Agriculture Program Manager at Catholic Caritas Foundation of Nigeria

Catholic Caritas Foundation of Nigeria (CCFN) in collaboration with CRS/Nigeria is implementing the Feed the Future Nigeria Livelihoods project (FTFNLP) funded by USAID Nigeria. Based in rural communities in Northern Nigeria’s and Federal Capital Territory (FCT), FTFNLP will use a multi-sector approach that will help 42,000 very poor households (HHs) grow their agriculture production, incomes and children (through improved nutrition) and help strengthen community and government systems to support these gains.

We are recruiting to fill the position of:

Job Title: Agriculture Program Manager

Job Code: 00102015
Location: Sokoto
Category: Agriculture and Livelihoods
Department: Feed the Future Nigeria Livelihoods Project (FTFNLP)
Shift: 8 AM to 5 PM
Job Type: Full Time

Job Description
The Agriculture Program Manager (Ag PM) will provide technical assistance in the production activities, coordinating local resources for maximum input and ensure high quality project implementation that will increase agricultural production, productivity, processing and incomes of farmers and other agricultural value chain actors. This will strengthen value chain service providers, including agricultural technology providers and financial service providers. The Ag PM will report to the Ag Team Lead and will maintain close liaison with the Technical Program Director and other Team Lead. He/she will also ensure adherence to CCFN technical and program quality standards in implementation and compliance by partners.

• Support the CSO in training of producer groups/HHs on livestock (small ruminants), home gardening and post-harvest activities for income generation
• Support the formation of female-led producer and processing groups
• Ensure formation and training of livelihoods clubs in selected secondary schools in project locations
• Work with the CSO to ensure deployment of agro processing/storage equipment through a business model that will be developed with Ag Team Lead
• Work closely with CSO and Ag Team Lead to ensure implementation of Bio reclamation of degraded land component of the project
• Provide leadership to the implementation of community based nursery plan
• Support the implementation of Climate SMART irrigation plan including trainings on bio-reclamation of degraded land with focus on women and youths
• Assist smallholder farmers in adopting new technology and other innovations for increased productivity of small ruminant livestock production, quality, efficiency, management, etc through tailored trainings and demonstration trials
• Support in preparation of all periodic reports.
• Provide support training when necessary in relating to BAP and SMART skills
• With support from Ag Team Lead, organize and support technical trainings, community of practice meetings and document best practices, lesson learned and success stories
• Develop and maintain strong collaboration with partner organizations in the carry out of the project with emphasis on improved agricultural production for increased productivity
• Build the capacity of CSOs partners for quality Ag programming
• Perform other duties as may be assigned by the Ag Team Lead.

Preferred Skills

• Master's degree in Agronomy/Crop Science
• Five years of working experience in agriculture, development or food security programs - including focus on at least one of the following sectors - agriculture, livelihoods, nutrition, or governance
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Excellent training and facilitation skills
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite, including Word, Excel and Outlook
• Experience with participatory methods and partnerships
• Excellent English language oral and written communication skills
• Willingness and ability to travel at least 50% of time

Additional Advantage:

• Understanding of U.S Government grant provisions and guidelines, including reporting requirements
• Understanding of faith-based organizations and capacity-building in local partnerships
• Familiarity with policies, procedures, and priorities of USAID and Caritas agencies
• Experience in staff development and partner capacity
• Demonstrated commitment to improving gender equality in programming and operations.
• Demonstrated capacity and experience with institutional strengthening of civil society
• Flexibility to work both in a team and independently
• Cultural sensitivity, patience and flexibility
• Ability to travel nationally and internationally as required
• Fluency in Hausa language is an added advantage as well as experience with northern Nigerian agriculture.

Application Closing Date
20th September 2015

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should send application letter, with attached copies of their CV's to: [email protected]