Technical Officer, FOLU at Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)

Job Reference: TO/FOLU/10/2020

Founded in 2006, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), is an African-led African-based organization that seeks to catalyze Agriculture Transformation in Africa. AGRA is focused on putting smallholder farmers at the center of the continent’s growing economy by transforming agriculture from a solitary struggle to survive into farming as a business that thrives. As the sector that employs the majority of Africa’s people, nearly all of them small-scale farmers, AGRA recognizes that developing smallholder agriculture into a productive, efficient, and sustainable system is essential to ensuring food security, lifting millions out of poverty, and driving equitable growth across the continent.

Under its strategy, AGRA looks to catalyze and sustain an Inclusive Agricultural Transformation in Africa to increase incomes and improve food security for 30 million farmers. Under this strategy, AGRA is delivering through an approach that simultaneously catalyzes change at farmer level, strengthens input and output market systems and puts government at the center to enable and champion private-sector-led agricultural growth at national level.

The Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU) is a self-governed Coalition of organizations and individuals working collaboratively to achieve a shared objective: the urgent transformation of food and land use systems to deliver a better future for people, nature and climate. FOLU supports science-based solutions and helps to build a shared understanding of the challenges and opportunities to unlock collective, ambitious action. Globally, FOLU country platforms are operating in: China, Colombia, Ethiopia, India, and Indonesia, with partner networks in Australia, the UK and the Nordic region.

FOLU has been active in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) since 2018 through its partnership with AGRA and the publication of reports such as the People, Health and Nature: a Sub-Saharan African Transformation Agenda. The next phase of FOLU’s strategy will look engage more deeply in SSA through allocating additional resources to region to hire a Technical Officer, as well as an Engagement Officer. AGRA will play a key role in leading FOLU’s engagement in SSA due to their unique network and expertise in the region.

To support this objective, AGRA is seeking to recruit an experienced and exceptional individual to the role of Technical Officer, FOLU.

Role Summary

The FOLU Technical Officer will be responsible for developing the Food and Land Use Coalition’s (FOLU) Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) work program. This will involve program management, research and implementation skills. The Technical Officer will be responsible for leading the FOLU SSA program development in partnership with AGRA, conducting research and generating evidence to make the case for a transition to sustainable food and land use systems and also for providing strategic insight and advice to FOLU partners delivering projects on-the-ground.

The role will be based in Nairobi, Kenya with frequent travel, approximately 20% per year.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead the FOLU SSA program development in partnership with AGRA, including working towards the creation of an operational model to carry out activities in Kenya, Ghana and the DRC. 
• Develop a funding pipeline and mapping out potential donors in SSA who are aligned with the FOLU aspired outcomes.
• Conduct research and generate evidence to make the case for a transition to sustainable food and land use systems.
• Design a research program aligned with FOLU and AGRA strategy.
• Conduct in-house research and analysis, commission pieces and coordinate inputs from across partners and the FOLU Research team to generate evidence linked to key aspects of a sustainable transformation of food and land use.
• Deliver in-house research and analysis through a combination of field trips, desktop research, interviews, database analysis and modelling, depending on the needs of each project.
• Communicate the case for change through collaboration
• Translating research into compelling communications materials, aligned to key frameworks (e.g., Malabo Declaration) and priorities of influential stakeholders (including policymakers, African Union delegates, UNECA officials and others).
• Draft briefing papers for policymakers, speech notes for African Union Commissioners, strategic advice for FOLU Ambassadors and potential partners, and more.
• Providing strategic food and land use insights and advice to AGRA partners and grantees delivering projects on-the-ground.
• Identify opportunities to apply an integrated approach into the delivery of positive environmental, social and economic benefits within AGRA programme and partner projects.
• Facilitate introductions to collaborators that can help to bring a more systemic approach to a problem and share case studies and best practice to equip and inspire those delivering projects on-the-ground.

Academic, Professional Qualifications and Relevant experience

• A Master’s degree in Agriculture, Agricultural Economics, Ecological Studies, Environmental and or Land Management, Development/Policy or related disciplines
• A relevant Doctorate degree will be an added advantage
• Minimum 10 years of relevant work experience, primarily in Africa
• At least five (5) years at a senior-Level experience designing and implementing programs and/or policy and regulatory reform in a relevant sector
• Experience in environment, land management, food systems initiatives in a similar environment will be an added advantage
• Experience developing and managing complex initiatives with proven ability to develop high impact partnerships
• Experience in building coalitions or networks of organizations
• Thoroughly familiar with and experience in working with R&D and analytics houses
• Analytical, research, excellent data mining ability
• Ability to influence, develop, and empower others to achieve team goals and objectives
• Deep understanding of both the government and private sector policies and governance structures
• Results and detail orientated with a hands-on approach
• Excellent problem solving/decision making skills
• Motivated self-starter with strong interpersonal skills and work ethic
• Fluency in English required; ability to communicate in French will be an advantage

An attractive remuneration package commensurate with this position’s responsibility will be negotiated with the successful candidate.