Agriculture Officer at Pyxera Global Nigeria

PYXERA Global, a not-for-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. and Nigeria that has worked in over 90 countries since 1990.
We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Position: Agriculture Officer
Job Locations: Southern Katsina/Northern Kaduna, Nigeria
Division: Enterprise and Community Development
Report to: Project Director, Joint Initiative for Village Advancement (JIVA) Nigeria Project

Project Summary/ Job Description
We are seeking to strengthen the local systems that drive prosperity and opportunity and forge community resilience. Therefore, we are in need of qualified candidates for the position of Agriculture Officer to be based full-time in the Southern Katsina/Northern Kaduna Office, Nigeria. This position will work with the JIVA Nigeria team to design an integrated community development project with a focus on enhancing resilient agriculture and accountable education in the region. As a new initiative, JIVA Nigeria is part of PYXERA Global’s broader JIVA programming, housed within the Enterprise and Community Development division.

The JIVA program traces its roots to a corporate volunteer project undertaken in 2011. The team spent a week working side-by-side with residents of three villages in rural Rajasthan, India. Inspired by this engagement, the Foundation partnered with PYXERA Global to identify the most pressing needs in the villages and empower the villagers to determine for themselves how best to meet these challenges. On the basis of this work together with the residents, the Joint Initiative for Village Advancement (JIVA) project funded by the Foundation and implemented by PYXERA Global began in January 2013.

The JIVA Nigeria project will involve collaboration with diverse partners and a drive to be continuously adaptive to the local context. The Agriculture Officer will provide technical expertise and will work with the project team to plan the project’s resilient agriculture activities. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in smallholder agriculture, agribusiness, and training and/or extension services. Additionally, the candidate will be familiar with a diverse set of agricultural value chains and an understanding of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) practices. Candidates with experience working on international development initiatives and who speak English and local languages are preferred.

Key Position Responsibilities
The Agriculture Officer will report directly to the JIVA Nigeria Project Director and will have the following responsibilities:
  • Provide overall technical expertise and management of all agricultural-related activities.
  • Provide relevant technical guidance and collaborate with the project Pre-Design team to design and deliver the participatory community assessments and co-create the project. Key responsibilities include: engaging and building strong relationships with community members, analyzing data collected to identify agricultural-related gaps, designing priority action plans and training modules on improved agricultural techniques, mechanizations, inputs, etc. in partnership with the community.
  • Develop a clear and adaptive training work plan based on the seasonal calendar, farmer availability, project deadlines and targets, etc.
  • Incorporate adult learning skills objectives and techniques to prepare and deliver training modules to follow adult learning quality standards.
  • Establish and develop various locally applicable agricultural interventions and oversee capacity building of local farmers and the local agriculture sector.
  • Facilitate and provide guidance to farmers on appropriate cropping patterns, farming techniques, etc.
  • Manage a project market study to establish project impact tracking indicators and design key technical focus areas for project interventions.
  • Through the agriculture team (staff), provide guidance to farmers on various available Government schemes/subsidies and how to access them, and identify opportunities to leverage and integrate existing schemes into project activities to maximize the impact of the project and drive project sustainability.
  • Document field achievements, innovations, failures, and lessons learned to integrate into project activities and inform project strategy.
  • Provide input on monitoring & evaluation tools to ensure accurate data collection, verification and analysis of training activities, and to avoid duplication of efforts.
  • Support the development of project reports on agriculture activities, as needed.
  • Conduct frequent site visits to observe trainings, monitor adoption of practices, and collect data from farmers.
  • Staff capacity building: Oversee capacity building of JIVA Nigeria agriculture team.
  • Exhibits and is committed to the JIVA Values of: honesty, transparency, integrity, humility, freedom to innovate, equality, keep a “light” attitude, quality, teamwork, focus on the goals, accountability to all partners, and monitoring to learn and improve.
  • Other duties, as assigned.
Qualifications
  • Minimum Bachelor’s degree in Agronomy, Agribusiness or related field.
  • At least 7 years’ experience in agriculture or agribusiness, with a minimum of 3 years in training/capacity building of smallholder farmers. Hands-on field experience required, field experience in the Southern Katsina/Northern Kaduna region preferred.
  • Demonstrated experience designing and implementing adult learning training modules on agriculture practices or relevant content – including curriculum, lesson plans, objectives, and learning assessments.
  • Knowledge of water resource management, resilient cropping practices, and/or adaptation and farmer risk mitigation techniques preferred.
  • Familiarity with agricultural and livestock production, market-linkages, and agricultural constraints.
  • Excellent facilitation skills, familiarity with training-of-trainer (ToT) approaches and methodologies, and competencies to use tailor-made and diversified facilitation/training methods and tools.
  • Demonstrated expertise in agronomic practices, financial literacy, farmer loans and credit, on-farm technologies and capacity building programs for farmers and non-farm agriculture-based livelihood trainings. Experience in ‘farming as a business’ and engagement with youth is an advantage.
  • Fluent in English, proficiency in Hausa and other local languages strongly preferred.
  • Professional experience in Southern Katsina/Northern Kaduna, Nigeria, preferred.
  • Nigerian national, required.
Interested and qualified candidates should submit a CV/Resume, Cover Letter, expected Compensation Package and list of 3 Professional References to: jivaopportunities@pyxeraglobal.org In the subject line of the email please write, "PYXERA Global JIVA Nigeria Agriculture Officer 2018."

Note: Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for interviews on a rolling basis.