International Diary Advisor at SNV Netherlands Development Organisation

Company Description

SNV Netherlands Development Organisation is one of the largest Dutch, development organisations with operations in more than 25 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. SNV aims to lift incomes and access to basic services. We make a lasting difference in the lives of people living in poverty, helping them raise incomes and access basic services. Driven by the Sustainable Development Goals, we are dedicated to a society in which all people are free to pursue their own sustainable development, and no one is left behind. This commitment to equity directs us to focus on gender and youth.

We apply our know-how to realise effective solutions and deliver results at scale worldwide. We do this through our local presence and our specialised expertise in agriculture, energy, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). Our projects directly benefit millions of people. At the same time, our projects drive systems change, which helps many more people work their way out of poverty, well beyond the scope of the projects themselves. We are proud to be a not-for-profit organisation, implementing our mission exclusively through project financing. This requires us to work efficiently and to invest in operational excellence every day.

For more information on SNV, visit our website: https://snv.org/

Job Description

SNV seeks a talented International Dairy farming professional who will be part of The Inclusive Dairy Enterprise (TIDE) Project phase 2, delivering on its goal of improving dairy farm incomes, household nutrition and employment opportunities for 20,000 farmers in Southwestern Uganda. The TIDE project in its second phase, focuses on market development through supporting sustainable intensification of dairy production systems, raw milk quality systems and effective infrastructure for input supply and service provision. The Advisor will lead on the strategic, operational support and coaching of the Training, Extension & Advisory (TEA) and Dairy Forage & Nutrition (DFN) Units and their field teams, to implement ongoing activities.

In 2022, the TIDE-2 project addition activities will be extended to the existing project goals and approach by adding a small holder (SH) dairy development program targeted at subsistence farmers in the rural areas. Development of these SH farmers will be based on the Farm Field School model and aiming at improving livelihood and reduction of farming risk.

The international Dairy advisor is responsible for:

Advisory Services -Act as a technical expert for the Project Manager by contributing to the strategic direction of the project activities that relate to sustainable dairy intensification. Take lead on establishing and operationalizing a market-driven system, that ensures that local private sector can sustainably provide training, advice, services and inputs to the commercial oriented dairy farming-as well as to the small holder farming communities, and the other relevant stakeholders.
Knowledge Development -Contribute to internal and external knowledge development and liaise with development partners, research organisations (NARO,CIAT, ILRI, others) to support the learning agenda and evidence-based policy influencing, through compiling and sharing of lessons learned from the models piloted under the TEA and FDN Units.
Project and Process development -Identify and propose technical process improvements to the TIDE project team. Act on improvement areas within the local internal organisation process and give feedback related to field-based approaches that enable the utilisation and uptake of knowledge, skills and practices introduced through the E-Dairy platform, Competence Builder and Rumen8 digital tools.
People Management -Steer colleagues and coach associated partners or external stakeholders on quality within the context of assignments. Act as a technical expert in the content area, apply process improvements in projects and coach colleagues and associated partners both professionally and operationally on quality of context within projects.
Positioning– Identify and analyse market opportunities and threats and ensure relevant colleagues are informed. Liaise with both local & international private sector actors such as seed companies, agricultural contractors, feed and soil labs, farm mechanisation suppliers, for enhanced access by farmers to quality inputs, equipment, and services.
Business Development -Build, maintain and utilise relationships with relevant stakeholders, represent SNV and identify opportunities for Business Development policies and procedures and where required and feasible, support the TEA and FDN Unit Heads in the identification and sourcing of relevant expertise and other internationals support missions in line with Outcome 1.

Qualifications

Master’s Degree or a Degree from a University for Applied Sciences in animal husbandry/dairy production, preferably with specialisations in dairy nutrition, training & extension.
Six (6) years plus of experience in the relevant field of dairy husbandry, dairy extension & training, preferably in the tropics. Experience in the commercial oriented and small holder dairy sector in East and Southern Africa.
Knowledge and experience as regard dairy feeding, breeding, young stock management, disease control, housing and cow comforts, pasture management, forage production and preservation, milking and hygiene, farm mechanization, manure and energy management, biosecurity as well as experience with mixed farming systems as practiced by SH farmers, etc.
Knowledge and experience of/with farm recording tools, such as for herd management, farm economics and online dairy information platforms.
Specific expert knowledge in forage production, preservation, dairy nutrition, ration balancing, climate-smart agriculture, and sustainable livestock production systems
Experience with knowledge transfer (farmer extension, training, ToTs), ability to develop training and instructional materials and set-up training of farmer and training of trainers’ courses.
Ability and expertise in carrying out dairy-related technical assessments & evaluations, feasibility studies, strategy and policy papers falling under TEA and FDN agenda.
Experience in managing partner relations with NGOs, government departments, research and knowledge institutes, industry associations, and private sector market actors
Ability/experience in guiding and coaching local dairy advisors and extensions workers with the knowledge, skills, and product development.
Familiar with digital-based information solutions and platforms, & related software and hardware
Work experience in a multi-disciplinary and cultural team.
Good oral and written communication skills in English.
Good computer and software applications skills.
Sensitive and committed to gender equity and diversity.

Additional Information

Terms of Appointment

This is a full-time position offering a competitive international contract, salary and secondary benefits commensurate with qualifications and experience.

SNV is a global organisation committed to bringing different people, ideas and perspectives together.

Contract Duration: 2 years with possible extension depending on funding and performance

How to Apply

Please apply by clicking on the I’m Interested button and complete your application in our in-house recruitment system before Decemeber 17th , 2021

All information will be in the strictest confidence and in accordance with GDPR. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

We will require that you provide us with full details of three people who are willing to act as a referee. We will not contact these referees without your explicit permission.

We do not appreciate third-party mediation based on this advertisement

Please APPLY ONLINE at: https://jobs.smartrecruiters.com/SNV/743999790463240-international-diary-advisor**