Zonal Agriculture and Food Security/FSL Coordinator -Tigray, Ethiopia

Level 3:  the role holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more) because he/she works in community level. So that the role holder has knowhow and act towards ensuring organization’s child safeguarding policy (Awareness creation for prevention, reporting and responding).

Reports to: FSL Manager

Staff Directly Reporting to this Post: None

Dotted line relationship – None

Functional relationship – Zonal FSL coordinator, regional technical team

Intense conflict conducted in Tigray since October 2020, heavily damaged crops and pasture lands in Tigray region and led to major losses of agricultural inputs, tools and livestock, as well as the destruction of agriculture and livestock service facilities. The economic and social services have disrupted and driven to food insecurity, malnutrition, health and psychosocial problems and water shortages all over the region due to the war crisis.

The project aims to support conflict and drought-affected households to meet their immediate basic needs and avoid negative coping strategies through unconditional and unrestricted multipurpose cash assistance and helping them restore their capacity to produce foods by providing agricultural inputs including seed and farm tools. The recovery seed support is envisioned for vulnerable households, to address nutrition of women and children, who are stricken and affected by war and drought in the area. Cash assistance will enable people to purchase food and other items locally, strengthening local markets, and supporting households’ livelihood activities. The multiplier effect of multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA) guarantees support for both the local market but also prevents the further deterioration of vulnerable households to food insecurity. By combining agricultural support and MPCA, SC aims to alleviate the impact of drought and conflict on 6,165 individuals in 4 woredas of Tigray.

The project will use a community and needs-based identification approach where people affected by the conflict will be prioritized for selection. The selection of affected individuals will be a shared responsibility between local government and community bodies, with government maintaining oversight at all levels. Priority will be given to support economically vulnerable households, living under the Minimum Expenditure Basket (MEB), who are most affected by the conflict with no alternative coping strategies, as guided by standard humanitarian practices. The proposed project will run for 9 months (April 2023 to December 2023) in Tigray (Gulo-Meheda, Erob, Endabatsahima, Endafelasit woredas) and aims to reach 8,615 individuals (1206 women, 517 men, 3,360 boys, 3,532 girls).

The zonal FSL coordinator, based at zonal agriculture office, is responsible for the proper implementation of the planned project activities (agriculture inputs and multi-purpose cash assistance). The zonal FSL coordinator supervises and provides technical assistance for the implementation of Swiss Solidarity activities at zonal level. S/he shall actively participate and strengthen agricultural and MPCA interventions among the different and relevant sectors with that of the agriculture sector. Identify strategies and facilitate the implementation of agriculture and MPCA activities among vulnerable households, establishes support and partnerships with local actors and smallholder farmers to improve livelihoods and increased nutritional values. Facilitate linkages with other agricultural, health and nutrition programs, international NGOs, private sector businesses, and government agencies. Builds local capacity through mentorship and training of zonal, woreda, kebele sector offices and the targeted households/community; mobilize target beneficiaries to establish saving and credit groups in support of program activities and ensuring sustainability;   and  support reporting and in monitoring and evaluation, assuring that project related data and reports are submitted in project formats on timely basis.

• Coordinate, supervise and provide technical assistance for proper implementation of project activities such as provision of agricultural inputs (cereals, vegetables seeds, farm tools, sweet potato cuttings, and water pumps) and distribution of multi-purpose cash assistance implemented by the respective government structures (agriculture), — at woreda and kebele levels.
• Facilitate the implementation of activities to promote agriculture production and productivity among target households, including providing technical training in agronomic practices of horticultural crops, livestock husbandry, business development skills, saving, cooperative management, and financial literacy.
• In coordination with the project, team members and other donor funded agricultural, livestock and fishery programs plan and implement livelihood strategies.
• Facilitate linkages with other agricultural (specifically AGP II and PSNP IV), health and nutrition programs, international NGOs, private sector businesses for the supply of inputs and marketing of produce, and government agencies.
• Works with team members of Swiss Solidarity and staff of Zonal and Woreda Offices of Agriculture to target conflict affected households as per the targeting criteria and methods to ensure exclusion and inclusion errors so that appropriate beneficiaries are reached.
• Ensure target beneficiaries have bank account/open new account so that make on time delivery of the MPCA.
• Establishes support and partnerships with local actors and smallholder farmers to improve livelihoods and increased nutritional value through demonstrations on new agricultural and nutritional technologies.
• Works closely with the SCI MEAL team to generate practical information that can be used for on-going program decision making while also capturing results at the outcome and impact levels.
• Capacity building through training of Zonal, woreda, Kebele sector offices staff and targeted households to strengthen livelihoods services and programming.
• Conduct regular follow up/appropriate mentoring and provide on job training for government agriculture workers at grass root level using agreed tools.
• Ensure that resources allocated reached the right beneficiaries, for the right objective in the right time.
• Coordinate with save the children other zonal coordinators, woreda level sectors for proper planning and implementation of livelihood/agriculture activities at woreda and kebele level.
• Ensure that proper planning and implementation of the planned project activities, cross cutting sectors; gender, learning agenda, sustainable approaches, and convergence/overlay of multi-sector agricultural/livelihood interventions.
• Collaborate with gender specialist and gender focal persons/taskforce to deliver gender sensitive agriculture and livelihood activities at woreda and kebele levels.
• Support reporting and monitoring and evaluation, assuring that quality reports are submitted using standard project formats on timely basis.

Education qualification 

• Bachelor’s degree or above in Animal Science or Plant Science preferably horticulture or cooperative development.

Experience

• At least 6 years of experience implementing livelihoods and economic strengthening programs required, with significant experience/three years in NGO supporting diverse economic strengthening activities such as homestead gardening and animal production.

KNOWLEDGE SKILLS AND ABILITY 

• Significant training experience (e.g. Agriculture, horticulture, cooperatives development, animal husbandry, MPCA, etc.) with community mobilization in support of agriculture and economic strengthening programs. Experience conducting trainings, training of trainers, and organizational capacity building.
• Knowledge and learning ability to integrate gender issues in agriculture and livelihood interventions.
• Strong written and oral communication skills, as well as the proven ability to work collaboratively with many organizations and stakeholders. Experience working with private sector, government agencies and beneficiaries on livelihoods programs.
• Ability to travel throughout the focus zone, woredas, kebele and other rural areas as needed.
• An understanding and commitment to Save the Children values
• Strong results orientation.
• Experience in multi-sectorial coordination.
• Proven project management skill with professional certificate in project management is added advantage.
• Ability to manage complex and demanding workload.
• Strong computer, communication, team work and interpersonal skills.
• Able to spoken and written in English languages.
• Knowledge of local language is mandatory.

Accountability:

• Holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
• Holds suppliers accountable to deliver on their responsibilities

Ambition:

• Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and takes responsibility for their own personal development
• Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
• Future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale

Collaboration:

• Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to; builds and maintains effective relationships with colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters
• Values diversity and different people’s perspectives, able to work cross-culturally.

Creativity:

• Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
• Cuts away bureaucracy and encourages an entrepreneurial approach

Integrity:

• Honest, encourages openness and transparency, builds trust and confidence
• Displays consistent excellent judgement