Resilience/ Agricultural Officer at DAI Kenya - Development Alternatives, Inc.

Objectives of the assignment

STAWI is working across Resilience Zones to improve the way water, a scarce resource, is managed and used – in order to improve livelihoods, reduce conflict, and facilitate a more water-secure future for the STAWI target counties. The Resilience/Agricultural Officer will work closely with the Agriculture Technical Advisor and other STAWI teams to ensure that communities, agriculture, and livestock businesses have the ability to maximize water sources for productive uses, and that communities and county governments have the capacity to sustain productivity through improved governance and practices. These practices will include preservation of watersheds, regulated abstraction, water efficient farming practices, and efficient capture of rainfall. The Officer will play a coordinating role among IPs and resilience platforms, and support the dissemination and uptake of learning facilitated through STAWI.

Tasks & Responsibilities

• Map major private sector water users, such as livestock producer cooperatives, processing centers, and MSMEs supported by the USAID Livestock Market Systems activity and other IPs within the STAWI counties.
• In coordination with the Agriculture Technical Advisor, develop and execute plans for technical assistance to livestock- and agriculture-related businesses that manage critical water services, such as irrigation schemes or water pans with the objective of improving O&M, efficiency, and fee collection.
• Through the Local Grants Fund, work with farmer groups to promote small-scale rainwater harvesting interventions such as rock catchments, sand dams, and farm ponds to increase water availability for livestock and farming activities in appropriate areas, particularly in the southeastern counties that have a higher reliance on irrigated agriculture
• Engage with private sector water businesses, such as Davis & Shirtliff and Epicenter, as feasible in the delivery of water services for productive purposes.
• Assess and expand opportunities to mobilize finance, such as through the Agricultural Finance Corporation, for water supply investments that enable enterprises or cooperatives to expand. recharge and storage.
• Support strategic activities to increase availability of water for productive uses, working with counties and community groups to design and implement well-managed water harvesting and multiple-use water systems.
• Support the Agriculture Technical Advisor in coordination with the Partnership for Resilience and Economic Growth (PREG) and Southeastern Kenya (SEK) Coordination Mechanism,

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in agriculture science: agriculture, agronomy or other relevant disciplines required. Master’s degree in agriculture is preferred.
• Minimum seven (7) years of professional work experience in planning, programming, implementation of programs focused on agriculture and water for productive uses activities required. Experience working in a humanitarian context is preferred.
• Understanding of the Northern and/or Southeastern context where activities are being conducted is required (Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit, Samburu, Turkana, Wajir, Kitui, Makueni, and Taita Taveta)
• A record of working on assignments that have delivered high quality reports to USAID and or other donors required.
• Strong oral and written communication, analytical, interpersonal, attention to detail, organizational, and team management skills required.
• Strong written and oral English skills.