Program Assistant at Nuru Nigeria

Nuru Nigeria is a local NGO with affiliates in the US, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, Niger and Burkina Faso. Our mission is to build resilience corridors of farmer-owned and farmer-led agribusinesses and profitable rural livelihoods in 12 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of northeast Nigeria proximate to conflict-vulnerable areas by 2030. Nuru Nigeria prioritises the smallholder farmers it serves and works to cultivate lasting meaningful choices through a community led, community driven and community sustained livelihood programs across the agriculture value chain.

Job Title: Program Assistant

Location: Biu / Kwayakusar – Borno
Employment Type: Full-time

Position Summary

• The Program Assistant will report to the Project Coordinator to support the strengthening of local systems for building community resilience and livelihoods through the implementation of the agricultural and financial inclusion intervention.
• She/he will work with the program officer to provide technical expertise in resilient agriculture with a special focus on climate-smart agricultural production, horticulture, agricultural extension, agribusiness & value chain development, and smallholder farmer financial inclusion.
• She/he must have extensive experience in smallholder agricultural intervention, farmer training, and extension services.

Key Responsibilities

• The Program Assistant will provide overall technical expertise and support the Program Officer to effectively implement all program activities focused on agriculture, financial inclusion, farmer group organization, agribusiness enterprise and Income Generation Activity (IGA), value addition, and nutrition in a sustainable way
• Lead all farmer training and capacity-building activities through building out a robust training plan/calendar and training schedule and adapting training materials to context using appropriate training language for farmer engagement.
• Directly responsible for managing assigned intervention communities and integrating the program activities within the assigned communities ensuring full acceptance and ownership by the communities.
• Deliver one-on-one extension services to farmers and provide other on-farm extension advisory support services to the farmers.
• Actively work closely with community structures for the implementation of all programs through effective community mobilization and sensitization for community-led agricultural, and financial inclusion activities with a focus on achieving the project strategic objectives.
• Work very closely with leaders of the farmer groups to promote social cohesion through increased farmers’ Savings & Loan activities and adoption of good agricultural practices among the farmers through the establishment of Demonstration plots for increased farmers’ income.
• Facilitate the establishment of farmer associations and provide support in their transitioning into well-structured farmer’s organizations.
• Support the Monitoring & Evaluation team to track program activities, and deliver surveys, assessments, and other monitoring activities to ensure that interventions are on track for progress and increased impact.
• Provide weekly field reports, contribute to monthly Activity Progress Reports, document and share lessons learned, success stories, community feedback as well as general situational awareness within the communities.
• Perform any other tasks that may be assigned/instructed by the Supervisor.

Job Requirements & Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree or its equivalent in General Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Agricultural Economics, Agriculture Extension, Rural Livelihoods etc.
• Minimum of 2 years working experience in relevant fields with a local or international NGO
• Experience in agricultural extension services
• Experience working with farmer associations/ farmers organizations
• Experience and comfortable working in rural areas and with rural people, having a low literacy level
• Sustainable agriculture production and natural resource management knowledge
• Proficient in computer skills (MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, Google Drive & Applications, Internet, etc.)
• Excellent presentation skills, and capacity to deliver appropriate and relevant training to a target audience
• Very good communication, analytical, and reporting skills
• High motivation for improvement and ability to deliver in a challenging environment
• Excellent Written and spoken English Language
• Proficient in local languages such as Hausa, Bura, Babur or Kanuri.