International consultant on pesticides registration

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• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply;
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• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality

Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Our goal is to achieve food security for all and make sure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives.
The FAO Sub-Regional Office for Central Asia (SEC) is responsible for developing, promoting, overseeing and implementing strategies for addressing food security, agriculture and rural development priorities in the sub-region, which includes Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Türkiye, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The Organization’s technical assistance includes institution building, development of knowledge and competencies, and exchange of experience among countries facing similar challenges.

The International consultant on pesticide registration will work in the frame of the GEF-funded and FAO-managed project “Lifecycle Management of Pesticides and Disposal of POPs Pesticides in Central Asian countries and Türkiye” and is to provide support to Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan to improve the current pesticide registration systems, thereby contributing to a safer use of pesticides and to the phase out of highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs).

Reporting Lines

The incumbent will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Sub-regional Coordinator for Central Asia, FAO Budget Holder, the technical supervision by the Lead Technical Officer (LTO), the day-to-day supervision by the Senior Technical Advisor (STA), and in close coordination with National Team Leaders (NTLs) in countries and other stakeholders.

Technical Focus

Provide support to the project countries to improve their current pesticide registration systems considering technical, legal and institutional aspects

Tasks and responsibilities

• Collect information on the current state of pesticides registration systems. Review national legal baseline assessment reports developed under the project for the presence/absence of regulations relevant to pesticide registration.
• Define gaps against international best practices as well as needs for institutional capacity building and laboratory trainings. Develop for each country recommendations for closing the defined gaps.
• Develop necessary capacity development plans for each country and conduct trainings with various tools, like the FAO pesticides registration toolkit;
• Based on international best practices and on the International Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management, recommend assessment tools and methods in a pesticide registration system for considering human health risks and environmental hazards and how to generate data on efficacy, residues and toxicity in the registration system. Develop a risk assessment module for the countries as part of the registration system.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in agriculture/agronomy, agricultural chemistry, plant production, or other related field;
• At least 10 years of demonstrated experience in pesticide management. Experience in working in the project areas will be an asset;
• Working knowledge (level C) of English in speaking and writing and limited knowledge (level B) of another FAO language (Spanish, French, Chinese, Arabic, or Russian), good command of Russian will be an asset; for PSA, working knowledge of English.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Technical and pedagogical capacity to support work on improving pesticide registration systems including technical advice appropriate for the economic and social context of the countries, development of guidance materials and concepts:
• Demonstrated technical capacity to analyse institutional frameworks, policy changes and legislation in the area of pesticide registration;
• Proved communication skills with government representatives, national experts and local communities;
• Previous working experience in UN organizations is an

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