Call for interest - Technical Experts in Agriculture (Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Indonesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu)

Organizational context

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency dedicated to eradicating rural poverty and hunger. It does so by investing in rural people. IFAD finances programmes and projects that increase agricultural productivity and raise rural incomes, and advocates at the local, national and international level for policies that contribute to rural transformation.

IFAD is seeking Technical Experts in agriculture to take part in short-term project consultancies in Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Indonesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

This call for interest is open to nationals or residents of the above-listed countries. Consultants will be working in the country of his/her residency.

Minimum recruitment qualifications

Education

• Advanced university degree from an accredited institution in in the field of specialization, e.g. Agriculture, Rural Development, Natural Resource Management, Environment, Economics etc.

Experience

• At least 8 years progressively responsible experience in and demonstrated understanding of, development initiatives in the field of specialization.
• Experience in more than one country is desirable.
• Experience in international policy frameworks related to global environment, natural resource management and rural development is an asset.
• Specific experience in one or more of the following: i) promotion of good agricultural practices, ii) developing innovations and extension approaches on sustainable agriculture, agro-ecology, or climate smart agriculture; iii) using innovative extension modalities (such as ICT4D innovations, pluralistic service provision, farmer-based extension and public private partnerships); iv) promoting sustainable agricultural through innovative landscape interventions (watershed, landscape) or market interventions (standards, ecosystem services etc.)
• Experience in working in agriculture in small island contexts

Language requirements

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

Other information

Given the diverse technical nature of the assignments, IFAD is looking for consultants of varying ability above the minimum threshold stated.
Applicants to this call for interest will undergo a first level screening before being included in South East Asia and the Pacific hub Consultants Roster.

Rostered consultants may be contacted for specific missions throughout the year and the remuneration will be commensurate with candidate's qualifications, experience and skills as well as the nature of the assignment in terms of:

• Responsibilities and complexities of the assignment
• The degree of specialization required.

Consultants are not considered staff of IFAD. Any consultancy assignment does not carry any expectation of future employment, extension or conversion to another type of contract with the Fund.

Competencies

Organizational

• Strategic thinking and organizational development
• Demonstrating Leadership
• Learning, sharing knowledge and innovating
• Focusing on clients
• Problem solving and decision making
• Managing time, resources and information
• Team Work
• Communicating and negotiating
• Building relationships and partnerships
• Managing performance and developing staff:

Technical/Functional

• Authoritative technical expertise at the country and regional level in area of specialization.
• Skill in the design and coordination of technical research and identification of innovative solutions to emerging issues.
• Ability to share technical guidance/knowledge at the governmental and peer levels as well as to inspire programme staff in the development of viable programme activities.
• Capacity to identify and analyse systemic issues, formulate options and make conclusions and recommendations to resolve it.
• Analytical and organizational skills.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively in a diverse organization tailoring language, tone, style and format to match audience; ability to present corrective feedback in a considered and tactful manner to promote acceptance.
• Good knowledge of information technology systems and tools.
• Ability to empathize with clients and stakeholders.

Representation / Work relationships

The work relationships of a consultant involve the provision of authoritative technical advice and the negotiation and resolution of problems that arise in technical project supervision/implementation support and in the preparation of studies and reports. S/he serves as an expert in his/her field of specialization and works with full technical independence in the provision of technical expertise and methodological guidance at the country and project level. Contacts are with counterparts and senior officials within other United Nations organizations having related programmes and with officials of governments, non-governmental and inter-governmental organizations, research institutes and academia.

In servicing inter-governmental bodies, expert groups and other meetings, the Technical Expert provides technical expertise and recommendations for policy formulation and official conclusions in a consultative capacity; s/he also may provide information regarding the organization's policies, and act as the representative of the organization. Contacts are maintained to identify and evaluate emerging developments.

Impact of Key results / Key performance indicators

Assignments require the provision of authoritative technical expertise in the field of specialization. The impact of work by the consultant directly affects country programmes and contributes to regional and corporate policy and strategy. The impact on the overall IFAD country and regional programmes is significant in projecting the Fund’s role/capacity as a reliable, viable partner in development.

Consultants are required to work in collaboration and with others, particularly IFAD personnel, in assessing needs and advising governments when on field mission. Decisions are made on the research or analytical strategies to be followed in resolving problems of concern in the technical area. Established methods and procedures are adapted as necessary in order to achieve desired results.

Key results expected / Major functional activities

The consultant will take stock of project documents, participate in project meetings, interact with project staff and partners, and conduct field visits where possible to review achievements, issues and make recommendations. The consultant will work in collaboration with other team members and project counterparts to ensure evaluations and recommendations are well grounded and feasible.

Key tasks include:

• Review progress of agronomic related activities against AWPB, agreed actions and overall targets; including outreach of agricultural activities and adoption rates of innovations, trends in agricultural productivity, farm income and environmental agricultural performance to identify potential issues and how project can meet productivity, income and other project targets.
• Review and provide recommendations to increase the relevance and appropriateness of agricultural practices and technologies against their contribution to productivity, resilient income and climate adaptation environmental sustainability targets.
• Conduct field visits to farmers and other stakeholders to review trends of adoptions of innovations for farmers, results in terms of yield, income and resilience; main constrains for uptake; including issues related to access to labour, land and water, cash, inputs, services and market.
• Review technology transfer and other support services facilitating sustainable agricultural practices.
• Review and identify recommendations to strengthen i) institutional framework and capacities to deliver agricultural activities including through service provider, farmer organizations and new / strengthened partnership ; ii) replication and scaling up potential; ii) proposed exit strategy to ensure farmers can have sustainable access to required inputs and services.
• Contribute to analysis on social inclusion (particularly in relation to relevance of project activities for youth and women), sustainability and knowledge management.
• Review how agricultural activities are monitored and documented and identify recommendations to enhance quality of data and documentations of agricultural innovations, considering both productivity, income, resilience and environmental benefits.
• Identify and document innovations and lessons learnt regarding agricultural activities.

The consultant may at times be called upon to perform implementation support activities including capacity building and follow-up of specific tasks.

Post's organizational accountability

The Programme Management Department (PMD), under the leadership of an Associate Vice-President, is responsible for the overall programme of loans and grants of the Fund and is composed of five (5) regional divisions, and the Operational Policy and Results Division (OPR). The accountability/key results expected include:

• Operational policy advice and development
• Country program advice and development
• Knowledge management and capacity building
• Results monitoring and reporting
• Managerial functions