Precision Agriculture for Development (PAD) is a US‐based non‐profit organization with the mission to support smallholder farmers in developing countries by providing customized information and services that increase productivity, profitability, and environmental sustainability. PAD is working on a new model for agricultural extension: reaching farmers with personalized agricultural advice through their mobile phones. We implement this model in collaboration with partner organizations and gather evidence on its impact. We aim to improve the lives of 100 million farmers in developing countries with our services.
PAD’s senior leadership team includes professors and experts in technology and international development with considerable combined experience in sub‐Saharan Africa and India as well as deep expertise in data science and monitoring and evaluation. The current board includes Michael Kremer (Harvard University), Shawn Cole (Harvard Business School), Heiner Baumann (former Barr Foundation), and Daniel Björkegren (Brown University). PAD is a young social enterprise headquartered in Boston, USA and currently operates in India and Kenya, with additional partnerships in Bangladesh, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Pakistan, and Rwanda.
The Agronomist will support PAD research, operations and scale-up activities in Ethiopia by strengthening PAD’s agronomy expertise and by working with Ethiopian government agencies and other partners to develop and refine the content of mobile phone-based agricultural advisory services. The Agronomist will be responsible for the following tasks:
- Work closely with PAD team members and our partner organizations to execute project implementation
- Provide overall agronomy expertise and information to the team in Ethiopia
- Gather and compile scientific evidence on key agriculture topics to better inform the design of mobile phone-based agricultural advisory services in Ethiopia
- Collect and maintain an extensive database of all major crops in Ethiopia, and map out season-wise and territory-wise crop prospects
- Support current projects that PAD undertakes in content development, simplification, and customization with regard to major agronomic practices, pest and disease management, post-harvest management, etc.
- Develop, refine and revise agronomic content of mobile phone-based agricultural advisory services implemented by PAD and/or other partners
- In collaboration with partner organizations and PAD staff, the agronomist will be responsible for exploring new engagement areas and new project opportunities
- Support and supervise other (junior) agronomist staff within the team
- Provide support in managing relationships with key partners across multiple projects and provide technical backstopping to partner organizations
- Contribute to project M&E activities, including designing of monitoring tools, regular fieldwork to collect monitoring data, and preparation of monitoring reports
Job Requirements
Qualifications and experience
Required:
- Masters degree in agronomy, agricultural sciences, crop production or agroecology
- At least 5 years’ experience implementing agriculture, livelihood or value chain development projects in the developing world
- At least 2 years’ experience working directly with smallholder production systems in sub-Saharan Africa
- Practical experience drafting agricultural curricula and implementing trainings
- Experience carrying out focus group discussions and gathering qualitative data from farmers
- Strong written and oral communication skills in English
- Strong organizational and planning skills
- Experience in writing reports and communicating scientific topics to laypeople
- Willingness and ability to work under tight timelines, and flexibility to engage in multiple projects
- Willingness to travel to field sites in Ethiopia and internationally
- Ability to work independently and with minimum supervision
- Experience and ability to work in multicultural settings
- Ability to engage effectively with diverse stakeholders
Desired:
- Experience working with CGIAR centers and national governments
- Knowledge of the Ethiopian agricultural sector
- Knowledge of at least one Ethiopian language
How to Apply
Submit a CV, cover letter, and contact information for three references via PAD’s website https://precisionag.applicantpro.com/jobs/888581.html no later than July 12, 2019. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
More Information
- Job City Addis Ababa