SENIOR AGRONOMIST

From the Guardian of 8th April 8, 2014
Our client is a public international orqanization that addresses critical issues such as international food security, the alleviation of global hunger and poverty, environmental protection and the promotion of economic development and self-sufficiency. The organization's focus is on increasing productivity across the agricultural value chain in developing countries.

BRITEN on behalf of its client an international non-profit is recruiting for the following positions for a maize and rice value chain project that has two years of project life.

Senior Agronomist job NO.IF/NA/14/01

The Senior Agronomist, based in Morogoro, will oversee the implementation of agronomic activities in the project. The senior agronomist will work closely with agronomists in field stations based in Mvomero, Kilombero, Kongwa, Kiteto districts and other project districts as the project expands. The primary function is to develop and disseminate intensified, sustainable production methods for smallholder farmers for priority commodities-rice (particularly paddy rice) and maize-as well as crops grown in association with these crops (usually as rotations). Dissemination is primarily through interaction with government and non-government partners, including farmer organizations, agro-input dealers, and NGOs.

The focus is on commercial, sustainable production to achieve marketable surpluses and reduced production costs. Commercial production will involve the use of fertilizers, organic matter management, improved germplasm, and good farming practices, which may include crop rotations/intercrops, crop/livestock integration, weed and pest control measures, minimum tillage, water harvesting, and erosion control measures. Farming-as-a-business skills are necessary, such as the ability to make farm budgets and evaluate the profitability of technical interventions.

The Senior Agronomist will have hands-on experience in growing one or more of the priority crops, practical knowledge of multiple cropping systems and good agricultural practices, and demonstrated experience in their application. S/he will be expected to identify agronomic constraints to commercializing smallholder production, and to address those constraints through the design of profitable farming systems, centered on production of priority commodities (above). S/he will be responsible for development of farmer training materials, in collaboration with partners, project field agronomists, and regional staff. The senior agronomist will also be responsible for overall design and execution of field demonstrations and data collection, and will work with the Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor to assure accurate monitoring of project outputs. S/he will work with the project's productivity team to develop training materials and train farmers on good agronomic practices. Together with the project's technical team, the Senior Agronomist will support the field teams.

Responsibilities
Coordinate the development of simple, direct training materials, suited to both farmers and extension staff. Work closely with other project agronomists to meet demonstration, training, and farmer adoption objectives. Identify production constraints or bottlenecks and develop means to address them.
Prepare activity reports on a monthly basis .
• Ensure that projects result in economic, environmental and socially sustainable impact.
Establish and maintain contacts with private, government agencies, farmer groups and associations, and NGOs involved in commercial agriculture initiatives.
Work with in collaboration with the agro-input specialist and the seed specialist to ensure the promotion of improved good quality seed and promotion of good agronomic practices to enable farmers respond to market demand and adopt all year round cropping systems
Work with communications specialist to communicate project successes.

Basic qualifications
Minimum Bachelors Degree (Masters preferred) with proven experience in agronomy, soil science, communication and innovation studies related to agriculture or any related field, with at least 10 years of relevant work experience in Africa
Proven leadership skills; ability to work collaboratively in multi-cultural environments and in multi-disciplinary . teams
Previous experience working with farmer organizations to build capacity in novel and exciting ways for a variety of skills highly desirable.
A commitment to and experience in community-based, participatory, field-oriented research and experiential learning approaches.
Good networking skills; existing relations with government, private, and NGO actors in agricultural production. Farming-as-a-business and post-harvest handling knowledge/experience highly desirable.
Experience with gender mainstreaming in agriculture projects highly desirable.
An ability to apply systems perspectives to natural resource management issues
Excellent communication and reporting skills.
Willing to travel extensively in Tanzania.
Excellent written and oral communication skills in both English and Swahili and the ability to work with colleagues and partners of varied backgrounds and experience
Excellent reporting skills in English.
Excellent communication skills in Kiswahili

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

Applicants should send their application letters attaching copies of CV through info@britentz.org  citing the job name and job number in the subject line before the 16th of April 2014. Any application that does not cite the job name and the job number in the subject line will not be considered

BRiTEN
P. O. Box 33685,
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
info@britentz.org

Josam House
Coca Cola Road
Off Bagamoyo Road (Mwenge)
Block B ,3rd floor

Office Tel:	+255 768 583 020
	+255 776 772 034