Agriculture Field Officer Job Duties and Requirements

Position Summary:

The Agriculture Field Officer is responsible for coordination and implementation of all agriculture projects and activities within his/her respective agency/district in accordance with the best practices of the program. The Agriculture Field Officer is the primary liaison with government representatives, line ministries and communities at the field office level.

Reporting & Supervision:

The Agriculture Field Officer reports to the Agency Development Field Coordinator and coordinates closely with the Agriculture Extension Coordinator.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Advise senior management on the formation of agriculture strategy in the district/agency assigned, including where to focus program resources, how to develop operational relationships with the / Political Agent (PA) / District Coordination Officer (DCO) office, as well as how to address programmatic challenges.
• Monitor and report to senior management on the changing environment and thereby pro-actively contribute to evolving agriculture strategy in response to the ground realities.
• Serve as point of contact for agriculture issues at the district/agency level and actively develop and maintain positive relationships with all relevant stakeholders in the district/agency, including but not limited to all government departments and representatives, community and tribal leaders, local organizations and other partners.
• Establish and oversee the consultative processes with regard to agriculture between the GoP district/agency level structures by encouraging local government officials to participate in meetings, as well as participate in the monitoring of project implementation at the site, thus ensuring visible and tangible ownership of the program by the GoP and increasing positive interactions between the government and community.
• Implement the district/agency level agriculture strategy as per program priorities and in response to the local community and GoP’s priorities.
• Manage and oversee agriculture grant implementation within the assigned district/agency, from the generation of grant ideas in accordance with the strategy to the completion and closure of each grant as per the standard operating procedures and in compliance with donor rules and regulations.
• Oversee the maintenance and submission of project management tools to ensure quality implementation of all agriculture projects and activities in timely fashion.
• Facilitate weekly implementation meetings, as well as grant opening and closing meetings as necessary.
• Submit program related reports as required.
• Regularly convene and participate in community, government and partner meetings.
• Coordinate and facilitate monitoring of ongoing projects with the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit.
• Other duties as required.

Physical Demands:

While performing the duties of this job, the employee may occasionally be required to lift and/or move up to 20-25 pounds.

Required Skills & Qualifications:

• Minimum of five years of experience in agriculture project management, including design, development and oversight of small-scale rural agriculture projects.
• Extensive experience in community participation and consultative-implementation methods.
• Possesses the knowledge and experience to analyze national, regional, and local politics.
• In-depth knowledge of local government, culture and traditions; previous work experience in the regions of FATA is desirable.
• Creativity and analytical capacity to design and implement agriculture projects in a challenging security environment.
• Flexibility to adjust to new implementation practices and new strategic guidance as per the changing political environment.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and work under pressure in insecure environments.
• Experience implementing donor funded projects preferred.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills desired.
• Spoken and written fluency in local languages required.
• Fluency in English preferred.

The physical demands and work environment that have been described are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this position.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

This position description is an overview of the functions and requirements for this position.  This document is not intended to be an exhaustive list encompassing every duty and requirement of the position; your supervisor may assign other duties as deemed appropriate and necessary.