Organizational Setting

The main aim of the FAO Country Offices, which are headed by an FAO Representative, is to assist governments to develop policies, programmes and projects to achieve food security and to reduce hunger and malnutrition, to develop the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors, and to use their environmental and natural resources in a sustainable manner.

The five-year USAID-funded Horticultural Advancement Activity (THAzA) project, implemented by FAO in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, will impact on and improve commercial horticultural value chains with a competitive advantage in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. THAzA will work with small farmers, organize them into farmer marketing collectives and link them to a range of diversified markets. Among others, THAzA will focus on increasing production, improving product quality, reducing post harvests losses, as well as processing and improving the marketing. THAzA will engage the private sector to set up on-farm or close-to-farm processing, packaging, cold chain, storage and other added value facilities, that will cater for a variety of fruit and vegetables to improve famers' access to markets.

The position is based in the FAO Representation in Pakistan with travel to Quetta and Peshawar (project areas).

Reporting Lines

The Technical Adviser (THAzA Project) reports to the FAO Representative (FAOR) and works closely with the Deputy FAOR, the Assistant FAOR and programme and provincial coordinators in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan and receives technical guidance from the Lead Technical Officer (LTO) who is assigned by the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) or headquarters.

Technical Focus

Implement the THAzA activities in both target regions (Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces) including establishment of development goals - project targets and allocation thereof to provincial programme offices (Quetta and Peshawar); identify potential areas of value chain development and structuring of interventions in conjunction with provincial coordinators; design grant interventions, carry out initial technical screening of grant requests, identify prevailing policies, legislative or regulatory constraints at provincial and national level impeding development of the selected value chains; establish functional linkages and networks with the overall goal to develop sustainable value chains and economically viable agribusiness in the context of project regions.

Key Results

Comprehensive technical and policy expertise to support the planning, development and implementation of departmental/divisional programmes, projects, products and services in accordance with departmental/divisional objectives and FAO’s Strategic Objectives.

Key Functions

• Provides technical leadership assistance on the development, implementation and evaluation of assigned programmes/projects; assists in the review of relevant documents and reports; identifies priorities, liaises with relevant parties; identifies follow-up actions;
• Assists in the coordination of programmes and reviews the assessments of issues and trends for the implementation of programmes and projects and the preparation of impact evaluation or equivalent studies;
• Assists/supervises preparation of various written outputs, e.g. background papers, analysis, substantial sections of reports and studies, inputs to publications;
• Contributes to consultative and other meetings, conferences, including proposals for agenda topics, identifying participants, preparation of documents and presentations;
• Participates in activities such as structuring of training workshops and seminars; makes presentations on assigned topics/activities;
• Leads field missions, including provision of guidance to external consultants, government officials and other parties;
• Provides advice to the Chief Technical Adviser regarding the development of policies and strategies, as well as national protocols and guidelines for projects with specific domains related to FAO's work.

Specific Functions

• Prepares detailed annual work plans, targets and budget estimates according to provincial and district needs; ensures that all the development goals and project targets allocated to provincial teams are met;
• Manages coordination, communication and technical support systems to provincial coordinators and technical leaders in the THAzA project;
• Establishes and maintains partnerships and facilitation in attracting private sector investments into former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Balochistan; manages and spearheads the project stakeholders in both regions for advancement and execution;
• Undertakes an initial technical screening process of requests for support, verifies their applicability, and further develops the concept for final consideration by THAzA/USAID;
• Oversees and engages the programme staff to structure grant interventions for value chain development in their respective regions, ensuring conformity to donor and FAO standards and quality;
• Oversees and engages the provincial specialists to identify specific value chain opportunities relevant to the provinces and regions, and establishes a detailed assessment of the potential and additional resources required to realize viable business models;
• Identifies prevailing policy, legislative or regulatory constraints impeding development of the sector, or subsectors, and designs interventions accordingly;
• Supports and guides provincial coordinators and specialists in the development of potential partnerships.

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree in political sciences, agricultural economics, development economics, rural sociology, food security, nutrition, sustainable agriculture (including livestock, forestry and fisheries), or a related field;
• Seven years of relevant experience in technical cooperation related activities, policy advice and analysis relating to food and nutrition security, agriculture and rural development, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes;
• Working knowledge of English, French or Spanish and limited knowledge of one of the other two or Arabic, Chinese, Russian.

Competencies

• Results Focus
• Team Work
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

• Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions is desirable;
• Extent and relevance of experience in technical cooperation related activities, policy advice and analysis relating to food and nutrition security, agriculture and rural development, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes;
• Extent and relevance of experience in working with intergovernmental bodies and multidisciplinary teams.

Source:https://jobs.fao.org/careersection/fao_external/jobdetail.ftl?job=1901123&tz=GMT%2B05%3A30&tzname=Asia%2FCalcutta