Agricultural Officer (Plant Production And Protection)

1H011H01

• 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 Members and persons 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 FAO's values
• FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination　　
• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality
• FAO staff are subject to the authority of the Director-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the Organization.

Organizational Setting
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through its Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to More efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agri-food systems, for Better production, Better nutrition, a Better environment and a Better life, leaving no one behind.
FAO's Subregional Office for the Pacific (SAP) is responsible for developing, promoting, overseeing and implementing agreed strategies for addressing subregional food, agriculture and rural development priorities. It develops and maintains relations with subregion-wide institutions including the Council of Regional Organizations in the Pacific (CROP). The Subregional Office is a subsidiary of FAO's Regional Office for the Asia and the Pacific (RAP) in Bangkok. The post is located in Apia, Samoa.

Reporting Lines
The Agricultural Officer (Plant Production and Protection) reports to the Subregional Coordinator, SAP, and maintains regular contacts with relevant Modular and Multidisciplinary Programme/Initiatives leaders in RAP, and the Plant Production and Protection Division (NSP) in FAO headquarters.
He/she liaises with plant production and protection officers in the region and headquarters to ensure the effective and efficient delivery of Pacific regional priorities in response to country demands and SAP's contributions to FAO's Strategic Framework in the concerned technical areas.

Technical Focus
Plant production and protection contribution to food and nutrition security, agricultural and rural development and technical backstopping to Decentralized Offices in Pacific islands and atolls, with strong emphasis on climate-resilient and nutrition-sensitive agriculture for provision of sustainable livelihoods and responding to disasters and emergencies; conservation, restoration and sustainable use of crop biodiversity for food and agriculture; biosecurity and transboundary pest diseases control and management.

Key Results
Research, technical analysis and project related services to support the delivery of programme projects, products, and services.

Key Functions
• Researches and analyses technical, social, economic, environmental, institutional, and technology related information, data and statistics and/or related policy issues to support the delivery of programme projects, products and services;
• Produces a variety of technical information, data, statistics and reports as well as input for technical documents and web pages;
• Provides technical support/analysis to various assessments, studies and initiatives and provides technical backstopping to field projects;
• Collaborates in the development of improved/updated tools, systems, processes, and databases;
• Participates on multidisciplinary teams, and/or leads working groups/teams collaborates with other departments and agencies on work groups and committees and promotes best practices;
• Collaborates in, provides technical backstopping to and ensures the quality/effectiveness of capacity development activities within Members such as policy support, organizational development and individual learning events, including preparation of related information, learning materials, on-line tools;
• Promotes knowledge sharing and best practices at international meetings and conferences and influences partners in stakeholder consultations;
• Supports resource mobilization activities in accordance with the FAO Corporate strategy.

Specific Functions
• Provides technical support to the Secretariat of the Asia and Pacific Plant Protection Agreement and its Commission (APPPC), including participation and coordination of regular sessions of the commission, execution of its agreed work programme, guidance on regional phytosanitary standard setting, and the maintenance of the subregional phytosanitary information system;
• Leads the collection of information and data on constraints and opportunities of enhancing the productivity of agricultural production systems in the subregion;
• Provides technical assistance to promote climate-smart agriculture, incorporating sustainable natural resource management and resilient livelihoods, especially of smallholders and atolls;
• Supports initiatives to mainstream the food systems approach into agriculture to improve nutrition and food security in the Pacific;
• Leads the collection of information and data on key priorities and issues in plant protection and phytosanitary measures;
• Provides technical assistance for capacity building and monitoring and management activities to combat transboundary pest and disease outbreaks;
• Acts as focal point for the Asia and the Pacific Plant Protection Commission (APPPC), the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and the Pacific Plant Protection Organization (PPPO);
• Provides technical advice on and inputs to the plant production and protection related programme to inform SAP's programme development;
• Maintains exchange of technical information and reporting on the occurrence and invasion of plant pests and diseases with the region and NSP. Develops project concept notes and project proposals based on requests from countries in the subregion.

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CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements
• Advanced university degree in agriculture or plant sciences, agronomy or related field
• Five years of relevant experience in climate resilient agriculture in the field, preferably in Small Island Developing States (SIDs)
• Working knowledge of English and limited knowledge of another FAO official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish)

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

Technical/Functional Skills
• Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions is desirable
• Demonstrated ability to cooperate with officials of national governments, intergovernmental organizations and other institutions and in collaborative networks and joint programmes
• Extent and relevance of experience in the development and management of technical projects in relation to climate resilient agriculture in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) is considered a strong asset
• Depth of familiarity with plant protection and integrated pest management
• Extent and relevance of knowledge in sustainable crop production and ecosystem management.
• Working knowledge of other an official language is an asset