Haramaya University Jobs Vacancies 2018 for Agricultural development, Project management – Jobs in Ethiopia
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Haramaya University Jobs Vacancies 2018
Rural Development expert (agricultural economics) to REALISE
The Bilateral Ethiopia – Netherlands Effort for Food, Income and Trade (BENEFIT)
Job description
Category: Agricultural development, Project management
Location: Haramaya University
Career Level: Mid-career Level (5+ years’ experience)
Employment Type: Full time
Salary: Based on the Scale for BENEFIT experts.
Background
The Bilateral Ethiopia Netherlands Effort for Food Income and Trade (BENEFIT) partnership is a portfolio of five
programmes (ISSD Ethiopia, CASCAPE, ENTAG, SBN and REALISE), which is funded by the Government of the
Kingdom of Netherlands through its Embassy in Addis Ababa. REALISE: ‘Realising Sustainable Agricultural
Livelihood Security in Ethiopia’ is the new pragramme under BENEFIT. REALISE Programme is designed to take
the achievements of CASCAPE (Capacity building for Scaling up of evidence-based best Practices in Agricultural
Production’ (CASCAPE) programme and the ‘Integrated Seed Sector Development’ (ISSD) Ethiopia programme
to new areas and target groups in Ethiopia.
REALISE is a three – year (2018-2022) programme that will align with the Government of Ethiopia’s (GoE)
Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP). This GoE flagship programme currently reaches 8 million chronically
food insecure Ethiopians with a wide array of instruments to smooth consumption, prevent asset depletion and
promote livelihood diversification including uptake of improved agricultural practices. REALISE aims to take
lessons learned from the Wageningen University & Research, CASCAPE and ISSD Ethiopia programmes to PSNP
target woredas.
The goal of the REALISE programme is: ‘Enhanced human, organisational and institutional capacities to adapt,
validate and scale best fit practices to improve the resilience of chronically food insecure households in PSNP
woredas. REALISE’s goal is to be achieved through four primary outcomes:
1. Developed best fit practices that meet expressed needs and have the potential to contribute to increased
productivity and resilience are available for scaling in selected PSNP Woredas;
2. Increased availability, timely delivery and use of quality seed of new, improved, and/or farmer preferred
varieties through diverse channels;
3. Enhanced human, organizational and institutional capacities for matching, adapting, validating and scaling
best fit practices; and
4. A conducive environment exists for the institutionalisation of evidence-based system innovations.
The implementation model is based on the experiences of the CASCAPE and ISSD Ethiopia programmes in that
REALISE will partner with the Regional Agricultural Research Institutes, Bureaus of Agriculture and Livestock
Resources/food security office, and a number of Ethiopian Universities that will each manage so called clusters:
Hawassa, Haramaya, Arsi, Bahir Dar, Woldia and Mekelle. There are two satellite Universities: Odabultum
University that will collaborate with Haramaya University and Arbaminch University that will collaborate with
Hawassa University. The REALISE programme will validate and scale best fit practices, will assure the availability
of quality seed, will train related GoE and NGO partners in the proper scaling of the practices and will work with
its partners towards the institutionalisation of evidence-based system innovations. As the REALISE programme is
part of the BENEFIT portfolio of programmes, close collaboration with the sister programmes and their activities
in the respective clusters is expected. To implement its research and development activities, in collaboration
with key stakeholders, the REALISE Programme wants to employ experts who will be stationed at the
implementing universities.
Rural development expert (Agricultural economist)
The agricultural economist works as a general rural development expert (RDE). The expert is based in the
University cluster and is supervised by the Cluster Manager. The team of the RDEs will be the front-line
representatives of REALISE in the woredas. They will introduce REALISE promoted technologies and approaches
that are aimed at increasing food security of small holder farmers – and more specifically PSNP clients. To this
end, they will work closely as a team of experts together with their Cluster Manager and the colleagues in the
other clusters. The RDEs will work closely with his/her colleagues from the CASCAPE and ISSD programmes.
Depending on the different skills and specific experiences, he/she may get additional assignments for:
Data management
Documentation
Climate change related issues
Any other theme that may be pertinent
Key responsibilities
1. Participate in the implementation of the annual planning cycle: prepare succinct annual work plans and
budgets, progress reports and annual reports;
2. Ensure a truly bottom up planning process and ensure continuous community participation in the work
at hand;
3. Work with woreda staff and or NGOs and community organisations on:
a. Recommendation mapping;
b. Training needs assessments;
c. Training (of trainers) in various skills related to community development, seed, agriculture
(best fit practices);
d. Innovative pilot activities;
e. Institutionalization and scaling of best fit practices preferred by PSNP beneficiaries
4. Responsible for ensuring that men, women and youth participate in and benefit from project activities;
5. Maintain close and collaborative relations with key programme partners, including (but not limited to)
the woreda level PSNP staff, the Bureau of Agriculture and Livestock Resources staff, the agricultural
research partners (RARI’s and if applicable EIAR) and the collaborating NGOs;
6. Strategically position the project in the playing field in the area covered by the cluster, make sure the
strategic choices of the programme are aligned with those of the partners. Make sure the programme’s
results are used to accelerate discussions on pertinent policy issues in the region. Actively participate in
a wide range of fora pertinent to the programme;
7. Actively participate in the REALISE programme endeavours and the BENEFIT portfolio, interact with the
other CASCAPE and ISSD teams at cluster levels and contribute to joint activities;
8. Within reasonable limits, respond to pertinent technical assistance requests from other BENEFIT projects
(most likely CASCAPE and ISSD);
9. Any other assignments given by the REALISE Cluster manager; and
10. Serve as an ambassador of the REALISE programme in the area covered by the cluster.
Professional requirements:
1. A M.Sc. in agricultural economics;
2. At least 5+ years of professional experience in positions pertinent to the assignment;
3. Experience with research and development issues;
4. Experience in working with or within the GoE structure for agriculture, especially at woreda level;
5. Experience with bottom-up planning processes;
6. Proven experience with gender mainstreaming (not necessarily as gender expert but working in projects
that mainstream gender);
7. Experience with participatory approaches and stakeholder networks;
8. Experience in the management of partnerships with a wide array of partners, including government at
the woreda level, NGOs and local community organisations.
Additional skills and qualities:
1. Excellent team player, able to bring out the best in the team members as well as collaborating with the
sister programmes within the BENEFIT portfolio. Able to inspire colleagues;
2. Excellent connector to the world around REALISE, creating a strong institutional and personal
professional network that will contribute to the success of REALISE;
3. Adhering to the highest standards of integrity, honesty and loyalty, and demanding the same standards
from the REALISE team;
4. Affinity with and dedication to the goals of the REALISE programme: providing support to the poorest in
rural Ethiopia through the introduction of more productive agriculture practices and seed;
5. Understanding and commitment to the REALISE project vision of achieving a vibrant, commercial, and
pluralistic seed sector. Knowledge of seed and the Ethiopian seed sector is an advantage;
6. Able to work independently while still maintaining good contact with the REALISE cluster manager;
7. Able to express him/herself in English in speaking and writing;
8. Ability of local language/ Afan Oromo is a mandatory.
9. Up to date computer skills; and
10. Proven ability to work in multidisciplinary research teams.
Additional key responsibilities
The agricultural economist is responsible for M&E, baseline, PRA and other in-depth socio-economic
studies and
Socio-economic aspects of validation and scaling activities.
Specific professional requirements:
At least 5 years of experience in applied rural development research and development;
Knowledge of statistical software such as SPSS, Stata, SAS and/or other packages;
Knowledge of survey designs and data analysis;
Knowledge of participatory approaches to research.
Other:
Number of experts: one (1)
Duty station: Haramaya University
Travel: Able to travel frequently to the project partners in the area covered by the cluster. Travel may include
visits to the field under challenging circumstances.
Oversight: Not applicable.
Remuneration: Commensurate with the responsibilities based on the salary scale of BENEFIT. Benefits include
participation in the pension scheme and communication allowance. The salary will be adjusted on an annual
basis to the cost of living in Ethiopia.
The position of REALISE rural development expert/agricultural economist of the REALISE programme requires a
full-time commitment of the successful candidate. No additional professional engagements will be allowed.
Application procedures: Interested candidates are invited to send a well-formulated letter of motivation of no
more than one page and their up-to-date CV by within five days from the date that the application is first posted
on the web site by email to: <[email protected]> with copy to <[email protected]>;
Please do not attach your credentials to the application, which is required to be delivered in hardcopy only at the
time of interview.
Note Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for face-to-face interview. Short listed candidates are required to
submit true copies of their academic credentials.
