Description
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and
is at work in over 40 countries. The IRC has been working in Zimbabwe since 2008 implementing
programs in Economic Recovery and Development (ERD) , Health, WASH, GBV and Capacity
Building. The IRC’s Economic Recovery and Development work in Zimbabwe has assisted
thousands of smallholder farmers with training, market linkages and access to inputs and finance.
In anticipation of a multi-year livelihoods and food security program, the IRC is seeking an
experienced professional to lead the program’s Agricultural activities. The Agricultural Specialist
will report directly to the IRC ERD coordinator who is responsible for the overall delivery of
economic programmes including the agricultural value chain and youth and women employment
initiatives. The Agricultural Specialist and team will provide support to rural farmers in Zimbabwe
to facilitate market linkages, sustainably improve yields, increase farmers’ income, reduce
malnutrition and sustain land and water use. The candidate should be experienced in and aware of
approaches that address inequitable allocation of agricultural resources within rural households
especially those which occur between women and men.
The ideal candidate will have demonstrated experience in managing agricultural initiatives,
understanding the need to comprehensively address production and environmental conservation to
improve livelihoods in a sustainable and equitable manner. The Agricultural Specialist will work
with the IRC’s HQ-based agricultural advisors to design and implement interventions appropriate
to the Zimbabwe context in both agricultural and agro pastoralist systems and in particular those
which look at improving opportunities and decision making within households over use of
resources (land, inputs and credit). The candidate will need to take a long-term view to ensure
that the methods promoted to and devised with program beneficiaries will lead to improved
production without resorting to unsustainable practices that cannot be maintained beyond the life
of the funding. Links with research agencies as well as private companies that promote and
practice sustainable agriculture are encouraged. The candidate will be required to manage teams
and budgets under the leadership of the ERD coordinator and senior management in the country
program.
Major Responsibilities:
Technical responsibilities
1. Design surveys and assessment protocols that identify agricultural constraints and
opportunities for rural populations and especially for women, girls and young men in
Zimbabwe.
2. Provide timely and proper technical input and advice to field-based Project Manager and
Technical Officers on agronomic implementation and on essential activities including
conservation agriculture, water harvesting, watershed management erosion control, pasture
conservation etc that are appropriate to environmental conditions in Zimbabwe,
3. Design gender sensitive and appropriate interventions that develop and support farmers’
capacity (especially women, girls and young men) to access and effectively use agricultural
information, resources and inputs.
4. Supervise community mobilization and provide guidance and capacity-building tools to
strengthen farmers or community groups
5. Ensure that disaster risk reduction principles are mainstreamed across all agriculture
projects
6. Liaise and closely work with the nutrition specialists on agricultural activities that can
improve the access and availability of nutritional food especially for targeted women, girls
and young children
7. Supervise regular field monitoring visits and report findings efficiently
8. Take the initiative in respect to agricultural related issues in the target areas during the
course of the program by responding rapidly with solutions (e.g. threats caused by crop
diseases or pests or harsh weather conditions etc).
Strategic Planning and Program Development
1. Participate in the development of the IRC Zimbabwe program strategy, by providing inputs
for any agriculture component and informing the ERD coordinator of relevant national and or
district policies and bylaws
2. Support the ERD coordinator in determining resource requirements for agricultural
programming (human resources, equipment and materials, funding)
3. Facilitate strategic decision making with the ERD coordinator and other technical specialists
on critical design issues including village/community selection, beneficiary selection criteria,
and modalities suitable varieties of crops, breeds of animals etc for the farmers in the
selected locations.
4. Produce/update program documentation (e.g. consolidated work plans, budgets,
responsibility matrixes, progress reports), for the ERD coordinator
5. Oversee collection, analysis and reporting of agricultural technical information (as well as
project indicators) and the capacities of sub contractor institutions in close coordination
with M&E Coordinator and the other specialists
6. Identify and facilitate external staff, institutional, and community access to resources,
advice, expertise, assistance, and materials that will lead to high-quality activities
Management and Administration
1. Coordinate and supervise all agriculture activities in IRC Zimbabwe’s portfolio and ensure
that they are implemented according to agreed guidelines, quality standards and schedule
2. Provide guidance to the ERD Coordinator and technical specialists on administrative matters
relating directly to agriculture activities (procurement, logistics, required paper-work, liaison
with finance department) and facilitate functional cooperation between personnel and
systems at all levels
3. Oversee budget management for all agriculture activities
4. Collect and provide information on agriculture activities as requested by the ERD
Coordinator and senior IRC staff
Procurement and sub-contracting
1. Liaise with logistics in the identification of appropriate suppliers for supplies, materials and
assets for agriculture projects, establishing quantities and quality of tools and inputs
2. Lead the establishment, through consultative processes and in collaboration with relevant
admin staff, of Memoranda of Understanding with implementing agricultural partners and
partner communities
Coordination
1. Serve as IRC Zimbabwe focal point for all agriculture-related activities
2. Participate in the interagency coordination efforts (e.g. development of standards, guidelines
and other context-specific tools) as well as inter-sector IRC meetings and coordination, as
required
3. Coordinate with the other IRC specialists especially the nutrition specialist to ensure cross-
programming synergies and coherence.
4. Communicate and liaise with other NGOs operating in the region with regards to the
agricultural assistance that they are carrying out and using this information to assist with
the development of IRC’s own program
5. Build and maintain relationships with other major national and local-level stakeholders
relevant to the agriculture sector and project activities
Monitoring, Evaluation and Control
1. Ensure transparency in accounting, reporting and documenting agriculture activities, and
ensure compliance with standards and donor policies
2. Coordinate with the M&E team to identify appropriate agriculture-related indicators and
elaborate monitoring plans, procedures and templates
3. Coordinate and supervise the collection and analysis of data to measure indicators and
ensure reliability and completeness of information
4. Coordinate the production of periodic reports to track performance and progress, according
to templates established with the M&E team
5. Discuss with the ERD coordinator and field project staff about challenges encountered by
the projects, and take timely final decisions on issues to be tackled
6. Keep the ERD Coordinator, the Programme Coordinator and the M&E team informed of
changes
7. Ensure that the changes are enforced and that appropriate resources and time are allocated
to operationalise them
8. Ensure the regular documentation and dissemination of lessons learnt
Location and Expected Duration:
Zimbabwe (field and HQ), 5 years
Required Qualifications:
At least 10 years of relevant experience in similar contexts;
Preferably Masters degree or equivalent in agriculture/ natural resource management
Demonstrated experience in designing and managing agricultural programs for the rural
communities in sub Saharan Africa particularly southern Africa
Excellent knowledge of English. Working knowledge of Shona/Ndebele is an advantage.
Zimbabwean nationals and qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. This will
be a rolling application, with no set deadline.
Apply here
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