Agronomist III at ICRC - International Committee of the Red Cross

Grade: B3

Description 

• Under the direct supervision of the Deputy Economic Security Coordinator, The Agronomist 3 field officer is the focal point between the country EcoSec programme and the field (Agro programme in sub delegations).
• S/He contributes toward the Agro programme design by coordinating the needs assessment and consolidates the respective Sub delegations’ needs into the country Agro needs overview, which is used to develop the National Agro response plan.
• S/He coordinates and supervises the implementation of the agriculture structural support programmes and capacity building activities implemented with 3rd parties and facilitates coordination with line ministries of the government of Nigeria.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Contributes to the humanitarian context analysis and Agro situational analysis in regions of interest for ICRC in Nigeria, by supporting the Agro situational assessment in the priority zones of the sub-delegation using the available standardized tools developed and adapted to the Nigeria context.
• Contributes to the development and design of the Nigeria EcoSec Agro strategy and the Agro country response plan.
• Contributes to Agro program activity planning and the implementation across the participating sub-delegations. S/he supports the Agro operations of sub delegations, whenever requested, particularly to provide hand on support on technical processes where coaching of the field staff and additional HR/ skill is required.
• Contributes to the implementation of the Agro structural support programmes involving the Ministry of Agriculture and government parastatals collaborating on agriculture programs with ICRC. S/he contributes to the institutional needs assessment of the MoA structures earmarked for structural support/ capacity building intervention and develops a realistic response planning for the identified entity.
• Contributes to the development, harmonization and roll-out of Agro programme management tools. S/he supports the adoption of tools developed for effective programme assessment, monitoring and reporting throughout the country, working in close collaboration with the A&E team.
• Contributes to Agro programme documentation/reporting (MoMs, FTRs, PDM, PHM etc), project proposal and action plans. S/he is the Agro institutional memory of the Agro file in Nigeria, acquaints him/herself with all agriculture interventions made by ICRC in the country and can explain the rationale and strategy behind all Agro undertakings in the country.
• Supports the establishment and improvement of seed quality assurance processes for the ICRC, for all seeds procured and distributed in-kind, as well as for agro seed voucher programs and seed fairs. This will also include seed quality monitoring activities by participating in and coordinating seed sampling and re-testing campaigns, with the support of NASC and the Logistics Department.
• Supports the improvement of farmers’ knowledge on crop production activities and the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices, through the establishment of systems and facilities that will be deployed for practical field demonstration sessions. Also contributes to knowledge capacity development of key agricultural stakeholders, such as Ministries of Agriculture Extension Workers and NASC, amongst others.
• Contributes to improving farmers’ access to certified quality seeds by triggering contacts between seed producers and the local farmers through the organization, piloting and scaling-up of agro seed voucher interventions across locations deemed feasible, as well as studying, understanding, and strengthening community-based seed production systems in Nigeria.

Education and Experience Required

• A Bachelor’s Degree in Agronomy, with at least 5 year of work experience in the fields of food security and agricultural livelihood is mandatory.
• Good command of English language and Hausa, with a good written and spoken English competency.
• Computer literate, with excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office programs; Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• More than 5 years of professional experience in Agricultural programming and at least 2 years in management of Agricultural response especially in a humanitarian or private sector setting.
• Applicants should have a Nigerian nationality or hold a working permit