TUP Officer-Balkh

TOR

Re- Announced Targeting Ultra Poor Officer

Job Categories:                                  Agriculture

Minimum Education Level:         Bachelor

Position:                                             TUP Officer

Organization:                                    Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL).

Duty station:                                     Balkh

BACKGROUND

BACKGROUND

IFAD support for NPP-2 aims to achieve national coverage over a three-phase implementation period consisting of 15 years. The present project constitutes the first phase of IFAD support. It will be implemented in three selected pilot provinces, namely Balkh, Herat and Nangarhar, with planned geographical expansion to additional provinces over the second and third phases. The selection of Balkh, Herat and Nangarhar provinces is aligned with MAIL's intention to commence with seven priority provinces for NPP-2 roll-out across the country. The present project will cover 589 CDCs consisting of 60,000 households (450,000 people) across six districts – NahriShahi and DihDadai in Balkh, Karukh and Zendhajan in Herat, and Darah e Noor and Khewa/Kuzkunar in Nangarhar.

Project geographical targeting is driven by security considerations, IFAD's strategic framework, and Government priority areas. The pilot provinces and districts are selected based on: (i) incidence of poverty: they have very high poverty ratios (Balkh 60%, Herat 39%, Nangarhar 33%) and massive unemployment/underemployment (Nangarhar 57%, Herat 53%, Balkh 49%); (ii) Government priority: they are priority areas for MAIL and MRRD, the two ministries launching the NPP-2; (iii) institutional networks: they have mature community organisations (CDCs), absorptive capacity for interventions, and functional decentralised MAIL-MRRD relations; (iv) economic and resource management opportunities: they have potential for rapid agriculture and livestock growth benefitting numerous poor rural people, and scope for improved natural resource management; (v) security and accessibility: they guarantee a relative level of security that allows regular and safe access; (vi) contiguity: pilot districts in each province are contiguous, which reduces administrative and logistical constraints and improves the prospects for efficiency; and, (vii) diversity: the provinces are agro-ecologically diverse and encompass a range of challenges

Job Summary:
 

Under the overall supervision of the Project Manager/ TUP Coordinator/ Provincial Extension Advisor and in close collaboration with the SNaPP2 Technical Team, the TUP Officer will be based in Balkh and traveling to target districts. TUP Officer will work closely all provincial SNaPP2 staff in the targeted provinces to create linkages between target beneficiaries and government entities (Hospital, Schools, Clinics, others), Banks, Microfinance institutes and other aid agencies establishing new small income source. 

Job Requirement:
 

• Qualification: A university degree preferably with an Agriculture, Veterinary, economics, business or rural development background;
• At least 4 years of relevant experience working in community development activities where a focus on income generation project;
• Experience and knowledge implementing TUP in Afghanistan is an advantage;

• Strong team building, interpersonal and negotiation abilities including the ability to address sensitive issues with diplomacy, respect, and tact;
• Ability to multi-task, familiarly with CDCs structure, and handle high pressure working environment;
• Willingness to enhance knowledge through training and personal initiative; and,
• Willingness and ability to travel in rural areas of Afghanistan.
• Strong project work planning and management skills;
• Fluency in Dari and Pashto, and good working knowledge of spoken and written English;
• Excellent communication and problem solving skills;
• Good computer skills using Word, Excel, and the Internet.

Job Duties & Responsibilities:
 

The TUP officer shall be perform and be responsible for the following:

• Responsible for implementation of TUP project in the target province
• Prepare Annual Work Plan & Budget for TUP project at provincial level
• Identify relevant training for TUP beneficiary  
• Selection of the most eligible beneficiaries as per the TUP criteria
• Preparing business plan for each beneficiary
• Observe and support efforts of Community Based Extension Workers against TUP project
• Make regular field visits to provide technical support and advice at the community level;
• Prepare information for the MIS Unit and reports as required by TUP Coordinator/Provincial Extension Advisor;
• Identify villages as per the TUP program standard criteria explained in the Operations guideline. Villages’ identification process should be closely coordinated with district and provincial government, CDCs and existing development projects/programs.
• Identify TUP households through PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal) and wealth ranking methodology under close supervision of MAIL/SNaPP-2.
• Conduct a base line survey before start of the project and share its outcome with MAIL/SNaPP-2. This is a critical step to measure the impact of the TUP program after the completion of the project.
• Work with TUP beneficiary for selection of appropriate business
• Track and monitor program performance indicators and ensuring the realization of benefits and delivering of results
• Conduct frequent field monitoring visits to project targeted areas to track and evaluate the project activities against project set indicators.
• Coordination with Microfinance program of FMFB-A at the provincial level
• Link TUP beneficiary with banks and financial institutions
• Close coordination with SNaPP2 provincial staff and PAIL staff
• Other duties and tasks as assigned by Line Manager/Senior Management.

Submission Guidelines:

• The interested candidates should submit their resume alone with a cover letter.
• Please note that application received after the closing date will not be considered.

• Only short-listed candidates whose application responds to the above criteria will be contacted for written test.

Submission email: vacancies.rmlsp@gmail.com