Innovation and Digital Agriculture Specialist
Overview
The role focuses on strengthening digital agriculture systems, data infrastructure, and digital public goods in Pacific Island countries. It involves supporting assessments, strategy implementation, capacity-building, and technical advisory services.
Key Responsibilities
- Support the design and implementation of national and subregional digital agriculture readiness assessments and investment roadmaps.
- Support the implementation of national e-agriculture strategies, including the identification and adaptation of emerging digital tools and innovations.
- Support the deployment, configuration, and continued development of Digital Farmer Registries (DFR) and related digital public infrastructure.
- Apply a product-management approach to digital public goods and digital solutions.
- Establish and support mechanisms to elicit user feedback to inform continuous improvement of digital products and services.
- Support the assessment of the maturity of certified and candidate digital public goods (DPG) and the readiness of national governments.
- Deliver training and capacity-building workshops for government extension staff and counterparts on digital agriculture tools and platforms.
- Provide technical guidance on interoperability, data governance, and the responsible use of agricultural data.
- Support the identification and adaptation of digital solutions for market linkages, climate resilience and agricultural finance.
- Support the preparation of technical briefs, policy notes, and recommendations.
- Contribute to discussions on the responsible, ethical, and human-centered application of artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies in agriculture.
- Plan project activities, procurement and staffing over the project timeframe.
- Facilitate and support all aspects of project implementation.
- Ensure the preparation, monitoring and updating of workplans.
- Contribute to the preparation of Terms of Reference and Letters of Agreement for project affiliate personnel and service providers.
- Liaise, and maintain positive working relations with stakeholders.
- Support the establishment of a Project Task Force (PTF) and liaise with, provide reports to and receive guidance from the PTF.
- Support the identification and mitigation of potential risks, and report and escalate issues when necessary.
- Monitor the progress and quality of deliverables from contracted experts.
- Identify resource mobilization opportunities and draft concept notes, project proposals, and funding applications.
- Complete other digital agriculture-relevant tasks as assigned.
Required Experience
At least 3 years of relevant experience in digital agriculture, agricultural information systems, ICT for development including demonstrated experience in the planning, implementation and support of technical projects. Experience supporting national or subregional digital agriculture or e-agriculture initiatives. Experience with agricultural data governance, interoperability and the responsible use of data. Experience supporting the design and delivery of training and capacity-building activities, preferably for government counterparts in a development context. Experience supporting project implementation, monitoring and reporting. Experience supporting Digital Farmer Registries (DFR) and digital public goods (DPG) will be an asset. Familiarity with the Pacific context will be a strong asset.
Qualifications
Advanced University degree from an institution recognized by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/UNESCO in Information Technology, Computer Science, Data Science, Smart Agriculture, Agriculture Engineering, or a related field. Consultants with bachelor's degree need two additional years of relevant professional experience.