Food Security and Livelihoods officer | Addis Ababa

Positive Action for Development (PAD) is one of the most vibrant, rapidly expanding, and results-driven civil society organizations in Ethiopia. PAD is currently scaling up its interventions across the humanitarian, NEXUS, and development spectrum—expanding operations throughout the country, including in Addis Ababa, Amhara, Oromia, Harari, Afar, Somali, Tigray, Benishangul-Gumuz, and Ethiopia’s southern regional states. As PAD broadens its reach, it remains firmly committed to inclusive, equitable, and conflict-sensitive programming—respecting the diverse realities of communities while fostering peaceful coexistence and sustainable development.

Vision: PAD strives to see a community of hope, humanity, and social justice.

Mission: PAD brings people together to work in partnerships; promotes hope, humanity, and social justice for every human life in all its fullness; and improves the livelihoods of disadvantaged groups for social and inclusive economic growth by actively engaging in positive actions, promoting responsive care and support, and addressing the root causes of poverty in Ethiopia.

As part of its ongoing efforts, PAD is seeking to hire a qualified Food Security & Livelihoods Officer for the EHF project at Sasiga Woreda, with the project titled “Integrated time-bound humanitarian assistance to returnees in Sasiga Woreda, East Wollega zone, Oromia region, with project code CBPF-ETH-25-R-NGO-37896”. The Officer will be primarily responsible for managing the Food Security & Livelihoods Officer, designing, implementing, and monitoring both WASH hardware and software interventions to ensure quality.

Job Summary:

The Food Security & Livelihoods (FSL) Officer is responsible for planning, implementing, monitoring, and reporting all food security and livelihood-related activities in the target communities. The role focuses on enhancing household resilience, improving agricultural productivity, supporting income-generating activities, and strengthening community structures. The officer ensures that communities receive quality, timely, and effective support through agricultural, livelihood, and market-based interventions that contribute to improved food and economic security.

Overall Responsibilities:

• Prepare detailed weekly, monthly, and quarterly work plans for all FSL activities.
• Lead implementation of agriculture, livestock, cash assistance, and livelihood diversification interventions.
• Facilitate livelihood activities such as small business development, IGAs, VSLAs, SACAs, and cooperative strengthening.
• Coordinate distribution of agricultural inputs, tools, seeds, livestock support, and cash/food assistance.
• Ensure all interventions comply with donor requirements, organizational policies, and technical standards.
• Train farmers and groups on improved agricultural practices, climate-smart agriculture, pest control, and post-harvest handling.
• Provide technical support on crop production, livestock health and management, small business skills, and climate-resilient practices.
• Support market-based interventions and local value chain development.
• Ensure integration of FSL activities with other sectors (WASH, Health, Nutrition, Protection, etc.).
• Evaluate the project impact and prepare success stories.
• Mobilize community members and local leaders for active participation in project activities.
• Conduct regular field visits to provide technical support and mentorship.
• Build the capacity of cooperatives, SHGs, CBOs, VSLAs/SACAs, and extension workers
• Promote gender equality, social inclusion, and youth engagement in livelihood interventions.
• Strengthen community ownership and sustainability of livelihood initiatives.
• Maintain close collaboration with local government structures, including Agriculture, Livestock, Cooperatives, and TVET offices
• Conduct field assessments, baseline/endline surveys, post-distribution monitoring, and routine activity monitoring.
• Track progress of activities and prepare timely weekly, monthly, and quarterly reports.
• Document success stories, lessons learned, challenges, and best practices.
• Support accountability mechanisms and facilitate community feedback response.
• Coordinate closely with woreda/zonal Agriculture, Livestock, TVET, and Cooperative offices.
• Participate in cluster meetings, technical working groups, and field-level coordination platforms.
• Represent PAD in community meetings, local government platforms, and stakeholder consultations.
• Ensure effective cross-sector integration in all FSL-related activities.
• Perform other duties as may be assigned by the project coordinator.

Qualification:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Rural Development, Agricultural Economics, Livelihoods, Agriculture, Agri-business, or related fields.
• A Master’s degree and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) is an assets

Work Experience:

• Minimum of 3-5 years’ experience in food security, livelihoods, agriculture, or humanitarian projects.
• Experience working with smallholder farmers, cooperatives, VSLAs/SACAs, or cash-based programming, and voucher-based interventions
• Experience with donor-funded projects and humanitarian operations is an advantage.
• Demonstrated ability to work with community structures and government partners.
• Familiarity with the Sub-National and National WASH Cluster system and its tools, and experience in effective coordination with clusters, government authorities, and other stakeholders.

Skills & Competencies:

• Excellent project management and organizational skills, with the ability to meet tight deadlines.
• Strong communication, interpersonal, and liaison skills to work effectively with communities, local authorities, and teams.
• Proficiency in standard office software (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and data collection tools (e.g., KoBo Toolbox, ODK).
• Strong communication, facilitation, and community mobilization skills.
• Understanding of market systems, value chains, and livelihood approaches.
• Ability to independently manage and supervise field activities.
• Strong skills in data collection, reporting, and documentation.
• Ability to work under pressure and in remote rural settings.
• Strong technical knowledge in agriculture, livelihoods, and rural development.
• Excellent time management, problem-solving, and analytical abilities.
• Commitment to gender equity, social inclusion, and accountability.
• Prior work experience in a non-governmental organization (NGO).

Other Considerations:

• Willingness to travel frequently to field locations, including remote areas.
• Commitment to upholding humanitarian values and the organization’s mission.

Competencies

• Action facilitations
• Communications
• Ethics & Values
• Teamwork
• Behavioral Flexibility
• Client Orientation
• Initiative
• Interpersonal Relations
• Reasonable Judgment

Number required: 1 (One)

Duty Station: Addis Ababa (50% travel required to field offices/project sites)

Salary: As per the organization’s Salary Scale

Female applicants are highly encouraged to apply

Equal Employment Opportunity

• Positive Action for Development (PAD) promotes fairness, equity, and diversity in the workplace. We welcome applications from qualified individuals of all backgrounds, regardless of gender, age, disability, ethnicity, religion, or other personal status. Hiring decisions are made based on skills, experience, and suitability for the role.
• We are committed to creating a respectful and inclusive environment where all staff can thrive, contribute meaningfully, and grow professionally.

Zero Tolerance for Misconduct

• PAD has zero tolerance for any form of abuse, harassment, exploitation, or misuse of power. We take safeguarding seriously and expect all staff, volunteers, and partners to follow our policies and uphold our values at all times. All successful candidates will go through background checks and be required to follow PAD’s code of conduct and safeguarding principles.

Recruitment Flexibility

• PAD reserves the right to recruit more than one candidate from this announcement or keep qualified applicants in our database for future similar roles.

Important Notice on Recruitment Fraud

• PAD does not request any payment at any stage of the recruitment process. If you receive any suspicious messages claiming to be from PAD, please report them to our office through official contact channels. www.padethiopia.org