Job Advertisement
Position: Highly qualified – Agronomist Technical Advisor
Experience/Knowledge: Agro Ecology, Farmer Managed Seed Systems, Participatory Guarantee Scheme
Duration of Contract: 1-year renewable (the program is for 4 years)
Duty Station: Arusha with frequent trips to the intervention area (Arusha Rural and Karatu Districts
Presentation of Islands of Peace (Iles de Paix)
Islands of Peace is a Belgian non-government and non-profit organization dedicated to promoting sustainable development worldwide. Currently Islands of Peace works in 6 countries: Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Peru, Uganda and Tanzania. Islands of Peace also conducts activities in Belgium such as advocacy and development education.
Islands of Peace supports the emergence of sustainable food systems, that is, the promotion of systems of production, marketing and consumption of food which guarantee the right to food for all without compromising the economic, social and environmental foundations necessary for the food and nutritional security of the future generations. It also specifies that:
- Islands of Peace supports in particular small family farmers, who are the most directly impacted by poverty and food insecurity;
- Islands of Peace adopts, in a comprehensive manner, the principles of agro ecology as a pathway leading towards a transition to sustainable food systems, considering that agro ecology is strongly linked to the concept of the right to food and produces proven results, particularly for vulnerable populations.
To support this transition, Islands of Peace works on a long-term basis with families, farmer groups, farmers’ organizations, local and national authorities, and consumers. For a lasting impact, Iles de Paix combines three complementary lines of work:
- Support small-scale farmers to improve, increase and diversify their production following an agro ecological transition, and to make their farming system more resilient to the effects of climate change. Agro ecology is widely recognized as a highly sustainable method of agricultural development, strongly linked to the concept of the right to food (SDG 2) and it produces proven results, particularly for vulnerable populations in developing countries. Agro ecology may also be a major source of decent jobs creation, especially for women and young people. Islands of Peace is paying particular attention to this aspect, helping women and youth to fully participate in the social and economic life of the farm.
- Support small-scale farmers and farmers’ organizations to improve the storage, processing and marketing capacities of their production. In line with agro ecological principles, these post-production activities require adapted equipment, access to credit, and offer an opportunity to create local, green and non-offshorable jobs. The emergence of these green jobs often involves the development of new skills development channels.
- Promote an environment favorable to the development of sustainable food systems which implies: (i) To raise awareness, build capacity and draw the attention of influential actors and political leaders for to policies in favor of sustainable food systems (advocacy) and (ii) To raise awareness and mobilize consumers, and local and national authorities towards sustainable food systems
Islands of Peace is present and recognized as an NGO in Tanzania since 2015. The following programs were / are implemented in the Arusha Region:
- The Maisha Bora program (2015-2019), financed by the Belgian Fund for Food Security (BFFS), that aimed at improving food security in Longido and Simanjiro districts in the North of Tanzania. The program was a multi-actor and multi-sector program implemented by 5 international organizations – Iles de Paix, Vétérinaires Sans Frontières/Belgium, Trias, World Food Program and ENABEL – and their local implementing partners. In the frame of this program, Iles de Paix was responsible to improve sustainable access to adequate water for livestock and human consumption.
- The Kilimo Endelevu program (2017-2021), co-funded by the Belgian development cooperation (DGD) that aimed at contributing to strengthen economic, environmental and social performances of the actors of sustainable family farming for the communities of Karatu District in Arusha Region.
- The Kilimo Endelevu+ program (2020-2023), co-funded by the Luxemburg development cooperation that aims to contribute to improving the environmental and economic resilience of farmer and pastoral families in the Arusha region.
- The Kilimo Endelevu Arusha program (2022 – 2026) co-funded by the Belgian development cooperation (DGD) and the French Development agency (AFD). The program aims at improving the food and farm income security of small-scale farmers through sustainable land management and agro ecological intensification, as well as by creating the conditions for the institutional and social framework favourable to sustainable food systems in Arusha District & Arusha City. Islands of Peace, CARI (French NGO), RECODA (Tanzanian NGO) and MVIWAARUSHA (Tanzanian farmer’s organization) implement this program.
In Tanzania, Islands of Peace has developed close relationships with local, regional and national authorities but also with national and international civil society actors. In the frame of its programs’ implementation, Islands of Peace collaborates with IITA-Africa RISING, World Vegetable Center, ECHO East Africa, Farm Radio International, Trias, Rikolto and others.
Islands of Peace is member of Tanzanian networks promoting sustainable agriculture and agro ecology including Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement (TOAM), Tanzanian Alliance for Biodiversity (TABIO) and Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM), and is an active member of the Arusha Sustainable Food Systems platform.
Main responsibilities of the Technical Advisor
- Support of the Programs’ Manager of Islands of Peace to oversee the technical aspects of the programs – mainly on the sustainable production and post-production components of the programs;
- Provide technical agronomic support (sustainable agricultural / agro ecological production and post-production techniques) to beneficiaries, local partners and other development actors through collaborative relationships;
- Build capacity of Field staff, and other District Extension Officers on Agro- Ecology and its practices;
- Facilitate studies and field researches undertaken by different actors;
- Monitor and track data with the use of Monitoring & Evaluation systems, generate reports and present findings to management, or other interested parties.
Main activities
Support to Program Manager
- Identify the weaknesses and gaps in the implementation of the technical agro ecological aspects of the programs (production and post-production) and propose corrective and innovative measures (organization of trainings, call for external human resources, study tour organizations, ...);
- Monitor the external techniques and experiences in line with the needs and / or opportunities of the programs;
- Interact with universities and research institutes;
- Support the preparation of activity reports;
- Support the analysis of the productive / farming systems of the beneficiaries of the programs;
- Support the introduction of innovations on production routes and their transition towards an integrated agro-ecological farm model (identification of key sustainable techniques to be tested in action research activities, seeking external information on alternative solutions and accompanying their process of adaptation and operationalization, identification of sites (external from the area of intervention) for the organization of study tours for producers …);
- Support partners and farmers for the revitalization of Farmer Managed Seed Systems (FMSS) and for the establishment of Participatory Guarantee Schemes (PGS);
- Through frequent field visits, share observations, suggestions and recommendations with partners in order to contribute to the achievement of the programs’ outcomes;
- Train and build capacities of field facilitators/officers to master the productive and post-productive sustainable techniques;
- Contribute to the process of identifying and formulating new programs, especially for all technical aspects
Person Specification
Education and aptitude
- Bachelor or Master of Science in Agro Ecology, Sustainable Agriculture, Sustainable Food Systems, Biodiversity, Natural Resources Management or all related fields (Agro- Ecology will be our center of focus);
- Demonstrated technical ability, sound judgment and ability to work effectively with others at all levels;
- Excellent communication and presentation skills in Swahili and English;
- Firm belief in teamwork, gender equality and sustainable development;
- Computer skill particularly Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point;
Job related experience and knowledge
- At least five years of experience in Agro Ecology / Sustainable Agriculture / Sustainable Food Systems projects;
- Very good knowledge and working experience on supporting Farmer Managed Seed Systems (FMSS) and Participatory Guarantee Schemes (PGS);
- Good experience working with farmers and farmer’ organizations, and local development actors;
- Good experience of capacity building of farmers and farmer organizations;
- Experience working in rural setting;
- Experience with project monitoring and evaluation of agriculture related projects;
Mode of application
Interested candidates are invited to send their application electronically to the following address: ilesdepaix.recruitment@gmail.com
Put the following subject in your message: Islands of Peace / Application / Agronomist Technical Advisor
The application should include:
A cover letter indicating how minimum qualifications are met and why you are the best candidate for the position;
A detailed Curriculum Vitae (CV) with 3 referees from employers or direct supervisors;
Please do not send additional attachments or copies (i.e. academic transcripts or professional certificates) at this time. Electronic applications should not exceed 2MB.You may apply no later than 20st of May 2022. This is an immediate opening so no applications will be accepted after this date. No phone calls or in-person applications will be accepted.
Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted, so there is no need to follow up.
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