The position
With a position of Knowledge Sharing and Communication Expert, you will function within a team of individuals with complementary expertise in seed sector development. You will be accountable to the regional scientific coordinator, who will be assisted by a regional project manager. The regional project manager will supervise you on a day to day basis. Expertise, guidance, and support in gender; informal seed systems; business development; project implementation strategy; monitoring and evaluation (M&E); and data management will be provided by the Addis Ababa based ISSD Ethiopia project management unit (ISSD-PMU). A team of experts from Wageningen University and Research centre (Wageningen UR), the Netherlands will support PMU. Regional activity planning will be conducted with the participation of PMU and often in collaboration with other projects united by the BENEFIT partnership. You will be an active participant in knowledge sharing and learning events with the teams based at other duty stations.
Key Responsibilities
The main responsibilities of the Knowledge Sharing and Communication Expert are:
Facilitates knowledge sharing by way of organizing and facilitating events like seminars, workshops, forums, exchange visits to enhance learning through sharing of experiences. This position provides knowledge sharing services to the overall team.
Documents key experiences and critical lessons. Ensures that these lessons and experiences are adapted for and accessed by different target audiences through appropriate channels. These channels include the ISSD Ethiopia webpage, ISSD Ethiopia social media channels, print publications, events, and other platforms and channels relative to ISSD Ethiopia and to other BENEFIT Projects at duty stations, where other BENEFIT projects are operational. Plan and develop periodic newsletters, briefs, leaflets, reports, articles targeting key audiences. Ensure compliance with BENEFIT partnership branding and visual identity requirements.
Contribute to the ISSD Ethiopia web site, social media channels, and contribute to documentary videos and other audio-visual productions. Take pictures of events and maintain updated photo library .Develop and maintain contacts with the media, press and journalists, develop press releases and develop and manage a media contacts list. Perform these same duties for other BENEFIT projects at duty stations, where other BENEFIT projects are operational.
Engage with colleague of KS&C experts in other regions to coordinate ISSD Ethiopia communication and that of other BENEFIT projects at duty stations, where other BENEFIT projects are operational to collaboratively develop a communication plan and publish relevant content in the ISSD Ethiopia newsletter, the ISSD Ethiopia website and social media channels.
ISSD Ethiopia aims to improve access to quality seed
The goal of ISSD Ethiopia is to improve female and male smallholder farmer access to and use of quality seed of new, improved and/or farmer preferred varieties to sustainably increase agricultural productivity. The project builds upon more than four years existing experiences in supporting the development of a vibrant, pluralistic and market oriented seed sector in Ethiopia. In this, its next phase starting January 1st, 2016 and ending December 31st 2019, ISSD Ethiopia will strengthen seed producers in three different seed systems (informal, intermediary and formal); enhance the performance of seed value chains within these seed systems; and contribute to the improvement of an enabling environment for seed value chains in the different seed systems. In addition, the project will strengthen the professional capacities for implementing the ISSD approach.
ISSD Ethiopia is implemented in four regions of Ethiopia through multiple partnerships
The ISSD Ethiopia project is one of four projects united under the BENEFIT Partnership in Ethiopia. BENEFIT stands for Bilateral Ethiopia-Netherlands Effort for Food, Income and Trade. It is a partnership among four projects in the country, including ISSD Ethiopia, and with the Ethiopian agricultural sector itself, funded by the Dutch Government. ISSD Ethiopia is implemented by five regional ISSD units hosted at four universities (Bahir Dar, Haramaya, Hawassa and Mekelle) and Oromia Seed Enterprise in four regions of the country, supported by the ISSD-PMU and BENEFIT Partnership Coordination Unit (PCU), both located in Addis Ababa, and by Wageningen UR, the Netherlands. Regional implementing partners are: Bahir Dar University; Haramaya University and Oromia Seed Enterprise; Hawassa University; and Mekelle University, operating in Amhara region; Oromia region (divided into eastern and south & western, respectively); Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR); and Tigray region, in corresponding order of mention.
The kind of person we are looking for:
We are looking for an energetic and enthusiastic hard worker who is a team player and can work independently. Working in interdisciplinary team, good interpersonal communication, mediation and facilitation skills are required. Acting as a vital member of a dynamic team, the candidate is expected to be flexible, reasonable, accommodating, and constructive and to actively contribute to making the working environment a happy one. We are also looking for a person with a demonstrated interest in Knowledge sharing and Communication in the seed sector and with a proven capacity to support effectively other the experts of the regional ISSD unit in knowledge sharing and communication.
Experience, Knowledge, and Skills required:
Applicants must satisfy at least all of the following minimum requirements: