Agriculture Specialist
Afghanistan

ARD, Inc. is recruiting a highly qualified Agriculture Specialist to provide agricultural production training and small agro-project development assistance for a large and comprehensive community development project targeting underserved communities in north and west Afghanistan. USAID/Afghanistan's Local Governance and Community Development (LGCD) is designed to mobilize underserved communities to take charge of their own development in partnership with legitimate local authorities. This TDY assignment is a follow on to earlier conducted short-term assignments. This assignment seeks to build on previous work to develop the capacity of new staff in agricultural project management, and explore replication of agricultural development initiatives in additional provinces. Assignment duration is for up to 90 days starting May 2008.

Responsibilities:

-- Continue to develop the capacity of LGCD to assess and improve agricultural production systems and agricultural productivity through community based investment in rural infrastructure development, training and material assistance.

-- Assist in recruiting local staff and develop their skills in agricultural development skills through training in agricultural assessment and standards of production, quality control, marketing and other associated agricultural development issues.

-- Conduct appropriate agricultural sector needs assessments, sector planning, and project design in targeted provinces. Assessments must outline the types of agricultural production in targeted locations which can be considered priority activities for LGCD support; identifying market linkages for agricultural products; identifying the prospects for developing associations to promote community based agricultural interests to improve agricultural production capacity and marketing; assessments of community marketing capacity for agricultural products; assessment of Afghanistan agriculture extension capacity in targeted locations; and identifying existing systems for local processing of agricultural products;

-- Train the LGCD local staff to develop and oversee agricultural development sub-projects to improve their capacity to identify appropriate potential agricultural development activities within the scope of the LGCD.

Qualifications:

-- University degree in agriculture;

-- Extensive experience in USAID technical assistance programs focused on agriculture;

-- Previous Afghanistan country experience is highly preferred;

-- English 4/4 required.

To apply:

Please e-mail a cover letter and full, current curriculum vitae (CV) in reverse chronological format, to afghanistan@ardinc.com. Please refer to "LGCD Agro" in subject line. Candidates meeting the qualifications detailed above will be contacted. No phone calls, please.

ARD, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Closing Date: Open