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Job Title:      Agronomy Advisor (2 Job Placements)

Organization: TechnoServe

Duty Station:  Mbarara, Bushenyi, Ntungamo,
Sheema, Uganda

Reports to:  Senior Agronomy Advisor

Duration: 1 year
9 months

About US:

TechnoServe works with enterprising people in the developing
world to build competitive farms, businesses and industries. We are a nonprofit
organization that develops business solutions to poverty by linking people to
information, capital and markets. With more than four decades of proven
results, we believe in the power of private enterprise to transform lives.

About Program:

TechnoServe is implementing a four-year coffee agronomy
training program that seeks to improve incomes for 30,000 coffee farming
households in Central and Western Uganda by increasing their coffee farm
productivity. This will be achieved by promoting improved coffee agronomic
practices at the farm level through a two-year structured and farm-based
training program based on the coffee growing cycle. The training will be
conducted by locally recruited and trained Farmer Trainers (FTs) and delivered
in three different cohorts. It is expected that up to 60% of the target
households will adopt at least half of the coffee best practices, which will
translate to at least 50% increase in coffee yields. To validate the impact of
the program on yield increase and attribute the results to actions of the
program, a Randomized Control Trial (RCT) is conducted by external agencies.

Job Summary:  The Agronomy Advisor shall support the
implementation of strategies that will enable clients to achieve sustainable
increases in coffee quality and yields.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:  

Planning and management of Farmer Trainers (FTs)

·       
Supervise 8 to 12 Farmer Trainers (FTs)

·       
Prepare and submit weekly work plan and monthly
training schedules

·       
Collect and review weekly training plans and
attendance data from FT’s. Ensure completeness, accuracy and clarify of data
prior to submission for processing

·       
Clearly communicate goals and roles and
responsibilities to Farmer Trainers

·       
Provide feedback, coaching and development
activities related to performance management

·       
Develop a team spirit among all reports

·       
Conduct monthly Agronomy trainings to FTs

·       
Model monthly agronomy training to FTs at local
training demonstration plots

·       
Supervise teach-backs and give feedback to
Farmer Trainers

·       
Prepare and ensure all training materials reach
FT’s in a timely manner.

·       
Observe FT’s delivering training to farmers

·       
Observe full training delivered to farmers by
assigned Farmer Trainers (FTs)

·       
Check attendance form, cross check with number
of farmers seen as present. Ensure reported data is accurate, clear and
complete.

·       
Complete training observation assessment on
tablet and give feedback and coaching to the FT.

·       
Each FT must be observed at least once a month,
with a minimum of 9 observations in total per month.

Visit farmer fields and demonstration plots

·       
Visit randomly selected farmers, discuss
training, farmer adoption and challenges and complete best practice check list
on tablet

·       
Meet with Focal Farmer (FF), check demo plot
status and discuss any challenges and innovations

·       
Complete demonstration plot assessment on
tablet. Give feedback to FT on improvements required. A minimum of 10
demonstration plot visits and assessments to be made each month.

Attendance Monitoring

·       
Support the FT to develop strategies to
encourage the attendance of women at training.

·       
Collect, check for completion and submit
complete set of FT’s attendance sheets to the M&E team within 1 week of
training completion.

·       
Compile weekly attendance update and discuss any
attendance issues with FT’s and develop actions to solve problems.

Stakeholder Management

·       
Create a good working relationship with
stakeholders and manage quarterly update meetings with local stakeholders
including district, sub-county, parish and village leaders

·       
Program representation and expansion

·       
Lead and manage the expansion of the agronomy
program into a new operational area including needs assessment, stakeholder
sensitization, farmer mobilization, group formation and recruitment of FTs.

·       
Be a program ambassador at the operational area

·       
Provide translation and contextualization services
to high-level visitors

·       
Spearhead efforts in making the agronomy program
more gender inclusive and conflict sensitive using local customs etc.

·       
Provide support to the Uganda country operations
as required.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

·       
The applicant must hold a Bachelor’s degree in
Agriculture, Agronomy, Agribusiness, Crop science, Horticulture or related
agricultural sciences. May accept diploma and more than five years’ experience
in lieu of Degree.

·       
A minimum of three years of professional
experience – ideally in the private sector – in one or more of the following
areas: agriculture, small and medium enterprise development, farmer
associations or cooperatives, project management, financing, engineering,
community development

·       
Strong planning abilities; prior experience
working to tight and strict deadlines

·       
Ability to lead a team and work collaboratively
within a team; prior experience managing direct reports

·       
Strong interpersonal and cross-cultural skills,
Willingness to spend significant time in rural areas.

·       
Experience working with farmers is essential

·       
Experience riding motorcycles and a valid riding
permit

·       
Experience working in the project location and
knowledge of Runyakitara are essential

Competencies:

·       
Financial and Resource Management:
The ability to estimate, justify, and manage appropriate funding levels to
support goal accomplishment. Managing Resources is about understanding human,
financial, and operational resource issues to make decisions aimed at building
and planning efficient project workflows, and at improving overall
organizational performance.

·       
Analysis, Research and Report writing: Experience
in business planning and analysis, modeling for feasibility and execution. Able
to analyze and express oneself clearly in business writing.

·       
Donor/Partnership Management: Identifying
opportunities and taking action to build strategic relationships between one’s
area and other areas, teams, departments, or organizations to help achieve
business goals.

·       
Innovative Mindset: Curious
inquiries, asks questions and seeks out information from multiple sources,
learns from mistakes, sees change as an opportunity.

·       
Emotional Intelligence: Empathetic,
understands attitudes, interests, needs of others; predict others behavior.
Self-aware and keeps own emotions from interfering with work. Understanding
both the strengths and limitations of others.

·       
Trust to delegate: Appropriately
allocates decision-making authority and/or task responsibility to others;
maximizes the organization’s and individual’s effectiveness.

·       
Staff development: Planning and
supporting the development of individuals’ skills and abilities so that they
can fulfill current or future job responsibilities more effectively.

·       
Feedback/Coaching: Recognizes and
acknowledges strengths in others. Provides timely guidance and feedback to help
others develop knowledge and skill areas to accomplish tasks or solve problems.

How to Apply:

All qualified and interested applicants should submit a
resume and cover letter in one single Microsoft Word document to pkabagambe@tns.org

NB: Please
identify the position for which you are applying in the subject line. Due to a
high volume of applicants, please understand that we are able to contact only
those who meet the minimum qualifications. No phone calls, please. TechnoServe
encourages diversity in all levels and across all facets of our organization.
We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the
basis of gender, race, color, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender
identity, ages, HIV/AIDS status, protected veteran status, disability and all
other protected classes.

Deadline: 10^th
March 2020

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