Job Title: Agronomy Advisor
Location: Kirinyaga & Meru
About TechnoServe
Everyone deserves the opportunity to build a better future. This simple idea has been at the heart of TechnoServe’s work around the world for over 50 years. TechnoServe is a pioneer in leveraging the power of business and markets to create sustainable pathways out of poverty.
The low-income communities in which we work are full of enterprising people. Their small-scale farms and businesses are the keys to economic development. But they face many challenges: low literacy, lack of access to jobs and markets, unpredictable political dynamics and, increasingly, the effects of climate change. For many women and young people, the challenges are even more daunting. Working with TechnoServe staff, people around the world are lifting themselves out of poverty. The results are amazing…when incomes increase and living conditions for families get better, they are able to access health care and education previously out of reach. Communities and even whole countries are better off.
Job Summary:
The Agronomy Advisor shall support the implementation of strategies that will enable clients to achieve sustainable increases in coffee quality and yields.
Program/Practice/Department Overview:
TechnoServe’s Nespresso AAA Sustainable Quality Program is a partnership with Nespresso SA program to implement the Nespresso AAA program to Africa in Ethiopia, Kenya. The overarching goal is to reduce poverty of 200,000 smallholder coffee farmers in Kenya and Ethiopia through increased coffee incomes as a result of improved yields, quality and market access to Nespresso’s AAA supply chain.
Primary Functions & Responsibilities:
- Sensitize cooperative leadership, smallholder coffee farmers and local stakeholders on the TechnoServe coffee project work.
- Implement existing strategies to provide assigned cooperatives with agronomy training and with structured post-training farm visits to improve adoption.
- Train and advise farmers being assisted by the project on coffee agronomy best practices with the objective of helping them to improve coffee yields and quality.
- Train, mentor, coach and support assigned Farmer Trainers on all technical and operational aspects of their work and in relationship with farmers. This includes assisting them to set performance goals, continuous assessment of performance and giving feedback.
- Participate in the implementation of the defined project monitoring, measurement and evaluation activities that ensure accurate and consistent capture of date for project reporting and documenting of the impact of our work.
- Cultivate and manage good relationship with clients both at leadership and farmer levels as well as with key industry stakeholders and community leaders at local levels.
- Any other relevant tasks as assigned by the Senior Agronomy Advisor.
Basic Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in agriculture, agronomy, horticulture or related agricultural sciences.
- At least three years’ professional experience – ideally in the private sector – in one or more of the following areas: coffee processing or agronomy; business or cooperative management; SME development; agriculture; training; extension services.
- Demonstrated good understanding of the Kenya coffee industry and especially the cooperatives sector.
- Possess an aptitude and skills for training adults in a field set up.
- Strong planning skills and ability to generate innovative solutions in highly dynamic work situations.
- Demonstrated ability to prepare and present well-written, cohesive analyses and reports.
- Strong interpersonal, collaborative and cross-cultural skills.
- Willingness to spend significant time in project implementation sites located in rural areas.
- Valid motorcycle riding licence.
Required Languages
- Fluency in English and Kiswahili.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Previous work and experience with Techno Serve farmer training program.
Travel: This is a field based position in either Central or Eastern Kenya coffee growing regions.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
Core Competencies include:
- Integrity and honesty: Is widely trusted; seen as a direct, truthful individual; presents truthful information in an appropriate and helpful manner; keeps confidences; admits mistakes; does not misrepresent himself or herself for personal gain.
- Team Work/ Relationships: Works co-operatively and flexibly with other members of the team with a full understanding of the role to be played as a team member and/or leader, to achieve a common goal. Ability to build and maintain effective relationships and networks.
- Learning attitude: Proactively takes advantage of opportunities to learn. Actively identifies new areas for learning; applies and shares new knowledge and skill appropriately.
- Diversity/Inclusiveness: Demonstrates an understanding and appreciation for diversity and supports diversity efforts. Interacts effectively with and inclusively with people of all races, cultures, ethnicities, backgrounds, religions, ages, and genders.
- Communication: Expresses ideas effectively in individual and group situations. Listens effectively; shares information, ideas and arguments; adjusts terminology, language and communication modes to the needs of the audience; ensures accurate understanding; acts in a way that facilitates open exchange of ideas and information; uses appropriate non-verbal communication.
- Decision making/Problem Solving: Is able to analyze situations, diagnose problems, identify the key issues, establish and evaluate alternative courses of action and produce a logical, practical and acceptable solution. Is able to make effective decisions on a day-to-day basis, taking ownership of decisions, demonstrating sound judgement in escalating issues where necessary.
- Results Oriented/ High Quality Deliverables: Stays focused on the efforts necessary to achieve quality results consistent with programmatic or departmental goals. Demonstrates the ability to achieve effective results; works persistently to overcome obstacles to goal achievement. Accomplishes tasks by considering all areas involved, no matter how small; showing concern for all aspects of the job; accurately checking processes and tasks.
- Planning & Time Management: Establishes a course of action for self and/or others to accomplish a specific goal. Effectively plans, schedules, prioritizes and controls activities; identifies, integrates and orchestrates resources (people, material, information, budget, and/or time) to accomplish goals. Prioritizes work according to the program or department’s goals, not just own job responsibilities; manages own time effectively.
- Business Acumen: The ability to use information, ask the right questions and take decisions that make an impact on the overall business performance.
Job Specific/Technical Competencies include:
- Financial & Resource Management: The ability to estimate, justify, and manage appropriate funding levels to support goal accomplishment. Managing Resources is about understanding human, financial, and operational resource issues to make decisions aimed at building and planning efficient project workflows, and at improving overall organizational performance.
- Donor/Partnership Management: Identifying opportunities and taking action to build strategic relationships between one’s area and other areas, teams, departments, or organizations to help achieve business goals.
- Analysis, Research, Report Writing: Experience in business planning and analysis, modeling for feasibility and execution. Able to analyze and express oneself clearly in business writing.
- Innovative Mindset: Curious inquiries, asks questions and seeks out information from multiple sources, learns from mistakes, sees change as an opportunity.
Supervisory Responsibilities – The holder of the position will supervise 4-8 farmer trainers in the field.
The deadline for submitting the applications is 13th October 2022.
We encourage all qualified individuals who share TechnoServe’s vision of improving the lives of others through proven business solutions to apply.
With our commitment to diversity, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and affirmative action employer and do not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, HIV/AIDS status, protected veteran status, disability and all other protected classes.
We are also proud of our commitment to protecting staff, partners, and beneficiaries from abuse and exploitation and thoroughly vet all final candidates through rigorous background and reference checks.
If you have a disability that affects your ability to use our online system to apply for a position at TechnoServe please contact the Human Resources at recruitment@tns.org or call +1 202 785 4515.