Self Help Africa is an international development organization that works through agriculture and agri-enterprise development to end hunger and extreme poverty. The organization has programmes in 15 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and also implements projects in Brazil and Bangladesh. In early 2023 we launched a new five-year organization strategy, which defines shared mission as the alleviation of hunger, poverty, social inequality and the impact of climate change through community-led, market-based and enterprise-focused approaches so that people can have access to nutritious food, clean water, decent employment and incomes, while sustaining natural resources. SHA has been re-registered by the Ethiopian Charities and Societies Agency as a Foreign Charity with a registration number of 0051.

Job Purpose:

The Community Development Project Officer is responsible for the day-to-day delivery and coordination of the transforming dairy value chain for improving smallholder dairy producers’ livelihood. S/he will provide technical support, mobilize and sensitize communities, and liaise with all relevant stakeholders. The incumbent will facilitate training and events planned for the target farmers within the project area. Moreover, he/she will assist the primary cooperatives and individual project beneficiaries in delivering planned project activities within the specified project period and with the expected quality standards. The Project Officer will have responsibility for monitoring progress and producing regular reports and updates.

Key Responsibilities:

Specific duties include, but are not limited to:

• Organize and lead the implementation of all assigned project field activities
• Prepare and submit detailed periodic reports (biweekly, monthly, quarterly, and annually)
• Identify and liaise with all relevant stakeholders and organize/facilitate stakeholders’ meetings
• Participate in the preparation of annual work plans, targets, and outputs as an integral part of the annual work plan and budget.
• Accomplish activities planned in the project proposal for the target areas
• Ensure all required data are collected timely and recorded both in tables and paper forms
• Verify the accuracy of data collected for tracking indicators in the project
• Ensure gender, nutrition and environmental aspects are mainstreamed in all project activities
• Ensure the adequate and timely preparation of the progress report
• Establish and maintain good working relations with government partners at zone and district level as well as other collaborators in this project
• Keep records and notes about all important observations and recommendations made
• Keep good work discipline and report daily activities and field observations in written form to the project manager
• Perform any other duties assigned by the Project Manager

Key Relationships:

Internal

• Project manager (Line Manager)
• Programme Team,
• SHA Ethiopia Country Office

External

• Local Government Authorities,
• Farmers Institutions such as dairy cooperatives and RuSACCOs,
• Other International and Local NGOs, Private Sector Organisations, Research institute

Project: Building a regenerative and inclusive food system for transforming rural livelihoods in Ethiopia

Contract Type: One-year fixed term contract, renewable based on performance review and availability of fund

Reports to: Project Manager

Job Requirements

Qualifications/Knowledge and Experience

Essential:

• BSc/BA degree in Animal Science, Animal/Livestock production and management, or related fields
• At least five years of relevant working experience in value chains, specifically in dairy or milk
• Sound technical knowledge of dairy sector development.
• Knowledge and experience working with community organizations such as cooperatives to build their capacity
• Experience in working at community at grass level and
• Good interpersonal and communication skills
• Capacity and maturity to establish and maintain links with government officials, smallholder farmers and private sector
• Ability to organize and manage events like farmers’ field days, trainings, and workshops
• Computer literacy, particularly in MS Word and MS Excel
• Demonstrable good command of English and local languages (both written and spoken)

Desirables:

• Demonstrate capacity to plan, prioritize and deliver tasks on time to meet goals in a high-pressure environment
• Proven ability to work in multidisciplinary and multi-stakeholder working environment
• Experience working in an NGO setting on agriculture and rural development related disciplines
• Ability to work and act under pressure;
• Remain open to change and ability to manage complexity
• Possess strong supervisory, communication, team building and computing skills (word processing, spreadsheets and data-bases)
• Motor bike driving experience is an asset