Community Development Advisor (ILM) at SNV

Job Description

• As Community Development Advisor, you are leading Soil Values community engagement approach in NIGERIA. 
• By doing so you contribute to the component 2 – INTEGRATE – of Soil Values project. Capitalizing on the landscape assessments and ILM guidance provided SNV, IWMI, IFDC and other knowledge partners across several river basins, you drive a strategic agenda which engages partners and stakeholders towards next-stage landscape transformation on the following topics:
  • Facilitate entry into project communities and maintain strong relationships with local stakeholder, Support community-based planning and participatory decision-making processes as well as the Inclusive Landscape Management (ILM) and watershed planning, organise stakeholder consultations, community dialogues, and sensitisation activities and Promote ownership of project interventions among beneficiary communities
  • Conduct Participatory Assessments: Lead participatory analyses with communities using PRA tools and Geoportal data to understand landscape constraints and identify sustainable land management opportunities.
  • Design and deliver training programmes for community groups and local partners, strengthen capacities of farmer organisations, cooperatives, watershed committees, and community institutions, Facilitate Farmer Field Schools (FFS), demonstration plots, and participatory learning platforms Develop simplified training materials in relevant local languages where necessary.
  • Support community participation in watershed and landscape management activities, facilitate development of Community Action Plans and Local Development Plans, promote sustainable land management, soil fertility improvement, agroecological practices, and climate adaptation measures and strengthen conflict-sensitive approaches to natural resource governance and support collaboration with stakeholders and programs such as the Food Systems Resilience Program (FSRP) and DGIS funded Program to mobilize investments.
  • Support monitoring and knowledge sharing: Track progress of community watershed plans, document lessons learned and contribute to reporting and knowledge sharing within the Soil Values program.
  • Together with the FSRP, DGIS-Funded programs field teams, Country Field Lead and Local Implementation Partners (LIP), you facilitate the Community engagement and the ILM process to strengthen their capacity to guide and implement potential solutions. During the process, you pay special attention to climate-resilient aspects of the solutions and conflict management on natural resources, such as land, water, pastures, and forest. You make yourself familiar and further develop facilitation methods described in the Inclusive ILM guide to ensure that women, youth, pastoralists, and other vulnerable groups contribute to the discussions and that the solutions chosen also to address their specific problems.
  • You are a trusted and experienced partner for internal colleagues and external stakeholders, particularly at community and local government levels. As an organized and strategic practitioner in community engagement and inclusive landscape management, you are able to manage multiple priorities while facilitating collaboration among diverse actors. Through strong facilitation, guidance, and coaching, you support communities and local partners in developing and implementing sustainable soil fertility and land management practices. 
  • You are skilled at managing change and building trust, enabling you to work effectively with farmers, community leaders, government institutions, and development partners. You are able to bridge the perspectives of consortium partners with the realities and needs of communities and national stakeholders, ensuring that interventions remain locally relevant and inclusive. Working in a results-oriented, flexible, hands-on manner, you are committed to achieving SNV and Soil Values program objectives. As a practitioner in community-based landscape and watershed management, you demonstrate cultural sensitivity and build strong relationships with communities and partners across the program’s intervention areas.
  • You actively promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, ensuring the meaningful participation of women, youth, and marginalized groups in project activities and decision-making processes. In this role, you facilitate stakeholder engagement and community participation processes, support the development of community landscape management plans, and coordinate with local implementation partners and Field Leads to ensure effective implementation and learning within the Soil Values program.

Duties & Responsibilities

• The key responsibilities of the Community Development Advisor will include the following points:
• Mobilize communities, local authorities, technical services, and women’s and youth organizations around a shared vision of sustainable landscape management;
• Conduct participatory assessments to identify challenges related to soil fertility, water management, land degradation, and land-use conflicts;
• Facilitate the development of inclusive integrated landscape management plans, defining priorities, roles, community commitments, and coordination mechanisms;
• Organize training sessions and community learning initiatives on integrated soil fertility management, agroecology, land restoration, and water conservation;
• Support farmers, community facilitators, and local groups in adopting and disseminating sustainable practices;
• Promote the meaningful participation of women, youth, and vulnerable groups in line with the Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) approach;
• Establish mechanisms for feedback, participatory monitoring, and adaptive management of interventions;
• Document activities, results, lessons learned, and recommendations through reports, field notes, and knowledge-sharing materials.

Qualifications
To be considered for this role, you are expected to bring:

• University degree (master’s degree) in the field of rural development (Community Development, Agriculture, Sociology, Geography, etc.)
• Advanced knowledge on Integrated Landscape Management, or related field is a plus.
• 7 years of relevant working experience in a leadership role in the private sector, government agency or knowledge organization
• 7 years of experience in spatial planning, community-based watershed development, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion, climate-smart agriculture, natural resource management, and/or agroecology/regenerative agriculture
• 5 years of working in consortiums, with good communication skills, experience working with government and local implementing partners (local authorities, land commission, civil society)
• Deep knowledge, interest and expertise in sustainable landscape development, and specifically to natural resource management linked to drylands and savannahs, land conflicts, and the reality of developing & fragile economies
• Results-oriented skills and attitude as well as a commitment to working with local partners and in remote and fragile areas
• Willingness to extensively travel in the region, at least 25% of your time (also in fragile and conflict areas)
• Fluency in English both written and spoken is required. Excellent intercultural leadership, teamwork, coaching, communication, networking and organizational skills.

Additional Information:

• Type of contract: Full time on national contract
• Initial contract duration: One (1) year with possibility of extension
• Location: Kano, Nigeria
• Expected start date: September 1, 2026.