Agriculture Intervention Officer at Mercy Corps Nigeria

Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse, and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have a long-term impact. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action - helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Agriculture Intervention Officer

Location: Kaduna
Employment Type: Full-time, Regular
Reports Directly To:Program Manager.
Works Directly With:Program Leadership, Senior Monitoring, Evaluation and Communication Officer.

Program / Department Summary

• Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, and its influence spreads across the continent. Yet, inequality and insecurity have consistently undermined Nigeria's development. Mercy Corps Nigeria was established in 2012 to respond to these challenges.
• The Nigeria team is headquartered in Abuja, in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with offices throughout Nigeria. With a strong and growing team, Mercy Corps works to achieve the vision of a Nigeria in which all people are empowered, engaged, resilient and secure.
• The Empowering Resilient Ginger Farmers Program (Ginger Program) is a multi-year program funded by the Tazo tea company. The program aims to support ginger farmers and their families in Kaduna State, with a focus on female farmers, to increase ginger productivity, increase incomes, and build longer-term financial stability and resilience.
• Over roughly a two-year timeframe, we will connect farmers to resources, training, and inputs to improve ginger yields, foster improved linkages between ginger farmers and financial institutions and markets, and set-up and support savings groups to build longer-term financial capacity and resiliency.

General Position Summary

• The Intervention Officer will be responsible for implementing all aspects of the market systems development and livelihood interventions of the ERGF program.
• This position holder will be required to apply a wide variety of market development tools and approaches in order to catalyze innovative services, facilitate and manage relevant market linkages between ginger market actors in areas targeted by the program.
• S/he will provide field and office-based support to the program manager.
• The position will support the training of staff, the provision of technical assistance; and ensuring that common strategies and mercycorps.org approaches are applied consistently in all communities.
• S/he will coordinate closely with the Monitoring Evaluation and Communication team to ensure that systems are in place to track, analyze and report results.

Essential Job Responsibilities
Research:

• Identify and leverage farming and off-farm opportunities for the uptake of organic farming soft and technical interventions by ginger farmers
• Assist in stakeholder analysis of ginger value chains and identify and establish contact with lead firm(s) and other market actors
• Assist to update and supervise aspects of the intervention activities, including establishing baselines, indicators, and results.
• Assist in collecting data related to interventions targeted for study or implementation by the project.

Intervention Management:

• Support the implementation of teamwork plans and the successful implementation of livelihoods and market systems development activities for ginger farmers, ensuring timely implementation of work plan activities and identification of target groups within the approved budget, and the achievement of program deliverables for desired impact.
• Support the provision of technical guidance on livelihoods and market systems development and ensure that interventions are responsive to stakeholders and consistent with Mercy Corps’ relevant program guidelines, principles, values, quality standards and strategic plan.
• Actively integrating Gender Equality Diversity and Social Inclusion lens into program management processes across intervention areas as a cross-cutting theme and for Women and Youth Economic Empowerment through collection, analysis and use of sex, age and other social identities’ disaggregated data
• Operationalize strategies to develop ginger markets in the selected commodity chains and seek opportunities to work as per the RRA sector strategy. Develop intervention strategies and implementation procedures in a participatory manner with key stakeholders.
• Ensure the appropriate communication of clear intervention guidelines, expected outcomes, timeframe and workplan to all relevant parties.
• Assist the PM in the development of relevant grant agreements, MoUs, ToRs and any other administrative requirements for the interventions.
• Conduct regular field visits to ensure proper implementation of activities.
• Remain aware of developments in the ginger sectors/markets/commodity chains
• Liaise with the Monitoring Evaluation and Communication team on the conduct and documentation of impact assessments for ongoing program interventions.
• Refine and adapt the intervention strategies considering participant and stakeholder requests and changing needs and opportunities, within the overall program of ERGF.
• Help identify market failures and pressure points for addressing these; help identify ways to render a given market more functional and efficient, in a manner that will benefit the program targets.
• Identify priority areas for interventions that will change as opportunities pass or are realized and new ones emerge.
• Collaborate closely with and support the technical advisory and implementation team to manage the Grant Facility aspect of the program to catalyze new investment in viable ginger economic opportunities (market systems, livelihoods, agribusiness, and employment) through grants that stimulate, rather than distort market development and avoid exacerbating conflict dynamics.

Stakeholder Management:

• Maintain contacts with key stakeholders to increase synergies within the ginger value chain
• Take part in facilitating and managing the work of partners/co-facilitators/service providers of program and ensure “value for money” for the tasks given.
• Supervise/facilitate the identification and development of networks among key stakeholders, identifying
• common interests between the networks and ERGF.
• Assist in establishing contacts with national and regional institutions, stakeholders and participants that would contribute to the successful implementation of market activities.

Security:

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country and program leadership.
• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.
• Conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and not jeopardize its mission.

Finance and Compliance Management:

• Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations related to emergency programming.

Organizational Learning:

• As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient, and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.

Accountability To Participants:

• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Supervisory Responsibility:

• None, exact positions to be determined

Accountability:

• Reports Directly To:Program Manager.
• Works Directly With:Program Leadership, Senior Monitoring, Evaluation and Communication Officer.

Knowledge and Experience

• Bachelor of Science Degree in Agriculture or relevant field required.
• Technical experience in market system development approach to development, preferably in conflict settings
• Minimum of 1 year of experience focused on agriculture extension including community mobilization, participatory planning, and rural/community development.
• Demonstrated strengths in analytical skills, monitoring and evaluation, and report writing
• Demonstrated skill in training and facilitation.
• Excellent oral and written skills and computer skills
• Willing and able to work within remote areas, where services are limited.
• Demonstrated inclusion integration skills into a market systems development program through Monitoring Evaluation and Communication activities
• Familiarity with Kaduna state
• Fluency in Hausa and English.

Success Factors:

• The successful Intervention Officer will be familiar with supporting the management of facilitation-based interventions and the particular challenges of market systems development in Nigeria.
• The position requires an ability to think creatively about improving opportunities for inclusive market development to promote sustainable livelihoods. S/he will have the capacity to spark innovative and entrepreneurial approaches to programming and to inspire groups to collaborate closely to implement high-quality programs.
• S/he will be committed to long-term Team program sustainability and the delivery of high-impact activities at the community level. The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion:

• Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together.
• Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges.
• We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives. We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

• Mercy Corps is an equal-opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have a sustained global impact. We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all.
• We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, colour, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics:

• Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary-General and IASC. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members.
• As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and adhere to the Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct eLearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

Application Closing Date
18th January, 2023.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Note

• Applicants should have their CVs and Cover Letters in one document addressing the position requirements.
• Female candidates who are qualified are strongly encouraged to apply.