Agricultural and Post-Harvest Management Specialist

About Mercy Corps

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 long term impact.

 The Program / Department / Team

Mercy Corps has been operating in Ethiopia since 2004. In partnership with civil society organizations, private sector, and the government, Mercy Corps Ethiopia has reached more than five million Ethiopians with interventions to save lives and build secure livelihoods. Our programs emphasize market-driven solutions, reinforce social bonds, and help communities build resilience to the impacts of climate change. Currently in six regional states – Afar, Gambella, Oromia, Somali, Amhara and South Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR) – Mercy Corps Ethiopia is driven by the mission to contribute the emergence of a peaceful, resilient, and prosperous Ethiopia which is inclusive of youth and women. Our strategic directions focus in promoting inclusive and dynamic markets; promoting peace and social cohesion through strengthening formal/informal governance structures and citizen engagement; improved natural resource governance; and integrated humanitarian response.

 Position Title:Agricultural and Post-Harvest Management Specialist

Duty Station: Pignudo, Gambella

Open Position:  1

 Program / Department Summary

The Pinyudo base Agriculture and Post-Harvest Management Specialist is responsible to facilitate interventions and activities under ISRlS project and support and supervise field officers in Abobo,Gog and Mengachi woredas.  The objectives is to support the Regional Government of Gambella Government achieve the following: - Increase production and productivity as well as incomes for smallholder farmers, among the refugees and host communities. Promote the production and consumption of diverse crops as part of stunting reduction. Create market linkages for smallholder farmers  through private sector led aggregation networks and other market systems. Strengthen the capacity of the regional government to manage food security and livelihood programmes for the refugees and host communities. She/he will be directly engaged with a wide range of actors and stakeholders including government, private sector actors and program participants with a focus on crops production, post -harvest management, village saving and loan associations and marketing activities. He/she will be a key member of Market Systems Development unit.

 Essential Job Responsibilities

• Provided technical facilitation support in the area of responsibilities for Agriculture production and post-harvest management activities to ensure the planned activists are implemented timely and with required deliverable quality.

• Provide technical support in designing, planning, and implementing initiatives that optimize value creation and commercialization opportunities with a specific focus on climate-smart agriculture and post-harvest loss management along priority value chains in Gambella region.

•  Facilitate participating farmer organizations and farmer-friendly aggregation entities to access agricultural services by coordinating with key value chain stakeholders.

• Ensures the program properly captures, documented, and updated relevant information in crop production and post-harvest management activities

•  Coordinate farmer Organization development in collaboration with other relevant project stakeholders through undertaking profiling exercises,

• Conduct needs assessments of target smallholder farmers, farmer groups and aggregators/Lead farmers, using standardized tools and approaches.

• Facilitate and coordinates markets systems assessment, organizing validation workshops and stakeholder platforms/events in in collaboration with MSD advisors, specialists, and Coordinators across the cluster.

• Facilities the development of short-term strategies and its implementation linkages creation between market actors (i.e., training providers, technology providers, inputs suppliers, producers, traders, processors, cooperatives and other related) to improve outreaches in the target community.

• Engage in regular field visits to assess the activities implementation progress, give technical advises/mentor, and provide feedback(s) for further improvement.

• Closely work with supervisor/project coordinator and M&E team during the development of monitoring

• Ensures the program properly captures, documented, and updated relevant information in crop production and Post-harvest management activities

• In collaboration with cluster MSD team, work to build and maintain close relationships with key government partners and local implementers;

• Represent Mercy Corps professionally in cluster areas as to bring credit and to maintain its humanitarian and development mission;

• Compile and submit regular updates/reports (weekly, monthly, and quarterly); and

• supervise field officers and provide technical support to Gog, Abobo and Mengachi woredas.

·       Does all activities as per the direction from Project coordinator.

Strategy & Vision

• Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed.

• Set direction by prioritizing and organizing actions & resources to achieve objectives and contribute to countrywide strategy development.

Program Management

• Ensure that program implementation is responsive to communities and partners and consistent with Mercy Corps’ relevant program guidelines, principles, values, quality standards and strategic plan.

• Ensure that beneficiaries are effectively targeted according to established criteria .

• Integrate community approaches, gender sensitivity and capacity building into all activities as appropriate.

• Create and maintain systems ensuring effective and transparent use of financial resources for timely and informative reporting in line with donor and Mercy Corps policies and procedures.

• Fulfill Mercy Corps’ Program Management Minimum Standards based on the organization-wide guide.

• Ensure all interventions adhere to Mercy Corps’ Gender Policy, Do No Harm principles, and beneficiary accountability standards.

Team Management

·       Develop the capacity of the team, deepen understanding of their roles and assist with career development.

·        Assist team members with information, tools and resources to improve performance & reach objectives.

·       Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback informally and formally via regular one on ones and performance reviews.

·       Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.

·       Hire, orient and lead team members as necessary.

Finance & Compliance Management

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

• Draft and/or review scope of work to hire and manage any technical consultants, including review for technical efficacy and contract budget. Influence & Representation

GEDSI (GENDER, EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL INCLUSION)

• Understand and aware GDI related priorities of the country office and contribute for the

realization of priorities (continually work to understand and be aware of the gender diversity and inclusion priorities of the country office and contribute in the execution)

• Promote gender equal and inclusive workplace culture in a day-to-day interaction with a team member, partners and program participants.

Security

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.

• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

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 Beneficiaries

• 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.

• Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

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 prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. 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 to adhere to 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.

Knowledge and Experience

·       Knowledge and Experience

·       • Minimum of bachelor’s degree (MSC/MA preferred) in the areas: plant science,

·       Economics, Natural resource, Agricultural Economics, Rural Development, forestry, Agribusiness, Marketing, and other related subjects.

·       Minimum of 5 years’ experience in private sector and/or NGOs working focused on MSD.

·       (Facilitation and providing technical supports), agribusiness and/or financial services.

·       Good understanding on the Markets4Poor approach and Markets development facilitation including coaching, relationship building, communicating, entrepreneurialism/business understanding and innovating and post-harvest management

·       Experiences in supporting privet sector lead business enterprises in pastoral/ agro-pastoral settings, providing business development supports, industries (public and private), institutions and stakeholders.

·       Knowledge of participatory analyses, action and results processing.

·       Experience/exposures to the location/region he/she applied for.

·       Knowledge of Sphere standards and other training in humanitarian response preferred.

·       Knowing one of the local languages

·       customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

Success Factors

·       Define the specific behavior and attitudes critical to success in the position at time of hire and as it develops over time in paragraph form (soft skills).