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Program Officer – Agriculture and Environmental Management

About Environmental and Economic Resource Centre (EERC)

Environmental and Economic Resource Centre is an international research-based NGO that works with a network of local and international partners to catalyse and develop inclusive agriculture, sustainable livelihoods, natural resource conservation, and environmental management in Africa. EERC undertakes research and capacity building to develop scalable technologies and innovative practices with real impact on poverty reduction, food security, ecosystem health, conservation, and livelihood development.

About the Project

EERC is partnering with Mercy Corp to Build Resilience to Climate Change and Carbon Market Opportunities in Smallholder Farming Systems in Northeast Nigeria under the “Feed the Future Rural Resilience Activity (RRA), a 5-year project funded by the United State Agency for International Development (USAID).

Northeast Nigeria (NEN) is characterized by harsh weather conditions, with the majority of the population being smallholder farmers, pastoralists, fishermen/women, and forest-dependent households who derive their livelihoods from natural resources and thus, are most vulnerable to climate shocks and natural hazards and consequently loss of investments leading to low productivity and income. EERC aims at building resilience to climate change by promoting climate change mitigation and adaptation practices that have the potential to not only increase productivity and conserve the environment but also increase productivity as well as create opportunities for carbon credits among the beneficiaries. The project has three main objectives and these include:

  1. Enhance the capacity of the state government to establish a suitable platform for carbon market mechanisms as well as ensure mitigating the impact of climate change across the state.
  2. Promote Agro-forestry among 3000 farmers to create multiple benefits such as improved food security, livelihoods, ecosystem functions, regeneration of degraded farmland, and lasting income generation from carbon markets.
  3. Promote the effective utilization of agri-waste and carbon farming practices among 7000 farmers to reduce the incidence of soil erosion, improve the productivity and income of smallholder farmers as well as enhance the sustainable utilization of resources, thereby reducing the impact of climate change.

The project will adopt a market-led approach to improve livelihood, build the resilience of farm households to climate change, and increase income through participation in agroforestry and carbon farming opportunities and thereby reducing the incidence of soil erosion, improving the productivity and income of smallholder farmers as well as enhance the sustainable utilization of resources, thereby reducing the impact of climate change in Adamawa and Gombe State.

About the Position

The Agriculture and Environmental Management Officer is primarily responsible for implementing and overall coordination of the project in Adamawa and Gombe states, Nigeria. S/he is expected to work under the direct supervision of the EERC Program Manager while working closely with Mercy Corp staff, government officials, and private sector firms to ensure the successful implementation of the project in Adamawa and Gombe. S/he will act as the Head of Field Office for EERC and coordinate with other project staff to ensure effective utilization of project resources, as well as timely implementation, and reporting.

 Key Duties and Responsibilities:

  • The Agriculture and Environmental Management Officer will oversee and coordinate the implementation of project activities in Adamawa and Gombe states.
  • Coordinate both technical and administrative staff and operations of the EERC Field Office in Adamawa.
  • Build and maintain relationships with stakeholders including the governments, private sectors, financial institutions, farmers, and development actors working within the space of climate change.
  • Identify and conduct capacity building for government officials on policy formulation, carbon mitigation, measurement, and reporting to promote the interests of the governments in carbon opportunities in Adamawa and Gombe.
  • Identify primary and secondary stakeholders at the local level and give priority to seeking the views of the most disadvantaged and marginalized groups within communities. E.g. women, especially female-headed households.
  • Coordinate the Monitoring Learning and Evaluation Specialist to ensure timely profiling of beneficiaries for the project.
  • Work with the Climate Change Specialist to identify suitable climate change mitigation and adaptation practices suitable for each of the beneficiaries based on their livelihood and socioeconomic status.
  • Visit project locations to collect information required for making guiding decisions for the successful implementation of the project
  • Coordinate reporting of the project activities to EERC Program Manager to ensure timely reporting of the progress to Mercy Corp
  • Perform any other tasks of a similar nature as requested by the Program Manager.

Number of Openings: One (1)                                   Length of Contract: 12 months

How to apply:

Interested and qualified candidates with the required experience are invited to submit their applications by email to apply@eerce.org. Candidate should be ready to submit Cover Letter, CV, and 3 references while filling the application. The application should be submitted on or before 11 August 2023. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Required Qualification

Minimum Qualifications and Experience

 Education: A minimum of a master’s degree in any of the agricultural disciplines including agronomy, agricultural economics, development economics, agricultural extension, environmental economics, or any other related field is required.

Prior Work Experience: A minimum of five years of progressively professional experience working on a donor-funded program in Nigeria is required. Three (3) years of experience working or collaborating with donors, governments, and/or international organizations is required is northeast Nigeria is an added advantage.

Applicants who clearly meet the minimum required academic qualifications and prior work experience requirements and basic eligibility requirements will be further evaluated based on scoring of the Evaluation Factors listed below. The highest-ranking applicants may be selected for an interview.

FACTOR 1: Knowledge and Competencies

State-of-the-art specialized knowledge of technical, project, and program design approaches in agriculture, environment, and climate change issues are required. A thorough knowledge and understanding of agricultural land use, livelihoods, climate change, and environmental conservation with the ability to contextualize the nexuses, in particular as it relates to smallholder farming systems within the context of vulnerable environments is required.

FACTOR 2: Skills and Abilities:

Sound ability in undertaking environmental assessments preferred. Must be able to work effectively with mid-and senior-level public and private sector officials, research Institutions, private sector, etc. Must be able to work effectively in a team environment and coordinate well with others. Must be able to develop effective and collaborative manager-to-manager relationships with IPs in order to establish and maintain effective working relationships amongst teams, and with the Nigerian public and private sectors. Organizational skills and the ability to multitask and stay organized in a complex, frequently changing environment. Ability to take the lead on projects, ability to inspire others, attention to detail and a methodological approach to work, coordinating the management of environmental issues that range from advocacy, understanding how to measure and mitigate the impact of designed interventions on the environment and understand techniques to increase the resilience of farmers and farming systems to eliminate change; approaches to improving the capacity of systems to sequester carbon and mitigate climate change (increasing carbon stakes in terrestrial systems farmland, Greenland or forest).

FACTOR 3: Communication and Language Skills: Fluent English in oral and writing ability is required and the ability to speak Hausa is an added advantage.

More Info.

Opening date: 2023-07-28
Closing date: 2023-08-11
Location: Yola, Adamawa State, Nigeria