FSL Officer - Agroforestry at Action Against Hunger | ACF-International

Location: Damasak, Borno
Job Type: Full Time
Department: Programme - FSL
Starting Date: as soon as possible
Direct Line Manager: FSL Sector Manager

Job Summary

• Under the supervision of the FSL Sector Manager the Agroforestry Officer will lead field team implementing Agriculture activities in the “Enhancing Food security, WASH services and resilience for Conflict-Affected Populations in Northeast Nigeria” through livelihood interventions, business management and technical trainings and capacity building to improve skills or production in new/pre-existing livelihood assets and including tree nursery.

Objective 1

• Provide support to the FSL Sector Manager and Area Manager in the implementation of the FSL component of the program at LGA level under the direction of the FSL Sector Manager.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Facilitate community mobilization, meetings and training during community led agriculture activities such as dry season vegetable production, compost making and tree nursery establishment.
• Mobilize beneficiaries into groups and facilitate cooking training and recipe demonstrations in target communities to improve the utilization of locally produced vegetables and staple food to improve the nutrition status of children and women.
• Work with traditional committees to ensure the identification and selection of the most vulnerable IDPs and host communities and provide information to ensure accountability, fairness and transparency during the implementation of activities.
• Work with traditional committees to ensure the identification and selection of the most vulnerable IDPs and host communities and provide information to ensure accountability, fairness and transparency during the implementation of activities.
• Support in the implementation of Agriculture capacity building training including Field Training Workshops for the target beneficiaries at the LGA level. Directly implement in the field the activities defined in the program in close collaboration with the Agriculture Assistant and Community stakeholders.
• Contribute to organizational and sector-wide learning through documentation of lessons learned, best practices, evaluations etc. from the Agriculture component of the program.
• Contribute to preparing FSL internal and external reports including case studies and success stories etc.
• Contribute to farmer’s access to seeds, post-harvest processing and market linkage for small holder farmers in the LGA.

Objective 2

• Collect information and data on Agriculture Activities at LGA level through surveys, assessments, regular post-distribution monitoring and field supervision visits of beneficiary households.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Supervise and collect information to ensure that the surveillance of the Agriculture Activity situation in the area of implementation of the program is achieving the expected result when required.
• Supervise and collect the required information in the field to facilitate the capacity building and training program, with the support of the Agro Assistants.
• Support the M&E team in analysis of beneficiary data collection through the various tools that the department uses.
• Coordinate closely with the FSL (CBT and IGA), Nutrition, WASH teams in different LGAs on cross-learning with the aim of revising and improving approaches.
• Support M&E team in activities monitoring (beneficiary targeting, identification, registration and training; market and livelihood assessments; baseline and endline surveys, post-distribution monitoring, price monitoring, field monitoring visits, focused group discussions (FGD), etc).
• Ensure harmonization of program operating plans and protocols across the program as well as the mission, with the help of technical support from FSL PM, review tools and approaches, and ensure that technical standards, guidelines and methodologies are communicated and understood.

Objective 3

• Mobilization and awareness raising about the organization, program objectives and activities to local authorities and the population, and act as a link between the Organization and the beneficiaries (at LGA level).

Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Contribute to the development of project community mobilization strategies for targeting and registration of beneficiaries for the Economic and Livelihoods Restoration.
• Implement sensitization activities for targeted communities about Agriculture Activities and strengthening livelihood restoration activities with support from relevant State, LGA and community stakeholders, in feasible livelihood restoration activities at LGA level.
• Support in the verification of the beneficiaries to ensure the identification and selection of the most vulnerable population is verified based on project proposal and organizations policies before agriculture intervention is made.
• Support the FSL SM in ensuring that targeting of beneficiaries to receive Agriculture interventions are carried out in a transparent way, which guarantees protection and gender sensitivity in the field way and with the active participation of women, men and minority members of communities.
• Facilitate good working relationship between state, LGA, community level stakeholders and target beneficiaries.

Objective 4

• Participate in regular internal and external coordination for the program at LGA and state levels when required.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with all other AAH departments and sectors to ensure the project activities are integrated in line with Logistics, Finance, HR and security procedures and SOPs.
• Collaboration with other partners including the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Environment, INGOs, NGOs, CBOs and the UN working in assigned LGA.
• Ensure that the project (implementation of Agricultural activities) is well represented in regular LGA level meetings and forums.
• Ensure proper records are kept of all expenditure and usage of materials, and cash advances received from finance are  properly retired after each activity
• Preparation of weekly movement plan for assigned LGA according to the team planning and sharing with FSL SM.

Objective 5

• Reporting.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Coordinate with Agriculture assistants to compile and submit monthly activity reports.
• To provide reports according to the request of the FSL sector program manager (Bi-weekly updates, success stories, case studies etc.)
• Participate in writing situation reports with information on food security, security information at the community as needed and/or requested.
• Including, but not limited to: Compiles weekly and monthly reports and ensuring timely submission of such written reports to the FSL SM for consolidation and sharing with the FSL Sector manager.

Internal & External Relationship
Internal:

• FSL SM: hierarchical relationship.
• Area Manager: Technical oversight, technical support, coaching.
• Multisectorial Program Manager: exchange of information, reporting, collaboration, coordination.
• Other Programme Officers and Deputy Programme Managers: Nut/FSL/M&E: exchange of information on programs, coordination and monitoring and evaluation (integrated approach).
• Support departments: collaboration and exchange of information.

External:

• Local authorities: communication, exchange of information in collaboration with the Area Manager and FSL Sector Manager. 
• Local Technical Coordination: lobbying, animation et leadership.
• Other NGOs: partnerships and technical exchanges or sharing of experience.
• Population and beneficiaries: definition of needs, targeting, communication and exchange of information.
• Participate actively in Food Security Working Group, Cash Transfer Working Group, OCHA meetings, INGO forum.
• Local and state government: Engage with stakeholders in coordination with FieldCo, Multisectorial PM, FSL PM, FSL SPM and state PMs/SMs.

Qualifications

• Minimum of a Bachelor's Degree or Higher National Diploma in Agriculture, Forestry, Sociology, Development Studies, Economics, Geography and other related fields.

Skills & Experience
Essential:

• Minimum two years’ work experience in development contexts, with at least 1 year in conflict/insecure contexts.
• Professional, motivated, open, creative, mature, responsible, flexible and, culturally sensitive
• Excellent team, budget and project management and representation competencies
• Previous experience with food security and livelihoods programming.
• Microsoft Office Skills (Outlook, Excel, Power Point, Word)
• Willing and able to be based and travel regularly within remote areas, where services are limited.
• Fluency in English and Hausa languages.
• Commitment to AAH mission, values and policy.

Preferred:

• Previous experience managing FSL interventions (i.e. cash based transfer, IGA, agriculture/livelihoods).
• Previous experience with AAH.
• Experience implementing programming on behalf of donor (i.e. USAID, ECHO, DFID, CIDA) funded activities.
• Fluency in Hausa and other local languages.