Field Project Coordinator

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 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP) launched the project “Food Security Initiative” to support vulnerable communities and smallholder farmers to strengthen livelihoods and improve resilience to shocks and stresses all year round. Under this program, FAO will implement the following activities.
• Introduction of technical packages to enhance the technology in farms to adapt Good Agriculture Practices (GAP) for 570 farmers in Monaragala, Badulla and Mullaithivu districts. This is coupled with a capacity building programme through Farmer Field School (FFS), value addition and establishing marketing links with the private sector.
• Establish 200 school gardens as Entrepreneurial School Gardens in Central, Uva and Northern provinces. This programme will be implemented in coordination with the Ministry of Education with the support of Ministry of Agriculture and Provincial Ministries of Agriculture and Education.
• Providing nutritional counselling for 500 schools in coordination with the Department of Education, supported by the Provincial Ministries of Health and Education.

The position will be based in Badulla and is expected to cover the project activities in Badulla, Kandy, Nuwaraeliya and Matale districts

Reporting Lines

The incumbent will work under the overall supervision of the Assistant FAO Representative (Programme) in close coordination with the Project Manager and technical guidance of the Lead Technical Officer (LTO)

Technical Focus

Responsible for implementing the overall project activities in aforementioned four districts in close collaboration with government and non-government stakeholders and communities.

Tasks and responsibilities

Planning, implementation, and management of Project activities
• Assist the project manager to identify, plan, design, implement and monitor the progress of project activities as per the results-based work plan.
• Provide day-to-day administrative and management inputs to the project team assuring smooth implementation of the project;
• Ensure that the project outputs and targets are met as per the project indicator framework and that activities are carried out as planned in line with the budget and project time line; using a results based approach.
• Assist the project manager to plan project activities such as meetings and trainings with provincial ministries of agriculture and education, Medical Officers of Health (MOH) and other government stakeholders.
• Assist the project manager in the interactions with government stakeholders in the field for participatory implementation.
• Facilitate inputs from partner institutions and agencies, while taking into account national and international best practices;
• Assist the project manager to network with external stakeholders in the area including private sector players to create strategic partnerships in taking forward the project;
• Identify and realize opportunities for complementarity and synergies;
• Carry out implementation in accordance with FAO, Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and United Nations Strategic Development Goals (UNSDG) Multi-Partner Trust Fund guidelines and regulations;
• Assist the project manager to coordinate with the WFP team in the project area to ensure that the joint implementation modalities are conducted in an effective manner.; and
• Ensure sustainability by identifying and setting up relevant exit strategies.

Monitoring, Evaluation (M&E) and Reporting
• Assist the project manager in the preparation and implementation of project M&E plan, project communication and knowledge management plan as per project requirements;
• Assist the project manager to hold periodic project review meetings with stakeholders and undertake field visits to monitor activities to ensure that implementation is on track, report on deviations, request formal approval from FAO and donor on modifications and comply with procedural requirements;
• Provide administrative and coordination support to monitoring missions, donor missions and project evaluators;
• Support to prepare communication material and promote the project, its outputs and findings as per donor and project requirements at national and/or regional level;
• Submit a monthly report of project implementation reviews, progress reports (narrative and financial) and other project reports , against the project budget and results/M&E framework;
• Prepare progress reports, result-based reports, and project briefs and any other project reports required by the donor and as per UNSDG Multi-Partner Trust Fund requirements in a timely manner;
• Facilitate and support the Terminal Evaluation (PTE), and audits; and
• Assist the project manager to facilitate effective communication of project progress at meetings with joint partners, UN Resident Coordinator’s Office and other UN partner agencies and the donor.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in Agriculture, Environment or any other related field with least 5 years of relevant experience
Or
• Diploma in Agriculture, Environment or any other related field with at least 10 years of relevant experience
• Working knowledge of English.
• Working knowledge of Sinhala and/or Tamil.
• National or resident of Sri Lanka.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Experience in micro irrigation, high technique agriculture, Farmer Field Schools (FFS) and Farmer Business Schools (FBS), digital agriculture tools for agriculture extension and marketing.
• Experience in public private partnerships, value chains, value addition and establishment of producer groups.
• Experience in document preparation, record keeping and progress report preparation
• Ability to work with MS Office applications.

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