Position : Fertiliser Technical Specialist

Position: Fertiliser Technical Specialist

Reports to: Senior Private Sector Advisor

Location: Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with travel to partner sites as required 

Assignment period: December 2026 to 30 June 2027

Duration: Up to 55 working days, with the number of days for each assignment agreed through a work order and approved in advance

Type: Short-term consultancy

Eligibility: Cambodian citizens or residents 

1. Background

The Cambodia-Australia Partnership for Resilient Economic Development (CAPRED) is an Australian Government programme that supports economic growth in Cambodia. The Facility supports Cambodia in implementing a range of necessary economic interventions and reforms to sustain the country’s economic transition. These interventions and reforms primarily aim to encourage more productive and inclusive public and private investment that promotes a resilient, inclusive, and sustainable economy (RISE).

CAPRED interventions fall under three technical components, namely (i) Agriculture; (ii) Trade and Investment; and (iii) Infrastructure Development; and three cross-cutting components (1) Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI); (2) Climate Resilience; and (3) Policy.

In agriculture, CAPRED works with private businesses to develop and bring to market more effective, affordable and soil-friendly agricultural inputs. The aim is to expand farmers’ access to better products, strengthen Cambodia’s domestic input market and reduce dependence on imported fertilisers where commercially viable alternatives can be developed locally.

Cambodia imports more than one million tonnes of fertiliser each year, predominantly chemical fertilisers. At the same time, Cambodian companies are increasingly interested in developing products such as organic and organo-mineral fertilisers and bio-stimulants that can improve soil health and crop productivity.

Moving these products from an initial concept to a commercially viable product is technically demanding. Companies need to determine an appropriate formulation, secure reliable raw materials, test product performance, establish consistent production and quality-control systems, generate the evidence required for registration, and provide farmers and dealers with sound advice on product use.

Many local companies have commercial and production capacity but lack this specialised technical expertise internally. Weak formulation or inconsistent production can result in products that perform differently between batches; poorly designed trials may not provide credible evidence of effectiveness; and incomplete technical documentation can delay registration and market entry.

CAPRED therefore seeks an experienced Fertiliser Technical Specialist to provide targeted, hands-on technical support to selected private sector partners. The specialist will work alongside company teams to solve defined technical problems and build the systems and capability required to develop, test, quality-assure, register and introduce credible soil-health products to the market.

2. Purpose and Expected Results

The purpose of the assignment is to provide specialised, practical technical support to selected private sector partners developing soil-health products in Cambodia. This is a hands-on advisory assignment, not a research assignment. The specialist is expected to work directly with company technical and production teams, diagnose problems, recommend practical solutions, review implementation and transfer technical knowledge to partner staff.

The specific support provided to each company will be agreed through a partner work plan. Not every company will require support across all areas. Depending on each company’s needs, the specialist will help partners develop or improve product formulations; generate credible evidence through laboratory and field testing; establish practical quality-control systems; prepare the technical evidence required for registration; and strengthen the ability of company staff and dealers to advise farmers on correct product use.

Success means supported partners have resolved the key technical constraints preventing their products from progressing toward commercial launch, and have the technical evidence, systems, and internal capability needed to take the next steps without continued specialist support.

3. Scope of Work

The specialist will provide technical support to private sector partners selected by CAPRED. Support will be tailored to the technical needs and stage of development of each partner and its product. 

Before each engagement, the specialist will assess the partner’s needs with CAPRED and agree on a short work plan specifying the technical problem to be addressed, activities, expected outputs, and the number of days required. Each partner’s engagement will normally cover no more than three of Areas A to E, below.

A. Product formulation and commercial feasibility: A technically sound product that addresses an identified farmer need and can be produced consistently at a commercially realistic cost.

• Assess the intended product, including target crops and users, the soil or crop nutrition problem it is intended to address, required nutrient or functional characteristics, target selling price and the partner’s production capacity.
• Develop, review or improve product formulation, including ingredients, proportions and production requirements. Products may include compost, organic fertilisers, organo-mineral fertilisers and bio-stimulants.
• Assess potential raw material sources, considering quality, specifications, cost, reliability and continuity of supply. Advise the partner on suitable local or imported sources where required. 
• Estimate the raw-material cost per tonne of finished product and identify major technical or supply risks affecting commercial production.
• Update the formulation following testing where results indicate changes are required.

Output: Product formulation and sourcing note, including formulation, specifications, potential raw-material sources and estimated raw-material cost per tonne (maximum 3 pages), updated once following trials if required. 

B. Product testing: trial evidence that meets GDA registration requirements

• Design field and laboratory trials to generate credible evidence of product performance and meet applicable GDA registration requirements. Define trial sites and crops, treatments and controls, application rates and timing, and the soil, crop growth and yield indicators to be measured.
• Guide partner staff in implementing the trials, including trial set-up, data collection and quality checks, and visit sites at critical stages to check implementation.
• Review and interpret results and assess whether the evidence is sufficient to support GDA registration, substantiate the product’s claims, and demonstrate its value to farmers and dealers. 
• Recommend changes to the formulation, application guidance or trial design where results identify weaknesses, and determine whether further testing is required.

Output: a trial design (maximum 5 pages) before trials starts, and results note (maximum 3 pages) when the testing is complete, and the relevant data are in.

C. Quality control and production consistency: every batch meets the same tested standard

• Review the partner’s production process and identify critical points affecting product quality and consistency.
• Develop quality and testing guidelines that the partner can follow. These set out which raw materials to accept, what to check at each production stage, how to take and test samples, and the limits a batch must meet before sale.
• Where required, advise on laboratory requirements, including essential equipment, testing methods and tests that should be undertaken by an accredited external laboratory. Train the partner’s staff to follow the guidelines, keep batch records, and specify which tests must go to an accredited external laboratory.

Output: quality guidelines with batch limits and testing protocols (maximum 5 pages), an agreed equipment list, and a record of trained staff.

D. Product registration: a complete, well-prepared application ready for submission 

• Assist in lab tests needed for registration: nutrient analysis from an accredited laboratory and, where the product is organic, biological, or non-standard, trials showing how well it works.
• Explain the registration rules to the partner in plain terms: which documents, tests and labels are needed, who handles each step, and how long it is likely to take.
• Review the partner’s draft application to the GDA, check that the file is complete before the partner lodges it, and draft answers with the partner to any GDA questions.

Output: a registration checklist and plain-language summary of the rules (maximum 3 pages), and a written confirmation that the file is complete.

E. Training on product use: dealer and extension teams can give correct advice to farmers 

• Develop practical product-use guidance based on the formulation, trial evidence, and intended crops and users. Ensure materials are practical and reusable by partner after the assignment. 
• Train the partner's extension teams and dealers on correct product application, timing, storage and handling, limitations, and common farmer questions, so that farmers get better results. 
• Coach partner’s extension team to answer common farmer questions honestly, including what the product cannot do.

Output: Reusable product-use/training materials, training records, disaggregated by sex and role. 

F. Advice to CAPRED: better decisions on the soil health portfolio

• Share fertiliser market trends with the CAPRED team, covering prices, supply, new products, regulation and what farmers and dealers are asking for.
• Review the technical credibility of proposed or existing partner products, including formulations, product claims, trial evidence, production processes, and quality-control arrangements. 
• Where the specialist becomes aware of companies developing relevant products, provide CAPRED with basic information on the company, product, and stage of development. CAPRED alone will determine whether any engagement will proceed. 

Output: a market note and a portfolio feedback note (maximum 2 pages each) at dates set in the inception note, plus short company referrals where relevant. 

Out of scope. The specialist does not: market, sell or distribute partners’ products; buy equipment, raw materials or inputs for partners; pay trial, laboratory or registration fees; act as the partner’s agent with the GDA or sign documents for it; carry out laboratory analysis itself; or work with companies CAPRED has not approved. The specialist pays no costs of the assignment. Trial, laboratory, equipment and registration costs are paid by the partner or by CAPRED, as set in their agreement. Work not listed in this TOR needs written approval from the Senior Private Sector Development Advisor before it starts.

4. Deliverables

Each partner engagement produces the outputs below that apply to it. Not every partner will need every item.

5. How the work is managed

• Days. The assignment is up to 55 working days: up to 36 days for work with the partners (a guide of 18 days each); up to 14 days for work for CAPRED (2 days for the inception note, 2 for work plans, 6 for advice to CAPRED, 1 for the mid-point check-in and 3 for closing notes and the final report); and a reserve of 5 days, used only with written approval. Each partner’s days are set in its work plan and can change only with written approval. CAPRED is not obliged to use all 55 days. The specialist submits a monthly timesheet showing days used against each work plan and days left. 
• Approval. The Senior Private Sector Advisor approves each partner engagement and its days in writing before work starts, within 3 working days of receiving the work plan. If the Advisor is unavailable, the Agriculture Team Lead approves.
• Review of deliverables. The Senior Private Sector Advisor reviews each deliverable within 5 working days and either accepts it or asks for changes, with no more than two rounds of comments. The Agriculture Team Lead is the back-up reviewer. Payment for a deliverable follows its acceptance.
• Mid-point check-in. When 28 days have been used, or after the first partner engagement ends (whichever comes first), the specialist and the Senior Private Sector Advisor meet to review progress, days used, results with partners, and any changes needed to the plan. A short-written note records the agreement.
• Travel. The specialist will visit partner sites. CAPRED pays for approved travel.
• Payment. The fee is a daily rate, negotiated with the selected specialist, and is paid only for approved days linked to accepted deliverables. No payment is made for availability or for work not approved in writing. Payment follows Cowater’s standard terms.
• Availability. During an approved engagement, the specialist must reply to technical questions from the partner or CAPRED within 2 working days. 
• Confidentiality. The specialist must keep each partner’s information confidential and must not share it with other partners or third parties without permission. Formulations, trial data and quality protocols produced under this assignment are owned jointly by DFAT and the partner. The specialist must not reuse them for any other company.
• Conflict of interest. The specialist must declare in writing, before each engagement starts, any link to a partner, competitor, laboratory or supplier, and must avoid any conflict of interest while working on this assignment.
• Compliance. Follow the policies of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Cowater International and CAPRED on gender, disability, fraud and anti-corruption, child protection and the environment. Follow the CAPRED code of conduct, including on child protection and on preventing sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment. Identify and report risks within your level of responsibility.

6. Who we are looking for

Required

• A Master’s degree (or a Bachelor’s degree plus at least 10 years of relevant experience) in agronomy, soil science, plant nutrition, agricultural engineering, chemistry, fertiliser technology or a related field.
• At least 5 years of experience in fertiliser formulation and product development.
• Experience designing and interpreting laboratory and field trials.
• Experience setting up quality control systems, including laboratory testing.
• Experience working directly with private companies that make or sell fertiliser or farm inputs.
• Ability to coach and train partner staff, and to write clear, practical recommendations.
• Good spoken and written English.
• Living in Cambodia, because the work requires the specialist to be on site when partners need them.

An advantage

• Experience with fertiliser registration and licensing.
• Experience with organic, organo-mineral, biological, bio-stimulant or soil health products.
• Knowledge of the Cambodian or Southeast Asian fertiliser market, and contacts with companies, laboratories, research bodies and suppliers.
• Khmer language.

How applicants will be assessed

Shortlisted applicants will be scored out of 100 on the points below and may be invited to an interview.

7. How to apply

Send your cover letter and CV, the names and contact details (phone and email) of three professional referees, your expected daily rate, and one technical report or trial write-up you wrote (maximum 10 pages) to recruitment@capred.org. Use the subject line “Fertiliser Technical Specialist”. Closing date: 30 November 2026. Late applications will not be considered. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for an interview.

Cowater International is an equal opportunity employer and bases employment on merit and qualifications. It does not discriminate based on race, religion, sex, gender identity, disability, age or any other basis protected by law. CAPRED aims for a diverse workforce and a workplace that supports gender equality, disability and social inclusion. Women, people with disabilities and other minorities are strongly encouraged to apply.