Evergreen Agriculture, Land Restoration and Value Chain Senior Officer at CARE

Evergreen Agriculture, Land Restoration and Value Chain Senior Officer at CARE

ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND

CARE is a leading humanitarian organization dedicated to fighting poverty and social injustice and places a particular emphasis on women and girls, their dignity and empowerment to lead their communities out of poverty. CARE began working in Tanzania in April 1994, in response to the crisis in Rwanda and the subsequent influx of refugees into the Kagera Region of North-western Tanzania. Over the subsequent years, CARE Tanzania developed innovative education, health, microfinance, and environmental programs across most regions of the country. In Tanzania CARE works with the Government both in mainland and Zanzibar and other stakeholders to transform communities and ensure financial inclusion and independence, health and nutrition, climate- smart development resilience, especially for women and girls.

PROJECT BACKGROUND

Restoring Landscapes & Livelihoods in East and Southern Africa with Climate Asset Management (RESAf) in Tanzania aims to improve livelihoods, food security and resilience to climate change in Tanzania through restoring ecosystem services and improved management of agricultural, pastoral and forest areas contributing to emissions reductions. This Program will enable and build substantial carbon sinks and sequestration opportunities, allowing viable returns to both farmers and investors.

CARE will be leading implementing Organisation in this 5 years’ climate change initiative in a consortium approach with other four international NGOs. The Program will enhance ecosystem services and carbon sinks, using locally appropriate Evergreening practices, to sequester carbon and generate certified carbon credits for the benefit of local communities and the investor. To improve the landscapes and livelihoods across Tanzania, the programme will take a multi­faceted, evidence-based approach to strengthen social, institutional, and economic infrastructure, and will develop equitable ever-green agriculture(EGA)value chain markets and ecosystem-based businesses (including the engagement with carbon markets) that underpin the sustainability of scaling-up positive impacts being realized through Evergreening practices.

CARE Tanzania seeks to recruit dynamic qualified Tanzanians to fill five (5) positions for a new project under Restoring Landscapes & Livelihoods in East and Southern Africa with Climate Asset Management (RESAf) based in Ifakara, Morogoro.

POSITION TITLE : Evergreen Agriculture, Land Restoration and Value Chain Senior Officer REPORTS TO : Project Manager

LOCATION : Ifakara, Morogoro

JOB SUMMARY

The position will be responsible to stimulate investments in agricultural value chains opportunities and provide operational support to achievement of the landscape restoration functions and improving sustainable livelihoods within the cluster. S/ he will facilitate the marketing systems development and strengthening linkages amongst the various value chain actors including small holder producers, agro-input suppliers, processors, business development service providers and off-takers. The position will strengthen the marketing and business development skills of smallholder farmers to enhance product quality and increase their competitiveness for market negotiations to secure better prices.

He /she will be Working with a diverse team of consortium members and partners including direct link with World Vision Tanzania, ICRAF, TLC, LGA and CSOs to develop market-oriented approaches and ensuring better performance of market functions. The Value Chain Officer plays a significant role in maintaining strong coordination among value chain actors, district authorities, private sector companies, traders, input dealers, local CSO’s and farmer groups. S/he will contribute into project goal of improving livelihoods of small-scale farmers and/or pastoralist and restore ecosystem services, particularly through Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR), evergreen agriculture, and to enhance carbon sinks using locally appropriate evergreening practices.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS:

• Implementation of Evergreen practices and Land Restoration Initiatives.
• Make use of Existing FFBS and/or mobilize new ones and recruit them as entry points for implementation of on-farm evergreen agriculture and land restoration practices as appropriate.
• Collaborate with WE&FI Officer to promote integration of the functions of FFBS and VSLA and create a holistic approach ensuring that agri-fund is accessible for collective or individual access to agriculture inputs.
• Provide TOT to Paraprofessionals(PPs)on Climate Smart Agriculture/ Agroforestry/Land restoration practices based on the existing government CSA manual and CARE’s and advise from ICRAF.
• Support PPs in cascading Climate Smart Agriculture/Agroforestry/ Land restoration training to FFBS/VSLAs and with close quality monitoring on your part.
• Enhance innovation and facilitate adoption and uptake of evergreen/agroforestry/land restoration technologies that enhance productivity and value of products.
• Identify and assess climate change adaptation and resilience practices and align them with pro poor market development planning in the relevant VC sub-sector and build strong relationship with Tanzania Meteorological Authority.

Value Chain Selection and Development

• Take part in mobilization and execution of the value chain (and/or situational) analysis including the review of existing market tactics or business cases for prevailing sub-sector(s) in the area and provide recommendations for further improvement of the VC with guidance from the Consortium’s VC Thematic Lead – World Vision Tanzania.
• Facilitate prioritization of cluster level specific ecologically sound and market led value chains development which will contribute to land restoration efforts by the community in accordance with the value chain analysis’s report recommendation.
• Facilitate cluster level stakeholders’ forums to address value chain constraints and maximize market development opportunities across the sub-sector nodes.
• With guidance from the Technical Lead, train, coach and mentor local market facilitators including
• Paraprofessionals (PPs) and Community Based Trainers (CBTs) to pursue effective market linkages between smallholder producers and private sector input suppliers in alignment with collective investment thinking and Chomoka marketplace development.
• With VC Technical Lead and FI&WE Cluster Manager, develop and facilitate implementation of incentive mechanism that will sustain services of PPs and CBTs to VSLA/Production groups within the life of the project and beyond.
• Provide technical support to small holder’s farmers on value addition and organize them to reach market led value chain economies of scale.

Marketing skills development, and Market Linkages

• Strengthen marketing and business development skills of smallholder farmers to improve product quality and be able to better manage interactions with output market dealers.
• Support building capacity of other value chain actors through training, mentorship and networking based on the needs and demands of the project.
• Support, as appropriate, private partners to develop their business cases in alignment with the subsector market approaches to improve market systems efficiencies, equitable benefits, and sustainability with specific preference to engaging local small holder producers.
• Engage relevant and key value chain actors within the project priority subsector (producers, input suppliers, transporters, processors, consumers etc.)to succeed on their respective value chain nodes.
• Work with Market actors including Private Sector, Marketing Associations, and producer groups to understand opportunities under agricultural value chain segments and determine most effective ways and commitment to engage.
• Facilitate establishment of quality relationships between the market value chain actors, LGAs and stakeholders and smallholder producers to ensure market linkages so established are profitable, equitable and sustainable.
• Unlock growth, increase productivity, employment, and income for the beneficiaries.

Maintain VC Sub-Sector Coordination and program quality.

• Contribute to designing a strategy to strengthen linkages between stakeholders – governments’ representatives and the private sector.
• Innovatively collaborate with partners, allies, LGAs and like-minded stakeholders to influence policy and achieve multiplied impact in market and value chain development.
• Collaborate with Land tenure and Carbon Rights Officer and contribute to the development of carbon market interventions within the cluster.
• Strengthening relations with government decision makers, and with other relevant national agencies and stakeholders
• Maintain working relations with relevant government line ministries and private sector / research institutions to coordinate the adoption and uptake of evergreen innovations and/or approaches in agriculture development, Climate resilient agriculture and sustainable soil and land management.
• Facilitate linkages with financial services, manufacturers, technology suppliers and other service providers aiming to improve productivity and value addition.
• Contribute to the project’s M&E functions and quarterly and annual reporting by highlighting successes, challenges, lessons learned and opportunities in Evergreen and Value chain programming within the respective project’s area.
• Represent the project in various assigned learning and sharing meetings/workshops/conferences.
  Work with Others to support CARE’s mission.
• Promote GED, and PSHEA
• Perform other duties as assigned by supervisor.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Bachelor’s degree in evergreening related fields such as Agriculture, Forestry, Environmental Science, Natural Resource Management.
• At least A years of demonstrated experience in value chain development and market access related, and/or analysis/research of agribusiness and/or socio-economic development projects.
• Should have experience with Carbon trading or similar projects.
• Experience in implementing resilient agriculture, economic development, food & nutrition security and community-based climate adaptation.
• Practical experience supporting the development of farmers’ and farmers’ enterprises.
• Demonstrated capacity to work with private sector players (financial institutions, exporters, buyers, traders, transporters, input suppliers or processors)
• An understanding of climate-smart agriculture principles is preferred.
• Demonstrated knowledge and expertise of implementation and analysis of research and evidence-generation, including strategies for building and managing strategic alliances and coalitions for common programming in women’s economic empowerment and for policy engagement and advocacy.

MODE OF APPLICATIONS

Only a letter of application and updated CV including names of at least 3 reputable referees from previous jobs (preferable line Managers) with reliable contacts should be sent by email to Human Resources Department TZAHumanResourcesDepartment@care.org not later than 27th May, 2023.

The applicants should clearly state the Job title applied for in the subject line of the email.

Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

CARE is an equal opportunity employer promoting gender, equity, and diversity. Female and people with disability candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. Our selection process reflects our commitment to the protection of children and vulnerable adults from abuse.

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