International Expert on Feeding of Small Ruminants

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• 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

Organizational Setting

The Sub-Regional Office for Central Asia of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO-SEC) is responsible for developing, promoting, overseeing and implementing strategies for addressing food security, agriculture and rural development priorities in the sub-region. The Organization’s technical assistance includes institution building, development of knowledge and competencies, and exchange of experience among countries facing the challenges of transition.

FAO SEC is implementing a three-year project entitled “Improving efficiency of small ruminants production for reduction of the GHG emission intensity (GCP/SEC/014/TUR)” funded by the Government of Turkey started in April 2021. The expected outcome of the project is the increased capacity at national and sub-regional level to analyse the small ruminants production systems and make them more efficient, in a gender-sensitive manner, in each participating country and in the Central Asian sub-region as a whole. The improvement of agricultural value chains and the development of sustainable livestock production are amongst the priorities for FAO’s work in the Central Asia. In this regard, the project aims to contribute to the sector development at national level.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Sub-Regional Coordinator for Central Asia, the direct supervision of the project’s Lead Technical Officer (LTO), operational guidance from SEC FPU, in close coordination with Livestock Specialist of FAO-SEC, other international consultants, national specialists, and government counterparts at national and local levels in participating countries, the incumbent will undertake following tasks and responsibilities.

Technical Focus

• Small Ruminants Production System
• Pasture management
• Project management and coordination

Tasks and responsibilities

• Conduct a comprehensive study to evaluate the pasture management practices, to assess current feed production capacity including agriculture by-products and crop residues and to identify and suggest small ruminant feed production systems appropriate for each countries’ climate conditions
• Assist national specialists and national stakeholders with establishing feed demonstration plots in the target countries according to study results with in kind contribution of land and machinery by the countries.
• Organize trainings for technical experts from participating countries on climate-smart feed production systems and pasture management, taking the guidance of the Gender and Rural Advisory Services Assessment Tool (GRAST) into consideration.
• Organize trainings on feeding and feed production (Farmer Field Schools) for family farmers, including women and youth, based on the feed demonstrating plots, following guidance by GRAST.
• Develop relevant educational materials (such as brochures, videos, posters etc.) on feed production (e.g. silage) including agriculture by-products and crop residues in national languages for use at national agricultural education institutions.
• Update and modernize relevant curricula for livestock science and veterinary departments in educational institutions of the target countries, including considerations by GRAST to reflect modern method of improving SRs production efficiency and reducing GHG emission intensity.
• Support the project planning and contribute to project monitoring.
• Perform other duties as may be assigned.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in animal production
• Ten years of progressive experience in development of feeding strategies for ruminants feeding strategies and good understanding of their relevance to GHG emissions;
• Working knowledge (level C) of English or Russian and limited knowledge (level B) of one of the other FAO languages. For PSA, working knowledge of English or Russian would suffice.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Multi-cultural and interpersonal skills with hands-on experiences in networking with partners at all levels (ministry, donors, private sector, NGOs and local community based organizations).
• Fluency in spoken and written English and Russian required
• Ability to draft technical reports in English desirable
• International experience in developing countries, particularly with small holders
• Experience in training livestock keepers is necessary, particularly with small holders;
• Teamwork skills are required;
• Basic knowledge of word processing and internet use are essential

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