Farmer Relationship Officer

Strategic Position: "The Ministry of Agriculture has institutional trust but no personality. Chemical companies have products but no faces. OPF offers something neither does: a trusted, named, visible person farmers can follow, call, watch, and recognize."

Purpose of the Role:

This is not a sales role. It is the human face of OPF's strategy — the person who guides farmers through their crop cycles, demonstrates results on real farms, tells real stories, and becomes a trusted and recognizable figure in Fiji's agricultural community.

You will step into a business with three years of proven results, an established farmer network, and a 47,000+ social media following — a ready foundation from which to build. You will have a list of farms and farmers you can visit from day one, and a platform already waiting to amplify the content and stories you will generate in the field.

The FRO role operationalizes OPF's Blue Ocean Strategy by:

• Activating OPF's existing farmer network through structured, systematic field engagement — demo plots, field days, farm visits, and roadshows.
• Building a content pipeline of farmer testimonials, agronomic guidance videos, and field footage that grows OPF's social media community.
• Delivering Crop Cycle Timing & Agronomic Guidance (CCTAG) to farmers through social media, phone consultations, and in-person interactions — filling a genuine gap in practical farmer support.
• Becoming a trusted brand personality: the named, visible OPF representative that farmers follow, contact, and recommend to their neighbours.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Establish and maintain comparison demonstration plots across priority regions and crops (sugarcane, kava, cassava, taro, ginger, vegetables), showing OPF versus the farmer's current practice side by side.

2. Plan and conduct roadshows at key agricultural hubs including municipal markets, where farmers travel to sell produce and purchase inputs.

3. Conduct structured farm visits across OPF's existing farmer network from day one, using the Director's established contacts as your immediate starting point.

4. Record and publish regular short-form social media videos providing agronomic guidance on soil preparation, planting timing, input application, pest identification, and harvest indicators.

You as OPF Brand Personality:

A core and deliberate element of this role is the development of the FRO as a trusted, named, and publicly visible OPF brand personality. This is not incidental to the role — it is a strategic asset that makes OPF's position uniquely defensible.

You will be having conversations with farmers every day. You will be close to their problems. Putting a face to the person solving those problems builds immediate trust and deepens engagement — not just for current customers, but for prospective customers and the farming community at large.

• Consistency builds trust.  The same face, voice, and person appearing in videos, at field days, and on farm visits over time. One-off appearances do not build a following — sustained presence does.
• Authenticity over production value.  A genuine conversation at a real farm, showing real results, in the farmer's language, is more powerful than a polished advertisement.
• You speak; OPF amplifies.  You generate content and conversations in the field. OPF's 47,000+ social media following amplifies that content to a far wider audience than any individual interaction could reach.
• Trust compounds.  A farmer who sees you at a field day, watches your videos online, and then receives a follow-up call from you experiences three reinforcing moments of trust. Each touchpoint builds on the last.

We are looking for someone with the natural warmth, communication confidence, and on-camera presence to become a recognised and respected voice in Fiji's farming community over time. If that sounds like you, we want to hear from you.

Qualifications & Experience:

 Essential

• Demonstrated experience working directly with smallholder farmers in Fiji or the wider Pacific region.
• Fluency in at least two of: iTaukei, Fiji Hindi, and English — with the ability to communicate technical information in plain, farmer-friendly language across all audiences.
• Practical understanding of crop agronomy and basic input use across at least two of Fiji's major agricultural crops.
• Strong interpersonal and community engagement skills — culturally sensitive, respectful of local customs and community decision-making structures, and capable of building genuine trust quickly.
• Natural warmth and communication confidence on camera and in public settings — you will be a named, visible OPF brand personality and must be comfortable being filmed, interviewed, and publicly recognised over time.
• Ability to work independently across multiple regions, manage your own schedule, and deliver outcomes with minimal day-to-day supervision.
• Willingness and ability to undertake regular overnight and multi-day travel throughout Fiji.
• Basic digital literacy — comfortable using Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, and a smartphone camera for content capture.
• Valid Fiji driving licence.

 Desirable

• Tertiary qualification or diploma in agriculture, agronomy, rural development, or a related field.
• Prior experience in an extension officer, agronomist, or farmer relationship role with a government agency, NGO, or agri-business.
• Familiarity with biological and organic inputs, soil health principles, or regenerative and high-performance farming approaches.
• Experience facilitating farmer field schools, field days, or public agricultural events.
• Prior experience producing or appearing in video content for social media — even informally.
• Established personal networks in farming communities across at least one major agricultural division of Fiji.
• An understanding of Fiji's public agricultural extension system and its current limitations.

Please refer to the Terms of Reference attached for more information prior to submitting an application.