Company Description

SNV Netherlands Development Organisation

SNV is a not-for-profit international development organisation that applies practical know-how to make a lasting difference in the lives of people living in poverty. We use our extensive and long-term in-country presence to apply and adapt our top-notch expertise in agriculture, energy and WASH to local contexts. SNV has over 1250 staff in more than 25 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. We are proud to be a not-for-profit organisation that uses project financing to implement our mission. This requires us to work efficiently and to invest in operational excellence.

In its new Strategic Plan period (2019 – 2022), SNV will more explicitly aim for systems change during project preparation and implementation – by strengthening institutions and kick-starting markets that help many more to escape poverty beyond our projects. We will continue to position ourselves as a premium organisation and invest in making knowledge flow to and from the frontline.

Background: 

SNV is preparing for an exciting new project focusing on changing the business models in cotton, dairy and horticulture production systems. The project, which is to start in January 2020 is a three year project. Working with companies, SMEs and farmers, the new project brings together lessons from previous achievements in climate smart agriculture and renewable energy and works on proving the premise that an integrated private sector approach to climate change can be commercially viable and environmentally sustainable:

Integrated Soil Fertility Management + Agroforestry + Bio-slurry + Renewable Energy + Irrigation

=

More climate friendly, stable & higher yields

The project maintains a strong orientation on the differing roles of men and women farmers in farming and in business and also on youth (self) employment.

Job Description

Overview of the Position 

The project team consists of a Project Manager and a Deputy Project Manager based in Lusaka, three Field Coordinators each based in a field office, Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) and Renewable Energy (RE) officers, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) officer and a Gender Advisor. The field offices are in Katete (cotton), Choma (dairy), Kabwe (inclusive business in dairy, horticulture and cotton), with some horticultural works extending to Solwezi. The Technical Officer– CSA will be based in Choma and will be responsible for the field implementation of climate smart practices in the project focus areas. In direct coordination with the Project Manager, the incumbent will carry out climate smart interventions and will foster capacity building of stakeholders on climate smart practices along the agricultural value chain. Stakeholders include companies, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), cooperatives, government extension officers, agro-dealers, tree nursery farmers, equipment suppliers and farmers.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Promote and increase stakeholder capacities in climate smart agriculture (CSA) solutions for smallholder farmers.
• Support the switch by companies, SMEs and others to reorient their products and services to cater for a more climate resilient market for the respective agribusinesses/ value chains.
• Technical assistance on implementation of CSA practices, often in conjunction with energy colleagues
• Conducting trainings on CSA solutions to a wide range of audiences
• Support Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning activities
• Support in administrative day to day operations of the field office.
• Support the design and implementation of activities in line with the annual project plan.

Qualifications

• Bachelors’ degree in agriculture or other relevant field with a minimum of 3 years working experience OR a School Certificate with a minimum of 5 years working experience,
• Proven track record with over 3 years of experience in climate smart agriculture methods in rural areas; these include agroforestry, conservation farming, integrated water resource management,
• Practical experience in one of the following topics: Renewable energy, Youth (self) Employment and Gender,
• Strong communication skills and ability to conduct trainings under extreme conditions
• Private sector experience is an asset,
• ICT / Computer Literacy,
• Fluency in written and oral English, proficiency in multiple local languages is an asset.

Additional information

This is a full-time National position with the successful candidate being contracted in October 2022 to December 2023. Salary is competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience.