IMPORTANT NOTICE\: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device
FAO seeks gender, geographical and linguistic diversity in its staff and international consultants in order to best serve FAO Members in all regions.
- 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 staff are subject to the authority of the Director-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the Organization.
Organizational Setting
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 global Agenda through the FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind. 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, reduce hunger and malnutrition, help develop the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors, and to use their environmental and natural resources in a sustainable manner. The support is based on the guidelines as provided by the Country Programming Framework (CPF). FAO through its technical cooperation programme is supporting the government of Lesotho to digitize agriculture as part of the global flagship initiative on digital villages. This initiative seeks to take advantage of the advances in digital technologies to facilitate seamless delivery of advisory services to rural communities in general and farming community in particular. Through this support, the government of Lesotho would like to pilot Artificial Intelligence (AI)assisted agricultural extension services. To this end FAO, has signed a UN to UN agreement with ITU to provide the required technical support (AI/ICT) for piloting this initiative. The functionality of the system does not only depend on AI/ICT support but also requires the services of the agricultural extension content creator. It is against the foregoing background that FAO is looking for a knowledgeable agricultural extension expert to lead the creation of the extension content that will be fed into the AI platform
Reporting Lines
The incumbent will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Lesotho and direct supervision of the Assistant FAO Representative for programme. As a content creator the incumbent will work closely with CFIA digital agriculture expert and collaborate strongly ITU technical teams and the interministerial teams of the Government of Lesotho.
Technical Focus
The piloting of the AI assisted advisory services will focus on agronomy. As a result, the exercise requires greater expertise and wider knowledge of agronomy with strong background agronomy extension. Particular focus is on bring digital innovation for delivering agricultural extension and advisory services to the farming communities.
Tasks and responsibilities
Under overall supervision the FAO Representative in Lesotho, technical oversight of the respective FAO technical officers, in collaboration with relevant technical units of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and in liaison with research and academic institutions, the incumbent will generate the extension content for priority agricultural commodities to be fed into the AI platform. To deliver this assignment the incumbent will undertake the following tasks\:
• Support internal preparation by compiling and organizing background information required to engage different technical departments of the Ministry of Agriculture, in coordination with designated FAO representatives, to identify and confirm priority commodities suitable for piloting AI-assisted advisory and extension services
• Collect extension and advisory materials within the country and in the subregion for the selected commodities
• Compile and organize collected materials and, in coordination with designated FAO staff, support the process of obtaining expert reviews and technical opinions from relevant departments, research bodies, and academic institutions
• With the help of the National project Coordinator, organise producer/user (extension workers, technical experts and farmers) workshop to present a synopsis of the advisory messages for each commodity, get stakeholder feedback on their accuracy and solicit further inputs for improvement
• Incorporate comments and inputs from stakeholders and finalize extension dossier
• Work with the AI technical team to customize data and improve advisory message
• Submit a final report
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements
• Master’s degree in agricultural extension, agronomy or related field
• Five years’ working experience in agricultural extension, agronomy or related field
• Working knowledge in English is required for effective communication and documentation
• National of the Kingdom of Lesotho or resident in the country with a valid work permit.
FAO Core Competencies
• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
Technical/Functional Skills
• Demonstrated interest in the technical areas described above, as well as strong analytical, research and writing skills.
Selection Criteria
• Good communications skills are an advantage\:.
• Experience and knowledge in using software such as Microsoft CoPilot
• Experience in implementing international projects would be an asset.
• Experience in organization and implementation of training programs;
• Knowledge and experience in Collect micro data, perform data cleaning, data entry operations and data analysis;
• Experience in managing processes for stakeholder consultation ,collaboration and participation;
• Ability to write clear and concise reports;
Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
- FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing).
- Incomplete applications will not be considered. If you need help or have queries, please contact\: Careers@fao.org
- Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted.
- 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.
- For other issues, 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.
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
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