National Project Assistant

Organizational Setting:

The Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan, represented by the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) signed, in May 2015, an Agreement whereby setting up a FAO-Azerbaijan Partnership Programme (FAPP) over an initial period of five years. The primary objective of the FAPP is to provide a substantive, financial and operational framework for active cooperation in the areas of Food Security and Poverty Alleviation in Azerbaijan and other countries of mutual interest.

There are currently seven ongoing projects under the FAO-Azerbaijan Partnership Programme, namely FAPP Visibility, Cattle breeding and feeding, Sheep value chain development, Seed potato production, agrarian youth employment (AMAL), Women’s Empowerment, and HAZER (hazelnut) projects.

The incumbent will support the implementation of several projects funded under FAPP in close collaboration with programme/project staff.

Reports to:

Mr. Bariz Mehdiyev , Assistant to the FAO Representative

Technical Focus:

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative (FAOR) in Azerbaijan, direct supervision of Assistant FAOR, operational supervision Program/Operations Specialist, in close collaboration with the FAO-Azerbaijan Partnership Programme (FAPP) Team Leader and Lead Technical Officers (LTO), and staff of the Office, technical experts and project personnel (national and international consultants) and the project counterparts, the Project Assistant will be responsible for the following activities:

Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Support Project Manager in daily follow up and coordination of the project’s implementation according to the approved work plan;
• Liaise between FAO, the national project team and the related ministries and institutions, coordinating their work;
• Initiate and follow-through all necessary administrative actions, following FAO standard procedures and requirements;
• Assist in the timely implementation of procurement actions and contracts according to FAO procedures;
• Provide administrative support for the arrangements for workshops, training, seminars, recruitment of national consultants and field days as required according to the work plan;
• Provide administrative support for field missions;
• Participate and assist in summarizing the results of surveys as well as findings from meetings in the regions;
• Support the development and implementation of the PR strategy for the project, assist the preparation of visibility materials and communication materials by providing necessary inputs and information that will be used in outreach and mass media campaigns;
• Support the overall monitoring of programme through providing necessary inputs on a regular basis and assisting in drafting and finalizing the preparation of reports;
• Draft minutes of meetings and sharing them in a timely matter;
• Perform other duties as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements:

• At least University degree (Master would be an asset) on social and administrative sciences such as economics, statistics, business administration, political sciences, international relations, sociology, social work, development studies with a focus on rural and community development and/or a degree on agrarian sciences or agronomy with an understanding of social and economic dimensions of rural and agrarian contexts.
• Fluency in written and spoken in English and Azerbaijani; Russian will be asset;
• Minimum 3 years of working experience in similar assignments (project/program management);
• National of Azerbaijan.