(Senior) Advisor for Smallholder Agricultural Water Management at GIZ

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is the implementing agency of the Federal Republic of Germany for technical and international cooperation. It offers flexible, sustainable and effective solutions in political, economic and social change processes. Most of the work of GIZ is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). GIZ also operates on behalf of other German ministries as well as public and private bodies in Germany and abroad. These include the European Commission, the United Nations, the World Bank and governments of other countries.

In February 2019, the Accelerated Water and Agricultural Resources Efficiency (AWARE) Programme was launched with funding from BMZ as well as the EU Delegation to Zambia with the overall objective to enhance climate smart integrated water resources management (IWRM) and efficient agricultural water use for smallholder farmers in the lower Kafue sub-catchment. The project is clustered into five output areas, namely (1) strengthening of WRM capacities at the national level, (2) strengthening of capacities of WRM-structures on the sub-catchment level, (3) strengthening of water user associations in the sub-catchment, (4) introduction of new technical options for smallholder farmers for efficient use of water resources, and (5) capacity development of public and private agricultural extension service providers to train smallholder farmers on efficient water use, harvesting and irrigation. The political partners are the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and the Water Resources Management Authority (WARMA), subordinate to the Ministry of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection (MWDSEP).

In this context, GIZ is seeking a suitable candidate in the following position:

(Senior) Advisor for Smallholder Agricultural Water Management (Lusaka based)

REF: GIZ_AWA_SAWM

The advertised position shall support the implementation of the output areas (4) and (5), which will be subcontracted to a consultancy to a large extent. Activities will include the support of selection, planning and implementation of demonstration sites to illustrate new technical options for efficient water use, developing training material, manuals, and curricula as well as setting up and conducting comprehensive training programmes for 11,000 smallholder farmers on efficient water use. To ensure the principles of the IWRM approach, the agricultural water management activities will be embedded into the WRM structures on sub-catchment and the national levels.

Main tasks and responsibilities:

• Fostering the strategic relationship and rendering advisory services to the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA)
• Giving technical guidance on the implementation of 32 demonstration sites for efficient agricultural water management (including irrigation) with smallholder farmers as well as the implementation of training of 11,000 farmers
• Providing technical support and supervision of the selection and implementation process of demonstration sites
• Providing technical support and supervision of training methodology
• Being responsible for the development of training manuals for efficient agricultural water management to be used in the training of 11,000 farmer
• Regularly visiting the project offices in Mumbwa/Mazabuka and the demonstration sites
• Supporting the overall supervision of the subcontractor’s implementation in the field
• Contributing to the development of an innovative financing approach for irrigation- / harvesting-systems
• Identifying the need, conceptualising, and rendering organisational development advice to the MoA, especially on provincial, district and camp (extension) level
• Being responsible for developing an excellent working relationship between GIZ, MoA (all levels), WARMA, local communities and traditional authorities
• Fostering knowledge exchange between colleagues within GIZ Zambia and partner organisations

• Performing any other tasks as requested by programme management

Qualifications and requirements:

• Minimum of a master’s degree in a relevant field (e.g. Agricultural Sciences, Agricultural Water Management, Natural Resources Management, Environmental Management/Sciences or Economics or other related field), a doctorate degree in a relevant field is an added advantage
• At least 5 years of managerial and institutional experience in Smallholder Agriculture, preferably linked to Dairy and Horticulture Value Chains
• At least 3 years’ work experience related to Irrigation/Agricultural Water Management
• Strong personal network in Zambia’s agricultural sector
• Demonstrable political, advisory and facilitation skills
• Demonstrable experience in engaging with governmental institutions
• Demonstrable experience in engaging with local communities
• Demonstrable experience in capacity development

Added advantages related to experience:

• Experience in working on financial services for smallholder farmers is an added advantage
• Previous experience within MoA can be an added advantage
• Experience in working with or engaging with the private sector is an added advantage
• Experience in working for an international organisation is an added advantage
• Experience with communal projects is an added advantage
• Experience with rainwater/runoff harvesting systems (e.g. small dams, roof top rain water harvesting) is an added advantage
• Experience with ICTs is an added advantage

Additional requirements and competences:

• Must be self-motivated and proactive
• Strong, demonstrable analytical skills
• Must have strong interpersonal and communication skills and be able to employ diplomacy, especially when collaborating with a broad range of stakeholders
• Knowledge of Adaptation to Climate Change
• Fluency in English, with the ability to articulate oneself well in writing
• Fluency in Tonga and/or Kaonde, both written and oral, is an added advantage
• Must have excellent IT skills (e.g. MS Office, online research, etc.); ability to learn new tools is an asset
• Excellent organisational skills with the ability to manage and prioritise own workload
• Must be an excellent team player and is expected to work well in a multicultural and multidisciplinary environment

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