National Agriculture Specialist

VA NO. FAO/KBL/PRJ/SC/14-2021

Functional  title:

National Agriculture Specialist

Type of Contract:

National Project Personnel / Service Contract (NPP/SC)

Grade / level:

SB-4

Number of Post (s) :

1 (One)

Duration :

03 Months

Extendable / renewable:

Extendable, based on satisfactory performance and budget availability

Probationary period:

Initial 3 Months

Project / programme / unit: 

Resilient Recovery Rapid Readiness Support in Afghanistan - GCP/AFG/086/GCR Project

Duty station:

Kabul – Afghanistan, with frequent domestic travel to provinces

Sub – station:

Nil

DUTIES / RESPONSIBILITIES:

Organization Settings:

Through its Country Offices, or FAO Representations, FAO assists governments to develop policies, Programmes and projects to address hunger, food security and malnutrition, and provides technical support for the sustainable development of their agricultural, livestock, animal health, and irrigation and forestry sectors as well as emergency preparedness and response. The activities of the FAO Representation include design and implementation of country-tailored field Programmes, liaison with local donor representatives and active public awareness raising and outreach activities related to the mandate of FAO.

FAO assistance in Afghanistan achieves its objectives through capacity development and direct project implementation in four specific areas of FAO’s technical expertise: 

• Better governance through improved capacity for policy planning, land reform, decentralization, and management of common natural resources;
• Fostering expansion of irrigation and field water management; 
• Intensive agriculture for surplus commercialization, value chains development, and job creation;
• Supporting vulnerable farmers for improved food and nutrition security, resilience, and emergency response to natural and man-made disasters and climate change.

This position is established under the GCP/AFG/105/GCR Project in Afghanistan, and the duty station is Kabul, with frequent travels to other project locations in the provinces covered by the respective project.

Project Background:

FAO has been actively supporting the Government of Afghanistan in COVID-19 response. As soon as the pandemic started showing its impacts, MAIL and FAO jointly designed and undertook a rapid assessment of COVID-19 impacts on the agriculture production and marketing. The findings were used by both MAIL and FAO to inform the reprogramming/repurposing of various ongoing and pipeline programmes to respond to the immediate adverse impacts of the pandemic. With technical inputs from FAO, MAIL and the World Bank quickly formulated the Emergency Agriculture And Food Supply (EATS) Project aiming to support critical food supply chains and create short-term economic opportunities to boost smallholders resilience and recovery (by focusing on provision of certified seeds, generation of short-term employment, increasing agriculture's resilience to shocks, and strengthening food supply chains). Further, MAIL accelerated the provision of budgetary resources for a rapid scale-up in the ongoing programme on strengthening cold storage and zero energy storage and processing facilities in key provinces adversely impacted by border closures / stoppage of exports of Afghan agriculture products. The assessment’s findings were used by FAO to: (i) revise its component of the Afghanistan HRP and GHRP; (ii) design and implement necessary measures to mitigate the risk of spreading covid-19 through project activities across its development and humanitarian programme; (iii) initiate innovative actions like COVID-19 sensitization in agriculture markets and provision of COVID-PPE to market stakeholders, all beneficiaries and implementing partners' staff; (vi) reprogramme/repurpose ongoing projects in consultation with donors (IFAD RFSP, USAID PVC-W) to directly address the impact of the pandemic; and (v) mobilize additional resources to response to new and increased needs directly resulting from the covid-19 impact.

This proposed project will support NEPA/NDA in developing a strategic framework and enhancing its coordination capacity to ensure that COVID-19 response and recovery plans and programmes will contribute to or even accelerate national climate change targets and global commitments. In line with the GCF pre-defined results under this Readiness window, the project will:

• Support NEPA to develop a framework with appropriate indicators to guide and track green, resilient and inclusive COVID-19 recovery policies, and programmes
• Support strategic planning for green, resilient, and inclusive COVID-19 recovery in the agriculture, land and water sectors
• Provide inputs to the revision of the NDC and foreseen National Adaptation Planning (NAP)
• Support in undertake pre-feasibility studies and develop two concept notes with a focus on agriculture, land and water sector.

The project through its specific support to green, resilient, and inclusive COVID-19 recovery in the agriculture, land and water sectors above will also prepare these sectors for the NAP process.

Purpose of this vacancy announcement:

FAO is looking for qualified national staff fill the position of National Agriculture Value Chain Expert. This position will support the work of the FAO – Green Climate Fund (GCF) funded project “Resilient Recovery Rapid Readiness Support in Afghanistan”. The post is in NEPA compound, Kabul - Afghanistan.

Key Result:

The project activities are implemented successfully, timely and effectively in conformity with the objectives of the project.

Reporting Lines / Supervision Received/Exercised:

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative/Country Director in Afghanistan and the direct supervision of National Project Manager, and technical guidance of the Lead Technical Officer (LTO) in the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP), and in close collaboration with the relevant staff in FAO Afghanistan and counterpart entities, the incumbent will carry out the following tasks.

Key Functions/Results (Duties and Responsibilities)

Contribute to impact assessment and identification of options for green resilient and inclusive COVID-19 recovery in agriculture sectors:

• Support day-to-day project management and regular monitoring of project results and risks, including social and environmental risks.
• Ensure that the standard FAO and GCF M&E requirements are fulfilled to the highest quality and will ensure fluid communication between all stakeholders of the project.
• Coordinate, manage and administer project tasks in line with the project objectives and FAO guidelines.
• Network with external centres of expertise on environment (including international agencies, national institutes, and NGOs), relevant for the GCF Secretariat.

Contribute to assessment of key agriculture value chains and associated post-harvest management and small-scale processing technologies:

• With guidance from the International Agriculture Value Chain/Mechanization Expert, stock take of relevant work by FAO and other agencies (i.e. the USAID-funded value chain project, COVID-19 response and recovery support, etc.),
• Lead the consultation with MAIL and relevant stakeholders to select key agriculture value chains with greatest potentials for green and resilient recovery, inclusive of small holder farmers,
• Support the identification and documentation of green and resilient technologies and practices (in post-harvest management, processing, small-scale infrastructure/assets development, etc.) that are proven effective in Afghanistan with attention to indigenous resilient practices.
• Support the required cost benefit analysis of these technologies and practices
• Contribute to the analysis of opportunities for sustainable financing of these technologies and practices including private sector finance.
• Document experiences and lessons learned in the adoption of these technologies and practices;
• Contribute to the project reports including final report.

Other Activities:

• Perform any other related duties as may be his/her directed supervisor.

Expected Outputs:

• Inventory and analysis of assessments of COVID-19 impacts on agriculture
• Data, information and analyses (of agriculture, disasters and climate change)
• Inputs to the identification of green, resilient and inclusive COVID-19 recovery priorities in agriculture, facilitate MAIL’s endorsement
• Inputs to the agri-food value chains selection and assessment.
• Relevant inputs to the Pre-feasibility studies and the development of Concept Notes of two projects

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS (TECHNICAL SKILLS AND QUALIFICATION)

Education:

• University degree (preferably MSc degree) in agriculture, agricultural economics, agricultural mechanization or closely related fields.

Work Experience and Additional Skills:

• At least five (5) years of relevant experience in agriculture planning and development or related disciplines with an international NGO, Government of Afghanistan, or UN Organization in a multi-cultural office environment is required.
• Practical experience with climate resilient agriculture and value chain development.
• Previous work experience with UN is an advantage.

Technical/Functional Skills:

• Experience in managing agriculture planning and project design and results-based management.
• Sound understanding of and practical experience in climate smart/resilient agriculture
• Excellent interpersonal communication and coordination skills, and a proven ability to work constructively with a variety of stakeholders to achieve common goals.
• Ability to deal with political, technical, and people management challenges, administer budgets and work effectively with all staff and with groups involved in the project.
• Excellent writing skills.
• Strong familiarity with environment and climate change management issues in Afghanistan, including the political, institutional and socio-economic contexts.
• Strong computer skills with extensive experience in word processing, spreadsheets, and other basic software applications.
• Excellent knowledge of English and local languages, both spoken and written skills.

Other Desirable Skills:

• Good understanding and familiarity with UN development/ humanitarian program and working methods, particularly with FAO policies, financial and budget, administration, and programming procedures.
• Working experience with ministries, national institutions and the rural sector in Afghanistan.
• Experience in organizing stakeholder meetings or workshops with national participants.
• Experience in multi-stakeholder analysis, and in mobilizing or creating awareness about development projects;
• Previous work experience with UN and familiarity with UN agencies procedures for project implementation.

• Strong professional command of Microsoft Office, particular in Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Language Skills:

• Excellent knowledge of English and local languages (Pashto and Dari), both spoken and written skills.

COMPETENCIES:

• Core competencies: FAO core competencies include: Understanding FAO’s mandate and its global context; planning, organizing, and delivering quality results; communicating to build understanding and support; working together in teams and partnerships; engaging in continuous learning.
• Operational Effectiveness: Working independently, structuring tasks, establishing priorities and adhering to deadlines. Show a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail. Contribute ideas and suggestions for process improvement.
• Client Orientation: Focus on results for the client. Attend to inquiries from internal and external clients in an effective, timely and courteous manner. Treat clients with courtesy and respect even when working under pressure. Express a high level of professionalism.
• Interpersonal Communications and Teamwork: Work effectively and efficiently with staff at all levels, listen to others and openly share own ideas. Express sensitivity, cultural empathy and respect for diversity. Productively handle differing views and opinions and strive for achievement of shared goals. Respond positively to feedback.
• Knowledge Exchange and Learning: Share own knowledge and promote a learning culture within the work environment. Actively work towards professional development, including personal learning.  Apply newly acquired skills and support flexibility within the work environment.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINE:

Interested Afghan nationals should complete the FAO Personal History Form (PHF) and submit it along with their application letter and CV to the email address below, clearly mentioning the vacancy number and post title (National Agriculture Specialist - FAO/KBL/PRJ/SC/14-2021) in the subject line of the email, otherwise your email will not be considered for further process.

FAOAF-vacancies@fao.org

NOTE: Applicant who failed to attach the FAO Personal History Form (PHF) to their Application will not be considered for further process.

The above required documents can also be submitted in writing (marked “Confidential” and clearly indicating on the sealed envelope the Vacancy Announcement number and position title) to: the Assistant FAO Representative (Administration), FAO Representation, Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, Jamal Mina, Opposite Kabul University, Kabul, Afghanistan.

The FAO PH Form can be downloaded using the following internet link:

http://www.acbar.org/applicationform

The last date for receiving applications is 06 August 2021. Please note that applications received after closing date will not be given consideration. Only short listed candidates whose applications respond to the above criteria will be contacted for test/interview.

GENERAL INFORMATION:

• FAO is committed to achieving workforce gender diversity
• Qualified females are strongly encouraged to apply
• People with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality
• The incumbent may be re-assigned to different activities and/or duty stations depending on the evolving needs of the Organization
• Candidates endorsed in the selection process for this vacancy announcement will be considered for the FAO NSHR Roster for a period of two years. The Roster is used to fill other similar positions at the same or lower grade, and in the same or another duty station inside the country;
• FAO reserves the right not to make an appointment, to make an appointment at a lower grade, or to make an appointment with a modified job description.
• Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

• FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing).
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for the interview/test.
• Application received after closing date will not be given consideration.
• Please make sure to sign the first page of your PHF while applying for the vacant post.
• Do not forget to write the post title and VA number on subject of your email.
• Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments;
• Email will only be sent to the interviewed candidates.