The Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance (FANTA) project is a ten year Cooperative Agreement managed by the Academy for Educational Development and funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). FANTA supports integrated food security and nutrition programming to improve the health and well being of women and children in developing countries. The Project helps to integrate food security and nutrition into the strategic planning process; provides analyses for food security and nutrition policy development; and shares information and knowledge with partners. FANTA provides technical assistance to USAID Missions and host governments, private voluntary organizations and non-governmental organizations to improve program design, implementation and progress reporting. FANTA is described at the website: .
FANTA is working with Family Health International (FHI) and partners to review and strengthen the introduction and use of improved agriculture and other livelihood technologies by community groups of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in the USAID/East Africa funded Regional Outreach Addressing AIDS through Development Strategies (ROADS) Project. FANTA and FHI will be working with clusters of PLHIV groups in Busia, Kenya and Busia, Uganda to conduct a participatory review of the approaches and technologies being used by these groups, with particular focus on documenting successful examples and opportunities for expansion and addressing livelihood challenges of PLHIV. FANTA wishes to recruit a part time consultant to work with community technology clusters, technology providers and extension units, and support PLHIV networks within the ROADS clusters in Kenya and Uganda.
SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES
The Consultant will work under the guidance of the FANTA’s Regional Program Specialist based in Kampala, Uganda with technical back up from the Livelihoods and HIV Specialist. The consultant will also collaborate with FHI/JICA volunteers and other community based networks and support groups of PLHIV in order to complete the following tasks: • Facilitate community technology cluster visioning process and formulation of action plans. Work with clusters on the priorities that can be addressed through agricultural technology and community based institutional mechanisms that support community innovations, learning and technology adoption processes. • Facilitate the introduction and use of improved agriculture and other livelihood technologies by community groups of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in the Regional Outreach Addressing AIDS through Development Strategies (ROADS) Project. • Facilitate the sharing of lessons within and between clusters members by strengthening collective action, community learning and adoption systems for new technologies. • Lead in stakeholder outreach initiatives, dialogue and engagement mechanisms with technology providers (NARIs, government extension systems, PLHA networks, NGOs and Title II PVOs) to respond to specific technology demand and extension approaches appropriate to PLHIV networks. • Strategically build strategic partnerships and coalitions with key constituency groups between PLHIV networks, farmer associations, and technology providers and extension systems. • Manage program resources including funds, technology systems, including production of information for USAID East Africa newsletter and for writing of FANTA technical notes on community driven agriculture-HIV programming linkages. • Carry out field monitoring of community technology cluster activities, cluster learning systems and strengthening of institutional mechanism for addressing livelihoods needs of PLHIV.
REQUIRED SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS • A bachelor degree in international development, agriculture, sociology, anthropology, or nutrition and human ecology or equivalent combination of education and work experience. Masters degree preferred; • At least 2 years’ experience in action research that addresses the interface between agriculture, food security and HIV/AIDS. Specific knowledge requirements • Well developed understanding of the intersections of agriculture and HIV, food security and HIV, HIV and gender; • Strong understanding of community learning and institutional change processes; • Knowledge or familiarity of PLHIV networks and collective action planning and partnerships development; • Field experience in developing countries particularly Kenya and Uganda. Special Requirements: Skills and abilities: • Ability to work in teams and to build effective grassroots partnerships; • Well developed oral and written communication skills, including the ability to explain scientific concepts to lay audiences; • Must be proficient in word, excel, powerpoint and web-based research. • Be able to provide detail-oriented support for meetings, work planning, budgeting and review of field level activity budgets. • Experience conducting open-ended interviews, focus-group discussions, and other qualitative data collection methods. • Experience with qualitative data analysis. • Ability to work effectively with teams of people with different technical and cultural backgrounds. • Ability to speak or understand local language in the project sites –Busia in Kenya and Uganda.
Interested applicants should send resume with a cover letter indicating expected daily rate to the attention of Kenton Kayira, Food Security/Sustainable Livelihoods and HIV Specialist, FANTA Project. AED, 1825 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington DC 20009, fax: (202) 884 8432 or e-mail, . Please write “Community Technology Cluster-Part Time Consultant ”in subject line. Only those individuals selected for interview will be contacted. AA/EOE/M/F/D/V
