Senior Agronomist at IITA - International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

DUTIES:

Successful candidate will among other things perform the following duties:

• Facilitate partnerships with dissemination (extension) and market partners. Provide strategic support in a wide variety of areas including value chain development and upgrading strategies, improving access to agricultural inputs, access to agricultural extension, and marketing;
• Oversee and co-ordinate all agronomical and technical field activities carried out by stakeholders (smallholder farmers, community-based seed producers, partner seed companies etc.) and provide necessary agronomical technical backstopping to them in the two target states (Adamawa and Borno);
• Provide leadership in designing, planning and implementation of demonstrations of soil, crop and livestock management technologies in farming communities;
• Provide necessary inputs into the Activity’s annual workplan (especially on Component 1) and prepare quarterly/annual workplan performance report;
• Strengthen seed production systems for cereal and legume crops in Northeast Nigeria. Help to establish and strengthen community-based seed multiplication and dissemination schemes of improved crop varieties;
• Organise and lead capacity building activities for different stakeholders including extension agents, input dealers and other service providers;
• Lead in the recommendations and dissemination of improved crop-based production systems in Adamawa and Borno states;
• Compile, collate and prepare technical reports for component 1 of the Activity; 2
• Perform any other job-related task as may be assigned by the Supervisor.

QUALIFICATION:

• Master’s in Agronomy, Crop Science or related field with a minimum of fifteen (15) years’ experience in agricultural extension and new technology delivery functions in a wellstructured environment or donor funded organization.

COMPETENCIES:

The ideal candidate must:

• Extensive experience in agricultural extension (including the use of demonstration plots, field days etc.), community-based seed systems and agro-dealer development.
• Worked on a market-based USAID-funded or any of the major donor organization funded project.
• Competence in designing and implementing Agric extension programs or strategies especially in Northeast Nigeria is essential. 
• Experience in building public private partnership to strengthen seed availability and supply.
• Have an excellent understanding of agricultural commodity value chains, poverty alleviation, youth empowerment, gender and sustainability issues in rural development of Nigeria, especially in the Northeast region. Experience in multi stakeholder engagements and demonstrated ability to collaborate to achieve common goals is essential.
• Proven ability to operate effectively in a multicultural team environment (with excellent interpersonal, communication and networking skills, and be a team worker and facilitator).
• Demonstrated strong analytical and communication (verbal, writing and presentation) skills and ability to write strong technical reports, success stories, and extension materials.
• Be proficient in the use of computers (with good grasp and knowledge of spreadsheets, word processing, power point presentation and other MS office applications).
• Demonstrated ability to plan and co-ordinate, and monitor own work plans, prioritize and organize workloads; take initiatives and work under pressure.
• Be able to work with minimum supervision under strict deadlines and budget requirements.
• Ability to travel extensively to Activity sites and locations (resource-poor, rural areas) in Adamawa and Borno States.
• Ability to communicate in one or more of northern Nigeria’s major languages is an advantage.
• Strong understanding of local culture and work environments, particularly in the context of rural development and smallholder farmer practices.