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 Members 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 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 FAO Representation in Sri Lanka is responsible for developing, promoting, overseeing and implementing agreed strategies for addressing country food, agriculture and rural development priorities. It develops and maintains relations with country-wide institutions including Government Institutions and Development Partners.

The project TCP/SRL/3804- ‘Strengthen capacities to implement the adaptive national agriculture policy interventions’ will;

1.Provide technical support through training and capacity building to establish the coherence between adaptive National Agriculture Policy and National Agriculture Development Programme; and

2. To speed up policy implementation, through training to understand and apply new practices in local settings, where capacity building of the policy-implementing officers as a way of designing implementation processes. The traditional knowledge diffusion strategies that extension officers have is to be supplemented by capacity building. Active implementation is necessary to support the application of new practices, developed from passive knowledge diffusion towards capacity building though systematic training, supervision and follow up. This will be addressed through pilot implementation of few important policy interventions that could be scaled up by the government throughout the country.

Reporting Lines

The National Precision Agriculture Specialist reports to the FAO Representative in Sri Lanka. He/she will work under the overall supervision and management of FAO Representation in Sri Lanka and the technical oversight of the Lead Technical Officer at the FAO Asia and the Pacific Regional Office (RAP).

Technical Focus

The objective of the assignment is for the National Consultant (NC) to support the establishment/improving of demonstration sites to showcase precision agriculture at 4 In-service/research centres and conduct training programmes for 50 officers and farmers at each of the identified locations.

To achieve the objective NC is required to carry out discussions with farmer organizations and DoA officials and produce training material on crop selection & management, land suitability, land and water management, fertilizer management and Good Agriculture Practises (GAP).

The NC will work with the FAO Sri Lankan team and the National Project Coordinator (NPC) for the successful completion of the project activities.

Tasks and responsibilities

  • In partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, carry out discussions with farmer organizations and DoA officials and provide training material on crop selection & management, land suitability, land and water management, fertilizer management and GAP;
  • Assist MoA in establishing/improving demonstration sites to showcase precision agriculture at 4 in-service/research centres and conduct training programmes for 50 officers and farmers at each location;
  • Develop technical packages for eco-friendly agriculture for Beans, capsicums, tomatoes, Brinjol and Gourd Family with special attention to fertilizer application;
  • Provide monthly progress report;
  • Provide final report of the project.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

  • University degree in Agriculture or related field ;
  • Minimum of 05 years of relevant experience in related sector Proven experience in precision agriculture ;
  • Proven experience in establishing demonstration sites and in developing training technical packages;
  • Working knowledge of English is required;
  • National of Sri Lanka 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

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

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Before applying, please make sure that you have read the requirements for the position and that you qualify. Applications from non-qualifying applicants will most likely be discarded by the recruiting manager.