Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services Specialist/ Head of Sub-Office, L’viv

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• 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 member nations 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 our values. FAO has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and FAO, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination
• All selected candidates, therefore, will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality
• The incumbent may be re-assigned to different activities and/or duty stations depending on the evolving needs of the Organization

Organizational Setting

FAO Ukraine is a project management Office headed by the Regional Programme Leader (RPL) under the operational responsibility of the Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia. The office provides support to Ukraine to develop policies, programmes and projects to achieve food security and to reduce hunger and malnutrition, to help develop the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors, and to use their environmental and natural resources in a sustainable manner.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Ukraine/ Budget Holder, the direct supervision of the Head of Office, in close collaboration with the Lead Technical Officer (LTO) REUTD, Budapest, FAO Ukraine Operations, and Communication Unit, International Value Chain and Matching Grant Expert, Project Team Leader/ Technical Adviser, National and International consultants of The Project, the Agriculture Extension and Advisory Services Specialist/ Head of Sub-Office, Lviv will be responsible for providing technical expertise in developing, implementing and monitoring agricultural extension and advisory services activities under outcome 3 of the Project and and managing day-to-day field based operations in the project locations.

Technical Focus

FAO Ukraine has started to implement a 48 month duration EU funded project titled “Inclusive, competitive and sustainable value chain development in Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry” (GCP/UKR/012/EC) (The Project) since 1 January 2021.
The Project has three expected outcomes as appended below:
Outcome 1: Improved administrative capacity in contributing to policy making and decision-making; improved fisheries and aquaculture governance towards sustainability, including legislative advancements; improved fisheries monitoring and control; and improved capacity in data collection in support of fisheries research and scientific advice.
Outcome 2: Strengthened enabling environment for the forestry sector to help secure the long-term sustainability of forest management and to improve evidence-based policymaking in the sector.
Outcome 3: Selected food value chains strengthened and smallholder farmers integrated sustainably in these value chains through improved access to finance, inputs and services.
Outcome 1 focusses on fisheries sector, to work directily with State Agency for Fisheries under the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, with the view to provide policy assistance, capacity development and technical standard settings support, while outcome -2 focusses on the same as outcome 1 but with State Agency of Forestry under the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources in Ukraine. Outcome -3 is focussed on field based activities to be implemented directly, in collaboration with the government agriculture offices under the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, with targeted beneficiaries (farmers, agricultural cooperatives, producer groups and SMEs) at different villages in Lviv and Zakarpattia with the possibility in other Oblasts. It aims to support the project beneficiaries with various aspects of value chain development on pre-selected agriculture products through the provision of Agriculture Extension and Advisory Services, Business Modelling, Capacity Development, Awareness raising and Matching Grant. The Agriculture Extension and Advisory Services activities will have strong linkages and collaboration with other relevant projects, in particular, the EU funded Technical Assistance (TA) project. In order to implement the planned activities under outcome 3 the project has planned to establish a sub-office Lviv, which will cover the work portfolio in Zakarpattia as well.

Tasks and responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services Specialist/ Head of Sub-Office, Lviv will be responsible for the following:
1. Provide technical expertise and support to the development, implementation and monitoring of the Technical Assistance component of the Project:
• Provide technical expertise for the identification and selection of target areas for the implementation of activities including pilot activities for Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services.
• Support and provide technical expertise in the identification, planning and implementation of linkages building activities with the EU funded Technical Assistance (TA) Project.
• Identify and support to ensure maximum synergy of operations with team members working in the related functional areas such as digital agriculture, food safety, climate smart agriculture, value chain analysis, gender etc.
• Take part in identifying the key training gaps and needs and other related personnel for the purpose of feeding into the tailor made training plans for improvement of qualification of the personnel.

• Identify methods for the dissemination of the relevant information taking into consideration various media means such as TV, Radio, local and nationwide newspapers, printed material, video material dissemination facilities, internet media and mobile phone connection.

• Participate in monitoring, status review, suggest corrective actions in compliance with Projects Monitoring and Evaluation requirements.
• In collaboration with relevant project team members and consultants, design and support in the organization of workshops, trainings, study tours and other events related to the provision of agricultural extension and advisory services.
• Provide technical expertise to support the design and application of tools aimed at assessing performance of the extension information dissemination activities for the purpose of generating feedback and improvement.

Coordination and management of Sub-Office activities:

• Supervise and guide Office Assistant to carry-out daily operations and ensure the provision of adequate care and maintenance of the FAO vehicles and office equipment.
• Ensure coordination with representatives of local authorities in Western Ukraine for the implementation of FAO activities, as well as maintain information exchange and coordination with relevant UN agencies, NGOs and other civil society institutions operating in the region.
• Provide technical support in the preparation and execution of official field missions in Western Ukraine.
• Conduct weekly meetings with the project team to identify progress, and to identify and address challenges as needed.
• Guide the Office Assistant and project team to organize local events such as workshops, meetings, seminars, etc.
• Provide the Head of Office and the Project Management Team with regular updates, and reports on The Project, as well as on external developments that may affect project activities and deliverables, as required.
• Perform other duties as required to ensure an effective implementation of project activities in L’viv and Zakarpattia.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in Agriculture Science, Agricultural Economics, Social Sciences or related fields.
• At least five years of relevant professional experience.
• Advanced knowledge of English. Knowledge of one of the other FAO languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is an advantage.
• Proficiency in Ukrainian.
• National of Ukraine.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Work experience in NGOs, INGOs, UN or other technical and/or humanitarian assistance organizations.
• Ability to work under pressure and to carry out several tasks in a timely fashion and under tight deadlines, with minimum supervision.
• Relevant experience and skills in programme and project implementation, project formulation, analysis and planning.
• Good understanding of the purpose and functions of technical programmes, UN’s guidelines, and project / programme management procedures.
• Systematic and efficient approach to work on assignments, good judgment and analytical ability.
• Direct project implementation experience is an asset.

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 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 additional employment opportunities visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/

FAO seeks gender, geographical and linguistic diversity in its staff and international consultants in order to best serve FAO Members in all regions.