Job Details:
- Organization: FAO – Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
- Location: Afghanistan
- Grade: Consultancy – Consultant – Contractors Agreement
- Occupational Groups:
- Security and Safety
- Nutrition
- Food Security, Livestock and Livelihoods
- Closing Date: 2023-12-26
IMPORTANT NOTICE\: Please note that the Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on the date and time settings of your device
- 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 persons 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
FAO Afghanistan is investing, across all 34 provinces, in resilience-reinforcing actions that focus on protecting agriculture livelihoods and local ecosystems, boosting local production of nutritious foods and cash incomes, and safeguarding critical agriculture sectoral development gains achieved over the past couple of decades through revitalizing rural markets and economy. In 2023, FAO will contribute to the humanitarian components of the UN Strategic Framework 2023-2025 through four priority actions\: (i) Safeguarding Wheat Seed Security, (ii) Enhancing Local Production of Nutritious Food, (iii) Livestock Protection and Dairy Sector Support, and (iv) Restoring Irrigation Structures to Boost Cash Incomes. FAO will also contribute towards resilience-building activities and longer-term transformational processes as part of the implementation of the UN Strategic Framework 2023-2025.
The Food Security and Agriculture Cluster (FSAC) in Afghanistan is co-led by WFP and FAO with the Norwegian Refugee Council as NGO in a co-chair role. The FSAC’s main aim is to provide an action-oriented forum for bringing together national and international humanitarian partners to improve the timeliness and effectiveness of humanitarian assistance in the lives of the crisis-affected population in Afghanistan. The FSAC activities have been designed to save lives by addressing the immediate hunger gaps, contribute to the reduction of malnutrition prevent the worsening asset depletion, and increase the resilience of targeted communities. The FSAC is operational at a sub-national level in five regions of Afghanistan and is expected to deliver on the following six cluster functions as indicated in the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Cluster Coordination Reference Module\:
• support effective and efficient humanitarian response;
• inform strategic decision-making of the Humanitarian Coordinator/Humanitarian Country Team;
• carry out planning and strategy development;
• advocacy;
• monitor and report on the Cluster strategy; and
• undertake contingency planning, preparedness, and capacity building of relevant stakeholders.
Reporting Lines
The Food Security Specialist will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative and the direct supervision of the FSAC Coordinator.
Technical Focus
The incumbent is responsible for supporting the coordinating mechanism of FSAC in Afghanistan.
Tasks and responsibilities
• Support the linkages between national FSAC and coordination structures at the sub-national level; including providing support to FSAC co-leads and co-chairs at the regional level to enhance food security and agriculture humanitarian response;
• Support appropriate coordination with national authorities at a sub-national and provincial level; including liaising and working with relevant government counterparts to support or complement existing coordination mechanisms;
• Collate and disseminate information on food security and agriculture humanitarian response from the sub-national level to national FSAC and from national FSAC to the sub-national level;
• With the FSAC coordination team, support the development and implementation of the FSAC work plan and related food security and agriculture tools (assessments, beneficiary selection criteria guidelines, IPC, HEAT, SFSA, etc.);
• Support the development of FSAC Consolidated Appeal and other joint initiatives at national and sub-national level;
• Assist in the training and mentoring of FSAC partners at a national and sub-national level, as per training needs identified by FSAC partners;
• Support the integration of cross-cutting issues (gender, AAP, Disability Inclusion, PSEA, environment, age, protection) in the FSA response;
• Communicate food security issues effectively within the humanitarian community, government, and the public domain;
• Support the assessment working group and early warning information working group at the national level to collect and disseminate relevant information to partners and regional networks.
• Ensure emergency food security and livelihoods program is linked with existing and future development programs for better linkages to avoid gaps and maximize impact.
• Participate in and, when requested, assist in organizing FSAC workshops and meetings at national and regional levels;
• Contribute to the production of FSAC documents (policies, strategies, work plans, advocacy briefs, monthly report, newsletter);
• Conduct regular field missions to all regions and facilitate conducting regional FSAC meetings;
• Contribute to FSAC monitoring and reporting to FSAC stakeholders; and
• Undertake other activities as required.
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements
• Advanced (Master’s) degree or University (Bachelor’s) degree in development studies, agriculture, agriculture economics, food security, nutrition, or a closely related field;
• For advanced degree at least five (5) years of professional experience in humanitarian and food security assessment, early warning systems, data analysis and humanitarian response, or other related disciplines;
• For a university degree at least seven (7) years of professional experience in humanitarian and food security assessment, early warning systems, data analysis and humanitarian response, or other related disciplines;
• Working knowledge (level C) of English and the local languages (Pashto and/or Dari);
• National of Afghanistan.
FAO Core Competencies
• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
Technical/Functional Skills
• Experience in project design, management, and implementation;
• Excellent interpersonal communication and coordination skills, and proven ability to work constructively with a variety of stakeholders to achieve common goals;
• Excellent report writing skills;
• Previous work experience with the UN is an advantage;
• Good computer skills with extensive experience in word processing, spreadsheets, and other software applications;
• Good knowledge of protocol, good judgment, and initiative;
• Good knowledge of corporate information systems.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
- FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing)
- Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted
- Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed
- For additional employment opportunities visit the FAO employment website
- Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.
FAO seeks gender, geographical, and linguistic diversity in its staff and international consultants to best serve FAO Members in all regions.
HOW TO APPLY
• To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, and complete and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, and language skills
• Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile
• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application
• Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work, character, education, military, and police records to ascertain any information that may be pertinent to the employment qualifications
• Incomplete applications will not be considered
• Personal information provided on your application may be shared within FAO and with other companies acting on FAO’s behalf to provide employment support services such as pre-screening of applications, assessment tests, background checks, and other related services. You will be asked to provide your consent before submitting your application. You may withdraw consent at any time, by withdrawing your application, in such case FAO will no longer be able to consider your application
• Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered
• Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile
• We encourage applicants to apply well before the deadline date.
If you need help or have queries, please create a one-time registration with FAO’s client support team for further assistance
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