Research Officer I (Field Technician VIPP) at icipe - International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology

Overall Purpose of the Job

The candidate will be responsible for recruitment and training of farmers to establish VIPP with frass together with establishment and management of demonstration plots in the project “Scaling regenerative black soldier fly farming innovations with vegetable push-pull cropping systems for One Health in Rural Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.”

Specific Duties

•  Recruitment and training of farmers and extension officers. field days, farmer field schools, agricultural shows, and on-farm demonstrations.
•  Establish and manage VIPP demonstration plots, conduct field days and farmer field schools.
•  Support technology dissemination initiatives in liaison with extension agents, local extensionofficers, NGOs and community-based organizations (CBOs).
•  Provide technical oversight and backstopping to farmers participating in field trials.
•  Coordinate field visits of project partners including donors and ministry of agriculture senior management.
•  Coordinate field data collection of rural participatory evaluations using digital tools.
•  Support student field trials.
•  Prepare monthly reports on field activities, farmer appraisals and stakeholder engagements.
•  Preparation of exhibition material and participation in local agricultural shows.
•  Any other responsibly assigned by the supervisors and senior project team.

Requirements/Qualifications

•  BSc degree in Agronomy or Entomology.
•  Minimum of 2 years of field experience working with farmers.
•  A valid driving license to ride a motorbike is essential.
•  Good working knowledge of local languages spoken in Kenya (Swahili, Luo, Kisii, Luhya).
•  Good working knowledge of written and spoken English is essential.
•  Computer literacy and basic data exploration and analytical skills.
•  High degree of organization, adaptability, and prioritization.
•  Good reporting and communication skills.

Other Desirable Attributes

•  Ability to work in multi-cultural environments.
•  Practical knowledge of coordinating field research.
•  Experience in community mobilization.
•  Decent fitness levels for extended periods of field work.
•  Working experience in Uganda and Rwanda will be an added advantage.
•  Make decisions for own job function and requires approval from supervisor.
•  May supervise and train field assistants.
•  Responsible for field imprest.
•  Support students and scientists in establishing field trials and data collection.
•  Engagement with NARES, NGOs, farmers and media.

Reporting
This position reports to the Research Scientist