Program Overview

“Economic Recovery and Development Activity (ERDA)” is an upcoming five-year project funded the USAID. The project’s budget will be about $20-25 million and is designed to expand economic opportunities in the Newly Merged Districts (NMDs) of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province by strengthening and modernizing the agriculture sector and promoting farm and off-farm micro- and small enterprises (MSEs). Interventions under this activity will promote sustainable economic growth by improving agriculture sector capacity and supporting allied MSEs in the non-agriculture sectors. Additionally, the activity will leverage planned public sector development initiatives and will support policy reforms to create an enabling environment for private sector investments in sectors that offer the highest potential for economic growth. The activity will provide targeted technical assistance to the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (GoKP) to maximize the impact of planned public sector economic growth initiatives in the NMDs and promote sustainable economic activity in the region.

Overview of the Position:

The Senior Agricultural Specialist will look to improve agricultural development in the NMDs by supporting sector modernization and strengthening key value chains. This will include designing and leading strategies to enhance sector capacity by strengthening agricultural production resources, modernizing the sector, and improving the productivity of market-oriented and nutrient-rich crops and livestock.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Design and lead activities under ERDA Objective 1, providing technical direction and managing activities to strengthening and modernizing the agriculture sector in the NMDs;
• Undertake value chain analyses and design interventions to improve productivity and value addition along the value chain.
• Facilitate the interconnectedness of agricultural market systems, scaling new technologies to increase adoption in the region, and promoting increased domestic agricultural trade.

Requirements (Education, Experience, Skills, Languages.):

• A Bachelor’s Degree, or its international equivalent, in a field relevant to agricultural development, such as Agriculture, Agronomy, Engineering, Natural Resource Management, or a related field. Master’s degree preferred.
• 15 or more years of progressively responsible experience in implementation of agricultural development, agribusiness, and/or value chain strengthening projects in Pakistan; preferably in NMDs, or similar conflict-affected regions.
• Five or more years of experience successfully promoting increased agriculture and livestock production through a variety of sustainable approaches
• Experience promoting private sector-led growth in agriculture, with experience in improved inputs, contract farming and value chains
• Experience managing large development programs in partnership with communities and in security sensitive and potentially volatile regions
• Experience improving access to agricultural development extension services, capacity building and establishing farmers owned agriculture infrastructure sustainable management mechanisms
• Experience working with water conservation through integrated approaches and expanding natural resources successfully in difficult agrarian environments
• Demonstrated knowledge of Pakistan agro-input systems (seeds, fodder, fertilizer, pesticides, irrigation, pharmaceuticals, and agricultural technologies) and domestic markets, as well as international best practices is required;
• Experience on USAID- or other donor-funded agricultural development projects is preferred.

• A solid understanding of key gender equality considerations, design, approaches and indicators for women's economic empowerment and equality

• Fluent in English with proficiency in Pashto/Urdu is desirable.
• Experience in border areas of Pakistan/Afghanistan is preferred. Strong preference will be given to Pakistani nationals from FATA/NMDs.