Evaluation Specialist/ Team member - National Natural Resources Management

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

FAO is a key player pushing for interventions that bridge the continuum between humanitarian support and development interventions in the food and agriculture sector, covering rural and peri-urban areas. Assisting in preventing disaster-related emergencies, providing early warning for food emergencies, and helping in rehabilitation of food production systems are amongst FAO’s predominant roles. The main forms of FAO’s interventions include, but are not limited to, needs assessments, the provision of essential agricultural inputs and technical assistance in planning and management for sustainable recovery and resilience in rural production systems.

The implementation of “Sustainable Land Management for Improved Livelihoods in Degraded Areas of Iraq” (GCP/IRQ/003/GFF) project started in 2020 and was designed to assist the Government of Iraq to address land degradation issues for improved livelihoods. The project is built around four integrated components. The first will set in place national level capacities to strategically assess land degradation threats, support the implementation of globally proven best Sustainable Land Management (SLM) practices, and monitor progress to inform government and producer decision-making. The second component will establish a program to support producers to adopt SLM practices through Farmer Field Schools (FFS) approaches. The third component will focus upon the promotion of SLM practices within wetlands through an innovative, wetlands targeted FFS model. The fourth component will ensure that project advances are being made and that best practices are captured for regional and international upscale.

The project objective is to reverse land degradation processes, conserve and sustainably manage land and water resources in degraded marshland ecosystems in Southern Iraq for greater access to services from resilient ecosystems and improved livelihoods. The project will cover degraded lands and associated production that have a direct and indirect impact upon wetlands.

Reporting Lines

Under the administrative supervision of the project’s budget holder (BH), FAO Representative in Iraq and Mid Term Review (MTR) Team Leader, the Team Member will contribute to the MTR for his/her area of specialization and be responsible for supporting the MTR Team Leader. His/Her mandate is derived from and must fully comply with the overall terms of reference for the MTR. He/She will provide inputs as agreed with the Team Leader and MTR Manager (RM). The Team Member reports to the BH and the MTR Team Leader.

He/she will also cover in detail the analysis of the implementation aspects of the project and the following sections of the MTR report:

Tasks and responsibilities

• Review the relevant background documentation made available by the designated MTR manager and project team: the project document, the project’s logframe, progress and final reports, workshop and technical reports, among other things;
• In accordance with the methodological approach described in the terms of reference, contribute to the preparation of data-collection tools, including questionnaires, check-lists and interview protocols, as appropriate; insofar as possible, participate in the finalization of the MTR team’s work programme;
• Participate actively in the collection of primary data, as required by and identified in the MTR matrix, under the leadership of the Team Leader during the country visits, among other things, through interviews and meetings (face-to-face or virtual);
• Contribute to the consolidation of all evidence collected during the MTR process in a structured format following the key MTR questions and criteria;
• Ensure that all primary and secondary data collected are recorded during the MTR process and organized in a structured format following the key MTR questions, based on which all findings will be triangulated;
• Participate in the analysis and discussion of evidence collected during the MTR within the MTR team to identify key findings that respond to MTR issues and questions, and formulate preliminary conclusions and recommendations in his/her specific field of expertise, as discussed and agreed with the Team Leader and the RM;
• Deliver inputs (including written, as required by the MTR Team Leader) on the specific areas of assessment, per the overall terms of reference, and contribute to the preparation of the inception report, debriefing sessions following field missions, the draft MTR report according to the specifications provided in the terms of reference, and participate in addressing and integrating any feedback on the draft report from stakeholder reviewers (e.g. the budget holder, FAO GEF CU, government counterparts, local-community stakeholders), as appropriate, and support the MTR Team Leader in finalizing the report, as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in a field related to agriculture, rural development, economics, food sciences, and other related areas;
• At least five years’ experience in one of the following field: in agricultural development water management, integrated pest management, post-harvest management, etc. Experience in evaluation and/or data collection;
• Working knowledge (level C) of English and Arabic language.
• Iraqi National or Resident with work permit.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Academic and practical experience in agriculture and/or related areas;
• Familiar with implementation of so-called Good Agricultural Practices and Climate Smart Agriculture
• Solid analytical and conceptual skills and the ability to think creatively.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Good reporting skills.

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