Community Development Officer (CDO)-Fentale Oromia

JOB DESCRIPTION AND PERSON SPECIFICATION

JOB TITLE: Community Development Officer (CDO)

REPORTS TO: Project Coordinator

NUMBER OF POSITIONS:   1

REPORTING TO POSTHOLDER: None

LOCATION:  Fentale Woreda in Oromia National Regional State

DURATION & HOURS: The one-year contract upon successful completion of a probation period of 60 working days with the possibility of extending the contract 

SALARY: 493 GBP/Month

The role of the community development officer is to provide overall technical leadership in the areas of livestock and agricultural development for the Gender Transformation and Climate Resilience (GTCR) project and the overall Farm Africa portfolio. This includes the planning and implementation of all measures related to livestock and crop development where Farm Africa engaged in running different activities in pastoralist areas. 

The overall responsibility of the position holder is to coordinate the planning and execution of the project's climate-resilient agricultural/livelihood (crop & livelihood) related activities. He/she will be specifically responsible for planning, and executing of capacity-building trainings, facilitating input supply, organizing farmers' groups, supporting VSLAs with technical advice, and providing technical support to government counterparts. 

He/she ensures that communities are engaged in improved high-value crop and livestock production, processing, and marketing. In coordination with the project coordinator, he/she will provide good partnerships with government stakeholders, community members, CBOs, consortium partners, CSOs, private sectors, and other relevant partners in the operational areas of the project.

Key areas of responsibility are:

1. Ensure timely project implementation at Woreda level

• Work with the project team and government counterparts to achieve the project outputs/outcomes at his/her specific cluster

• Ensure adequate consultation and participation of Woreda and village/community 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

• Conduct other duties as may be assigned by the Project Field Coordinator

1. Bring technical expertise to ensure high quality project delivery

• Take part in the assessments and surveys of crop and livestock-related activities used for project planning and management

• Provide market linkages by working closely with market/cooperative experts across the woredas

• Promote Climate-smart agriculture such as agroforestry woredas and improve agricultural practices and diversification where appropriate/within context;

• Sustainable livestock management: Development of a sustainable community water management system for livestock and livestock productivity improvement (including forage development)

• Small business group development: Beekeeping and honey production development, Women milk processing cooperatives, Goat husbandry cooperatives, Gum and resin production cooperatives, Livestock trading support, Business and product development training, Vegetable crops production support, Fruit trees development support, Establishing livestock marketing system, Support for community ecotourism development

• Facilitate the planning, implementation, monitoring, review, and evaluation of crop and livestock activities

• Provide expertise and advice for community institutions on gender mainstreaming in project scheme 

• Identify and promote innovative livelihood programming approaches and interventions to achieve project objectives, and suited to the particular conditions and needs of diverse client groups in the operational areas;

• Assess and monitor all services in terms of rate of return, unit costs, cost efficiency other relevant economic and financial methods, and standard agricultural economics.

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

• Provide technical support to Woreda-level technical staff and government staff

• Organizes and coordinates capacity-building training and workshops for beneficiaries, consortium partners, CBOs, and private sectors on improved agronomic and livestock practices and support. 

1. Contribute to project management and reporting

• Participate in the assessment, design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation processes of the project activities.

• Prepare and develop status reports as required by management.

• Ensure proper recording and documentation of best practices and success stories

• Ensure that the project is implemented according to the original plan and project proposal.

• Monitor and document the project progress, lessons, good experience, and impact on rural communities.

1. 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 

• 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 Farm Africa staff members to support Farm Africa’s aims

• Participate in broader Farm Africa meetings with other project staff members, as requested by the line manager. 

1. Additional roles and responsibilities 

• Participate in monthly activity and budget plan sessions which is commonly facilitated by the field project coordination unit 

• Provide strong support to the internal digital monitoring system of Farm Africa 

• Support an implementation of other Farm Africa projects in the area which might be funded by different donors

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.

Our Values 

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: Expertise and insightful evidence-based solutions are at the heart of everything Farm Africa does.  

GROUNDED: Our teams and partners work closely with local communities, engaging them in every level of decision-making.  

IMPACTFUL: We deliver long-lasting change for farmers, their families, and the environments they live in.  

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

How To Apply

Those who meet the above requirements should submit their short CV (maximum of 4 pages) and a cover letter (maximum 1 page) to https://airtable.com/app0xEgEzA8sZfZ28/shrIuSce1f636ncz2 by 12 September 2024 

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Farm Africa is an equal-opportunity employer and promotes gender equity. Canvassing will lead to automatic disqualification. Farm Africa does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process. (E.g. Application, interview, meeting, processing, training, or any other fees).