Software Developer : Paid Internship at Producers Direct

We are seeking someone to help us develop our digital tool, Farm Direct. Farm Direct is a system that supports farmers and producer organisations to gather and analyse on-farm business data and monitor performance, providing data visualisations via dashboards for farmers and producers organisations. This is a great opportunity to use your software development skills to help deliver vital information to smallholder farmers in a way that they can access, understand and interpret to make life changing decisions on their farms.

Reports to: Information Manager (UK-based) and User Centered Developer (Nairobi-based)

Contract: Initial 6-month fixed-term internship contract, pending the completion of a successful probationary review period

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Goal: Work with the Information Manager and User Centered Developer to support in additional testing, coding and development of digital tools to deliver usable and actionable data to smallholder farmers. 

Key tasks include:

1. Support Information Manager and User Centered Developer in delivering the digital tools as part of Producer Direct’s data strategy Testing and coding as directed by User Centered Developer
2. Manual data input into the system Maintain and improve performance of existing software Other activities as requested by Producers Direct management 

What we can offer:

As a small charitable organisation, we don’t have huge resources. However, we can offer you: a dynamic, creative and rewarding working environment; office space in Nairobi’s Westlands District; Salary commensurate with experience; 6-month fixed term contract with potential for extension based on results; flexible PT or FT working options; hands on experience and responsibility from day one; the opportunity to travel and work with smallholder farmers in rural East Africa; and the chance to make a real impact in a small, but ambitious organisation!

We are looking for someone who is:

• Familiar with Laravel Framework
• Knowledgeable of working with Linux-based Virtual Machines
• Experienced in SQL Design
• Experienced in developing Charts JS
• Knowledgeable of Android apps development using Xamarin, Ionic or React Native. 
• Knowledge in using Git repository hosting service (Github and/or BitBucket)Eager and ready to play a key role in delivering an impactful data system for farmers
• Passionate about our model and approach to supporting and empowering smallholder farmers 
• Willing to try new things and take the unconventional (even non technical / digital) approach to solving problems
• Creative and innovative, and excited about working with a small, passionate, diverse & creative team 

Qualities/Qualifications:

• Flexible approach to problem-solving that may include using low / non tech solutions
• Excellent interpersonal & communication skills (written/verbal)Comfortable working in a small team/startup environment
• Comfortable working across multiple cultures and languages Self-starter, flexible and able to work on tight deadlines
• Undergraduate degree OR relevant related experience in software development / data analysis / product design

Desirable

• Experience in working in a rural setting with farmers or low IT literacy populations
• Experience working for social enterprise / NGO / charitable organisation