Agriculture Resilience through Climate Services (ARCS) Senior Advisor

The Development Fund of Norway (DF) is a Norwegian non-governmental organization (NGO) committed to promoting a fairer distribution of the world’s resources. DF supports sustainable development and local participation with the aim of reducing poverty and safeguarding the environment. DF operates in five countries: Ethiopia, Somalia, Malawi, Nepal, and Guatemala.

In Ethiopia, DF has supported rural development and emergency response efforts for over 40 years, working through both local and international partners. Its programs focus on smallholder farmers and aim to address the needs of disadvantaged groups, including women, minorities, and people with disabilities. DF is registered as a foreign organization with the Ethiopian Authority for Civil Society Organizations and established its country office in 2007. Currently, DF is implementing four projects across seven regions in Ethiopia.

Agricultural Resilience through Climate Services (ARCS) is one of the projects currently being implemented by consortium partners. It is a four-year project (2024–2027) operating in four regions: Amhara, Oromia, South Ethiopia, and Tigray.

Duty Station: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (with frequent travel to the regions where ARCS is implemented))
Reports to: Head of Programmes
Contract Type: Full-time
Duration: One year (renewable based on performance and funding)

Job Purpose

The Agricultural Resilience through Climate Services (ARCS) Senior Advisor working as part of a small team, plays a central role in strengthening climate-informed decision-making among smallholder farmers by building robust collaboration with key institutions such as the Ethiopian Meteorology Institute (EMI), the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), and other Implementing Partners. The Advisor will ensure the timely development and delivery of accessible weather forecasts and agro-meteorological advisories, coordinate climate service activities across consortium partners, and provide consistent technical support to implementing organizations throughout the project lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities

Climate Forecast and Agro-Met Advisory Development

• Coordinate with EMI to ensure the timely preparation of seasonal, sub-seasonal, monthly, and 10-day weather forecasts.
• Coordinate with EMI and MoA to support the production of localized agro-meteorological advisories tailored to key farming seasons and crop cycles.
• Oversee the translation and timely dissemination of advisories to farmers in local languages and through appropriate channels, including SMS and extension networks.
• Ensure advisories are practical, context-specific, and responsive to the needs of farmers.
• Follow up on message delivery, including tracking success rates

Technical Coordination

• Contribute to technical meetings organized by consortium partners.
• Organize and facilitate country-level coordination meetings with consortium members to review progress, align plans, and promote synergies.
• Conduct regular follow-up on the implementation quality of climate service activities by implementing partners.
• Organize joint field visits, review technical reports, and provide feedback to strengthen accountability and effectiveness.
• Ensure all activities are aligned with project objectives, timelines, and reporting requirements.

Technical Advisory and Knowledge Sharing

• Provide continuous technical support to implementing partners during planning and active implementation.
• Respond to field-level challenges by providing tailored technical advice, tools, or approaches as needed.
• Monitor the relevance and uptake of services provided and suggest improvements to ensure impact and sustainability.
• Plan and facilitate training workshops, learning forums, and experience-sharing events for partners and stakeholders.
• Support capacity development of extension agents, community facilitators, and local institutions involved in climate service delivery.

 

Progress Reporting and Communication

• Document lessons learned, success stories and innovative approaches across the consortium.
• Share regular progress updates on country-level climate service activities with consortium members and stakeholders.
• Contribute to donor reporting and knowledge products by consolidating field evidence, best practices, and learning insights.
• Maintain accurate records of advisory cycles, partner engagements, meeting outputs, and implementation milestones.

Qualifications, Experience and Competences

Qualifications

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Climate Science, Meteorology, Agro-meteorology, Environmental Science, Agricultural Extension, or a related field is required.
• A project management qualification would be an asset, but not required.

Experience

• Minimum of 7 years of relevant experience in the development and delivery of climate services or agro-meteorological advisory systems.
• Practical experience working with national institutions, similar to EMI and MoA.
• Experience supporting project implementation with development partners.
• Experience working as part of a consortium is desirable.
• Strong knowledge of climate-agriculture linkages, especially in smallholder and rainfed systems.
• Experience working with small-holder farmers in different regions of Ethiopia.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate multi-stakeholder processes and technical platforms.
• Experience designing and facilitating training and knowledge-sharing events.

Key Competencies

• Strong interpersonal and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Excellent organizational and coordination abilities.
• Demonstrated ability to translate scientific content into practical messages for farming communities.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a gender aware manner.
• Demonstrated ability to ensure social inclusion in project activities, specifically including people living with disabilities and male and female youth.
• Fluent in spoken and written English and Amharic; additional local languages are an asset.