FAO Programme Specialist (Agriculture)

Main Purpose/contacts: The Program Specialist (Agriculture) will provide technical expertise and contribute to the technical design and delivery of the Land, Water and Agriculture (LWA) Program in support of sustainable crop production intensification (SCPI) and assist the Coordinator in developing an agricultural development strategy moving from humanitarian relief to sustainable crop production intensification.

The incumbent will address issues related to seed systems, innovative farm input delivery systems; Climate Smart and Conservation Agriculture, post harvest related issues, commodity markets and improving food security and nutrition. S/He will contribute to the Government’s objectives for transforming the agricultural sector to make the nation food secure.

S/he will have contacts with staff at various levels across the Organization including Technical Divisions, FAO’s decentralised offices, FAO Representations, staff in national governments and with national, regional and international organizations.

Supervision Received/Exercised: The Program Specialist (Agriculture) will work under the general direction of the Head of Office in South Sudan and under the direct supervision of the Senior Coordinator of the LWA Unit. S/he will provide technical guidance and when necessary supervision to more junior Professional Staff, Consultants and General Service staff assigned to the team. He will work closely with other team members in the Unit and with team members from other Units (Livestock and Fisheries, the Food Security Cluster and AFIS).

Main Duties and Responsibilities: As a member of the LWA Unit, the Program Specialist (Agriculture) will organize, plan and deliver specialist advice and technical support to enhance rapid and effective response to emerging crises in food security and develop a portfolio of projects with the focus on sustainable crop production.

In support of these objectives, the incumbent will:

Participate in Agriculture result based programme design and monitoring: Formulation of targeted strategies to respond to challenges and threats; assisting in formulating and implementing studies and projects; and supporting the sustainable crop production component;

Analize challenges and threats to food security and sustainable food production; and plan and oversee efficient/effective delivery of services to food security crises (early-warning response planning);

Plan for and oversee the capacity development of vulnerable communities in resilience building and mitigation strategies;

Cooperate to partnership and institutional linkages: Assist in partnership building with implementing agencies; maintain and engage in networks of collaboration amongst technical specialists of development partners – including national and international agricultural research organizations; Assist in / sharing information with the FS sub-cluster on agriculture; make available information to partner organizations and work with sister UN organizations (WFP, UNWomen, Others) in establishing synergies in food security analysis and development.

Support LWA unit: Establish linkages with the livestock and fisheries unit to include crop livestock systems issues and challenges related to climate change adaptation and mitigation; and advise the LWA Unit on key issues related to project performance and substantive matters;

Prepare case studies, guidelines, reports, publications and presentations: Monitor emergency and rehabilitation projects in the field and use lessons learned and best practices to establish guidelines in collaboration with partners and counterparts for use and dissemination and to support programme delivery;

Actively engage in visibility by working with the Communication’s Expert and maintain awareness on issues and approaches relevant to seed and production systems;

Contribute to the improvement of service delivery (input supply) by implementing partners and FAO’s inbound procuring of necessary farm inputs;

Perform other related duties as requested by the Coordinator of the LWA Unit and the Head of Office

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
- Advanced University Degree in Agronomy, Crop, Soil or Environmental Science
- Five years of relevant experience in sustainable crop production intensification with emphasis on land rehabilitation, soil biodiversity and climate change adaptation and mitigation, preferably at the international level
- Knowledge of Arabic would be an asset

SELECTION CRITERIA
- Extent of knowledge in sustainable crop production intensification and ecosystem management
- Demonstrated ability to identify, compile and analyse relevant technical information from a range of sources as the basis for summary reports and recommendations
- Extent and relevance of experience in the formulation, development and implementation of technical projects
- Demonstrated ability to communicate clearly and concisely both orally and in writing
- Extent of knowledge in and ability to cooperate with officials in national governments, intergovernmental organizations and other institutions and in collaborative networks and joint programmes
- Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary team and in a multicultural environment
- Excellent communication, writing and presentation skills in English
- Planning, organizational ability and knowledge in preparing meetings and workshops including training workshops

How to apply:

For guidelines to applicants, please visit the Application Toolkit at: http://www.fao.org/employment/current-vacancies/project/en/

Send your application to: ** V.A TCE-898-13-PRJ**
E-mail: VA-898-13-PRJ-TCE@fao.org

Please note that FAO staff members are international civil servants subject to the authority of the Director-General and may be assigned to any activities or office of the organization

For more information visit: http://www.fao.org/employment/current-vacancies/project/en/