American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) is an international non-governmental organization impacting millions of lives in more than 70 countries, leveraging a century’s experience confronting poverty and crisis around the world. JDC began working in Ethiopia in 1983, striving to advance the health and wellbeing of those living in the Gondar region.

JDC is looking for experienced and energetic Program professional and would like to invite qualified and interested persons to apply for the post.

About the Project

Tikkun Olam Ventures (TOV) is JDC’s international development program, increases the productivity of smallholder farmers through transformative agricultural technology and a blended finance model.

Tikkun Olam Ventures (TOV) is a program designed to introduce different irrigation and horticultural technologies through provision of credit facilities and creating market linkage for small scale farmers and thereby to increase the productivity of small-scale horticultural growers under the principles of sustainability, scalability, and skin in the game.

Key Roles and Responsibilities

Training and promotion of technologies

• Promote and make use of improved production enhancing Israeli agricultural technologies and practices for operational area farmers.
• Promote improved production practices through delivery of effective extension training and follow-up support.
• Provide capacity building training, technical and follow up support for partners, including smallholder farmers, cooperatives, development agents and other stakeholders.
• Knowledge transfer and capacity building for farmers, trainers, and stakeholders
• Develop training materials, presentations and protocols for the implementation of activities.

Implementation of program activities

• Take the lead role and support the establishment and management of demonstration sites at Farmers Training Centers and Model Farmers Fields.
• Facilitate and organize farmers -to-farmers experience sharing visits within the Kebele, Woreda, and between Woredas.
• Support and manage of demonstration sites within Farmers Training Centers and Model Farmers Fields, fulfilling all technical needs for each purpose of the demonstration.
• Organizing field days, and other events related to the promotion of the project.
• Visit farmers to ensure proper agronomic and technological implementation.
• Execute the operational plan according to timeline, overcoming challenges and strong management of the field team.

Agronomic

• Develop agronomic protocols as needed and ensure quality implementation in the field.
• Work with existing TOV clients to help them sustainably engage on dry season irrigable high value vegetable crops production,
• Closely follow and ensure that all TOV target clients have received proper agronomic services on time, document their feedback, lesson learnt, and experiences gained for future performance improvement,
• Support and ensure on time documentation of every practice, technologies that will be implemented on target farmers’ fields, and demonstration sites.
• Identify challenges, bottlenecks, and opportunities among farmers production cycle, identifying innovative solutions and methodologies.

Technical

• Ensure the delivery of all the inputs for the project target beneficiaries and check whether the inputs are utilized for the intended purpose.
• Follow up, and technical backstopping support for TOV model farmers on a regular basis.
• Record all equipment behalf of JDC, and ensure proper tracking of other related equipment managed by the partners (inputs, drip system parts, etc.)

Administrative

• Make field officers to prepare daily action plan also collect their every day’s achievements Every Friday and send to the head office every Friday,
• Supervise and follow every field staff’s activity accomplishment and report immediately weak/poor performance, for the head office and discuss on it with the TOV management,
• Give regular on-site support for field officers, give, and take feedback regularly,
• Work closely with JDC staff and all stakeholders (Government line offices, Unions, Primary Cooperatives, NGOs, Private sectors, Farmers, Etc.)
• Ensure that planned activities are properly accomplished (foe unaccomplished activities reasonable corrective measures and justifications are set)
• Collaborate and demonstrate high level of teamwork with each staff within the project,
• Respect policies and procedures in regard to punctuality on job, safety issues, financial issues and settlements, norms, vision, mission and objectives of JDC,

Partners

• Engage and work closely with government, NGOs and private partners and keep relationships smooth,
• Gather target clients feedback on drip irrigation technologies, agronomic practices, agricultural extension services and agronomic support and discuss on it with the project team for correction and improvement,
• Work closely with farmers’ cooperatives and Unions to link farmers and create access to credit for drip irrigation technology and other inputs,
• Develop partnerships on the field level, engaging stakeholders on field days, and promoting the project from the strategic perspective.

Financials and reporting

• Work closely with key stakeholders, support and ensure that input-loan repayment by the target farmers made timely,
• Develop business plans for farmers and stakeholders.
• Communicate and report daily to the team members through email and other platforms.
• Compile the reports of Field Officers regarding the status of each target farmers and crops at each stage of crop growth both in soft and hard copies on a regular basis.
• Undertake activities urgently assigned by immediate supervisor, Country Director, and TOV team from Israel.
• Comply with JDC policies, rules, and regulations.

Salary: Negotiable

Duty Station: Amhara Region (Minjar) with frequent travel to other TOV project sites

Job Requirements

Qualifications/Experiences

• MSc or BSc in Agronomy or related agriculture fields with minimum 5 years of experience and 8 years of experience respectively.
• Knowledge and understanding of agriculture sector in Ethiopia and have experience in working in the horticulture sector under hardship conditions.
• Strong ability to manage and deal with diverse stakeholders (Unions,
• Cooperatives, Production & Market Groups).
• Should have experience in design, installation of small-scale irrigation technologies like sprinklers and drip irrigation system and knowledge of best agronomic practices associated with this technology.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills both in English and Amharic (oral or written). Experience in leading and supporting DAs and Experts.
• Well organized, analytical and able to prioritize multiple tasks.
• Willingness to learn new skills and acquire new knowledge.
• Excellent IT skills, MS Office applications