Agronomist

Tanager is an international nonprofit that connects smallholder producers and private businesses to co-create new ways of realizing life-changing economic and social opportunities. Our process builds on years of technical expertise, on-the-ground presence and public/private partnerships to unite economic growth with social innovation. Together, we are ushering in an era of equitable market systems that combine profitability with the power to address urgent challenges in poverty, malnutrition, and gender inequity.

Tanager is implementing Imbewu Farmer Development project in Eastern Cape, South Africa between 1 April 2022 – 31 December 2024. The goal of the project is to increase agriculture productivity and incomes of smallholder maize farmers in Eastern Cape (EC), South Africa by facilitating their inclusive access to commercial markets. The funding for the project comes from John Deere Foundation.

Tanager is seeking an Agribusiness Advisor (Agronomist) who can provide agronomic and enterprise development support to smallholders and lead farmers for the Imbewu Farmer Development project. This position will be the project point of contact with lead farmers, agriculture input providers, mechanization providers, maize storage facilities, and maize buyers, among others. This position will be based in Mthatha and report to the Imbewu Team Lead.

The term of the contract is annual with the possibility of extension based on a satisfactory performance review up to 31 December 2024. The continuation of the employment contract beyond 31 December 2024 is contingent to securing a grant for a second phase of the project and/or new business opportunities in South Africa.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Project Management

• Manage a portfolio of project activities related to promoting economies of scale for maize smallholder farmers, improve the access to storage solutions and promote a vibrant ecosystem of small and medium enterprises (SME) associated to the maize production sector.
• Support and inform the co-creation process of project activities with local stakeholders.
• Provide timely and accurate technical information to ensure opportune procurement/grant process.
• Collect program data to enable fact-based donor reporting on the intervention’s results and impact
• Prepare activity and technical reports on monthly, quarterly, bi-annually and annually to the M&E Manager and Project Team Leader.

Technical Support

• Support the co-creation of innovative agricultural production activities with maize sector stakeholders.
• Provide technical assistance to project stakeholders (lead farmers, smallholder farmers, agriculture input providers, mechanization providers, maize storage facilities, and maize buyers, among others) to ensure they follow good agricultural practice (GAP) standards and that they incorporate the provision of technical assistance in their business models as appropriate.
• Support the MEL team capturing key indicators and work with MEL manager to coordinate project data collection to enable fact-based donor reporting on the intervention’s results and impact.
• Conduct and/or facilitate the provision of business management training to SMEs.
• Work with the Team Leader to identify new project stakeholders (i.e., market system actors, lead farmers, smallholder farmers) and ensure their inclusion in the Imbewu project.
• Provide technical inputs to work-plan and technical deliverables.
• Contribute to team learning and knowledge sharing, including documenting best practices and compiling success stories from the field.

Conduct any other relevant activities related to project implementation as may be assigned by the supervisor.

QUALIFICATION:

Education and Experience

• Bachelor or Honors Degree in agricultural science, agribusiness, agricultural extension or related field.
• 5 years of relevant experience in agricultural project implementation promoting smallholder farmers livelihoods
• Experience in the grain production sector will be considered as an added advantage.
• Experience working with an international or local NGO/NPO is desirable.
• Ability to communicate fluently in English.
• Ability to communicate in local language i.e.. Xhosa and Zulu will be an added advantage.

Skills and Capabilities

• Proficiency with MS Office, including Excel and Word and other communication tools (i.e., Teams, Zoom, SharePoint).
• Good organizational and interpersonal skills.
• Accuracy, attention to detail.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills in English & Regional Language.
• Willingness to travel within & outside the region as and when required.

How to apply

To Apply

Please submit your resume to southafricarecruitment@tanagerintl.org by or before September 8th, 2023. Please include the position title in the subject line of the mail. Please submit the resume and related application documents as a single attachment. Please include a long-term employment history and any relevant short-term consulting work. Due to the high volume of applications, we are not able to respond to inquiries via phone. Only those candidates considered for an interview will be contacted. Tanager is an equal opportunity employer. Women, minorities and people from diverse groups are encouraged to apply. Please be aware that Tanager does not charge any fee at any step of recruitment.