Food Security and Community Resilience Consultant –Washington, DC/ Ithaca, NY/ E. Africa

Organization: EcoAgriculture Partners

Title: Food Security and Community Resilience Consultant

Location: Washington, DC area, or near Ithaca, New York and Cornell University, or in eastern Africa

Hours and Compensation: Half Time for 10 Months at $2,750-$3,500/month for half-time work depending on experience ($5,500-$7,000/month full-time equivalent)

Application Deadline: Open Until Filled

Posted On: Sept. 12, 2011

Description

EcoAgriculture Partners seeks to hire a half-time Consultant for 10 months, to contribute to an exciting project developing landscape scale strategies for “climate smart” agriculture that improve livelihood security and resilience of farmers and their communities while concurrently protecting and restoring ecosystem services.  The Consultant will be an integral member of the professional team that will implement the project.  The work will begin as soon as a qualified candidate is identified.  The Consultant may be based in the Washington, DC area, or near Ithaca, New York and Cornell University, or in eastern Africa.

Primarily, the Consultant will review literature, interview project stakeholders in five countries (Kenya, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Ecuador and a West African country yet to be chosen), and consult with knowledgeable professionals and organizations in these countries and elsewhere. Approximately six weeks of travel is required.  In addition, the Consultant will collaborate with the project team to:

• Build a framework for analyzing potential interfaces between ecosystem management at farm, community and landscape scales, and food security and resilience in the face of threats from drought and natural resource degradation, and for managing agriculture and natural resources to reduce food insecurity and enhance community resilience in the face of climate change;
• Apply an integrated landscape management perspective in assessing and advancing the potential for investing in climate change adaptation and mitigation through agriculture and natural resources management to yield benefits in agricultural productivity, livelihood security and ecosystem function;
• Develop tools that stakeholders can use in improving agriculture and natural resources management at landscape scales to realize these multiple outcomes on an ongoing basis;
• Explore ways that  food relief strategies can contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation by evaluating selected projects in the five countries;
• Calculate rough estimates of net greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and land use change in one selected project landscape;
• Based on assessment, recommend ways that projects can enhance their role in the delivery of food security related environmental and ecosystems benefits; and,
• Develop a qualitative, checklist-type tool to assess the benefits and modes of incorporating climate change resilience issues and landscape approaches in field projects.

Required skills and experience:

• Masters degree in natural resources, agriculture, or development economics; regional planning; international development; development sociology, or a related field;
• At least ten years of experience in international development, including work in field situations in eastern Africa;
• Well-honed personal interaction and communication skills, including extensive experience interviewing informants from diverse sectors and disciplines as well as presenting information and ideas to varied professional audiences;
• Excellent analysis and writing skills;
• High level of organization, creativity, and self-direction; and,
• English fluency.

Desirable:

• Experience working on food security, disaster management and/or ecosystem resilience issues;
• Spanish and French language.

How To Apply

Please email your curriculum vitae; a cover letter stating your interest in and qualifications for this position; a writing sample; and, names and contact information for two references, with subject line “Consultant – [your name]” to Courtney Wallace, [email protected]. Review of applications will commence as they are received and continue until this position is filled.

EcoAgriculture Partners is a non-profit organization that works to facilitate sustainable food production, rural livelihoods, and environmental conservation through integrated approaches to rural landscape management. The organization does so by providing training, research, policy solutions, and support to farmers, communities, and organizations at the local, national and international levels. To learn more about EcoAgriculture Partners, visit our website at www.ecoagriculture.org.