Job Announcement: National Professional Officer ( Programme)

Duties & Responsibilities

Key Functions

• Liaises and assists various pertinent local, national, and international partners in the areas of FAO’s activities in the country and with other UN agencies. He/she may represent FAO at inter-agency meetings as required.
• Promotes the image of FAO through advocacy of the Organization’s mandate, programmes, national priorities and activities, including development and maintenance of communication tools such as website, press releases and publications, and supports the implementation of FAO’s regulatory framework (Codex Alimentarius, Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, Safe Use of Pesticides, etc.) in the country.
• Coordinates the collection, consolidation and maintenance of country data on food, crops, livestock, forestry and fisheries including information on external aid in FAO’s corporate systems and monitor changes in national policies affecting the agricultural sector.
• Participates in producing technical, economic and policy studies as required and developing country level development frameworks such as the Country Programming Framework (CPF) and the United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks (UNDAF).
• Participates in the identification, formulation and preparation of programme and project proposals and monitors and reviews the status of programme/project implementation to ensure that all operational activities are carried out in line with the work plan and the project document; identifies inconsistencies and delays and, when necessary, proposes corrective measures to overcome operational constraints.
• Briefs, trains and supervises lower-grade level programme staff regarding all aspects of the job; ensures adherence to procedures and work requirements and accuracy and diligence of the work provided.
• Performs other duties as required.

Specific Functions

• Represents FAO at regional Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) meeting on humanitarian coordination activity, meeting with NGOs and civil society at regional level.
• Participates in needs assessment missions particularly pertaining to humanitarian needs and resilience of livelihood to threat and crisis in provincial and district levels.
• Assures the efficient management of the FAO Field Office, including overseeing the security and safety of FAO staff at provincial and district levels, and informs the FAO Representative and the Security Unit of any incident and any situation requiring their attention.
• Coordinates with local stakeholder to define local needs and FAO’s contribution to emergency response, resilience building and rehabilitation and sustainable development of the agricultural sector, in liaison with concerned partners at national, provincial and local level, with a view to enhancing the overall coherence and synergy of humanitarian and development activities related to food security, nutrition, agriculture and livelihoods and natural resources management (NRM).
• Oversees the implementation of FAO’s emergency and resilience projects in the area, ensures timely delivery of inputs and services, reports delays and bottlenecks and identifies solutions in collaboration with the relevant teams in the FAO Representation in Kabul.
• Leads the organization of technical training in collaboration with FAO national and international technical experts for farmers, agriculture cooperatives, common-interest groups and producer groups.
• Performs other duties, as required.

Job Requirements

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• National of Afghanistan.
• Advanced (Master’s) university degree agriculture, agronomy, food & security, nutrition, management, or closely related field, or University (Bachelor’s) degree in agriculture, agronomy, food & security, nutrition, management, or closely related field and three additional years of experience in the coordination of humanitarian assistance within the food security and agriculture sector.
• Two years of relevant experience in resilience and emergency, livelihood assistance, project management and/or coordination in the rural and drought affected areas, agriculture, food security and nutrition, or related disciplines with an INGOs or UN Organization in a multicultural offices environment required.
• Working knowledge (proficient – level C) of English and of local languages (Pashto and Dari).

Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Experience in resilience and emergency support, project design, coordination, M&E, value chain, humanitarian coordination, agriculture food security and nutrition, livelihoods, and NRM, management and implementation.
• Excellent interpersonal communications and coordination skills, and proven ability to work constructively with a variety of stake holders to achieve common goals.
• Demonstrated understanding of the purpose and functions of the technical programme, operational guidelines and project/programme management procedures, preferably those adopted by the United Nations or FAO.
• Extent and relevance of experience in the field of humanitarian assistance relating to food and nutrition security, agriculture and rural development.
• Extent and relevance of experience in the collection of country data on food, crops, livestock, forestry and fisheries
• Extent and relevance of experience in the identification, formulation and preparation of programme and project proposals as well as programme/project implementation, monitoring and review.

Submission Guideline

• To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, and language skills.
• Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile;
• Once your profile is completed, please apply and submit your application.
• Your application will be screened based on the information provided on your online profile;
• Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/
• Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work, character, education, military and police records to ascertain any and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications;
• Incomplete applications will not be considered;
• Personal information provided on your application may be shared within FAO and with other companies acting on FAO’s behalf to provide employment support services such as pre-screening of applications, assessment tests, background checks and other related services. You will be asked to provide your consent before submitting your application. You may withdraw consent at any time, by withdrawing your application, in such case FAO will no longer be able to consider your application
• Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered;
• Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile
• We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.
• If you need help, or have queries, please contact: Careers@fao.org

Female applicants are highly encouraged to apply.