Community Development Specialist

Organizational Setting

For more than four decades, FAO has been working with the Government of the Philippines, civil society, community-based organizations and the private sector to address challenges in the agriculture, fisheries and forestry sector. Joint efforts have included increasing sustainability in agricultural production, promoting value-adding practices, improving post-harvest management, enhancing productivity and increasing the resilience of agriculture-based livelihoods to natural disasters, climatic hazards and armed conflict.

Reporting Lines

The Community Development Specialist will report directly to the Assistant FAO Representative (Programme)

Technical Focus

With the increasing attention to change the way how disasters are managed, FAO is at the forefront of demonstrating how to act before a disaster targeting smallholder farmers and fisherfolks to protect, cope, and adapt to multiple shocks. One of the key strategies is to implement a humanitarian approach largely known as Anticipatory Action (AA) within the context of a robust shock responsive social protection (SRSP) system. AA is an innovative approach that systematically links early warnings to actions designed to protect at-risk families and their assets ahead of a hazard. It is a vital part of a comprehensive SRSP system that emphasizes the importance of enhancing financial resilience at all levels and social protection of populations at risk, which entails communities having access to effective, responsive and inclusive social protection, risk financing and insurance mechanisms. FAO’s SRSP and AA work is contributory to FAO’s Country Programming Framework (CPF) Outcome 3: Reduced vulnerabilities among individuals and families and just and lasting peace achieved. The engagement of a Community Development Specialist is envisioned to support the mainstreaming and implementation of AA and ASRSP at the country level in the next 3 years.

Tasks and responsibilities

The Community Development Specialist shall contribute in the development and implementation of projects of the country office on social protection, food security, and rural development. The Community Development Specialist shall support the community engagement, organizing and mobilization processes of the country office projects focusing on Adaptive and Shock Responsive Social Protection (ASRSP) and Anticipatory Action (AA).

Specifically, he/she shall perform the following tasks:

• Contribute towards strengthening participatory governance in designing, planning and implementing ASRSP and AA projects by introducing community-based approaches that will encourage and promote the inclusion of government partners and beneficiary citizens in decision-making processes;
• Support and facilitate the conduct of ASRSP and AA capacity-building activities at the local level;
• Develop a documentation report on the lessons, strategies and best practices of a community-based approach to the development and implementation ASRSP and AA activities to demonstrate effectiveness of such approach to sustainable local development and generate evidence on how the initiative contributes to FAO Philippines’ Country Programming Framework 3 on “Reducing vulnerabilities of individuals and families and just and lasting peace achieved”;
• Actively engage with local development partners to strengthen partnership and cooperation on ASRSP and AA projects with FAO Philippines;
• Work collaboratively with project field staff on social preparation and mobilization activities;
• Provide inputs to the monitoring & evaluation design of local ASRSP and AA activities;
• Support the preparation of project reports, briefs and various correspondence, knowledge products and information dissemination, including background research and synthesis and editing of information;
• Coordinate and liaise with the government counterparts, and other implementing partners;
• Carry out any other relevant duties within his/her technical competence as may be requested by FAO

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• At least Master’s Degree (or its equivalent) in Community Development, Social Science, and/or relevant field;
• Minimum of 5 years relevant working as professional in the development and management of projects related to social protection and disaster risk reduction and management, and coordination with national/regional/provincial government structures and private sector;
• National of the Philippines
• Working knowledge (Level C) of English

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Strong foundation in SRSP and AA programme formulation, planning, implementation, management and evaluation; and
• Knowledge on national social protection and DRRM policies and programmes;
• Demonstrated ability to work in a team and independently and deliver high-quality outputs in a timely manner;
• Good written communication skills;
• Relevant experience in a UN system or organization is an asset
• Experience collaborating with government agencies, international organizations and community leaders;

Selection Criteria

• FAO professional Staff member are invited to apply to be included on the emergency roster and will be selected based on an established set of criteria.
• External applicants will be assessed through a competitive selection process that will include written assessment and oral interview.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION