Avis de recrutement : Winrock recrute un.e Responsable de l'agriculture intelligente face au climat basé au Malawi.

Avis de recrutement : Winrock recrute un.e Responsable de l’agriculture intelligente face au climat basé au Malawi.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

Coordinate all climate smart agriculture activities of the project which include conservation agriculture, irrigation, agroforestry, soil and water conservation, farmer managed natural regeneration, assisted natural regeneration, and targeted tree planting.

Participate in value chain analyses, including Lean analysis, to identify priority practices for project support, ensuring that impactful climate smart practices are prioritized for consideration.
In coordination with the Regional Technical Manager, building on completed assessments, design interventions (solutions briefs) to implement climate smart agricultural practices for the five focus value chains (soy, banana, coffee, honey, and chili pepper).
Lead the development of implementation plans for promoting climate smart agricultural practices including geographic targeting, identifying MTENGO entry points and leverage opportunities, and developing strategies to maximize farmer uptake, including access to appropriate extension and advisory services.
Optimize the use of private sector partners (including firms and cooperatives) and commercial approaches in marketing and promoting climate smart agricultural practices and providing extension and advisory services to farmers on same, however, alternative approaches such as those involving NGOs and government will be considered.
Design and implement interventions to strengthen extension services for fruiting trees and improving access to high-quality planning materials.

Monitor implementation/uptake/impact of climate smart agricultural practices and recommend course changes as necessary.
Develop criteria for selecting existing irrigation systems that are non-functional or underperforming for project consideration.
In coordination with government staff, map and assess potential irrigation sites for rehabilitation and or re-organization and recommend sites for project focus.
Develop criteria for identifying new irrigation opportunities for MTENGO focus. This could include irrigation schemes that positively impact project focus value chains and irrigation schemes that, while not targeting focus value chains, are worthy of project support (large number of farmers and/or land area, funding available, demonstration effect, etc.).
With farmers, communities, government and other potentially interested parties (such as NGOs and commercial partners), lead development of plans – including budgets – for the rehabilitation and/or reorganization of irrigation systems and the development of new irrigation systems.

Monitor implementation of irrigation system rehabilitation and development of new irrigation schemes, ensuring timely completion and that systems and procedures are in place for proper maintenance and management going forward.
Work with the Monitoring and Evaluation team to ensure baseline data is collected for the farmers to be impacted by the rehabilitated and new irrigation schemes. Ensure effective capacity building of water users committees for sustainable management of the irrigation interventions developed.
Ensure sustained linkages between irrigation activities and other project interventions e.g., access to finance, including Village Savings and Loans, etc.
Help develop training and other communications related materials related to irrigation and climate smart agriculture and conduct trainings as necessary for project staff, farmers, private sector partners, government and/or NGOs.
Participate in the design and monitoring of grant activities related to climate smart agriculture and grant activities.

Ensure gender issues are well addressed in both climate smart agriculture and irrigation activities.
Liaise with the District Councils through which the project is implemented and all MTENGO partners (private sector entities, NGOs, donors, Academia, and others) to coordinate climate smart agriculture and irrigation activities in compliance with policies, guidelines and agreed action plans.
In coordination with the Monitoring and Evaluation team and other technical staff, support the development of project technical reports highlight project outputs and outcomes.

QUALIFICATIONS AND BACKGROUND:

Education:

Bachelor’s degree in irrigation agronomy, irrigation engineering, natural resource management or related fields required.

Experience:

Minimum 6 years of professional experience managing and implementing climate smart agriculture development activities.
Experience working with technical teams for agriculture sector development, financial services, water management, ecosystem services, and economic resilience, including training, capacity building, mentorship, and day-to-day management.

Experience collaborating with private sector actors in the agricultural sector.
Experience in climate adaptation, agriculture technology, food security, agricultural research, and/or market analysis.
Experience working within the agriculture sector of Malawi

Knowledge, Skill & Ability Requirements: 

Knowledge with proven climate smart agricultural technologies and practices, as well as innovative new tools and approaches ;
Knowledge of the Lean agriculture approach preferred ;
Knowledge of the Malawi agriculture sector ;
Strong training design, training delivery, and facilitation skills ;
Strong personnel management skills.

Closing date : April 30^th, 2023