National Food Security Specialist

Organizational setting:

The main aim of the FAO country offices, which are headed by an FAO Representative, is to assist Governments 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.
The FAO Representation in South Sudan is organized around three main units: Programme, Operations and Administration. The current portfolio of projects in South Sudan includes activities related to agriculture, livestock, fisheries and natural resource management, and is implemented with humanitarian, transitional and development funding. The incumbent will contribute to the country's programme and portfolio as foreseen in the projects.

Reporting Lines

The National Food Security Specialist will work under the overall leadership of the FAO Representative in South Sudan, and the direct supervision of the Technical Adviser – Food Security Information Systems and Analysis.

Technical Focus

The National Food Security Specialist will be responsible for implementing food security assessment and monitoring activities, timely analysis of data and dissemination of information products, supporting the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) process, and any other food security related activities.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Coordinate the regular monitoring of food security related indicators such as market price data, rainfall data, livestock data etc. and ensuring that they are published in the CLIMIS (www.climis-southsudan.org) portal in a timely manner.
• Support the design of the surveys and assessments (data collection instruments, sample, questionnaires, data collection modalities) by using and adapting the standard tools and coordinating with other participating stakeholders.
• Support the processing and analysis of food security data using relevant statistical software (MS Excel, SPSS, STATA, etc).
• Ensure data availability for all in-country analytical processes such as the IPC, Harmonized Framework, Anticipatory Action scenario building, and Humanitarian Needs Overview, and participate in these processes as required.
• Develop analytical products including reports (maps, charts, tables, IPC reports, food security reports, etc), presentations, meta-analyses, etc, using standard templates.
• Contribute to disseminating the results of the data analyses and promoting national, regional and global food security and livelihoods initiatives such as the Data in Emergencies hub under the guidance of the technical unit leads.
• Document lessons learnt and best practices in data collection, processing, analysis, dissemination, and reporting as part of capacity building plan.
• Promote food security data management standards including data protection, storage, and archiving, working in close collaboration with Government institutions such as the National Bureau of Statistics.
• Develop food security training materials and conduct training workshops to build the capacity of stakeholders (Government, UN, NGOs etc.) to monitor and report on food security crises.
• Represent FAO in various food security platforms such as the Food Security and Livelihoods Cluster, Needs Analysis Working Group etc.
• Perform any other duties that may be assigned.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in economics, agricultural economics, statistics, social sciences, or related areas.
• Five years’ experience in humanitarian and development assistance, including food security.
• Working knowledge (level C) of English is required.
• National of South Sudan

FAO Core Competencies

• Results focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building effective relationships
• Knowledge sharing and continuous improvement

Technical / Functional Skills

• Extensive demonstrated experience in conducting data collection and analysis, surveillance systems, or monitoring and evaluation.
• Software skills: SPSS/STATA management processing of large databases.
• Understanding the food security and livelihoods dynamics of South Sudan.
• Excellent interpersonal communications and coordination skills, and proven ability to work constructively with a variety of stake holders to achieve common goals.
• Excellent report writing skills.
• Previous work experience with UN is an advantage.
• Good computer skills with extensive experience in word processing, spreadsheets, and other software application.
• Good knowledge of protocol, good judgment, and initiative.
• Good knowledge of corporate information systems.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION