Rural Engineer at COOPI - Cooperazione Internazionale
COOPI Cooperazione Internazionale is an humanitarian, non confessional and independent organization that fights against all kinds of poverty to make the world a better place.
- Founded in 1965 by Vincenzo Barbieri (Italian "father" of international volunteering), COOPI is based in Milan and it has 20 local offices in the South of the World.
Job Summary
The Rural Engineer will be responsible for designing and implementing infrastructure projects that support agricultural development, design and supervising the construction of macro-water harvesting and micro-water harvesting structures, market stalls, and for improving rural livelihoods.
- The ideal candidate will have a strong engineering background, with experience in rural development projects.
Overall Responsibilities
Design, supervise, and maintain rural infrastructure (water systems, irrigation, catch dams, feeder roads, soil conservation structures, market stalls) to boost resilience.
- Improve water access and management to mitigate conflicts over scarce resources.
- Promote climate-resilient engineering solutions for agriculture and disaster risk reduction.
- Strengthen community participation in infrastructure projects to foster ownership and social cohesion.
- Ensure technical solutions align with conflict-sensitive and gender-inclusive approaches.
Main Duties and Tasks
Assess and rehabilitate boreholes, wells, and small-scale irrigation systems to support farming and livestock.
- Design low-cost water harvesting systems (e.g., sand dams, check dams) to combat drought.
- Train Water User Committees (WUCs) on maintenance and equitable water distribution.
- Mitigate water-related conflicts by improving fair access for farmers, herders, and households.
- Construct soil erosion control structures (terraces, gabions, windbreaks) to restore degraded farmlands.
- Support climate-smart irrigation (flood/drip/sprinkler systems) for dry-season farming.
- Design post-harvest storage facilities (grain silos, solar dryers) to reduce losses.
- Implement community-based watershed management plans to prevent flooding/desertification.
- Supervise construction of multi-purpose community assets (e.g., grinding mills, storage hubs).
- Rehabilitate feeder roads and bridges to improve market access and reduce isolation of conflict-prone areas.
- Develop BOQs (Bills of Quantities), designs, and tender documents for rural infrastructure projects.
- Monitor contractor compliance with quality/safety standards in construction.
Document lessons learned and success stories for scaling up interventions.
Key Deliverables
Functional water points (boreholes, irrigation schemes) with trained maintenance committees.
- Erosion control and land restoration structures to improve farm productivity.
- Rehabilitated rural infrastructure (roads, bridges, storage facilities) enhancing market access.
- Reduced resource-based conflicts through equitable infrastructure planning.
- Technical reports, maps, and monitoring data on project impacts.
Capacity Building:
Monitoring and Evaluation:
Support in Development and implementation of robust M&E frameworks to measure program impact.
- Analyze data to inform program adaptations and report on progress against indicators
Qualifications
Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering, Agricultural Engineering, or a related field with a minimum of 3 years of experience in rural engineering or infrastructure development.
- Strong knowledge of engineering principles, project management, and construction practices.
- Excellent problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
- Ability to work collaboratively with diverse teams and stakeholders.
- Proficiency in engineering software and Microsoft Office Suite.
Location: Potiskum, Yobe State - 1 Position
Deadline: Not Specified
How to Apply
Interested applicant can apply via this link
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