National Programme Specialist

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 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 Partnership and Liaison Office in Azerbaijan.

Reporting Lines

Mr. Kaan Basaran, International Operations Specialist.

Technical Focus

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative (FAOR) in Azerbaijan, programmatic coordination of Assistant FAOR (AFAOR), direct supervision of the International Programme/Operations Specialist, the technical supervision and guidance of FAO Lead Technical Officers (LTOs); in close coordination with and support of relevant programme personnel and other experts engaged in the formulation and implementation processes; in close collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and the national counterparts the incumbent will:

Tasks and responsibilities

 Support the programme development through collecting the information at all (national, regional and local/community is necessary) stages and consulting with the Technical Officers at FAO, formulating programmatic frameworks and concept notes, detailing any issue that would need further clarification, ensuring all relevant needs are appropriately reflected within a feasible and achievable project framework;
 Through the guidance of FAO’s technical officers and evaluation of available information on recent developments, current situation by studying country vision and donor strategy and identified needs to be addressed, outline the Project Log Frame Matrix with concrete Outputs, Activities and Indicators, based on FAO’s comparative advantages and resources that could be mobilized through project’s funds;
 Liaise with representatives of the counterpart Ministries and other related counterparts, request and collect information about the current situation, vision, identified needs and gaps;
 Identify potential risks related to the implementation of the formulated projects and ensure the development of adequate mitigation measures and sustainability strategy for the projects;
 Draft project documents in collaboration with the FAO staff at the Country Office and FAO Technical Officers including pursuing the completion of necessary inputs, such as TORs for experts, the type and number of trainings, any potential service contracts and general details of items to be procured; in coordination with National Counterparts; review and clearance of Technical Officers and ensure their appropriateness within the country context;
 Discuss and explain to the Government counterparts and potentially other stakeholders the details of the project document, if needed; and address any potential comments from their side to finalize the project documents.

Operational support to assigned projects:
 Update and include all relevant details under the project work plans and coordinates relevant revisions with the Technical Officers, FEAZE Management and beneficiary counterparts;
 Ensure that the inputs for the project activities (personnel, technical support services, sub-contracts, training, equipment and supplies) are timely in place; provided either directly by the Organization or, when appropriate, through service providers;
 Oversee all operational activities are carried out in line with the work plan and the project document; identifies inconsistencies and delays and, when necessary, proposes corrective measures to overcome operational constraints;
 Perform the overall operational monitoring; support the programmatic monitoring and evaluation processes and coordinates the finalization of necessary reporting requirements;
 Review and monitor project budget and prepares requests and revisions regarding the management of the budget as needed; maintain and alert about budget expenditures and resources; review project transaction listings with a view to identifying errors for action;
 Support the identification of best practices and lessons learnt, ensures their proper documentation and dissemination;
 Provide practical solutions for possible bottlenecks related to operational matters;
 Contribute to creating synergies and cross-benefits between different projects and programmes for maximum impact
 Perform any other duties deemed necessary for the realization of these tasks.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

 An advanced university degree in relevant field, such as social sciences, public administration, agriculture, forestry, natural resources management, climate change, environmental management or any field that may be related to FAO’s work is required;
 A minimum of 5 years of demonstrated experience relevant to project management and/or programme development and reporting;
 National of Azerbaijan or resident in the country with a regular work permit.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

 Demonstrate integrity by modeling the UN values and ethical standards.
 Ability to conduct strategic planning, results-based management, and reporting.
 Demonstrate openness to change and ability to manage complexities.
 Demonstrate strong oral and written communication skills.
 Demonstrate ability to function in a team environment and to conduct complex multi-stakeholder interactions.
 Demonstrated ability to prepare and present comprehensive reports
 Full computer literacy in effective use of internet sources and Microsoft Office programs i.e. MS-Word, MS-Excel and MS-Power Point. The candidate will be expected to work with online corporate information systems and resources;
 Ability to draft analytical reports and operational framework documents, including an understanding of Logical Framework approach and planning of inputs to obtain necessary outputs and results;
 Writing and communication skills in English and Azerbaijan.

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