Project Management Specialist
Sri Lanka
- Organization: FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
- Location: Sri Lanka
- Grade: Consultancy - Consultant - Contractors Agreement
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Occupational Groups:
- Project and Programme Management
- Closing Date: 2024-12-13
IMPORTANT NOTICE\: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device
- FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture
- Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply
- Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAO's values
- FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination
- All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
- All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality
FAO’s commitment to environmental sustainability is integral to our strategic objectives and operations.
Organizational Setting
The project “Immediate Support to smallholder Paddy Farmers in Response to the current Economic and Food Crisis in Sri Lanka” OSRO/SRL/205/USA is aimed at strengthening the production capacity and enhancing food security and nutrition needs of vulnerable Smallholder Farmers in Intermediate and Dry Zone of Sri Lanka. The specific objectives are.
1. Strengthening production capacities of smallholder paddy farmers through productivity and production increase
Providing smallholder paddy farmers having land holdings up of 0 to ½ acre (0 – 0.2 ha) with a 50 kg bag of urea and those with holding of ½ to 1 acre (0.2-0.4 ha) with 100 kg of urea, to enable them to cultivate successfully over the 2022/23 Maha and /or 2023 Yala cropping seasons. Starved of chemical fertilizers these farmers have suffered immensely due to a major crop failure over the previous two cropping seasons, impacting their income and their ability to provide for their essential needs, including food.
2. Enhancing food and nutrition security of targeted smallholder paddy farmers through unconditional direct cash transfer
Providing a cash transfer to meet at least 50% of the cost of the minimum food basket for the identified smallholder paddy farmer (in 1 above) household of four over a period of 3 months to strengthen food and nutrition security of the family. Considering that the next paddy harvest would not come before March of 2023, the cash transfer to the same vulnerable smallholder farmers assisted with urea would help supplement the households’ food and nutritional requirement over the intervening lean period.
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Reporting Lines
He / She will be under the overall administrative leadership and supervision of the FAO Representative in Sri Lanka (FAOR) and the direct supervision of the Assistant FAOR (Programme). He / She is expected to function with the technical guidance of the Lead Technical Officer (LTO) at the Headquarters in Rome and in collaboration with other relevant technical divisions at FAO Headquarters, and in close consultation with the Department of Agriculture and the Budget Holder (BH).
Technical Focus
The incumbent will provide technical orientation and backup in order to ensure the delivery of project outputs to a high standard, and in a cost-effective manner, taking into account national and international best practices and research results, and in accordance with FAO, Government and donor norms.
Specifically, the incumbent will be responsible for ensuring that project outputs and targets are met as per project framework that activities are carried out as planned, within budget and time schedule and that reporting, monitoring and evaluation functions are carried out as per project requirements. She/he will also plan and implement project activities in close collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, and other relevant state and non-state stakeholders to ensure successful implementation of the project. In particular, the incumbent will perform the following tasks.
Tasks and responsibilities
1. Planning, implementation and management of Project activities
• Provide overall leadership and guidance to, and supervision of, the project identifies, plan, design implement and monitor the progress of delivery of activities as itemised in the results-based work plan;
• Provide day-to-day administrative and management inputs to the project team assuring smooth implementation of the project;
• Help identify Technical Specialist/Consultant candidates and work with the LTO and the BH to ensure their timely recruitment;
• Coordinate with other institutions in order to identify and realise opportunities for complementarity and synergies, including monitoring and oversight of commitments;
• Ensure a results-based approach to project implementation, including maintaining a focus on project results and impact as defined by the project results framework indicators;
• Regularly promote the project and its outputs and findings on a national, and where appropriate, regional stage;
• Lead interactions with stakeholders and liaise with government agencies and communicate, regularly advocate and engage in policy dialogue on behalf of the project;
• Facilitate interdisciplinary inputs from partner institutions and agencies;
• Advise and coordinate Project Specialists and other consultants for assuring smooth implementation of the project.
2. Resources Management and Coordination
• Manage all other staff and consultants hired under the project ensuring they fully understand their role and tasks;
• Provide administrative, management/supervisory and technical support to long and short term Technical Specialists/Consultants to ensure timely delivery;
• Create strategic partnerships related to the project and coordinate and network with various stakeholders to take forward the project;
• Ensure that the project team follows up on the adoption/implementation of the recommendations/inputs provided by Technical Consultants;
• Coordinate with the Government counterpart/s and various stakeholders for effective coordination and promote dialogue in the field of Agriculture;
• Manage the procurement process in accordance with FAO rules and procedures.
3. Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting
• Oversee preparation and implementation of project M&E plan, project communication and knowledge management plan;
• Prepare results based regular reports, donor reports and briefs as required.
• Facilitate the submission of timely project implementation reviews and progress reports (narrative and financial) to the FAO Country Office against the Programme M&E framework;
• Facilitate effective communication of project progress to the key stakeholders related to the project.
Undertake any other tasks assigned or relevant in support of efficient implementation of the project.
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements
• Advanced university degree in Agriculture, Social Sciences, and Economics, Public Administration or any other similar scope of study.
• At least 7 years of relevant experience in project management within the development sector.
• Working knowledge of English together with Sinhala / Tamil is required.
• A National of Sri Lanka.
FAO Core Competencies
• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
Technical/Functional Skills
• Experience in Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting
• Experience in Resources Management and Coordination
• Experience in Project Planning and Implementation
• Experience in handlings major procurement assignments in emergency settings will be an added advantage
• Prior UN experience would be an added advantage.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
- FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing)
- Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted
- 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/
- For additional employment opportunities visit the FAO employment website\: http\://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/
- Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.
FAO seeks gender, geographical and linguistic diversity in its staff and international consultants in order to best serve FAO Members in all regions.
HOW TO APPLY
• 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
• 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 create a one-time registration with FAO’s client support team for further assistance\: https\://fao.service-now.com/csp
FAO IS A NON-SMOKING ENVIRONMENT
Applications from non-qualifying applicants will most likely be discarded by the recruiting manager.