Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture (NSA) Advisor

Job Description

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture (NSA) Advisor

With its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, a Strategic Partnership Office (SPO) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and country offices in Ethiopia, Mali, Nigeria, and Uganda, the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) (www.saa-safe.org) is an International non-governmental organization established in 1986. SAA is committed to assisting Africa in establishing robust and long-lasting food systems, a goal that emphasizes “Africa feeding Africa.” SAA develops and implements practical and cutting-edge agricultural extension and advisory service delivery and capacity-building programs for frontline extension staff and farmers in Africa in close collaboration with national agricultural research and extension services, international agricultural research institutes, the private sector, NGOs, universities, farmer associations, and donor agencies. In addition to Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Benin, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Burkina Faso, where the SAA also develops the talents and skills of national extension staff and youth in collaboration with Agricultural Universities and Colleges, the SAA offers programs with a primary intervention focus in Ethiopia, Nigeria, Mali, and Uganda. According to the SAA’s current Strategic Plan (2021–2025) (www.saa-safe.org/strategy), the organization boosts farmers’ incomes, food security, and nutritional status by promoting market-oriented, resilient, sustainable, and regenerative agriculture as well as nutrition-sensitive agricultural innovations and strengthening the capacity of extension agents and farmers.

SAA seeks to recruit a Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture (NSA) Advisor to support its Strategic Focus Area, “NSA” for better health. She/he will contribute to the strengthening of the NSA activities, including in areas related, specifically, but not limited to nutrition awareness/promotion; nutrition behavior change; integrating nutrition into postharvest management - including postharvest handling, storage, and agro-processing; reducing postharvest food loss; improving food safety and quality, value addition, etc. while working closely with the SAA HQ, Strategic Partnerships team, and the Country Office teams. She/he is also expected to work closely with teams in charge of other Strategic Focus Areas: “Sustainable, Resilient and Regenerative Agriculture (RA)” and “Market Oriented Agriculture (MOA)” to support the production, marketing and consumption of nutritious crops.

Position Responsibilities: Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture (NSA) uses a food-based approach to agricultural development to support the global food system to produce better nutritional outcomes. The NSA Advisor role will include, but not limited to:

Strengthen NSA Program

• Contribute to capacity development of SAA staff and strengthening national agricultural extension systems in the area of NSA.
• Review, design and prepare nutrition and postharvest-related training packages (modules, leaflets, handouts, etc.) for dissemination to relevant stakeholders.
• Identify and promote priority emerging and cross-cutting issues in NSA and align SAA activities towards achieving the regional and global nutrition commitments.
• Analyze the results and challenges based on the data compiled by M&E team and opinions from NSA team in each country and provide guidance on how to achieve the results targets by 2025.
• Provide technical advice for developing strategic plans by reviewing the progress and challenges of current NSA activities of SAA.

Quality control and improvement of NSA programs

• Provide support in developing country- or- regional-level proposals with a viewpoint of mainstreaming and widening the adoption of NSA best practices into SAA country operations.
• Provide feedback & communicate on program outputs and outcomes within SAA programs and to partners through presentations, reports, and dialogues.
• Engage in generating evidence on the effectiveness of SAA interventions to advance successful, proven, and validated NSA practices.

Contribute to the reduction of postharvest loss

• Validate, analyze, conceptualize, and report on the economic feasibility of various postharvest handling, storage, and agro-processing operations for better food quality at household level.
• Provide expertise in developing and implementing an extension program to solve various issues on postharvest handling, storage, agro-processing, postharvest loss reduction, and value addition in target countries.

Improve nutrition in SAA countries

• Strengthen nutrition awareness and behavior change amongst target communities for better nutrition outcomes.
• Keep up-to-date with developments in NSA approaches and provide optimum recommendations that may enable nutrition-enhancing impacts at the household level.
• Engage in monitoring and publishing the impacts of NSA technologies and awareness interventions.

Strengthen and develop partnerships with donors and stakeholders

• Building and maintaining international, regional, and national networks and partnerships relevant to promoting “NSA” and contributing to achieving food and nutrition security.
• Monitor international donor trends, identify, and promote regional and country-focused initiatives and funding opportunities, and maintain donor relations to enhance the introduction, promotion, and adoption of biofortification, nutrient dense crops and NSA practices in Africa.
• Work with stakeholders and partners, including policymakers, in identifying constraints and opportunities in improving nutrition as well as postharvest management in the SAA target countries in Africa.

Bring innovation and impact on nutrition improvement in Africa

• Strengthen E-Extension by widening the scope of partnerships to help scale up ICT approaches to improve Nutritional targets and outcomes.
• Connect the movement of innovators, entrepreneurs, and innovative solutions to scale up and improve nutrition across Africa.
• Contribute to inclusive, self-sustainable, applicable NSA approaches for smallholder farmers and their communities and governments
• Harmonize concepts and frameworks on NSA principles that can help address the needs of households across the target countries and communities in Africa.

Competencies:

Management Skill

• Demonstrated experience with global development priorities related to NSA, food and nutrition security, and sustainable agriculture
• Documented experience in and passion for NSA research and development in sub-Saharan Africa
• A strong coordination record, superior interpersonal skills, and demonstrated performance in creating, motivating, and leading diverse teams of qualified professionals
• A minimum of 10+ years of coordination and management-related experience in agricultural development, with nutrition focus, preferably in Africa
• Excellent written, presentation, and verbal communication skills in English (knowledge of French is an asset)
• Ability to work independently in a multidisciplinary and multicultural environment

Technical Skill/Experience

• Demonstrated experience with multisectoral nutrition programs, systems strengthening, and resilience-related programming
• Knowledge and practical experience of the Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) and Social Behavior Change (SBC).
• Experience in using the Food Consumption Score (FCS), the Knowledge Attitude Practice (KAP) method and capability approach is desirable.
• Experience in nutrition, social behavior change, gender & nutrition, hygiene & food preparation, biofortification, post-harvest handling, storage practices, and agro-processing technologies and their associated management to improve food quality and reduce food loss
• Experience in value-added opportunities for income generation and enhancing bioavailability of food
• Experience in guiding teams and participatory extension approaches
• Knowledge of innovation systems and innovation platforms in Agriculture Development
• Proven record of statistical analysis of primary and validation research data
• Demonstrated experience with scaling-up technologies and large-scale technology adoption
• Demonstrated ability to write and publish journal articles
• Experience as a main writer of project proposal and a track record of winning grants.
• Multicultural experience in working abroad, and in a workplace with multinational staff.
• Experience in coaching and workshop facilitation.

Educational Qualifications: A Post-graduate degree (M.Sc. or Ph.D.) in Nutrition, Food Science and Technology, Post-harvest Technology, or related disciplines with a focus on Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture.

Duty Station: The position’s holder will be stationed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with a potential possibility of being based in other countries.

Mode of Application: Application must include an up-to-date CV, names, and addresses of three professional referees, and a cover letter that indicates your background experience and why you are interested in the position. Please note that only short-listed candidates will be contacted. The deadline for application is December 30, 2023. Applications should be sent to saa-recruit@saa-safe.org

NOTE: SAA provides a competitive salary package and is an equal-opportunity employer that fosters a multicultural work environment that values gender equity, teamwork, and respect for diversity. Women and Young Candidates are encouraged to apply.

About the Organization

With its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, a Strategic Partnership Office (SPO) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and country offices in Ethiopia, Mali, Nigeria, and Uganda, the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) (www.saa-safe.org) is an International non-governmental organization established in 1986. SAA is committed to assisting Africa in establishing robust and long-lasting food systems, a goal that emphasizes "Africa feeding Africa." SAA develops and implements practical and cutting-edge agricultural extension and advisory service delivery and capacity-building programs for frontline extension staff and farmers in Africa in close collaboration with national agricultural research and extension services, international agricultural research institutes, the private sector, NGOs, universities, farmer associations, and donor agencies. In addition to Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Benin, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Burkina Faso, where the SAA also develops the talents and skills of national extension staff and youth in collaboration with Agricultural Universities and Colleges, the SAA offers programs with a primary intervention focus in Ethiopia, Nigeria, Mali, and Uganda. According to the SAA's current Strategic Plan (2021–2025) (www.saa-safe.org/strategy), the organization boosts farmers' incomes, food security, and nutritional status by promoting market-oriented, resilient, sustainable, and regenerative agriculture as well as nutrition-sensitive agricultural innovations and strengthening the capacity of extension agents and farmers.