Field Officer – Food and Market Systems

Welthungerhilfe (WHH) is one of Germany’s largest private aid organizations. Politically and religiously independent, we work toward a world without hunger.

Together with national and international partners, we respond to humanitarian crises and support long-term solutions that improve the living conditions for the most vulnerable people. We change and shape food systems, we are locally-led and globally connected. As an impact-oriented and human-centered organization, we use innovation, evidence and data-informed decision-making to continuously improve our work and contribute to Hunger.

Our vision: “Zero Hunger on a Healthy Planet.” Join us in creating a world where everyone has accessto food while ensuring a sustainable future for our planet. If you are ready to make an impact, we look forward to receiving your application!

Field Officer – Food and Market Systems in Addis Ababa

The position is to be filled as soon as possible, with an initial contract duration of one year. There are very good prospects for an extension. Employment location will be Yabello, Borena, Ethiopia.

Your responsibilities

Background of the Role

The Field Officer – Food and Market Systems will support the design, implementation, coordination, and monitoring of food systems and market systems development interventions at field level in Borena. The role will contribute to strengthening inclusive, resilient, and climate-sensitive food and market systems that improve livelihoods, support local economic development, and enhance equitable access to opportunities for women, men, youth, and marginalized groups.

The position will ensure that programming applies to a systems lens, linking production, aggregation, market access, enterprise development, resilience, and enabling environment functions. A central part of the role is to promote gender transformation by addressing harmful gender norms, strengthening women’s economic agency and decision-making, and ensuring more equitable participation and benefit-sharing across food and market systems.

The role will also support active coordination and relationship management with relevant government authorities, local institutions, private sector actors, community structures, and other stakeholders to ensure alignment, ownership, and sustainability of interventions.

Purpose of the Position

The Technical Officer – Food and Market Systems is responsible for supporting high-quality field-level implementation of food systems and market systems activities, with strong integration of gender-transformative approaches, climate resilience, and local stakeholder coordination. The position will provide technical and operational support to ensure interventions are context-relevant, inclusive, well-coordinated, and responsive to community and market dynamics.

Key Responsibilities

A. Technical implementation of food and market systems activities

• Support the planning, implementation, and follow-up of food systems and market systems interventions in targeted areas.
• Contribute to field-level analysis of key market systems, value chains, food systems constraints, opportunities, and actor relationships.
• Support implementation of interventions that strengthen productivity, market linkages, enterprise development, access to services, and resilience of vulnerable households and market actors.
• Facilitate engagement with producers, pastoralists, traders, cooperatives, service providers, financial actors, and other market players to improve system performance and inclusion.
• Assist in identifying bottlenecks in food and market systems and propose practical solutions in line with project objectives.
• Support integration of climate resilience, local adaptation, and sustainability principles into food and market systems activities.
• Ensure technical activities are delivered on time, at quality, and in line with project work plans and budgets.

B. Gender transformation and social inclusion

• Ensure gender transformation is integrated across all food and market systems of activities, not as a stand-alone component but as a core programming approach.
• Support analysis of gender roles, power relations, access to resources, decision-making, labor burden, mobility, control over income, and participation in markets and food systems.
• Help design and implement interventions that strengthen women’s leadership, voice, agency, and economic participation.
• Promote meaningful participation of women, youth, and marginalized groups in producer groups, market platforms, trainings, dialogues, and decision-making spaces.
• Work with communities, households, local leaders, and market actors to challenge harmful social and gender norms that limit equitable participation and benefit.
• Ensure activities are safe, context-sensitive, and conflict-aware, especially in relation to women’s participation, workload, and access to market opportunities.
• Support collection and use of sex-, age-, and diversity-disaggregated data to inform programming and track inclusion outcomes.
• Contribute to learning and reflection on what works in advancing gender-transformative food and market systems programming in the Borena context.

C. Coordination with authorities and local stakeholders

• Support regular coordination with woreda and zonal government offices and other relevant authorities, including agriculture, livestock, trade, women and social affairs, cooperative, and other sector offices as relevant.
• Maintain constructive working relationships with local authorities to ensure alignment of interventions with local priorities, plans, and systems.
• Represent the project in technical meetings, coordination forums, and field-level stakeholder engagements as assigned.
• Support joint planning, information sharing, review meetings, and follow-up actions with government counterparts and community-level institutions.
• Facilitate collaboration between authorities, communities, private sector actors, and project teams to strengthen ownership and sustainability.
• Ensure that government stakeholders are appropriately consulted and engaged in implementation, capacity strengthening, and transition planning.
• Support documentation of coordination outcomes, agreements, stakeholder feedback, and action points.

D. Community engagement and capacity strengthening

• Support organization and facilitation of training, workshops, dialogues, market actor meetings, and community sessions related to food systems, market systems, gender transformation, and resilience.
• Strengthen capacities of local partners, community institutions, producer groups, women’s groups, cooperatives, and relevant stakeholders.
• Promote participatory approaches that ensure community voices, especially those of women and marginalized groups, shape implementation decisions.
• Support behavior and practice change processes at household, community, and market actor levels where relevant.

E. Monitoring, learning, documentation, and reporting

• Support routine monitoring of field activities and track progress against agreed indicators, milestones, and work plans.
• Contribute to collection of quality data, case studies, field observations, lessons learned, and success stories.
• Flag implementation challenges, risks, and emerging issues in a timely manner to the Sector Manager.
• Support preparation of internal updates, monthly reports, activity reports, and donor reporting inputs as required.
• Document evidence and lessons related to market systems of change, food systems strengthening, gender transformation, and stakeholder coordination.
• Contribute to adaptive management by sharing field insights and recommending course corrections where needed.

F. Compliance, safeguarding, and organizational standards

• Ensure all activities are implemented in line with organizational policies, safeguarding standards, gender and inclusion of commitments, and accountability principles.
• Promote safe, respectful, and accountable engagement with communities and stakeholders.
• Ensure strong adherence to do-no-harm principles and context-sensitive implementation.

Reporting Lines and Working Relationships

The Field Officer – Food and Market Systems reports directly to the Sector Manager – Food Systems and Climate Resilience and works closely with:

• Food Systems Advisor
• MEAL staff
• Operations and Finance Teams
• Government line departments and local authorities
• Community institutions and local leaders
• Private sector and market actors
• Partner organizations

Our offer

We offer you the opportunity to work in a responsible and interesting field as part of an extremely dedicated team. Welthungerhilfe attaches great importance to the personal and professional development of its employees. Remuneration is based on our gender-independent salary scale.

Your profile

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in agriculture, agricultural economics, rural development, development studies, economics, market systems development, food systems, gender studies, or related fields.
• Minimum of 3 to 5 years of relevant professional experience in food systems, livelihoods, market systems development, resilience, or rural development programming.
• Demonstrated experience in field-level implementation of development or humanitarian-development nexus projects.
• Proven experience integrating gender equality and social inclusion into programme implementation; experience with gender-transformative programming is strongly preferred.
• Experience working with government authorities and coordinating with local institutions at field level.
• Good understanding of market systems development principles and facilitation approaches.
• Good understanding of food systems, value chains, livelihoods, and resilience programming in rural or pastoral contexts.
• Experience in community mobilization, stakeholder facilitation, and capacity strengthening.
• Experience in Borena, pastoralist, or dryland contexts is a strong advantage.

Required Skills and Competencies

• Strong technical understanding of food systems and market systems development.
• Good practical understanding of gender transformation and social inclusion in field programming.
• Ability to build relationships with government counterparts, community leaders, and market actors.
• Strong facilitation, coordination, communication, and representation skills.
• Ability to translate technical concepts into practical field implementation.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Good planning, organization, and reporting skills.
• Ability to work independently while maintaining strong teamwork and accountability.
• Sensitivity to local culture and context, with the ability to work effectively in diverse communities.
• Commitment to safeguarding, inclusion, and accountable programming.

Languages

• Strong written and spoken English and Amharic required.
• Knowledge of Afaan Oromo and other relevant local languages is a strong asset.

Key Performance Areas

• Quality and timely implementation of food and market systems activities.
• Effective integration of gender transformation into programme delivery.
• Strong coordination and relationship management with local authorities and stakeholders.
• Quality of field monitoring, documentation, and reporting.
• Contribution to inclusive, resilient, and sustainable programme outcomes.