Heifer International is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender identify, sexual orientation, age, status as a protected veteran, among other things, or status as a qualified individual with a disability.

FUNCTION

Project Officer ’s overall role is to work with communities to collectively bring about social change and improve livelihoods. The Project Officer  will support the Program Manager in ensuring effective and efficient implementation of the Women Economic Empowerment Project. S/he will provide training, monitor progress, provide technical advice, evaluate and report on activities in assigned project areas and in alignment with the program plans, goals and other donor deliverables. The project has a strong component of monitoring, evaluation and learning. The Project Officer  will support the monitoring, evaluation and learning for the project. The Project Officer  will also assist in ensuring smooth coordination of activities by Heifer International Zambia and its partner organisations. The Project Officer  will play a key role in ensuring technical support to farmer organisations especially as regards to gender transformation, transformative leadership and business development.

ESSENTIAL CHARACTER TRAITS: 

Behave ethically; communicate effectively; creativity/Innovation; foster teamwork: compassion; generosity; humility, openness, conscientiousness, and extraversion.

RESPONSIBILITIES & DELIVERABLES

A. Capacity Development of farmer organizations, Cooperative members, community members to develop and establish viable enterprises to sustain their own development goals (30%)
Build the capacity of partners (SHGs/Producer, District Farmers’ Association, Cooperatives/Associations, public and private sectors) on all aspects of Social Capital Development, Governance, business development, Climate-Smart Agricultural/Conservation Agriculture activities including services, technologies, MIS, marketing channels.
Develop capacity building materials and operationalization of the business and marketing plans in the business hubs.
Design, track and review the implementation of enterprise development, and farmers preparedness to receive project resources/assets.
Train partners/farmers on respective cross-cutting themes, e.g., gender, agro-ecology, HIV/AIDS, VBHCD & Market-driven approaches.
Train Cooperatives or Producer Groups on Planning, Governance, and Management.
Improved capacities of local structures (both new & existing) organizational leadership.
Improved social cohesion and dynamism among community members.
Well-equipped farmers and partners with regular access to good quality risk management equipment/tools and services.
Organized exchange/peer learning visits every semester.
Established, functional and dynamic cooperatives or Producer Groups.
Established and functional network of Producer Groups and Cooperative.

B. Promote Gender relations and women empowerment (25%)
Conduct awareness campaigns on women’s empowerment.
Promote Village Savings and Loans Groups.
Facilitate linkage of women to micro finance institutions.
Increased Women and girls’ agency.
Improved Gender Relations at household and community level.

C. Monitoring Learning and Evaluation (15%)
Collect data and maintain a good recording system on performance of farmer cooperatives/Associations for inclusion in reports and databases.
Evaluate and incorporate learning practices from project implementation
Monitor and make follow-ups through frequent visits to participating households and communities.
Prepare periodic reports and document best practices and lessons learned.
A functional M&E system in place
Conducted peer/exchange, Monitoring, and Control visits periodically.
Written and submitted high-quality reports periodically.

D. Value Chain and Business Development (25%)
Support training  and  development  of business plans and  business  skills for farmer cooperative  and enterprises.
Facilitate cohesive market relationships among identified actors in the value chain.
Facilitate farmer training on Postharvest loss management and technologies
Facilitate linkages between domestic and external markets with aggregation points.
Facilitate the building of community assets.
Identify and train respective value chain actors.
Facilitate the establishment of Marketing Information Systems among value chain actors.
Established network and aggregation point for farmers farm outputs.
Mobilized physical assets for marketing and Value Addition.
Conducted value chain and investment analyses for selected commodities.
Established and strengthened linkages between the staff of the line Ministries, private sector (input dealers, processors, buyers, and retailers), and the farmers.

E. May perform other job-related duties as assigned (5%)
Delivered as assigned by the supervisor.

Minimum Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture, Natural Resource, Development Studies plus three (3) years’ work Experience.
Experience in Community Development work and Agri-business.
Preferred Requirements

Bachelor of Science Degree in Agricultural Science/Social and Community Development Studies, Agricultural Economics, Natural Resource, Development Studies and any related science from recognized institutions.
Most Critical Proficiencies

Good analytical skills.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
A good understanding and sensitivity to issues associated with poverty, hunger and environment, and knowledge of the context to which non-profit organizations operate.
The computer is proficient in word processing, spreadsheets, presentation tools, electronic mail software.
Strong organizational skills.
Demonstrated written and oral fluency in English.
Essential Job Functions and Physical Demands

Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
Ability to establish priorities and work with minimum supervision.
Excellent facilitation skills.
Computer literate in the use of common packages for word processing and excel.
Licensed driver or rider.
Ability to travel away from home at short notice and for long periods.
Flexible and able to work independently to meet deadlines.
Constant face-to-face, telephone and electronic communication with colleagues
and stakeholders.
Fluent in English and Bemba.
Commitment to organizational goals and vision of Heifer Zambia.
Mature and ability to resolve group conflicts.
Sensitive to social issues such as gender and HIV/AIDS.