Potato Specialist
Ngaoundere
- Organization: CIP - International Potato Center
- Location: Ngaoundere
- Grade: Mid level - Mid level
-
Occupational Groups:
- Agriculture and Forestry
- Closing Date: Closed
International Potato Center POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT
Ref.: 2019/002/NRS/CAM/SSA Potato Specialist - Cameroon The International Potato Center (CIP) is seeking to recruit a dynamic and experienced Potato Specialist for Cameroon. The position will be recruited and hosted by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Cameroon on behalf of CIP. The Position:
The Potato Specialist will be responsible for coordinating and managing field work with partners in a potato value chain and agricultural project in Cameroon. The position will be based in Ngaoundere, Cameroon with frequent travel to the field. The Potato Specialist will report to the Principal Investigator (PI) of the project based in Yaoundé, while also coordinating responsibilities and activities with the project team across intervention areas. The Potato Specialist will act as field coordinator to i) implement field activities to strengthen farmers’ potato production capacities and seed multiplication resources and ii) coordinate partners in these activities.
The Potato Specialist will be responsible for coordinating the trialing of innovative and agro- ecological farming methods, such as new disease resistant and high yielding varieties, high quality seed, small-scale mechanization, integrated pest and disease management, and innovative irrigation methods with support from the project PI and project team, and in direct collaboration with project partners.
The principal responsibility of the position is to undertake capacity building of trainers and extension staff. The Potato Specialist will be working independently with planning, implementation and monitoring under field conditions. In follow-up to the training of trainers, the Potato Specialist will monitor the training of farmers through the implementation of Farmer Field School (FFS) systems with innovation farms and demonstration plots in close collaboration with the partners’ Regional Coordinators and extension staff. Key responsibilities:
• Manage day-to-day partnerships with the participating Agricultural Training Centers, Regional Coordinators of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Farmer Cooperatives; • Coordinate and support planning and delivery of capacity building for ware potato production and seed multiplication programs with focus on community-based lead
farmers, extension, and private sector input suppliers;
• Participate in identification, designing, monitoring and evaluation of potato learning farms;
• Coordinate and monitor demonstration and training sites managed by extension agents;
• Provide training of trainers and supervision to assure quality of FFS and Farmer Business School training events;
• Support extension to document and collect data from demonstration plots to inform and improve delivery of project interventions;
• Support field work of consultants;
• Coordinate and monitor the evaluation and implementation of innovative agronomic practices through on-farm trialing and Farmer Learning Groups.
• Work closely with the monitoring and evaluation team to coordinate, plan and execute monitoring and evaluation activities;
• Support seed system development;
• Support trials and release of new varieties;
• Backstopping multiplication and distribution of newly released varieties;
• Develop and maintain good working relationship with national partners and
stakeholders
• Writing of project reports.
• And any other duty as assigned by the PI.
Selection Criteria:
• Minimum agronomic engineer degree (GCE advanced level or Baccalaureat with 4 to 5 years
• A minimum of three years’ experience in implementing agronomy- and seed-system- related interventions.
• Fluency in French required; at least good working knowledge in English required. • Technical knowledge of potato agronomy and pathology;
• Ability to work in an international agricultural research center, interacting with its staff and partners in a variety of institutional and ecological settings;
• Proven experience with working independently in the field with farmers, farmer groups and extension;
• Demonstrated expertise to design and plan field activities;
• Proven experience with preparation and timely submission of publications: reports, training manuals, extension documents;
• Excellent writing and communication skills;
• Good computer skills (Microsoft Office - Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, Web browsers, Smart-phone applications);
art R&D background, and is a recent World Food Price Winner and awarded with the
Al-Sumait Award for our Orange Flesh Sweet Potato work in Africa.
• CIP is dedicated to achieving food security, improved nutrition and well-being, and gender equality for poor people in root and tuber farming and food systems of the developing world.
• CIP is a member of the CGIAR Consortium, a network of 15 research centers that are mostly located in the developing world and supported by more than 50 donor
members.
What are the conditions?
The position is Nationally Recruited Staff (NRS) position limited to Cameroon Nationals and permanent residents only. The employment contract will be for a one-year term (with a 3- month probation period) and the possibility of renewal subject to satisfactory performance and availability of funds.
How to apply?
Visit the following link: http://cipotato.org/open-vacancies/ and submit your cover letter and a full C.V. with your references. Screening of applications will begin on June 28, 2019 and will continue until the post is filled. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. Learn more about CIP by accessing our web site at http://www.cipotato.org
CIP is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified women are particularly encouraged to apply
CIP does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing or training). CIP also does not concern itself with information on applicants’ bank accounts.
However, we have found similar vacancies for you: