Agriculture Specialist

Job Location:
Nationality: National
Category: Program
Employment Type: Full Time
Salary: Based on Organization Salary Scale
Vacancy Number: CARE-AF-1098
No. Of Jobs: 1
City: Kabul
Organization: CARE AFGHANISTAN
Years of Experience: At least five years of experience in agriculture, agricultural education, agricultural consulting, business management or project management.
Contract Duration: One Year Extendable
Gender: Male/Female
Education: Bachelor’s degree in agriculture, horticulture or similar field of study
Close date: 2024-12-03
About CARE AFGHANISTAN:
CARE is a non-governmental, non-political, non-profit, non-partisan and non-sectarian humanitarian organization, extending its relief and development assistance to those in need. CARE, as an is one of the world’s largest private humanitarian organizations working in more than 90 plus, countries committed to helping communities in the developing world achieve lasting victories over poverty.
Job Description:
Job Summary:
The Afghanistan Integrated Youth Activity’s (AIYA’s) Agriculture Specialist is a senior technical member of staff responsible for designing, leading, supporting and implementing activities focused on enhancing market-relevant higher education, TVET and informal agriculture training in target project provinces.
S/he is responsible for supporting AIYA’s objectives of 1) supporting youth to complete market-relevant post-secondary education and training opportunities, and 2) supporting youth to complete market-relevant secondary-equivalent education and training opportunities.
Under his/her leadership AIYA will 1) Increase access to post-secondary learning opportunities for youth to acquire knowledge, skills and experience needed for increased economic opportunities, 2) Improve delivery of in-service-continuing professional development for post-secondary instructors, 3) Expand training opportunities for youth to gain employability and entrepreneurial skills and knowledge in climate-resilient livelihood sectors, 4) Enhance quality of existing informal and alternative education and training opportunities and providers, 5) Enhance partnerships with the private sector to improve agriculture and other market relevant skills, and 6) Improve access to extension services and other forms of community education and outreach.
S/he will engage closely with provincial teams to achieve AIYA’s objectives and will coordinate closely with technical peers with experience in education and business to ensure that activities derive tangible economic outcomes.
Job Responsibilities:
Increased access to post-secondary learning opportunities for youth to acquire knowledge, skills, and experience needed for increased economic opportunities.
1. Work with education colleagues to assess the capacity of higher education institutions and TVET providers in terms of their agricultural course offerings, teaching personnel and resources.
2. Identify, if existing, large commercial farmers in each target province and assess their willingness to engage in skills development activities, labor force needs, capacity to provide on-the-job training, and facilitate the collaborative design of vocational courses tailored to industry needs.
3. Support identification of digital learning hubs for agricultural education, and development of agricultural curricula, in partnership with private sector agricultural partners.
4. Identify short online agricultural courses, providing certifications in climate-resilient and value-added agriculture, offered by international institutions relevant to Afghanistan’s agricultural sector
Improved delivery of in-service/continuing professional development for postsecondary instructors.
1. Support the comprehensive assessment of instructors’ agriculture knowledge and pedagogical practices among higher education institutions and TVET centers in target provinces, through observations, surveys and student/peer feedback.
2. Support design and implementation of professional development programs to enhance instructors’ agricultural knowledge.
Strengthened capacity of providers of post-secondary learning opportunities to provide market-relevant education and training.
1. Provide technical knowledge and support to enhance curricula and instructor knowledge in the areas of conservation agriculture, improved crop variety and diversification, soil & water management, irrigation, agroforestry, and post-harvest management.
Expanded training opportunities for youth to gain employability and entrepreneurial skills and knowledge in climate-resilient livelihood sectors.
1. Support integration of agriculture education into remote learning platforms.
2. Organize exposure visits for youth to interact with key value chain actors, including producers and processors in the agriculture sector. The visits will provide participants with firsthand experience of the diverse career opportunities available within agriculture, showcasing the various roles and pathways that exist.
1. Support evaluation of nonformal and informal agriculture training providers to identify critical pedagogical gaps that may hinder effective teaching and learning. The assessment will involve analyzing instructional methods, learner engagement strategies, use of self-directed learning and training, and curriculum relevance to ensure that these providers are equipped to meet the diverse needs of their learners.
2. Provide targeted training to agriculture enterprises to support them in delivering effective extension training.
3. Engage with community-based training providers and agriculture enterprises to collaboratively develop and update existing curricula across each province.
4. Seek collaboration with farmers to offer specialized training programs for youth
Enhanced partnerships with the private sector to improve youth and women agribusiness and other market relevant skills.
1. Participate, as needed, in Provincial Training Network Meetings designed to bring together key stakeholders, including education institutions, chambers of commerce, prominent business leaders, association and community organizations to enhance skill development and workforce readiness.
2. Develop/manage Value Chain Analyses for the dairy, poultry, high value/resiliency crop, fungiculture and medicinal crop/vegetable value chains.
Improved access to extension services and other forms of community education and outreach.
1. Provide targeted financial and technical support to farmers to deliver extension services directly to young people engaged in or interested in agricultural livelihoods.
2. Train CAPs and CLPs to serve as entrepreneurs in rural areas – in product knowledge, sales techniques, customer engagement strategies, to connect farmers with the resources they need for sustainable agricultural practices.
Miscellaneous
1. Project reporting (Quarterly & Annual Reports)
2. Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability & Learning activities
3. Communication activities
4. General administrative activities
5. Other activities of a similar nature, requested by the Chief of Party
Responsibilities on Safety and Security, Gender and Inclusion and Safeguarding and Child Protection:
CARE personnel are expected to adhere to Safety & Security responsibilities, emphasizing team and individual accountability to maintain a safe environment. This includes readiness, compliance, and active engagement to mitigate risks through awareness, reporting, and policy enforcement.
Gender equality and inclusion are fundamental at CARE, promoting equal rights and challenging discriminatory norms to achieve social justice. We foster an inclusive workplace respecting diverse gender identities, abilities, backgrounds, and experiences through dialogue, training, and diversity initiatives. All CARE staff must uphold ethical standards, following codes of conduct to prevent abuse, including sexual harassment, exploitation, and neglect. Regular monitoring ensures accountability to uphold these principles and support our mission of social justice and poverty alleviation.
Safeguarding Responsibilities:

Uphold CARE’s Safeguarding Policy (

) and Safeguarding Code of Conduct. * Must read the Safeguarding Policy and either sign the Safeguarding Code of Conduct or sign a Code of Conduct that is consistent with or references this policy and Safeguarding Code of Conduct.
Safety and Security Responsibility:
We all have a responsibility to promote a safe and secure work environment, foster a safety and security culture, and ensure consistent application of, and compliance with, CARE Afghanistan safety and security policies and procedures.
Job Requirements:
Educatoion:
Bachelor’s degree in agriculture, horticulture or similar field of study, Master’s degree in agriculture, horticulture or similar field of study.
Professional certificate in project management and/or English language
Experience:

At least five years of experience in agriculture, agricultural education, agricultural consulting, business management or project management.

Evidence of problem solving, demonstrating initiative, creative thinking and unconventional approaches to work.

Ability to undertake research into agriculture education, curricula, courses, materials, etc.

Ability to manage a large and complex workload, with limited supervision.

Motivation, flexibility and capacity to work under pressure to short deadlines, and strong sense of personal initiative.

Fluency in English, Dari and Pashto languages – reading, writing, listening and speaking.

Computer literacy with MS Office products and pdf software

Experience in technical or vocational teaching, curriculum development, teacher/instructor training, organizational capacity assessments, education assessments, project reporting, universal design for learning framework.

Experience working with USAID-funded programs in a senior management or technical role.

Strong analytical skills and business acumen.

Attention to detail and ability to prepare accurate, well-formatted and professionally looking documentation.

Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, including presentation skills in local and English languages.

This is a senior technical role, which is responsible for navigating challenges in Afghanistan’s education sector, and devising innovative solutions to achieve ambitious targets.
Safeguarding
CARE places human dignity at the center of its relief and development work. At the heart of CARE’s efforts to impact poverty and social justice is its engagement with marginalized communities, and vulnerable adults and children. Vulnerable adults and children are particularly at risk of sexual exploitation and abuse. CARE commits to the protection from sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse and of vulnerable adults and children, involving CARE Employees and Related Personnel. CARE has a zero tolerance toward sexual exploitation and abuse and child abuse. CARE takes seriously all concerns and complaints about sexual exploitation, harassment and abuse and child abuse involving CARE Employees and Related Personnel
CARE Afghanistan participates in the . In line with this Scheme, we hereby request information from candidate’s previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the candidate left employment. All CARE Afghanistan’s offers of employment are subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks. By submitting an application, the applicant confirms his/her understanding of these recruitment procedures.

CARE International