Technical Specialist Component 4 Lead – TRANSFORM

Location:  Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Deadline: October 16, 2026

Job Description

About IFDC

The International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) is a public international organization that advances soil health and strengthens agricultural systems through science-based innovation. For over 50 years, IFDC has translated research into practical solutions that improve nutrient use efficiency, restore degraded soils, strengthen local agricultural markets and expand opportunity for smallholder farmers, especially women and youth. 

We work with farmers, governments and private sector partners to build resilient farming systems that produce nutritious food, improve livelihoods, and safeguard natural resources for future generations.

Our Values 

We are guided by four core principles: 

Collaborate – We work across teams, countries and partners to create lasting impact. 

Innovate – We apply evidence and continuous learning to design practical and responsible solutions. 

Include – We promote equity and meaningful participation for women, youth and underrepresented groups. 

Act with Integrity – We steward resources responsibly, uphold transparency and remain accountable to the communities, partners, staff and donors who place their trust in us. 

Position Summary

The Technical Specialist for Component 4 of the TRANSFORM program will play a pivotal role in promoting an enabling environment for sustainable soil health and fertility management in Ethiopia. This position involves coordinating and supporting the implementation of field activities that foster collaboration among diverse stakeholders, including government agencies, private sector entities, development partners, and farmer organizations.

A key responsibility is to guide the establishment and strengthening of Multi-Stakeholder Platforms (MSPs) at both national and regional levels. These platforms aim to facilitate dialogue, knowledge sharing, and collaborative planning to address systemic issues in soil health and fertility management. The Technical Specialist will work closely with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and Regional Bureaus of Agriculture (RBoAs) to ensure these platforms have well-coordinated governance structures and inclusive stakeholder representation.

Under the guidance of Component 4 lead, the Technical Specialist will support policy and regulatory reforms that encourage private sector participation in the soil input supply chain, including the registration and distribution of diverse fertilizer products. The Technical Specialist will contribute to the development of policy briefs, discussion papers, and other knowledge products to inform decision-making and promote integrated approaches to soil health and fertility management.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical and secretariat support for the effective functioning of national and regional Multi Stakeholder Platforms (MSPs) focused on soil health and fertility management;
• Support the establishment and functioning of technical working groups on extension, research, soil inputs, finance, data management, and other priorities identified by the MSPs;
• Ensure alignment between TRANSFORM program interventions and regional soil health strategies by collaborating with RBoAs and other stakeholders Conduct and update stakeholder and institutional mapping and support the development of platform terms of reference, governance arrangements, membership criteria, annual workplans, and sustainability mechanisms;
• Coordinate platform meetings, including agenda preparation, technical inputs, minutes, decision records, action trackers, and timely follow-up on agreed actions at national and regional levels;
• Identify and analyze policy, institutional, and regulatory bottlenecks affecting soil health and the soil-input sector and facilitate evidence-based deliberations among relevant actors;
• Support the development and enactment of policies and regulations that promote demand-driven input value chains, including standards for organic and biofertilizers;
• Collaborate with the Ethiopian Agricultural Authority (EAA) to improve capacity for fertilizer quality analysis and the implementation of labelling requirements;
• Document and share experiences on partnerships and value chain linkages through newsletters, stories from the field, and participation in knowledge-sharing events;
• Support assessments of soil-input subsidy, incentive, procurement, and distribution systems and formulate recommendations that improve inclusiveness, efficiency, market responsiveness, and private-sector participation;
• Participate in knowledge-sharing processes organized by IFDC and other TRANSFORM program partners, contributing to the dissemination of experiences and lessons learned;
• Prepare policy briefs, discussion papers, technical notes, presentations, and seminar materials and coordinate their technical review, validation, and dissemination;
• Contribute to the development, consultation, validation, implementation, and periodic review of the long-term national vision for soil health and fertility management, including the Ethiopian Fertilizer and Soil Health Roadmap;
• Collaborate with Component 1 to translate evidence from participatory extension, farmer adoption, and community-level implementation into recommendations for extension policy, institutionalization, and scaling;
• Partner with Component 2 of the TRANSFORM Program to tackle policy barriers that impede private sector involvement in the soil input supply chain;
• Collaborate with Component 3 to synthesize findings from farmer-led action research, scientific validation, and soil-information systems for policy dialogue and program decision-making;
• Produce monthly, quarterly, and annual reports to communicate progress and insights within the program;
• Document lessons, institutional innovations, partnerships, policy outcomes, and scalable practices in coordination with the MELS and Communications teams;
• Provide inputs and guidance to create a better enabling environment for soil health and fertility management;
• Collaborate with other TRANSFORM Technical Specialists, consortium partners, and government counterparts to ensure integrated planning, implementation, monitoring, learning, and adaptive management;
• Perform any other tasks as required by the supervisor to ensure the success of the program.

The Technical Specialist will play a crucial role in facilitating institutionalization of soil health, and fertility management practices that are inclusive, sustainable, and responsive to the needs of smallholder farmers, women, and youth in Ethiopia.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in agricultural economics, agribusiness, agricultural policy, public policy, public administration, rural development, extension science, development studies, soil science or a related field, with proven experience of working with research institutions, development programs/projects, national extension system and private sector;
• At least 7 years of experience facilitating multi-stakeholder platforms in agricultural development, preferably in soil health and fertility, natural resource management, extension, last-mile input distribution systems, and agribusiness development with private sector involvement;
• Strong understanding of policy issues, including the private sectors role in the national extension system, barriers in soil health extension, contributions to soil research, and opportunities for collaboration in extension programs;
• Proven expertise in bottom-up and participatory methods for farmer engagement, Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM), last-mile input distribution systems, the role of private actors in fertilizer blending and distribution, fertilizer extension, and creating enabling environments;
• Excellent skills in MS Excel, Word, PowerPoint; proficiency in MS Access preferred knowledge of other statistical packages like SPSS, STATA, or R is an added advantage;
• Fluency in English is required;
• A self-motivated, highly organized individual who can effectively prioritize and manage multiple initiatives simultaneously.

Reporting and Work Relationships

The Technical Specialist will be supervised by Component 4 lead for technical issues.

Location

This is a national recruitment with a duty station in IFDC office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Benefits

IFDC’s benefits include annual and sick leave, health and group life insurance coverage, a 13th-month salary, social security and pension contribution in compliance with local laws and end-of-contract benefits.

Salary Clause

The salary grade for this position is BG 8 and the pegged salary is the local equivalent of USD 1,557 gross per month.

About Program (TRANSFORM)

IFDC, along with its consortium partners Stichting Wageningen Research- Wageningen Environmental Research (SWR-WENR), World Soil Information (ISRIC), and national partners Environment and Coffee Forest Forum (ECFF) and SOS Sahel Ethiopia, is supporting the Government of Ethiopia through the TRANSFORM Project. The TRANSFORM Project aims to enhance soil health and fertility management in Ethiopia through four main components.

First, it focuses on customizing extension services to tailor soil fertility initiatives to the specific needs of farmer households and communities. Second, the project seeks to develop a vibrant soil input sector by improving the availability of quality organic fertilizers for small-scale farmers. Third, it emphasizes strengthening the linkages between research and practical application through farmer-led action research. Finally, the project fosters an enabling environment for soil health by promoting collaboration among soil sector stakeholders, thereby enhancing soil fertility management at both national and regional levels.

The program targets the sustainable increase in productivity of 100,000 small-scale food producers and the improved use of 65,000 hectares of farmland in the Amhara, Oromia, and Central Ethiopia Regional States by 2028. TRANSFORM also models a process for replication and scaling of soil health and fertility management nationally, focusing on elements of extension, research, private input supply, and creating an enabling environment. The project intentionally targets at least 30% women and 30% youth participation in all activities by implementing focused outreach strategies and affirmative actions.

 

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