Agriculture and Livestock Program Officer - Dikwa at Mercy Corps

General Position Summary

The Agriculture/ Livestock Program Officer is responsible for the day-to-day implementation of Arable Crop Production, backyard permagardening and Livestock production activities. He/ She will work closely with the Senior Agriculture/Livestock officer, Agriculture Coordinator, Nutrition and Food Security team, MEL team, and operations staff (including finance and operations) to ensure that activities are implemented according to schedule, budget and required quality.

Essential Job Responsibilities

STRATEGY & VISION

• Collaborate with other team members for effective integration between other services like Food assistance, MPCA and Nutrition services.
• Collaborate with Local authorities and other partners to harmonize different efforts for better impact and sustainability.
• Able to learn and update his/ her information or knowledge to adapt to the changing situation and context.

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

• Train targeted beneficiaries on best agronomy practices, climate-smart agriculture and Livestock production through formal training, on-job mentorship and supportive supervision.
• Identify any gaps or capacity needs within the team and ensure training and capacity building is incorporated into program planning.
• Coordinate and or supervise community mobilization and sensitization activities on agriculture.
• Participate in planned agriculture and food production assessments/ surveys.
• Participate in periodic program monitoring and evaluation activities including baselines, end lines, midterm reviews, lesson learning exercises and compilation of success stories.
• Closely collaborate with other sector teams to ensure an integrated approach internally with MC sectors and externally with complementary activities implemented by other program actors.
• Actively participate in area-level agriculture, food security and livelihood sector meetings.
• Identify, build, and manage collaborative partnerships with communities, local authorities and other stakeholders to create an enabling environment and ownership.
• Ensure timely submission of quality weekly and monthly activity reports.
• Serve as technical focal person for all field-level engagements.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

• Identify technical gaps among staff line managed and in liaison with the line manager provide on-the-job training and/ support supervision.
• Participate in developing a detailed project implementation plan and orient the line managed on agreed actions.

FINANCE & COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT

• Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations related to emergency programming.

INFLUENCE & REPRESENTATION

• Train and support Village Agents and Agriculture Extension Workers and make sure they transmit/convey messages clearly to targeted participants.
• Creates and maintains the relationship with local Agriculture, Nutrition and other authorities to link services with the existing LGA structure smoothly,
• Always upholds the image and values of Mercy Corps.

Security

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

Organizational Learning

• As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.

Accountability to Beneficiaries

• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engagin

Knowledge and Experience

• A minimum of a bachelor’s degree in agriculture or other related field, a relevant master’s degree is a plus.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience focused on agriculture extension including community mobilization, participatory planning, and rural/community development.
• Prior experience implementing agriculture or livestock support programs is essential, preferably in conflict settings.
• Familiarity with the intervention areas.
• Knowledge of Agriculture assessments and or surveys is a plus.
• Microsoft Office Skills (Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, Word).
• excellent analytical, written, and oral communication skills.
• Willing and able to be based within remote areas, where services are limited.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work as part of a team, including cross-cultural teams.
• Fluency in Hausa, Kanuri, English and or Marghi.