Agriculture Officer Job in Mbale - Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

Agriculture Officer Job Opportunity in Mbale, Uganda

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is seeking a dedicated and experienced Agriculture Officer to join our team in Mbale, Eastern Uganda. This is a rewarding full-time position where you will play a key role in transforming the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and building community resilience.

About the Role

As an Agriculture Officer, you will provide critical technical support and oversight for our agriculture and livelihoods programmes across Eastern Uganda. You will work directly with farming communities to enhance agricultural productivity, improve market access, and strengthen their ability to adapt to climate change. This role involves up to 60% travel to field locations.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide hands-on technical assistance in agriculture and livelihoods programming.
• Train and mentor smallholder farmers on improved agricultural practices, climate-smart agriculture, and post-harvest handling techniques.
• Support farmer groups with business planning and establishing profitable market linkages.
• Monitor programme implementation, prepare detailed field reports, and support data collection for M&E.
• Build the capacity of local partner organisations and community facilitators.
• Document programme success stories, lessons learned, and best practices.
• Coordinate effectively with local government agriculture departments and other stakeholders.

Qualifications and Experience Required

Basic Qualifications:

• A Bachelor's degree in Agriculture, Agribusiness, Rural Development, or a closely related field.
• At least 3 years of proven experience in agriculture or livelihoods programming in Uganda.
• Strong technical knowledge in areas like crop production, livestock management, or agroforestry.
• Demonstrated experience working directly with smallholder farmers and farmer groups.
• Excellent training, facilitation, and community engagement skills.
• Ability to work independently in the field and collaboratively as part of a team.
• Fluency in English and either Lugisu or other local languages spoken in Eastern Uganda is mandatory.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with value chain development and market systems approaches.
• Knowledge of climate change adaptation and resilience strategies.
• Prior work on donor-funded agriculture projects is an added advantage.

How to Apply

If you are passionate about agricultural development and meet the above criteria, we encourage you to apply. Submit your updated CV and a compelling cover letter through the official Catholic Relief Services (CRS) careers portal: https://www.crs.org/about/careers. Please ensure you reference the Job ID: 3000029643 in your application.

Application Deadline: December 12, 2023

Catholic Relief Services is an equal opportunity employer committed to workforce diversity. We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.