FAO is looking for Project Coordinator/Specialist (Water and Agriculture)
- Closing Date: 2018-09-17
- Organization: FAO – Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Organizational Setting
The Regional Office for Near East and North Africa (FAO-RNE) leads a key Regional Initiative on Water Scarcity. Established in the second half of 2013, the Water Scarcity Initiative (WSI) intends to support countries in coping with one of their most striking challenges\: the pursuit of food and water securities, for a sustainable social and economic development, under an unprecedented severe escalation of water scarcity. The objectives of the WSI are\: enhancing policies, investments, governance and best practices to sustainably increase water and land productivity; providing critical thinking and tools for strategic planning of optimal and sustainable allocation of scarce water resources; implementing a regional collaborative strategy for a water-reform agenda.
With the endorsement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by the world countries, the WSI has focused its attention to the SDG 6.4 (‘By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity’) due to the relevant alignment of this SDG with the WSI goals. The WSI has thus developed a project aiming at ‘Implementing the 2030 Agenda for water efficiency/productivity and water sustainability in NENA countries’ (GCP/RNE/009/SWE), financed by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). This project is completed by another regional project TCP/RAB/3602 that aims to develop a collaborative platform on water productivity.
Reporting Lines
The Coordinator/Specialist reports to the Regional Strategic Program Coordinator and work in cooperation with FAO partners and technical officers in the RNE, FAO-SNE, FAO-Tunisia and FAO-HQ to address water related challenges in the region.
Technical Focus
Within the mandate of FAO-RNE, the incumbent will support development, and effective implementation of FAOâs increasing farming system water productivity management portfolio in the Near East and North Africa
Tasks and responsibilities
Under the overall supervision of the Representative of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in the country where the two regional projects are implemented and the Project Budget Holder; and the supervision of the Project LTO and with technical guidance of Delivery Manager for RI-WSI, and the RNE regional project CTA. The Coordinator/Specialist will work in close collaboration with the National coordinators at the focal ministries for both projects in the country, and the other international consultants.
The consultant will carry out the following tasks\:
- Assist on the overall coordination and implementation of the two regional projects at country level with a focus on sustainability, gender streamlining, conflict resolution, and identification of constraints related to water use and productivity
- Facilitate regular meetings of the national multidisciplinary team for the water scarcity initiative (WSI) acting as advising board for the two regional projects and facilitating synergies with other national projects;
- Lead the implementation of all the project activities \: output 1 \: water accounting; output 2\: water productivity ; output 3 \: nexus (only for Jordan and morocco), output 4\: communication ;
- carry out the water productivity baseline assessment required as part of the TCP/RAB/3602 (main crops selected by the country)
- Organize workshops and events required by the project; including preparing the agenda, budget, list of participants in close coordination with the national project team, and the NMDT
- Carry out an stakeholder analysis ; propose a tailored engagement strategy on the topics of the project, including synergies and collaboration with partners and projects in country;
- Prepare the country level implementation plan in close coordination with the National project team on the basis of initial scheme proposed by the regional coordination team; This plan will define the support needs (consultants and contracts); Monitor the agreed annual operational plan progress and adapt it regularly.
- Identify additional country expertise (additional country level consultants) and prepare TOR for them to be reviewed by regional coordination unit;
- Prepare letter of agreements/contracts with partners for implementation of project activities.
- Coordinate and review the work of the appointed country level consultants, contracts before sharing them with regional level project coordination;
- Identify needs for capacity development related to project activities and prepare tailored capacity development requests to be considered by regional project coordination unit ;
- Contribute to the country assessment work training programmes;
- Prepare monthly progress reports
- Prepare technical reports at the end of each mission (in country or in region).
- Facilitate synergies and assist in the implementation of the TCP-Carte Agricole
- Assist on the overall implementation of the regional project âUnlocking the potential of using treated wastewater and drainage water in Maghreb countriesâ
- Provide technical assistance to national cooperation projects dealing with agricultural water management, in particular TCP 3601 & GCP/SNE/002/GEF.
- Perform other related duties as required.
Candidates will be assessed against the following
Minimum Requirements
- Advanced university degree in Crop Production or equivalent in agriculture and/or irrigation or related field, with a specialisation on crop water productivity
- 12 years of relevant experience in the subject area
- Working knowledge of English, French or Spanish and limited knowledge of one of the other two or Arabic, Chinese, Russian
FAO Core Competencies
- Results Focus
- Leading, Engaging and Empowering
- Communication
- Partnering and Advocating
- 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 water management in agriculture, agronomy, Crop Production and Protection or related subject
- Extent and relevance of experience in water productivity
Additional information
- FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview, processing).
- Please note that FAO will only consider academic credentials or degrees obtained from an educational institution recognized in the IAU/UNESCO list.
- Only language proficiency certificates from UN accredited external providers and/or FAO language official examinations (LPE, ILE, LRT) will be accepted as proof of the level of knowledge of languages indicated in the online applications.
- Candidates with acceptable language certificate/s should upload them when submitting their application. For details, visit http\://www.fao.org/3/I8446EN/i8446en.pdf
- For other issues, visit the FAO employment website\: http\://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/
- For further information on categories, contract duration and honoraria, please refer to the Conditions page.
HOW TO APPLY
To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Only applications received through the recruitment portal will be considered.
Vacancies will be removed from the recruitment portal 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
Before applying, please make sure that you have read the requirements for the position and that you qualify.
Applications from non-qualifying applicants will most likely be discarded by the recruiting manager.