Livelihood and Food Security Officer Full Time NEW

Background of IRC:

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC works with people forced to flee from war, conflict and disaster and the host communities that support them, as well as with those who remain within their homes and communities. At-work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. IRC leads the way from harm to home. Began work in Ethiopia, 1999 in response to severe drought that happened in Ethiopia’s Somali region. Currently, providing assistance in ten different regions implementing emergency and development programs in health, water and sanitation, economic recovery and development (ERD), women’s protection and empowerment, education, child protection, and multi-sectoral emergency response.

The IRC has a focus on narrowing the gender gap in humanitarian aid and ensuring that we contribute to gender equality, diversity, and inclusion in both our programs and operations by working to establish a context where our clients (including those from minority groups) enjoy the same rights and opportunities as well as an equal access to services. The IRC also has a strong commitment to creating an equitable and inclusive culture, where safeguarding is upheld in our workplace and programs. We are determined to protect our clients and staff from safeguarding violations through prevention and, where misconduct is alleged, to address it without fear or favor.

Job Overview/Summary: 

IRC is planning to implement Irish Aid funded BRIDGE Project-to Building Resilience, Inclusion, and Durable Growth for Empowerment of Women, Youth, and Other Shock-Affected Communities in East Hararghe (Chinaksen and Gursum) and Gambella (Itang especial woreda and Lare) woreda, Ethiopia. The primary Goal of the project is to Improve food security and resilience of vulnerable population against shocks and stress (Resilient Livelihoods and Food Security) in the intervention areas.

The Livelihood and Food Security Officer will be responsible for the planning, implementation, coordination, monitoring and reporting of livelihood, food security and climate resilience interventions under the project. The position will provide technical and field-level support to vulnerable households, smallholder farmers, pastoralists, agro-pastoralists, women, youth, SMEs, cooperatives and other targeted groups to improve food production, income, assets and resilience to climate and other shocks.

The Officer will support implementation of climate-smart agriculture, crop and livestock production, kitchen/keyhole gardening, climate-resilient agricultural inputs and seed systems, sustainable land and water management, irrigation, livelihood diversification, green enterprises, savings and financial inclusion, market linkages, anticipatory action and community resilience interventions.

The position will work closely with government extension services, community structures, implementing partners, cooperatives, producer organisations, private-sector actors and other stakeholders to ensure quality, inclusive and sustainable delivery of project activities..

Major responsibilities include:

Project planning and implementation:

• Support the Project Manager in planning and implementing livelihood and food security activities in line with the project work plan, budget and approved technical approaches.
• Develop detailed activity plans, schedules and field implementation plans for assigned interventions.
• Conduct regular field visits to monitor implementation, provide technical guidance and identify challenges requiring corrective action.
• Ensure project activities reach targeted households and communities in accordance with approved beneficiary selection criteria.
• Support integration of gender equality, social inclusion, climate resilience and environmental sustainability into all livelihood and food security interventions.
• Coordinate with local government offices and relevant technical departments to ensure alignment with government priorities and technical standards.
• Maintain effective communication with community representatives, beneficiaries and local stakeholders.

Climate-Smart Agriculture and Crop Production

• Support gender-sensitive assessments of barriers and opportunities affecting crop production and household food security.
• Support identification and selection of targeted food-insecure households for climate-smart agriculture interventions.
• Facilitate training of farmers on climate-smart and environmentally sustainable agricultural production practices.
• Support establishment and strengthening of lead farmer approaches for farmer-to-farmer learning and extension.
• Provide technical support on improved crop production, soil fertility management, water conservation and climate-resilient agricultural practices.
• Support strengthening of Farmer Training Centres and link them with appropriate extension and demonstration activities.
• Promote household food production through keyhole gardening and other appropriate technologies, with particular focus on women, displaced households and host communities.
• Support access to quality, climate-resilient agricultural inputs and sustainable seed supply systems.
• Work with government extension workers, research institutions and other technical partners to promote appropriate agricultural technologies and practices.

Livestock, Pastoral and Agro-Pastoral Livelihoods

• Support women smallholder farmers, pastoralists and agro-pastoralists to improve livestock production and management.
• Facilitate training on livestock husbandry, animal health, feed and fodder management, breeding and other appropriate livestock production practices.
• Support beneficiaries to develop livestock-based livelihood and business opportunities.
• Promote climate-resilient livestock production practices suitable to local production systems.
• Coordinate with government livestock and veterinary services to facilitate appropriate technical support.
• Monitor livestock-related inputs, assets and services provided to project participants.
• Promote livelihood diversification to reduce household exposure to climate and economic shocks.

Sustainable Land, Water Management and Irrigation

• Support training of lead farmers and communities on sustainable land and water management practices.
• Promote soil and water conservation, tree planting, land rehabilitation and other environmentally sustainable practices.
• Support communities to adopt climate-resilient natural resource management practices.
• Facilitate household access to appropriate climate-resilient micro-irrigation technologies.
• Support establishment and strengthening of Irrigation Water Users Organizations (IWUOs).
• Facilitate training of irrigation users on operation, maintenance and sustainable management of irrigation systems.
• Support linkages with suppliers and service providers for irrigation equipment, after-sales services and spare parts.
• Monitor functionality and sustainability of supported irrigation schemes.
• Support flood-adaptive agricultural production and productive asset protection, particularly in flood-prone areas of Gambella.

Livelihood Diversification, Women and Youth Economic Empowerment

• Support assessments to identify climate-resilient, gender-responsive and market-oriented microenterprise opportunities.
• Facilitate identification and selection of women and youth for livelihood diversification, vocational skills and entrepreneurship interventions.
• Support training on life skills, green business skills, entrepreneurship and vocational skills.
• Facilitate linkages between youth and women and employment service providers.
• Support development of green, circular and gender-transformative enterprise models.
• Facilitate provision of appropriate productive assets, start-up capital and business development services in accordance with project guidelines.
• Provide basic technical and business development support to beneficiary enterprises.
• Monitor the performance and sustainability of supported businesses and livelihood activities.
• Identify opportunities for private-sector partnerships and employment linkages.

Savings, Financial Inclusion and VSLA

• Support establishment and strengthening of Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs).
• Facilitate training of VSLA members on savings, internal lending, financial literacy and group management.
• Support linkages between VSLAs and appropriate formal financial institutions.
• Promote access to affordable, inclusive and appropriate financial products and services.
• Support women, youth and SMEs to improve financial management and investment in productive livelihoods.
• Monitor functionality, participation and performance of supported savings groups.
• Ensure financial inclusion interventions are accessible to vulnerable and marginalised groups.

Market Linkages and Value Chain Development

• Support assessments of livelihood and market opportunities for smallholder farmers, agro-pastoralists, SMEs and other target groups.
• Facilitate linkages between farmers, producer groups, cooperatives, traders, buyers, financial institutions and other market actors.
• Support strengthening of cooperative and producer organizations.
• Facilitate market-oriented production and value-chain development.
• Identify market constraints and opportunities and communicate findings to the Project Manager and technical team.
• Support business-to-business linkages, market events, exhibitions and other appropriate market development activities.
• Promote sustainable and inclusive market systems that increase household income and resilience.
• Monitor changes in market access, prices, production and income among supported beneficiaries.

Anticipatory Action and Resilience to Shocks

• Support implementation of forecast-based financing and early warning/early action mechanisms at community and woreda level.
• Work with communities and local authorities to identify key climate and livelihood risks.
• Support dissemination of relevant early warning information to vulnerable households.
• Facilitate preparedness and early action measures that protect household consumption and productive assets.
• Support linkages between shock-affected households and livelihood recovery, social protection and other relevant services.
• Monitor climate, conflict and market-related risks affecting project beneficiaries and communicate emerging risks to management.

Community Mobilization and Capacity Building

• Mobilize target communities and facilitate their participation in project planning and implementation.
• Establish and maintain relationships with community leaders, farmer groups, women’s groups, youth groups, cooperatives and other community structures.
• Facilitate community meetings, training sessions, demonstrations and practical learning events.
• Promote community ownership and sustainability of project interventions.
• Ensure women, youth, displaced persons, refugees, returnees and other vulnerable groups have meaningful opportunities to participate.
• Support community-led identification of livelihood challenges and solutions.

Sustainable Land Management

• Lead and support community-based sustainable land management activities.
• Facilitate training of lead farmers and community members on soil and water conservation practices.
• Promote appropriate land rehabilitation and restoration techniques.
• Support implementation of measures to reduce soil erosion, land degradation and loss of productive land.
• Promote sustainable land-use practices appropriate to local farming, pastoral and agro-pastoral systems.
• Support community planning for sustainable management and restoration of degraded land.
• Promote integration of climate adaptation into land management practices.
• Monitor the condition and sustainability of rehabilitated areas.

Tree Planting, Reforestation and Landscape Restoration

• Lead or support community-based tree planting and restoration activities.
• Promote appropriate indigenous and locally adapted tree and vegetation species.
• Support establishment and management of community nurseries where appropriate.
• Provide technical guidance on seedling production, planting, maintenance and survival monitoring.
• Promote agroforestry and other land-use systems that combine environmental restoration with livelihood benefits.
• Work with communities and local government to identify suitable areas for restoration and tree planting.
• Monitor tree survival rates and restoration outcomes.
• Promote community ownership and long-term maintenance of restored areas.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning

• Work closely with the MEAL team to monitor livelihood and food security indicators and targets.
• Collect accurate and timely field-level data on project activities, beneficiaries, outputs and outcomes.
• Maintain beneficiary records, activity attendance sheets, distribution records and other required project documentation.
• Conduct regular post-activity monitoring and follow-up of supported households and groups.
• Document success stories, lessons learned, good practices and challenges.
• Support baseline, endline, outcome monitoring, assessments and other project studies.
• Ensure beneficiary feedback and complaints are documented and appropriately addressed.
• Use monitoring findings to improve the quality and effectiveness of livelihood interventions.

Reporting and Documentation

• Prepare regular activity, field visit and progress reports for submission to the Project Manager.
• Contribute to monthly, quarterly, annual and donor reports.
• Maintain accurate records of project activities, beneficiaries, trainings, distributions, assets and community groups.
• Document evidence of results and changes among targeted households.
• Provide timely information and supporting documentation required for project reporting.
• Ensure project files and records are maintained in accordance with organizational and donor requirements.

Coordination and Partnerships

• Coordinate closely with woreda and regional government offices responsible for agriculture, livestock, water, irrigation, cooperatives, youth, women and livelihoods.
• Maintain effective relationships with agricultural extension workers, Farmer Training Centres and technical service providers.
• Coordinate with implementing partners and other NGOs working in target areas.
• Support collaboration with private-sector actors, input suppliers, financial institutions, cooperatives and producer organizations.
• Participate in relevant livelihood, food security, resilience and development coordination forums.
• Represent the project in technical meetings as delegated by the Project Manager.

Accountability, Gender and Inclusion

• Ensure livelihood and food security activities are gender-responsive and inclusive.
• Promote women’s participation and decision-making in agricultural and livelihood activities.
• Ensure youth are appropriately included in skills development, employment and enterprise opportunities.
• Ensure displaced people, refugees, returnees and host communities have equitable access to project opportunities where applicable.
• Promote accountability to affected populations throughout project implementation.
• Adhere to organizational safeguarding, PSEA, protection, code of conduct and complaints-handling procedures.
• Ensure all activities follow the principles of Do-No-Harm and conflict sensitivity.
• Promote environmentally sustainable approaches

Safeguarding Responsibilities: –

• Promote and actively participate in initiatives and efforts to build team engagement, inclusion and cohesion in IRC [team/office]
• Foster ongoing learning, honest dialogue and reflection to strengthen safeguarding and to promote IRC values and adherence to IRC policies

Education Qualifications

• Bachelor’s/Master’s degree in agriculture, Agricultural Economics, Livestock Production, Rural Development, Natural Resource Management, Economics, Development Studies, Food Security, Environmental Science or a related field.

Professional work Experience

• 2 years of relevant experience with the first Degree or Diploma with 5 years of experience or 1 year of relevant experience plus post graduate Degree in livelihoods, food security, agriculture, resilience, rural development or related programmes.
• Demonstrated experience implementing donor-funded development or humanitarian programmes.
• Training or certification in livelihoods, food security, climate-smart agriculture, project management or related areas is desirable.
• Practical experience in climate-smart agriculture and/or resilient livelihood programming.
• Experience working with smallholder farmers, pastoralists, agro-pastoralists, women, youth and vulnerable households.
• Experience in at least some of the following areas is highly desirable: Crop and livestock production, Keyhole/home gardening, Irrigation and water management, VSLA and financial inclusion, Market systems and value-chain development, Cooperative and producer organizations, Green enterprises and vocational skills, Disaster risk reduction and anticipatory action and/or Climate adaptation and resilience
• Experience working with local government structures and community-based organizations.
• Experience working in drought-, flood- and/or conflict-affected communities is an advantage.

Technical Skills and Competencies

• Good understanding of food security and livelihood programming.
• Strong knowledge of climate-smart and environmentally sustainable agricultural practices.
• Knowledge of crop, livestock and mixed farming systems.
• Understanding of market-oriented livelihood development and value-chain approaches.
• Knowledge of savings groups, financial inclusion and microenterprise development.
• Understanding of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.
• Strong community mobilization and facilitation skills.
• Good data collection, analysis and reporting skills.
• Good understanding of gender-responsive and inclusive programming.
• Ability to work with government extension systems and community structures.
• Strong computer skills, particularly Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Ability to use mobile-based data collection and project monitoring tools is an advantage.

Language Skills:

• Strong oral and written communications skills in English, Amharic and ability to speak local language is advantageous