Sep 04, 2018
Research Associates/Agronomists
The Position: The International Potato Center - Ethiopia (CIP-Ethiopia) seeks to recruit two Research Associates\Agronomists for its CIP-Ethiopia office for a 15-month Gender Sensitive Emergency Response Project to be implemented in the Amhara Region.
General: CIP is a not-for-profit international agricultural research-for-development organization with a focus on potato, sweetpotato and Andean roots and tubers. Its vision is: Roots and tubers improving the lives of the poor. CIP is dedicated to achieving food security, improved well-being, and gender equity for poor people in root and tuber farming and food systems of the developing world. CIP works with partners to contribute high quality science, technology, and capacity strengthening for sustainable science-based solutions. CIP is headquartered in Lima, Peru, with staff and activities in over 30 locations across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. CIP is a member of the CGIAR Consortium. CGIAR is a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future. Its science is carried out by the 15 research centers that are members of the CGIAR Consortium in collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations.
Job Purpose:
The Research Associates/Agronomists will support in managing projects, implementing project activities, and achieving creative partnerships across public and private sectors to strengthen the contribution of potato and sweetpotato to incomes, food security and nutritional health in Amhara region. They will be involved in the promotion of new varieties and other production technologies and in knowledge transfer through training of trainers, farmers training and in creating nutrition awareness. The successful candidates will be expected to travel frequently to the project sites and technically support staff of partner organizations.
Main Duties and Responsibilities:
The Research Associates/Agronomists will be the focal persons of the project “Gender Sensitive Emergency Response with Potato and Sweetpotato Among Drought-Affected Farmers in SNNP and Amhara Regions, Ethiopia” working in close collaboration with the project associates based in SNNPR and the project Manager based in CIP-Addis. The incoming RAs provide the link between the project’s head office in Addis Ababa and the Amhara regional partner organisations. They will also implement selected project activities directly. One of the RAs will be based in Bahir Dar and the other in Dessie, but both are required to travel frequently to the field sites within the region and to the Head Office in Addis Ababa when the need arises. The Research Associates report to the CIP-Ethiopia Project Manager.
Management
Liaise with Amhara BoANR, and Woreda Office of Agriculture, DAs in target Kebeles, Farmer Groups and Cooperatives (FGCs), Health offices, ARARI and other partners;
In collaboration with BoANR finalize the selection of vulnerable target beneficiary households from the drought-affected Woredas/Kebeles using the set criteria;
Ensure coordination of the project activities with other CIP projects in Amhara, if any, in acquisition and distribution of planting materials to avoid unnecessary overlap and in training activities;
Ensure the successful and cost-effective implementation of project activities;
Organize and follow up on procurement and distribution of quality planting material of potato and sweetpotato in a timely manner;
Manage project funds in accordance with approved budgets and timelines and facilitate payment requests;
Contribute to the timely preparation of project action plans, budgets and progress reports;
Perform other management-related activities as requested by the CIP-Ethiopia Project Manager
Technical
Involve in the coordination and organization of stakeholders’ workshops, including consultative, planning and review workshops;
In collaboration with the CIP-Ethiopia Project manager and the BoANR, prepare plans and implement identified training courses for relevant stakeholders at various levels, including ToT;
Plan and execute procurement and distribution of quality planting materials of potato and sweetpotato;
Provide technical backstopping to partner organizations;
Follow up and backstop production of ware potatoes and sweetpotato roots, orange-fleshed sweetpotato leaves, as well as multiplication of quality planting material of both commodities;
Contribute to project M&E activities, including designing of monitoring tools, regular fieldwork to collect monitoring data and preparation of monitoring reports;
Facilitate market linkages of project beneficiary farmers;
Identify, document and share project experiences, successes, challenges and lessons learnt;
Coordinate with Hawassa project staff to exchange technical information, lessons learned, challenges faced and measures taken to overcome challenges;
Perform other duties as required.
Minimum Job Requirements:
Education:
BSc degree or MSc degree in Agriculture (Horticulture preferred) professional certification
Experience:
BSc degree plus 5 years or Masters’ degree plus 2 years of work experience in agriculture/agricultural development programs involving GO and NGO stakeholders
Solid work experience with potato and sweetpotato agronomy, their seed multiplication and production system
Have knowledge of detecting latent infection of sweetpotato and potato viruses and bacterial wilt disease of potato using ELISA kits
Must have good Experience in handling and application of pesticides in the field
Basic understanding of the insect pests and diseases of sweetpotato and potato, and their management
Must be familiar with Microsoft office program (Excel, power point, Ms word) and data analysis software
Previous work experience with NGOs or the private sectors
Skill and Competence:
Team worker with staff management experience
Problem solving skills and strong results-orientation
Proven negotiation and interpersonal skills
Excellent organizational skills
Capacity to work under pressure with minimum supervision
Excellent Amharic and English. Knowledge of other local languages is a plus
Working experience in data management
Fully computer literate
Position level: 2D
Duty Station: Bahir Dar and Dessie, Ethiopia
Minimum Base salary :
Birr 24,572 per month (Negotiable depending on experience, skill and salary history of the candidate)
Terms of appointment : Initial appointment is fixed term for 15 months which will be renewable based on performance and funding availability. CIP offers a multicultural, collegial research environment with competitive salary and excellent benefits in line with ILRI salary applicable for its Nationally Recruited Staff. CIP is an international and equal opportunity organization and believes that diversity of its staff contributes to excellence. The ILRI campus is set in a secure, attractive campus with dining and sports facilities.
Applications: Applicants should provide a cover letter and curriculum vitae; names and addresses (including telephone and email) of three referees who are knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience to be included in the curriculum vitae. The position and reference number: RAA/28/28 should be clearly indicated in the subject line of the cover letter. All applications to be submitted online on our recruitment portal: http://ilri.simplicant.com/ on or before 15 September 2018.
International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) Ethiopia
Bahir Dar, Ethiopia
Full time
