Closing date: Monday, 20 April 2015
Issued on: 30 March 2015
Deadline For Application: 20 April 2015
POSITION TITLE: Senior Agricultural Officer
GRADE LEVEL: P-5
DUTY STATION: Rome, Italy
ORGANIZATIONAL UNIT: Africa Service, TCIA
DURATION*: Fixed-term: 2 years Investment Centre Division, TCI
POST NUMBER: 0418374 Technical Cooperation Department, TC
CCOG CODE: 1H01
The length of appointment for internal FAO candidates will be established in accordance with applicable policies pertaining to the extension of appointments Qualified female applicants and qualified nationals of non-and under-represented member countries are encouraged to apply. Persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. The incumbent may be re-assigned to different activities and/or duty stations depending on the evolving needs of the Organization.
Organizational Setting
The Investment Centre Division (TCI) promotes investment in food security, nutrition, agriculture and rural development (FSNARD), sustainable natural resource management (NRM) and climate change adaptation (CCA) in developing countries and countries in transition, assisting governments and country stakeholders, main development partners, in particular international financing institutions with the strategic planning and implementation of their investments to achieve growth, poverty alleviation, food security and nutrition goals.
TCI is a multidisciplinary division composed of three regionally focused services, namely Africa Service, Asia and the Pacifi c Service, and Europe, Central Asia, Near East, North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean Service, as well as FAO's coordination unit for the Global Environment Fund (GEF).
Reporting lines
The Senior Agricultural Officer reports to the Chief, Africa Service.
Technical Focus
Design, implementation support and evaluation of investment operations (projects and programmes) in FSNARD, NRM and CCA, as well as strategic and policy work, with a focus on sustainable agricultural development, agricultural services, rural institutions, resilience and risk management, and access to markets.
Key Results
Provision of technical advice and capacity development for (i) the design of investment operations, in collaboration with country stakeholders and cooperating partners, to mobilize resources for FSNARD, NRM and CCA; and (ii) implementation support and evaluation of investment operations, in accordance with the FAO Strategic Framework.
Key Functions
- leads, or participates in, multidisciplinary teams to assist governments in the identification and preparation of investment operations in the fields of FSNARD, NRM and CCA, and participate in pre-appraisal and appraisal missions;
- leads, or participates in, multidisciplinary teams for the implementation support and the preparation of final evaluation of investment operations;
- advises governments in the preparation of FSNARD, NRM and CCA studies and strategies, and in the formulation of national sector and/or sub-sector investment plans and programmes;
- advises on developing inclusive and sustainable food systems, involving producers, their organizations, other private sector actors, civil society organizations and government;
- leads the formulation and delivery of capacity development strategies and activities in the areas of FSNARD, NRM and CCA investment support to government staff, and non-state actors and private sector organizations;
- prepares reports in accordance with government and financing partners' requirements;
- advises on task organization, selection of consultants, preparation of terms of reference and in ensuring the quality of outputs;
- represents the Organization at international and inter-governmental meetings and conferences, advocates for strategic partnerships, best practices and effective policy dialogue; develops and negotiates effective working relationships and agreements with international and national partners;
- leads or participates in resource mobilization activities in accordance with the FAO Corporate strategy;
- provides guidance, mentoring and advice to junior staff.
Specific functions
- provides substantial contributions to FSNARD, NRM and CCA sector strategies, plans and operations for their investment implications, technical and environmental feasibility and compliance with national policies and priorities;
- leads the identification of constraints and opportunities for enhancing the productivity of agricultural production systems with emphasis on sustainability of farming practices and environmental impact, access to, and functioning of markets, relevance and quality of agricultural services, institutions and organizations, risk management systems, as well as role and engagement of commercial private sector;
- leads the design of agricultural activities and components of investment operations, including systems of implementation support and monitoring and evaluation of the impacts of agricultural and rural development projects;
- advises on the practical productivity and sustainability improvements to existing farming systems, formulates crop budgets
- defines the technical parameters for the establishment of farm models for financial and economic analysis.
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements
- Advanced university degree in agriculture or a closely related field
- Ten years of relevant experience in planning and implementing agricultural development programmes, including experience in the formulation and/or implementation of FSNARD, NRM and CCA investment operations in developing countries and/or countries in transition
- Working knowledge of English, French or Spanish and limited knowledge of one of the other two or Arabic, Chinese or Russian
Competencies
- Results focus
- Leading, engaging and empowering
- Communication and advocacy
- Partnering and resource mobilisation
- Knowledge sharing and continuous Improvement
- Strategic thinking
Technical/Functional Skills
- Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions is essential
- Extent and relevance of experience in major technical fields related to rain-fed and irrigated agriculture, livestock, fisheries and forestry in developing countries and countries in transition, including in the development of sustainable production and food systems, and agricultural services
- Extent and relevance of experience in leading multidisciplinary teams for the design, implementation support or evaluation of FSNARD, NRM and CCA investment operations
- Extent and relevance of experience in investment design, implementation support and evaluation procedures of FAO's main development partners, in particular the World Bank, the International Funds for Agriculture and Development (IFAD), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the GEF
- Extent of experience in capacity development for the design and implementation of FSNARD, NRM and/or CCA investments
- Demonstrated experience in dealing with senior government officials, development partners and other country stakeholders;
- Demonstrated capacity to write technical reports in English
- Relevance of experience in the Africa Region
- Ability to work under pressure and willingness to travel frequently to developing countries and countries in transition
Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
- All candidates should possess computer/word processing skills.
- As part of the evaluation of your application for this position, you may be requested to undergo written assessment, which may be followed by a competency-based interview.
- Your application will be screened based on the information you have entered in your iRecruitment profile (see below under the How to Apply section). Before applying for a vacancy, we strongly recommend that the information you have provided in all sections of your profile are accurate and complete, including employment record, academic qualifications and skills.
- Please note that FAO will only consider academic credentials or degrees obtained from an educational institution that is recognized or sanctioned by a competent national authority, included in the IAU/UNESCO list.
- Other similar positions at the same level may be filled from this vacancy notice and the endorsed candidates will be considered for the Employment Roster for a period of 2 years.
- Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments.
REMUNERATION
A competitive compensation and benefits package is offered. For information on UN salaries, allowances and benefits, click on the following link: http://www.un.org/Depts/OHRM/salaries_allowances/salary.htm
HOW TO APPLY
To apply, visit the iRecruitment website at http://www.fao.org/employment/irecruitment-access/en/ and complete the on-line application. Only applications received through iRecruitment will be considered. Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile. Vacancies will be removed from iRecruitment at 23:59 Central European Time (CET) on the deadline for applications date. We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date. If you need help, or have queries, please contact: iRecruitment@fao.org FAO IS A NON-SMOKING ENVIRONMENT
