Thematic Advisor – Agriculture At Practical Action

PRACTICAL ACTION
ABOUT US
We are an international development organization putting ingenious ideas to work so people in poverty can change their world.

We help people find solutions to some of the world’s toughest problems. Challenges made worse by catastrophic climate change and persistent gender inequality. We work with communities to develop ingenious, lasting and locally owned solutions for agriculture, water and waste management, climate resilience and clean energy. And we share what works with others, so answers that start small can grow big.

We’re a global change-making group. The group consists of a UK registered charity with community projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America, an independent development publishing company and a technical consulting service. We combine these specialisms to multiply our impact and help shape a world that works better for everyone.

OUR AIMS
We help people find solutions to some of the world’s toughest problems, made worse by catastrophic climate change and persistent gender inequality. Our aims are to:

• Make agriculture work better for smallholder farmers, many of them women, so they can adapt to climate change and achieve a good standard of living
• Help more people harness the transformational effects of clean affordable energy and reduce avoidable deaths caused by smoke from indoor stoves and fires.
• Make cities in poorer countries cleaner, healthier places to live and work.
• Build disaster resilience into the lives of people threatened by hazards – reducing the risk of hazards and minimizing their impact on lives and livelihoods.

PRACTICAL ACTION IN EAST AFRICA
In East Africa, Practical Action has a long history of addressing systemic barriers that prevent people from accessing energy that transforms their lives, helping communities and government make cities healthier and safer, making agriculture and markets work better for small holder farmers and supporting communities and government to become more resilient.

We use a mix of programming with communities and consultancy services with shapers of policy and practice to achieve our aims in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania.

ABOUT THE ROLE
The Thematic Advisor, Agriculture plays a crucial role within the regional team accountable for providing innovative and impactful thought leadership on Agriculture. This includes linking regenerative agriculture with approaches that enable farmers to engage with the market as well as the use of energy for agriculture and seeking solutions that can be taken to scale.
Across all of our work, we aim to achieve impact at scale using our Framework for Change. This involves an in-depth analysis of the nature, scale and source of the challenge, defining the change we want to bring about in the system and in people’s lives and using our three pathways to demonstrate what works, learn and use knowledge and evidence to inspire others to adopt similar approaches. Innovation is at the core of what we do with a focus on climate change and gender across all our work.
The post-holder will be expected to:

• Lead the development of our thematic goals and ambition in Agriculture, ensuring national/contextual relevance, using the Framework for Change.
• Provide technical leadership and input on Agriculture in Practical Action’s Business Development processes.
• Shape the learning agenda that will support the change we want to achieve and shape our influencing approach and messages.
• Develop and nurture strategic relationships for partnership and influence with external decision-makers in government, the private sector and donors/clients in support of our change ambitions.
• Provide technical expertise in the design and delivery of both projects and Practical Action consultancies.

S/he will coordinate closely with all teams in the region including delivery teams, Impact and Influence, Business Development and Communications to support new business, nurture relationships, strengthen our profile and delivery of programs.
The Thematic Advisor is a member of the Impact & Influence Team in East Africa and a key member of the Agriculture Change Ambition Hub, contributing to global leadership on our thematic area, supporting our global agenda on evidence and learning, and ensuring synergy between our national and global work.

SCOPE
Title: Thematic Advisor- Agriculture
Reporting to: Head of Impact & Influence
Direct reports: NA
Relationships: Externally with strategic partners relevant to achieving impact and internally with delivery teams, technical advisors and the impact team.
Financial scope : TBC
Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Grade:7
Travel: Limited

ACCOUNTABILITIES
Leadership and Strategic Alignment

• Lead the continued development and evolution of a set of strategic, viable, and fundable Agriculture goals and ambitions, which describe the changes we want to make in the region and contribute to shaping our annual strategic business plans.
• Apply the Framework for Change to analyze the nature, causes and scale of the problem we want to address, using a systems approach.
• Frame the key learning questions that will support our thematic ambitions in Agriculture and shape studies, research and evaluations to collect and communicate change we are making.
• Lead knowledge generation, management strategies, advocacy and initiatives to leverage change, linking contextual, national and global knowledge to maximize impact
• Serve as a key member of the organizational Agriculture Hub, actively creating synergies between our organization-wide ambitions and our work in the region.
• Work with colleagues to develop and implement plans for course adjustment where necessary and monitor and report on our progress towards our ambitions on a quarterly and annual basis.
• Adhering to and promoting our Code of Conduct and related policies including the Safeguarding policy and guidelines while ensuring that these are embedded in team culture and well modelled by others (Practical Action staff, partners, beneficiaries and all persons that you will come in contact with while activin on behalf of Practical Action). Also, promote the reporting structures for receiving complaints and respond to concerns appropriately within the policy.

Strengthening Profile, Generating Funding and Managing Relationships

• Network and represent with donors and clients to identify opportunities and open doors, connecting these opportunities with our internal teams.
• Work with the Business Development teams in the region and the UK to build innovative thinking into new, high quality, winning proposals.
• Provide technical leadership and input into proposals and concepts to raise funds against the Organization’s Business Plans.
• Support the Impact Team to shape learning, built into upcoming proposal development by the Business Development Unit and quality improvement by Programme Delivery Unit
• Actively contribute to the roll out of our brand and positioning.

Delivering Quality

• Provide technical assistance to the grants and programs to ensure high quality implementation.
• Ensure quality on the use and integration of technology approaches and innovations in delivery
• Where required, contribute to the delivery of PAC assignments.
• Work with the gender advisor to ensure firm integration of a transformative gender approach in all our work.
• Work with the climate technology advisor to ensure that the climate technology theme is delivered across our Agriculture work
• Take time to build team capacities related to systems thinking and the Framework for Change.

PERSON PROFILE
To be successful in the role, the ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate:

Experience &Knowledge

• University degree in Agriculture, Horticulture, Agronomy, soil and water science or a related field from a recognized university
• A minimum of 7 years of relevant working experience in the agriculture sector especially with small holder farmers
• Proven technical expertise in designing, implementing, and monitoring Agriculture interventions.
• Proven experience in fundraising and building Agriculture Programs and Interventions.

Essential

• Solid understanding of the Agriculture policy environment and key drivers within the sector.
• Has existing strong relationships and networks within the Sector.
• Ability to multitask, strong attention to detail; ability to work independently; strong analytical, communication and report writing skills.
• Experience in coordinating a range of diverse actors and activities to achieve a common programming objective under the Agriculture sector.
• Good understanding of regenerative agriculture.
• Substantial background and experience in market systems development for agriculture and food markets.
• A sound understanding of and commitment to gender equality.
• Excellent written and oral communications skills in English

Desirable

• Fluency in Swahili or other regional languages
• Knowledge of monitoring, evaluation and learning strategies.
• Post-graduate degree in relevant subject