- The Stakeholder Engagement Officer (SEO) will serve as GHI's primary technical and institutional liaison in their assigned state (Borno, Adamawa, or Yobe).
- The role is responsible for building strong collaborative partnerships with State Ministries of Agriculture, local government authorities, traditional and community leaders, farmer associations, and humanitarian/development partners.
- The SEO will lead ground-level advocacy, facilitate smooth rollout of the agriFIMS and Agro-weather Dissemination System (ADS) platforms, ensure active system adoption, and resolve operational bottlenecks across state operations.
State-Level Institutional & Stakeholder Coordination
- Establish and maintain strong working relationships with relevant State Ministries (Agriculture, Environment, Science & Tech), local government councils, and state development agencies.
- Map key agricultural and digital actors within the state and build strategic alliances to support agriFIMS rollout and institutionalisation.
- Facilitate state-level working groups, consultative meetings, and technical briefings with government partners and key stakeholders.
Platform Advocacy & Community Mobilisation
- Lead community entry strategies, advocacy visits, and sensitisation meetings with traditional rulers, local leaders, and farmer cooperative networks.
- Drive field adoption and user engagement for agriFIMS and GHI's Agro-weather
- Dissemination System (ADS) among state officials, extension workers, and local farmers.
- Coordinate logistics and stakeholder participation for state-based capacity-building workshops, system demonstrations, and user training sessions.
Field Alignment & Risk Management
- Work closely with the Project Manager and technical field teams to ensure field activities align with local cultural norms, conflict dynamics, and state priorities.
- Proactively identify, monitor, and mitigate political, operational, and community-level risks or pushback affecting project activities.
- Act as the frontline conflict resolution liaison between community actors, state authorities, and GHI technical implementation teams.
Reporting & Knowledge Management
- Gather regular feedback from government counterparts, extension workers, and farmers regarding system utility, data governance, and operational challenges.
- Contribute state-level insights to weekly, monthly, and donor progress reports.
- Document success stories, case studies, state policy alignments, and lessons learned from stakeholder interactions.
Day-to-Day Responsibilities
- Conducting daily engagement visits and routine check-ins with state ministry officials, extension agents, and local leaders.
- Organising state-level stakeholder alignment meetings, workshops, and feedback sessions.
- Assisting field registration teams with community access, security clearances, and local stakeholder coordination.
- Tracking and documenting stakeholder issues, policy developments, and community feedback in the project issue log.
- Preparing weekly state progress reports, meeting minutes, and stakeholder engagement summaries for the Project Manager.
- Representing GHI at state-level agricultural and humanitarian coordination platform meetings.
- Comprehensive State Stakeholder Mapping Matrix and Engagement Plan.
- Bi-weekly and monthly stakeholder engagement activity logs and feedback reports.
- Signed State Coordination Meeting Minutes and Action Trackers.
- Community Entry Protocols and Local Mobilisation Plans for field operations.
- Incident and Risk Resolution Reports for state-level operational bottlenecks.
Qualifications and Experience
- Master's or Bachelor's degree in Public Administration, Development Studies, Agricultural Extension, Social Sciences, Communications, or a related field.
- A minimum of 4 years' experience in stakeholder management, government relations, community mobilisation, or advocacy within donor-funded programmes in Nigeria.
- At least 2 years of direct field experience working within Borno, Adamawa, or Yobe States.
- Proven track record of navigating complex state government structures and engaging high-level government officials and traditional authorities.
- Experience in agricultural development, digital system rollout, or rural community development projects is highly desirable.
- Familiarity with humanitarian coordination structures (e.g., Food Security Sector, WFP/FAO working groups) in the BAY region is an added advantage. Indigenes of respective states will be given special consideration.
- Exceptional interpersonal, diplomatic, and negotiation skills with high emotional intelligence.
- Deep understanding of the socio-political, cultural, and security dynamics in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe States.
- Strong workshop facilitation, public speaking, and presentation abilities. IT literacy, including proficiency in Microsoft Office, digital data collection tools and the ability to support users in navigating digital platforms, is highly desirable.
- Fluency in English and working proficiency in Hausa are required. Fluency in Kanuri or
- Fulfulde (depending on target state) is highly desirable.
- Excellent written communication skills for preparing high-quality reports and briefing notes.
- Proven ability to work independently in high-pressure field environments with minimal supervision.