does not depend on one post.

Key responsibilities

Learning agenda and strategic questions

• Co-develop a manageable learning agenda with programme and MELA colleagues, linking each priority question to a strategic decision, programme assumption or evidence gap.
• Help teams make theories of change explicit: what is expected to change, for whom, through which mechanism, and what evidence would support or challenge that expectation.
• Apply consistent lenses across questions where relevant: differences by gender, age and farm type; climate and seasonal risk; and the sustainability of enterprise and market relationships beyond FIPS support.
• Translate agreed priorities into feasible learning plans with decision users, methods, responsibilities, resources and review points aligned with seasons. Propose sequencing and flag constraints for approval.

Applied learning and analysis

• Help teams choose methods that fit the question, context, time and resources, including farmer-led experimentation, on-farm trials, participatory inquiry, case studies and mixed-method studies.
• Design and undertake agreed studies, including protocols, sampling, field tools, fieldwork supervision and data-quality checks, with programme teams, MELA colleagues and technical specialists.
• Apply informed consent, confidentiality, responsible data handling and safeguarding requirements. Identify when research approvals are needed and work through the authorised process before fieldwork.
• Analyse quantitative and qualitative evidence with appropriate tools. Examine differences across farmer and enterprise groups where the data permit; assess bias, missing data and uncertainty; and avoid causal claims the design cannot support.
• Use digital data collection, analysis and AI-assisted tools where they add rigour or speed, with human review of outputs, protection of personal data and transparency about how tools were used.
• Validate findings with farmers, programme colleagues and research partners. Record divergent views, unexpected results and open questions, and keep a traceable link from data to conclusions.

Facilitation, coaching and learning culture

• Co-design learning activities with farmers, VBAs and partners; make space for their questions and practical knowledge and agree how findings will be returned to them.
• Facilitate reflection sessions, after-action reviews and learning events that separate observation from interpretation, surface alternative explanations and end with agreed actions, owners and dates.
• Embed proportionate reflection into existing planning, field supervision and review routines rather than adding parallel processes.
• Coach colleagues through real programme questions, building inquiry, facilitation, analysis and reflective practice skills, tailored to their starting points and responsibilities.
• Create accessible, respectful learning spaces: listen without interrupting, check understanding, invite quieter participants, adapt to language and literacy needs, and challenge assumptions without blame.

Knowledge products and publication

• Produce research reports, learning briefs, case studies, practical guidance and publications with colleagues and partners, matching detail and format to farmers, practitioners, researchers, management and funders.
• Present findings accurately, including methods, limitations and implications. Coordinate technical review and required approvals, maintain accessible records, and agree authorship according to contribution.
• Lead or co-author appropriate publications, including peer-reviewed outputs where suitable and resourced, and contribute evidence to sector platforms, conferences and partner networks as agreed.
• Gather feedback on whether knowledge products are used and adjust formats and channels accordingly.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelors’ Degree in agricultural sciences, agricultural economics, research methods or related discipline.
• 2 years working experience
• Experience designing and leading applied research from question to evidence use.
• Strong quantitative and qualitative analysis skills.