NGO Jobs in Nairobi, Kenya - CIAT

International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) 

Recruiting Communication Officer for IITA

IITA is an international non-profit research-for-development (R4D) organization created in 1967, governed by a Board of Trustees, and supported primarily by the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). 

IITA’s R4D is anchored on the development needs of sub-Saharan Africa and develops agricultural solutions with partners to tackle hunger and poverty by reducing producer and consumer risks, enhancing crop quality and productivity, and generating wealth from agriculture. 

CIAT, on behalf of IITA, is seeking for a Communication Officer to develop and implement communication activities under the African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI) project. 

The Communication Officer will report to the Project Coordinator, ACAI, and will work closely with the Communication and Knowledge Exchange Expert of the Cassava Weed Management Project.

Main responsibilities include:
  • Develop, coordinate and implement a detailed communication strategy and knowledge exchange plan for the African Cassava Agronomy Initiative project in close collaboration with project partners, Communication and Knowledge Exchange Expert of the Cassava Weed Management Project.
  • Lead and support the capitalization of research findings in the project through regular reports and specific documentation in various output formats to maximize efficiency of reaching end-users
  • Manage and ensure effective stakeholder relationships and knowledge exchange approaches by engaging in dialogue and using feedback mechanisms with project partners and beneficiaries.
  • Manage project events, including press conferences, promotional events and exhibitions etc
  • Set up, design and coordinate an online media platform on project results in close collaboration with the Communication and Knowledge Exchange Expert of the Cassava Weed Management Project, and liaise with software developers to ensure output of web applications are adapted to key needs of end-users
  • Design, manage and disseminate an educational video documentation on the project
  • Produce training and educational materials for extension services and rural populations
  • Produce efficient communication materials (print and audio) adapted to the needs of cassava farmers 
The candidate shall have the following competencies, skills and experience:
  • Bachelor degree in communication or public relations or relevant field
  • At least 2 years of working experience in communication field with proven record in digital media and/or digital communication.
  • Excellent in writing, development and design of communication output such as briefs, newsletters, updates, infographics, presentations, reports, etc.
  • Demonstrated ability to conceptualize web-based services for communicating research outputs, adapted to client needs or addressing specific problems expressed by end-users
  • Good understanding of requirements for the development of software/apps to share information, including security, vulnerability and privacy requirements, and ability to discuss these with software developers.
  • Good understanding of agriculture, poverty and sustainability issues in rural areas of Africa.
  • Excellent communication and networking skills.
  • Excellent written and spoken English.
Terms of employment: The position is nationally recruited, will be based at IITA Offices in Nairobi, Kenya. 

The contract will be for two (2) years period, subject to a probation period of three (3) months, renewable depending on performance and availability of resources.

Climate - Smart Agriculture Profiles Coordinator
 
The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (www.ciat.cgiar.org) works to reduce hunger and poverty, and improve human nutrition in the tropics through research aimed at increasing the eco-efficiency of agriculture. 

CIAT is a member of the CGIAR Consortium (www.cgiar.org), a global research partnership working many partners for a food secure future. 

The Center’s research focuses on increasing productivity of key crops (cassava, common bean, rice, and tropical forages); reversing soil and land degradation; and using information to foster better decisions about issues such as climate change and environmental management. 

Headquartered near Cali, Colombia, CIAT has regional offices in Nairobi, Kenya, and Hanoi, Vietnam, with staff posted in other developing countries as well.

The Decision and Policy Analysis (DAPA) group is a growing research area of CIAT that works towards CIAT’s mission of eco-efficient agriculture for the tropics by ensuring improved decision making by a range of stakeholders on the themes of climate change, linking farmers to markets and ecosystem services. 

See https://ciat.cgiar.org/dapa for more details on DAPA.

With support from the World Bank and USAID, CIAT’s DAPA has been developing Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) Profiles for multiple countries around the world (Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean) in the past three years, with the aim to advance knowledge and mainstream CSA into science and policy. 

The CSA Profiles assesses policies and practices related to CSA in each country, specifically identifying enabling environments and barriers for mainstreaming adoption of CSA, as well as ongoing and potential CSA activities and avenues for financing uptake of practices in each country. See CIAT´s webpage for more details.

The demand for Country Profiles has increased significantly in the past year, with donors and governments around the world soliciting CIAT to conduct the CSA baseline assessment in their country(s) of interest. 

The Position: We are looking for a qualified person to lead the development of national and sub-national baseline studies on climate-smart agriculture (CSA), also known as CSA Profiles, in close collaboration with teams of experts, donors, national government partners, and other in-country stakeholders. 

The position will be full-time and based in Nairobi, Kenya. 

Responsibilities: 
  • Ensure on-going CSA Profile projects are carried out successfully within the planned timeline and available resources. 
  • Coordinate teams of consultants, editors, and designers engaged in the elaboration of the CSA Profiles, including managing and supervising activities related to project planning, stakeholder engagement, data collection, analysis, infographics elaboration and layout of final documents.
  • Periodically follow-up with team members on their respective activities, to ensure timely delivery of outputs (via Skype, phone calls, emails). 
  • Maintain communication of project progress and outputs with funder(s) and in-country partners, to ensure usability and ownership of the research products. 
  • Give the final approval of CSA Profiles documents, infographics and Supplementary Material by making sure that the outline and content is aligned to the CSA Profile guidelines and templates and incorporates peer review comments. 
  • Build strong links with other CIAT and CIAT-DAPA research teams to enhance the potential for the use of CSA Profiles in a variety of research efforts. 
  • Contribute to and lead the expansion of CIAT's CSA Profiles portfolio by exploring new potential countries to carry out the research and by seeking sources of funding to support the development of the new Profiles. 
Technical Competencies 
  • MSc/MA or PhD in international development, international relations, or other social science field, with a focus and/or proven interest in agriculture, rural development, and food security topics. 
  • Candidates with agricultural sciences background may also be considered, provided that they prove an understanding of social and institutional processes around agriculture sector development. 
  • Experience (at least 2 years) and interest in project management, including project design, formulation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. 
  • Proven understanding of the Climate-Smart Agriculture concept and its applications (work experience in this area is preferred, but not mandatory). 
  • Experience in designing and managing budgets 
  • Experience in managing and leading teams. 
  • Excellent Microsoft Office skills, including Word, Power Point and Excel. 
  • Very good command of English language. 
  • Good communication skills (verbal, written) French and Spanish will be an added advantage. 
  • Interest in and proven editing and proof-reading skills.
Role Competencies 
  • Proof of outstanding communication skills, to be applied in dialogues with a wide array of actors, such as international organization representatives, members of national governments members, research and private sector representatives, experts, and farmers. 
  • Ability to motivate others 
  • Process management
Terms of employment: This is an internationally recruited position based in Nairobi, Kenya and will be for an initial period of two (2) years, subject to six (6) months’ probation period, and is renewable depending on performance and availability of resources. 

CIAT offers a multicultural, collegial research environment with competitive salary and excellent benefits. 

CIAT is an equal opportunity employer, and strives for staff diversity in gender and nationality.

Applications

Applicants are encouraged to send a one-page cover letter illustrating their suitability for the above position against the listed qualifications, competencies, skills together with a two-page curriculum vitae, including names and addresses of the referees knowledgeable about the candidate´s professional qualifications and work experience. 

Applicants are invited to visit http://ciat.cgiar.org/ciat-jobs to submit their applications for this position:
 
a) Clearly indicating Climate-Smart Agriculture Profiles Coordinator as the position title; and
 
b) Save your Application Letter and CV as one document in pdf format.
 
Closing date for applications: 19th September 2016
  
We invite you to learn more about us at: http://www.ciat.cgiar.org