Junior Rural Development/Dryland Farming Adviser

Cluster or office-Climate Change

Job title-Junior Rural Development/Dryland Farming Adviser

Duty station-Addis Ababa

Contract duration-31.12.2027

Agroecology” aims to strengthen and scale innovations, processes and policies for soil conservation, soil health and agroecology at national and continental level. Ethiopia “Soil Matters” is funded by the European Union and will be implemented in the high- and lowlands from April 2025 to March 2028. It will support the scaling of the lessons and innovations generated by ProSoil, specifically on Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) and agroecological (AE) practices. GIZ, in partnership with the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) developed the Dry Valley Rehabilitation and Productive Use (DVRPU) approach – a holistic strategy integrating technical, biological, economic, social, institutional, and managerial measures to rehabilitate degraded dry valleys.

Moreover, Soil Matters will support the establishment of commercial, private sector-based supply chains for agricultural inputs and services and the scaling of existing Soil Health Decision Support Tools (DST). Political partners will be supported to develop and implement a national action plan aligned with the Nairobi Declaration, adopted during the African Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit (AFSHS).

The Junior Dryland / Flood Based Agricultural Advisor performs the following tasks

• Supports discussions on technical aspects of project implementation (farming system design, tree and crop planting, domestic livestock production)
• Advises and supports communities on the implementation of dryland agricultural measures
• Advises the project on alternative measures to harness available moisture in dryland areas
• Supports the identification of appropriate cropping and livestock practises in dryland areas
• Supports costs assessment of interventions and prepare implementation plan of recommended measures
• Supports implementation of dryland and flood framing measures and provides technical reports
• Supports project activities in participatory community planning.
• Assists project communication, especially in relation to “DVRPU”
• Support the establishment and strengthening of Watershed User Cooperatives (WUCS), including the registration and legal compliance of new cooperatives and field visits to monitor and support the activities of established cooperatives.
• Support data collection on rainfall, flood occurrence, and productivity to inform planning.
• Guide the zoning and management of farmland according to moisture gradients (Zone 1–5).
• Supports training on soil moisture assessment, crop selection, agronomic practices, and farming system management.
• Liaise with GIZ Agriculture and Rural Development initiatives for the promotion of soil health and AE practices

Other duties/additional tasks

Assists other colleagues as needed in the project, programme or office on request of the project manager

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Dryland Agriculture, Natural Resource Management, Rural Development, or related field.

Professional experience

• Freshly graduates up to one year of field experience in community-based agricultural extension or watershed development or dryland farming.
• First experience with participatory training methods and adult learning principles.
• Familiarity with flood-based farming, water harvesting, or soil-water conservation in dryland settings is desirable.

Other knowledge, additional competencies

• High level of motivation, proactivity, self-discipline, integrity and accountability.
• Team worker
• Hands-on experience in the cooperative management and DVRPU
• Readiness to travel to regions regularly and work in rural circumstances

Very good skills in English and Afarigna/Somaligna reporting and presenting (mandatory