The incumbent will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative (FAOR) in Afghanistan. S/he will work under the direct supervision of the Head of the Regional Office south Region, who will be responsible for all day-to-day supervision and under the technical guidance of the Team Leader, Crop Production & Plan Protection Team. As and where appropriate, the performance evaluation will be done by the direct supervisor in close consultation with the Team Leader, Crop Production & Plan Protection Team.
The incumbent will support the regional level agriculture sector activities and provide technical support in the seed multiplication and certification process. Also, the incumbent gives technical advice to various stakeholders, including FAO’s implementing partners (IPs), on wheat and other crops’ cultivation as per climate smart and sustainable cultivation practices. Tasks and responsibilities:
Support Regional level actions in agriculture sector in the country guided by FAO Afghanistan’s Country Programming Frameworks (CPF), regional priority frameworks and global level strategic framework of the FAO to transform its knowledge products into regional-level results and impacts;
Ensure the quality, consistency and appropriateness of regional and country-specific technical communication materials, activities, processes and messages on agriculture sector shared with partners at regional level in the country;
Provide technical advice to various stakeholders, including FAO’s implementing partners (IPs), on wheat and other crops’ cultivation as per climate smart and sustainable cultivation practices;
Promote the image of FAO through advocacy of the Organization’s mandate, programmes, national priorities and activities;
Support the promotion of public-private sector partnership, and facilitate the implementation and promotion of collaborative activities with UN agencies, development partners and private sectors, including NGOs/CSOs in the agriculture sector as part of FAO’s programming priorities for the respective Regions;
Support Regional Coordinator on coordination issues with various stakeholders including IPs and Food Security and Agriculture Cluster (FSAC);
Assist on management of overall projects activities as per approved work plan and budget;
Identification of potential IPs for emergency response in the region;
Assist in monitoring of distribution of inputs (Wheat seed, fertilizer, vegetable seeds and hand tools) to selected beneficiaries;
Carry out regular field visits for the monitoring of FAO emergency and resilience projects, including agriculture input distribution campaigns, plant pests and diseases management, locust control, and agricultural sectoral growth and resilience building, agriculture sectoral disaster risk reduction (DRR), and such;
Liaise with technical staff in the FAO Representation to address project implementation and program development activities;
Support the Emergency and Resilience Unit planning and formulation of FAO’s Emergency and Livelihoods Response Plan (ELRP) as well as formulation of agriculture sectoral growth and resilience building plans;
Coordinate with relevant stakeholders, and directorates of key stakeholders including mandated departments, divisions and institutions working in agriculture sector, especially with the Cereal Crops Directorate, Agriculture Research Institute of Afghanistan (ARIA), Seed Certification Directorate and General Directorate of Extension to ensure coordination and exchange of technical information/analysis;
Provide technical support in the seed multiplication and certification process of improved wheat, soybean, vegetables, and other legume / oilseed crops in Afghanistan;
Prepare all training packages for the IPs (Implementing Partners) related to agro-technique of wheat and others crops;
Provide technical trainings on wheat and vegetable crops agronomy to various stakeholders;
Support with the assessment of natural and conflict affected households and share this information with FAO Kabul for fund raising and response;
Collect, interpret, aggregate, and analyse data to assess project progress and impact against each established indicators;
Review and refine process of working collaboratively with partners, including meetings, information sharing, networking, organization of joint events and campaigns, etc.;
Assist on surveys / data collection / analysis / identification of any constraints and issues in agriculture sector and support in identifying solutions to address the identified issues and constraints;
Provide raw data of agriculture to the technical, progress and terminal reports of the projects;
Prepare monthly and weekly reports as well as assist Regional Coordinator on preparation of technical report when required;
Perform any other related duties as required.
Candidates Will Be Assessed Against The Following: Minimum Requirements:
Advanced university degree (Master or equivalent) or University degree (Bachelor) in Agriculture, Agronomy or other agriculture related subject;
For Advanced university degree (Master or equivalent) at least five (5) years of professional experience in Agronomy or seed management including the design and implementation of agricultural emergency and resilience projects;
For university degree (Bachelor) at least seven (7) years of professional experience in in Agronomy or seed management including the design and implementation of agricultural emergency and resilience projects;
Working knowledge (level C) of English and local languages (Pashto and/or Dari);
National of Afghanistan;
Technical/Functional Skills:
Experience of working with the United Nations or other international organizations (especially those working in the field of agriculture) is preferred;
Ability to work independently, to organize and coordinate with demonstrated ability to write clearly and concisely in working languages;
Experience of work under emergency conditions is preferred;
Experience organizing stakeholder meetings or workshops with various partners;
Strong professional command of Microsoft Office, in particular Word and Excel.
