Field Agronomist at Solidaridad West Africa (SWA)

Job Purpose/Description

• The position would be based in one of the towns/cities in the oil palm belt in Nigeria.
• The Agronomist will coordinate, implement and monitor agronomic aspects of Solidarid's projects; a (support for innovation and demonstration of best practices). The key task will be setting up, maintaining, monitoring and reporting on a series of BMP field demonstrations with participating farms and businesses.
• The position reports to the Programme Manager.

Major Responsibilities
Professional Advising and Consulting:

• Participates in identifying needs for external support and advice, elaborates on policy recommendations and develops a strategic approach to managing the assigned programme or project.
• Monitors project progress, reviews reports and documents concerning the progress of collaborative programs determines bottlenecks and recommends alternative courses of management action to the Program Manager.

Networking and Cooperation:

• Responsible for maintaining relationships with farmers and Institutions
• Co-operates with and ensures regular contacts and dialogues: does PR work and cooperates with local communities, relevant organisations, non-governmental bodies and persons within the project/ programme environment as well as with other projects in order to enhance and maintain good working relationships

Management and Coordination Tasks:

• Responsible for coordinating all BMP activities (fIeld visits, farmer sensitization, training, data collection and collation, reporting, etc.) at the BMP demonstration sites.
• Coordinates and prioritises relevant project activities at the local level in cooperation with the partners, as well as in organizational preparation and in the implementation of these activities
• Training farmers and plantation staff in good agronomic practices

Knowlede, Skills & Abilities

• University Degree in Agricultural Science, Agricultural Business, or relevant subject.
• Minimum 4 years’ experience in similar role
• Experience in working with policy makers, researchers, consultants and knowledge brokers in International Cooperation
• Experience in facilitating community development activities
• Superior presentation and facilitation skills
• Capable of working in a dynamic, inter cultural, multi stakeholder setting
• Excellent communication skills with ability to produce professional reports in English.