JOB DETAILS:
Position Objective (Summary of placement in the function and broad responsibilities)
The Senior Program Officer Community Engagement and Operations (SPO-CEO) will be based at the RUFORUM Secretariat. He/she will lead RUFORUM’s community engagement and outreach activities for action oriented/translational research to enhance agricultural production and productivity in the agri-food systems for jobs and wealth creation. The SPO-CEO will also be responsible for coordinated efforts on re-imagining the extension and advisory services and the role of TVETs and universities in the delivery of complimentary extension services to agrifood system stakeholders. As part of engagement, the SPO-CEO will also support the Program Manager in operations to ensure effectively coordinated program activities within and across units for enhanced efficiency and effectiveness of programming.

Duties and Responsibilities (Functional statements defining the responsibilities and objectives)

• Support action-oriented research, knowledge and outreach systems on strategies, practices and policies that will raise agricultural production and productivity growth and economic returns to agrifood system/value chains stakeholders

• Strengthen integration of agriculture in the national and global economy

• Support the development of innovative mechanisms for last mile delivery of technologies, innovations, and management practices including the full valorization of the largely underutilized TVET sector capacities, and Youth Serving Organizations (YLSOs).
• Support the strengthening of universities community engagement and outreach agenda for positioning universities as development facilitators.

• Support Program Manager in the program operations for efficiency and effective operations

Activities
• Support Universities to scale out-community engagement and field/industry attachment models that engage students in experiential learning with concurrent delivery of
• complimentary agricultural advisory services
• Strengthen partnerships with other actors involved in capacity development for human resources in the national, regional and continental agricultural innovation systems
• Facilitate universities repositioning to focus on wealth generated from the big five commodity crops and key priority neglected crops in Africa.

• Support highly targeted community-action research clusters that create stronger and more integrated linkages between higher education and commercial opportunities to embed effective solutions and approaches to local challenges supported

Deliverables
• Community engagement and exit guidelines are finalised to better guide community entry and exit in last mile delivery of solutions
• Mapping of advances in research in the Five Key priority commodity crops is conducted to identify gaps for RUFORUM’s interventions and positioning.
• A revised framework for developing and delivering Community Action Research Projects and Research Programs
• Periodic reports on a month, quarterly and annual
• Grant proposals for resourcing
• Publications including peer reviewed articles, guidelines and manuals

Requirements (Education, experience, technical competencies required of the job)
• PhD in agricultural sciences including; plant breeding, animal science, biotechnology, rural innovation, plant sciences, seed systems, plant protection, and related fields.
• At least 5 years working experience with knowledge of academic – community engagement programs
• Experience of working with international research institutions
• Experience of working with farming communities in technology transfer
• Peer reviewed publications and evidence of capacity to write for diverse audiences.
• Flexibility in working schedules and willingness to travel at short notice

Applications with detailed curriculum vitae (in pdf form), copies of certificates, transcripts, names of three referees and the applicant’s Skype Address; daytime telephone contact should be sent online to our E-mail with the subject Appointment in RUFORUM followed by the Job title “Appointments in RUFORUM: state the post you are applying for” . Details of the posts are available at RUFORUM Website: http://www.ruforum.org

Email address: jobs@ruforum.org 
Any form of canvassing will lead to disqualification. Only short-listed applicants will be contacted.