Capacity Building Officer

International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA); Ajman; On-site; AED 201,000 - 290,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

30 days annual leave

Maternity leave

Paternity leave

Job summary

ICARDA in Ajman, UAE leads the CGIAR C4RPWC program to advance capacity development across partner countries. The Capacity Development Officer will design and coordinate learning interventions, manage ToT training, and support e‑learning and knowledge exchange. The role requires collaboration with national partners and ICARDA’s Rabat team.

The ideal candidate has 5+ years in capacity development, strong English communication, and knowledge of adult learning. Travel to project sites is expected.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in agricultural sciences or related field; master's desirable.
• At least 5 years of relevant professional experience in capacity development, training, extension, or learning.
• Experience designing and coordinating ToTs, workshops, e-learning, or similar activities.
• Experience translating technical knowledge into practical learning materials.
• Strong digitalskills incl. MS 365; familiarity with MEL is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate Capacity Development Plan and annual training calendar.
• Lead Training-of-Trainers and develop training materials.
• Coordinate Young Career Program and farmer/extension capacity activities.
• Monitor, evaluate and report capacity development progress.
• Document best practices and maintain training resources.

Skills

Capacity development

Training design

ToT training

E-learning development

Stakeholder coordination

Education

Bachelor's degree in agricultural sciences or related field

Master's degree desirable

Tools

Microsoft 365

Online learning tools

MEL systems knowledge

Job description

Reports to Program Manager C4RPWC Location Ajman UAE Purpose of the position The CGIAR Consortium for Red Palm Weevil Control C4RPWC is a multi-partner initiative funded by the International Affairs Office IAO of the UAE Presidential Court and the Gates Foundation Led by ICARDA the Consortium brings together international research organizations and strategic partners to develop and scale sustainable science-based solutions for the management of the Red Palm Weevil in low- and middle-income countries The Capacity Building Officer will coordinate and support the design planning implementation monitoring documentation and continuous improvement of capacity development activities across the C4RPWC Program The position will work across all technical workstreams and participating countries to ensure that training and capacity development activities are demand-driven technically sound well coordinated properly documented and aligned with the Program s research validation deployment and scaling objectives The Officer will report directly to the C4RPWC Project Manager and maintain a dotted-line technical relationship with the ICARDA Capacity Development and Training Team Lead in Rabat Morocco ensuring alignment between C4RPWC capacity development activities and ICARDA s broader institutional approaches standards tools and learning systems A major focus of the role will be coordinating the Program s Training-of-Trainers ToT technical training Farmer Field School and extension-related learning Young Career Program e-learning and training materials regional knowledge exchange and other capacity development activities linked to the C4RPWC innovation and scaling pathway

Main responsibilities

1. Capacity Development Planning and Coordination
   Coordinate the C4RPWC Capacity Development Plan and annual training calendar ensuring alignment with workplans milestones technical validation activities and country priorities
   Work with Workstream Leads country teams national partners and ICARDA s Capacity Development team to identify capacity gaps and translate them into targeted learning interventions
   Coordinate capacity-development activities across the UAE Egypt Tunisia and other participating countries ensuring consistency while allowing appropriate country adaptation
   Serve as the C4RPWC focal point for capacity-development coordination and maintain close technical liaison with ICARDA s Capacity Development and Training Team in Rabat
2. Training ToT and Learning Materials
   Coordinate Training-of-Trainers and other technical training covering biological control biotechnology digital technologies Citizen Science GAP IPM data management technology adoption impact assessment and other C4RPWC priorities
   Coordinate participant selection trainers agendas logistics learning objectives training evaluations documentation and follow-up
   Support technical experts in converting research outputs and validated technologies into practical training packages manuals facilitator guides presentations videos and field materials
   Coordinate development and deployment of e-learning and CPD-accredited learning modules and support translation localization of materials where required
3. Young Career Farmer and Stakeholder Capacity Development
   Coordinate implementation and monitoring of the C4RPWC Young Career Program including PhD MSc postdoctoral research-assistant and other early-career development opportunities
   Maintain records of participating young researchers supervisors research topics institutions outputs and progress
   Coordinate capacity development for farmers extension personnel researchers government staff and other stakeholders through Farmer Field Schools field days demonstration activities stakeholder platforms and Communities of Practice
   Facilitate regional and South-South knowledge exchange including sharing lessons from UAE validation activities with RPW-affected and threatened LMICs
4. Monitoring Evaluation and Reporting
   Maintain a consolidated capacity-development tracker covering training events participants outputs learning materials and follow-up activities
   Work with the MEL team to ensure training indicators evidence participant information and results are systematically captured in the Program MEL system
   Apply appropriate pre post assessments participant feedback and other tools to assess improvements in knowledge skills and institutional capacity
   Prepare concise inputs for quarterly biannual and annual reporting on capacity-development achievements challenges lessons learned and upcoming priorities
5. Partnerships Knowledge Management and Continuous Improvement
   Coordinate capacity-development activities with C4RPWC partners national institutions universities government agencies and technical teams
   Work with MEL and Communications and Knowledge Management teams to document good practices lessons learned training outcomes and success stories
   Maintain an organized repository of training curricula manuals presentations participant records evaluations and related capacity-development products
   Periodically review training effectiveness and recommend improvements to strengthen quality relevance sustainability and potential for scaling Willingness to travel to project countries is required

Terms of appointment salary and benefits This is a nationally recruited staff position open for UAE nationals and residence for which ICARDA offers an attractive compensation package including a competitive salary

• medical insurance
• 30 days of annual leave
• maternity leave
• paternity leave

The successful candidate will be offered an initial contract of 3 years renewable subject to continued need for the position and satisfactory performance

Please be advised that ICARDA accepts applications only in English as per the organization s standard communication language Applications in other languages will not be considered Only shortlisted applications will be contacted

Education, qualifications, and experience Bachelor's degree in agricultural sciences, agricultural extension, education, capacity development, international development, or a related discipline; master's degree desirable. At least 5 years of relevant professional experience in capacity development, training, agricultural extension, learning and development, or research-for-development programs. Demonstrated experience designing and coordinating ToTs, technical training, workshops, Farmer Field Schools, e-learning, or similar capacity-development activities. Experience translating technical or scientific knowledge into practical learning materials for different audiences. Knowledge of adult learning, training-needs assessment, curriculum development, and training evaluation. Experience working in multi-country or multi-institutional programs and with government, research, university, and development partners is desirable. Strong digital skills, including Microsoft 365 and online learning/training tools; familiarity with MEL systems is an advantage. Excellent English communication and coordination skills. Arabic is highly desirable.