National Operations Specialist

FAO Bangladesh assists the Government to formulate policies, programmes and projects to address the root causes of hunger and malnutrition, develop the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors, and utilize environmental and natural resources in a sustainable way. It contributes to the development of FAO’s field programme projects in the country and implements them in the sectors of food security, agriculture and rural development.

“Meeting the Undernutrition Challenge (MUCH)” is the follow-up project of the National Food Policy Capacity Strengthening Programme (NFPCSP) and is based in the Food Planning and Monitoring Unit (FPMU) of the Ministry of Food (MoFood) in Bangladesh. The MUCH project broadens the scope of NFPCSP’s interventions by extending support to other core ministries, civil society organizations (CSOs) and the private sector, endeavouring to achieve a strengthened enabling environment for eradicating food insecurity and malnutrition. It does this by improving in particular (i) cross-sectoral and sectoral policies and investment programmes for food security and nutrition (FSN) that are gender sensitive; (ii) human and organizational resource development for FSN; (iii) financial resource allocation for FSN; (iv) inclusiveness of governance and coordination mechanisms for FSN; and (v) comprehensiveness of information generation to support FSN policy formulation and programming.

The post is located in the MUCH project office hosted by the FPMU, MoFood in Bangladesh as well as in the FAO Representation.

The National Operations Specialist works under the overall guidance of the FAO Representative in Bangladesh, the direct supervision of the MUCH Chief Technical Advisor (CTA), and in close consultation and collaboration with the MUCH Project Team, the International Operations Officer, government counterparts, especially the Food Planning and Monitoring Unit (FPMU), as well as donors, civil society organisations, and the private sector

Technical Focus

Provision of operational guidance, assistance and analysis for the execution of a field project as well as monitoring of its implementation and delivery in the context of strengthening an enabling environment for the eradication of food insecurity and malnutrition and achieving national and international goals, such as national five-year plans’ objectives and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

• Work closely with the MUCH project team and the International Operations Officer to support and ensure the day-to-day uninterrupted implementation of the project at different stages of the Project Life Cycle;
• Assess operational requests and analyse and prioritise responses;
• In line with FAO and donor reporting lines, provide support for the preparation of progress reports, delivery reports, terminal reports; project briefs and correspondances;
• Frequently monitor and review project budgets to ensure that project delivery is in line with approved work plans and perform remedial measure when necessary;
• Support international and in-country missions, including coordination, organization, briefing, and de-briefing;
• Support efforts for mobilising donor funds, which includes preparing budget summaries, liquidity estimates, payment requests, and Call for Funds;
• Review the implementation of major agreements and contracts, such as Letters of Agreement (LoAs), and ensure that an tracker/record is kept updated;
• Liaise with the operations, finance and administration teams of FAO Bangladesh for timely release of payments/instalments;
• Assist in planning, organizing and coordinating workshops, trainings, field missions and other events; and
• Perform any other duties to ensure successful implementation of the assignment.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements
• University degree in business administration, management, finance, social science, political science or related field
• Three years of relevant experience in project development, planning, implementation and operational support
• Relevant working experience in providing operational support to projects, field experience and familiarity with FAO corporate systems; prior experience with FAO/other UN Agencies is an advantage
• Working knowledge of English (Level C), including the ability to communicate clearly in both speaking and writing - working knowledge of Bangla is desirable
• National of Bangladesh

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

Technical/Functional Skills
• Ability to understand operational issues related to the Project Life Cycle
• Ability to work on a number of assignments simultaneously
• Good team working and organizational and communication skills
• Maturity, initiative, tact, high sense of responsibility and multi-cultural attitude
• Ability to use corporate standard software, such as MS Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency.