Dan Church Aid Vacancy

DCA Ethiopia Office is looking for a competent Agronomist Officer

Vacancy Number: DCA-Eth/VA-009/2026

Vacancy Date: April 09, 2026

Post Title: Agronomist Officer

Required number: One

Type of Contract: Up to January 31, 2027

Duty Station: South Omo Zone – Dassenech & Nyangatom woreda (Based in Omorate)

Reporting to: Program Area Manager

Expected Start Date: As soon as possible

Application Deadline: April 18, 2026

Salary Range: As per DCA salary Scale

Position Objective

The Agronomist Officer supports the design, coordination, and technical implementation of sustainable, climate-smart, and market-oriented agricultural interventions using solar-powered systems under the SPREAD Project. The role focuses on enhancing agricultural productivity, improving soil health, optimizing rain fed and irrigation water-use efficiency, support the farmers on irrigation water application and usage, build capacity of irrigation users, design irrigation water schedule for the different crop, fruit and vegetables for the three irrigation and strengthening the resilience of target c communities through the application of sustainable, climate-smart, and market-oriented agricultural practices. The position applies Market Systems Development (MSD) principles by strengthening market linkages, supporting agro-dealer networks, improving value chains, and promoting private sector engagement aligned with climate-smart agriculture.

Purpose (Oversight & Technical Leadership)

• Lead the field-level implementation of solar-powered irrigation systems to ensure the delivery of climate-smart agricultural, agroecological, and agroforestry practices, along with effective agronomic interventions.

• Irrigation System Management: Designing and improving irrigation systems such as furrow, basin to maximize efficiency

• Crop-Water Scheduling: Developing schedules based on soil, crop types, and water availability

• Agronomic Advice: Providing technical guidance on land preparation, planting methods, spacing, and organic fertilizer application

• Water User Association Support: Helping organize and strengthen communities’ water user associations (WUAs) to manage resources efficiently

• Promote improved agricultural productivity, enhanced soil health, and the adoption of climate-resilient farming practices among target communities.

• Provide technical support to farmer groups, irrigation cooperatives, agro-dealers, and value chain actors on value-added agronomic practices and sustainable production techniques.

• Ensure quality implementation, including beneficiary targeting, registration, and input distribution.

• Strengthen market systems by linking farmers with traders, cooperatives, extension services, and private sector actors.

• Integrate gender-transformative approaches, ensuring women’s participation, leadership, and equitable decision-making in agriculture.

Engagement

• Coordinate community-based targeting and verification in line with DCA guidelines.

• Facilitate formation and strengthening of livelihood groups (e.g., vegetable producers, irrigation users, agro-dealers).

• Deliver regular agronomic training on: agroecology and agroforestry practices, including backyard gardening, to enhance food security, biodiversity, and sustainable land use through Pest and disease management. Water-efficient irrigation, Integrated soil fertility management, and Climate-smart agriculture practices

• Organize demonstrations, trials, and the introduction of innovative technologies.

• Strengthen crop value chains, including aggregation systems and input supply networks.

• Coordinate with government institutions, research centres, private sector actors, and NGOs.

• Promote conflict-sensitive programming and support peacebuilding initiatives within agricultural activities.

Delivery

• Ensure the timely distribution of agricultural inputs to irrigation beneficiaries and water users’ committees, while providing continuous technical guidance and follow-up to support effective utilization.

• Monitor crop performance and provide advisory services to irrigation beneficiaries to minimize losses and enhance agricultural yields.

• Support Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E), document lessons learned, and report on the performance of irrigation beneficiaries to inform adaptive management and project improvement.

• Ensure compliance with donor requirements, project standards, and organizational procedures.

• Promote inclusive and gender-responsive agricultural practices throughout implementation.

• Provide technical guidance to Community Development Facilitators.

• Represent DCA in coordination meetings, government engagements, workshops, and evaluation activities.

Job Requirement

• Minimum bachelor’s degree in plant science, Agronomy, Agricultural Engineering, Agriculture, Horticulture, Crop Science, Crop production or related field from a recognized university.

• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in agricultural production, extension services, irrigation agronomy, or agricultural livelihood projects.

• Strong knowledge of: Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices, Soil fertility management and sustainable land use, Irrigation agronomy and water management, and Pest and disease management.

• Experience in conducting demonstrations and field trials.

• Proven experience working with smallholder farmers and agricultural value chain actors

• Strong hands-on experience in farmer capacity building and provision of field-level technical support

• Practical experience in irrigation agronomy, fruit and vegetable production

• Experience working with NGOs or humanitarian organizations is required

• Experience working in South Omo or other disaster-affected areas of Ethiopia is an advantage

• Experience with EU-funded or donor-funded programs is an asset

• Good understanding of climate-resilient agriculture, crop value chains, and market-based approaches –

• Knowledge of project design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation

• Knowledge of humanitarian principles, conflict sensitivity, and cross-cutting issues

• Strong communication, facilitation, and report-writing skills

• Proficiency in MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook

• Good knowledge of the South Omo context –

• Proficient in English language

• Familiarity with input supply systems, agro-dealer development, and market linkages.

• Ability to integrate gender, inclusion, and conflict-sensitive approaches into agricultural programming.

• Knowledge of local languages (e.g., Dassenech, Nyangatom, or other South Omo languages) is mandatory

• Experience working in the South Omo or pastoralist context is mandatory

• Willingness to live and work in remote areas with frequent field travel.

Position Objective

• Responsible for ensuring high-quality, timely, and compliant donor reporting across the country programme, providing technical leadership on donor compliance, and strengthening reporting systems. The role also drives business development by leading the preparation of proposals and concept notes, coordinating inputs from programme teams, partners, HQ, and donors to produce competitive submissions. This role focuses on reporting and proposal/CN development.

Purpose

• Prepare and submit timely, high-quality donor reports (narrative and financial inputs).

• Ensure compliance with donor agreements, schedules, and guidelines.

• Maintain grant tracking systems and consolidate inputs from programme teams/partners.

• Document and share programme results and lessons learned with donors and stakeholders.

• Lead the drafting of proposals and concept notes aligned with donor priorities.

• Coordinate inputs from programme teams, partners, and HQ for competitive submissions.

• Work on identification of funding opportunities and strengthen business development practices.

   

Engagement

• Coordinate with programme, finance, MEAL units, and partners to collect and validate reporting data.

• Liaise with HQ (GPRM) to ensure alignment with global compliance standards and procedures.

• Maintain regular donor communication on reporting schedules, clarifications, and follow-up queries.

• Support partners in strengthening their reporting capacity and compliance with donor requirements.

• Facilitate the proposal and concept note development process, including preparation of annexes and coordination with consortia.

• Engage with programme teams, partners, and HQ to ensure accurate inputs and competitive submissions.

• Participate in project review meetings and coordination platforms to ensure proposals and reports reflect project progress

Delivery

• Properly document all reports, grant agreements, amendments, donor correspondence, proposals, and related annexes in the PPD (DCA Database).

• Track and monitor reporting and proposal deadlines to ensure timely, compliant submissions.

• Organize and participate in project review meetings, coordination platforms, and programme discussions to ensure accurate representation of project progress in reports and proposals.

• Lead and facilitate proposal development workshops, including design of processes, coordination with consortia, and preparation of supporting documentation/annexes.

Vacancy Number: DCA-Eth/VA-010/2026

Vacancy Date: April 09, 2026

Post Title: Grant Reporting and Business Development Specialist

Required number: One

Type of Contract: One year with possibility of extension

Duty Station: Addis Ababa

Reporting to: Head of Business Development and Innovation

Expected Start Date: As soon as possible

Application Deadline: April 18,2026

Salary Range: As per DCA salary Scale

Job Requirement

• Master’s degree in social science, Business Administration, Development Studies, International Relations, Project Management, with a specialization or academic focus in DCA thematic areas such as Humanitarian Studies, Livelihoods and Food Security, or Climate Change and Development.

• Minimum 7 years of relevant professional experience in grant management, donor reporting, or programme coordination within an INGO, or international development organization.

• Adequate working knowledge of requirements and guidelines of donor.

• Good Knowledge of project cycle management

• Excellent proposal writing skills, with close attention to detail.

• Proven track record of developing development and humanitarian program from key institutional donors: USAID, EU, ECHO, BPRM, DANIDA and others, understand their communication requirement.

• Excellent English oral and written language skills is required

• Ability to effective time management.

• Strong team and communication management skills

• Capacity to work in a busy environment and strategy to manage the workload

  Job Alerts & Resources

• Excellent interpersonal skills and the capability to work within different cultural environments.