Community Development Officer

Organaizational background

Farm Africa, founded in 1985, is an international non-governmental organization working in Ethiopia since 1988. We drive agricultural and environmental change to improve lives. Our strategy has three pillars: agricultural expertise, management and preservation of ecosystems, and the power of business to drive prosperity. We believe Africa has the power to feed itself and are helping make this happen by establishing and spreading the best farming and forestry techniques so that poor farmers and herders have more food to feed their families and to sell. We help smallholders manage their natural resources sustainably so that they can withstand climate change challenges and shocks and ensure their families have enough food in the future as well as now. Farm Africa works in partnership with communities, government, local and international organizations, and the private sector to innovate, learn and share best practices for the maximum impact of our projects

Job Description and Person Specification

JOB TITLE:Woreda-BasedCommunity Development Officer

PROJECTs:FSDP

REPORTS TO:Bale field Office project coordinator

DIRECT REPORTS: None

LOCATION: Gasera Woreda of Bale zone

DURATION OF CONTRACT:Up to 31 December 2025 years with a probation period of 60 working days with a high probability of extension based on the availability of funds

KEY TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Key areas of responsibility are:

1.Ensure timely project implementation at the Woreda level

• Work with the project team and government counterparts to achieve the project outputs/outcomes with the desired standards
• Ensure adequate consultation and participation of woreda and kebele level stakeholders ensuring active participation of women in particular.
• Facilitate identification of training needs, prepare training materials, and deliver training, business plan development, and other services to CBOs and unions
• Regularly undertake project implementation progress tracking and identify any bottlenecks hampering implementation paces so as to provide sufficient technical support to woreda community development facilitators to implement the activities.
• Work closely with other senior project staff at the field office and the POs, facilitate the design and implementation of CBO-specific forest management plans in agreement with the community and local government parties

2.Bring technical expertise to ensure high-quality project delivery

• Take part in the assessments and surveys of natural resources within the project intervention woredas for planning and management;
• Support kebele-level participatory land use planning, and support community water, rangeland, and other natural resources management practices;
• Promote Participatory Forest Management (PFM) and Participatory Rangeland Management (PRM) by working with existing and/or new forest and rangeland cooperatives;
• Facilitate the planning, implementation, monitoring, review, and evaluation of natural resource management-related project activities,
• Provide expertise and advice for community institutions on gender mainstreaming in project scheme
• Promote efficient green energy technologies and alternative fuel options among the wider communities;
• Identify and promote innovative livelihood programming approaches and interventions, including Climate Smart Agriculture and feasible business options, to achieve project objectives, and suited to the particular conditions and needs of diverse client groups in the operational areas;
• Closely work with the M&E officer to generate lessons, document and share them with wider stakeholders to scale out and replicate in larger geographic areas.

3.Facilitate and coordinate community/institutional capacity-building activities

• Provide technical support to woreda-level technical staff and government staff in the implementation of watershed management, forest, and other natural resource conservation and land use planning.
• Organise and coordinate capacity-building training and workshops for beneficiaries, consortium partners, CBOs, and private sectors on improved agronomic and livestock practices and support.
• Support participatory community monitoring in PFM Kebeles,
• Mentoring and supporting PFMCs business planning and implementation.

4.Contribute to project management and reporting

• Participate in the assessment, design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation processes of the project activities in collaboration with other experts and project staff.
• Prepare and develop status reports as required by project management.
• Ensure proper recording and documentation of best practices and success stories
• Ensure that the project is implemented according to the work plan and project framework.
• Monitor and document the project progress, lessons, good experience, and impact on rural communities.

5.Play an active role as a member of the Farm Africa Project team

• Identify and explore opportunities to improve project implementation and guarantee its sustainability
• Keep up to date with developments in the sector, including best practice to ensure ongoing organizational and personal development and learning is realized;
• Identify and explore opportunities to grow and expand the country project pipeline, both in relation to the current project (e.g., potential scale-up opportunities, replication in other geographies/regions) or related to new project opportunities
• Pro-actively share information with other project and consortium partner staff members to support Farm Africas aims
• Participate in broader Farm Africa meetings with other project staff members, as requested by the line manager.

These essential functions are not to be interpreted as a complete statement of all duties performed. Employees will be required to perform other job-related duties as required. All work responsibilities are subject to having performance goals and/or targets established.

Investing in smallholder farming is the number one way to combat poverty in rural Africa. Farm Africa is a leading NGO specializing in growing agriculture, protecting the environment, and developing businesses in rural Africa.

EXPERT.Deep expertise and insightful evidence-based solutions are at the heart of everything Farm Africa does.

GROUNDED.Positive change starts with Africas people, so our experts work closely with local communities, engaging them in every level of decision-making.

IMPACTFUL.We take a long-term view so we can deliver lasting changes for farmers and their families.

BOLD.We model innovative new approaches and are not afraid to challenge strategies that are failing.