Project for Resilient Reconstruction of Conflict-Affected Communities in Northern Ethiopia

This project, led by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), aims tocontribute to promoting inclusive and rapid recovery in the conflict-affected areas of Northern Ethiopia, based on the government's recovery and development plans and strategies. It will validate and present the recovery and development approach by implementing recovery and development pilot activities in education and livelihood improvement sectors that address community recovery needs, promoting effective use of internal and external resources, and strengthening the capacity of federal, regional, and woreda governments/offices.

The Project will be implemented for three years: In the first year, the project implementation structure will be established, and pilot activities will be planned and implemented in Tigray to present a basic model of the recovery and development approach. In the second year, the feasibility of implementing the pilot activities will be examined and the versatility and applicability of the approach will be verified by scaling-up. In the third year, the project will finalize the recovery and development approach based on the verification results and lessons learned from the pilot activity.

The pilot activity of livelihood improvement is expected not only to provide economic stability through a return to economic activities but also to support people's return to society (a sense of belonging) and improve their self-esteem and self-confidence through economic activities. The Farmer Field School (FFS) method of participatory training, which leads to increased production, improvements, and other livelihood practices, and allows participants to learn independently, will be incorporated. Six activities are currently proposed:

1. Training on Increasing Grain Production

2. Beekeeping Field School

3. Forestry Seedlings Production Field School

4. Livestock Bank

5. Strengthening Local Production through Cooperative Capacity Building

6. Support Small Business Start-ups through Strengthening Cooperatives

Job Summary

The livelihood Officer will support planning and implementation efforts for on-farm activities (crop, beekeeping, forestry production, and livestock) and off-farm activities (cooperative capacity building) of the project under their direct supervision by the Project Leader and other JICA experts. S/he will provide management and technical support to the Project Team, monitor progress against plans, and report against agreed schedules. The post holder will ensure the project receives technical and operational support to ensure quality programming and intended impact. S/he will support partnerships and accountability measures at the implementation level.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Plans, organizes, implements, and manages the pilot activities of livelihood improvement

• Ensures that the Project and pilot activities are executed following the Project policies, approaches, procedures of the Project team, and the detailed plan which is formulated by January 2025.

• Conducts weekly field trips to the target pilot activities’ area, and undertakes periodic monitoring to follow up on the status of the pilot activity implementation 

• Provides technical support and supervision on on-farm activities (crop, beekeeping, forestry production, and livestock) and off-farm activities (cooperative capacity building) intervention

• Supports the training in efforts to fully involve the key stakeholders, especially community members and government partners, and provides overall technical support

• Supports the JICA experts and the Project counterparts in the timely identification of implementation challenges and their resolutions with appropriate strategies

• Coordinates and conducts the related assessment/surveys on livelihood improvement in the Project target areas

• Supports communication with other cooperating agencies and implementing partners on project progress, fund utilization, and challenges

• Utilizes appropriate management tools and technical guidance to achieve the intended impact

• Periodically reports to the Project Team on progress and implementation of the Project

• Prepares and maintains up-to-date information on the Project activities and results of each targeted area

• Collects basic information, best practices, case studies, and lessons and reports to the Project Team

• Assists Project Team in the preparation of project reports and documents per JICA and/or IC Net reporting schedules and formats

• Closely works with regional government, woreda offices, and communities at kebele level to ensure adequate linkages are established

• Ensures active participation of relevant actors and structures in designing, planning, implementing, and monitoring the pilot activities (especially community members and government partners)

Location type: On-site (Tigray)

Deadline: October 24th 2024

Career level: Middle level (5-8 years)

Employment type: Contract

Number of people required: 1

Work experience: at least 5 years

Duration of work: 1 year (after probation period) with possible extension up to 2 years (total maximum: 3 years)

Job Requirements

Qualifications

• At least a bachelor's degree in agriculture, community development – crop, livestock, beekeeping, natural resource, and related fields of study

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in project management/coordination in agriculture and/or livelihood improvement, preferably in FFS and Saving and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs)

• Proficiency in verbal and written English/Tigrinya

• Proficiency in budget planning and management

• Proficiency in monitoring evaluation and report writing

• Proficiency in standard MS office

• Good interpersonal communication skills and ability to effectively liaise with government, community, and other stakeholders.

• Understanding of the importance of gender, youth, and social inclusion

Desired:

• A master’s degree in the above-mentioned fields is highly evaluated.

• Working knowledge of program management especially in the recovery and development contexts

• Knowledge of the local socio-cultural context of Tigray

• Skills in organizing and facilitating training events

• Knowledge and experience in agriculture (especially FFS and SACCOs) 

How to Apply

Interested and Qualified Applicants can  use the Google form below to answer questions using THIS LINK