National Professional Officer (Fishery and Aquaculture Value Chains) at The Food and Agriculture Organization Of The United Nations (FAO-UN)

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO-UN) - An intergovernmental organization, FAO has 194 Member Nations, two associate members and one member organization, the European Union. Its employees come from various cultural backgrounds and are experts in the multiple fields of activity FAO engages in. FAO’s staff capacity allows it to support improved governance inter alia, generate, develop and adapt existing tools and guidelines and provide targeted governance support as a resource to country and regional level FAO offices. Headquartered in Rome, Italy, FAO is present in over 130 countries.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: National Professional Officer (Fishery and Aquaculture Value Chains) Post Number: 2007716 Location: Abuja, Nigeria CCOG Code: 1H05 Grade Level: N-3 Job Type: Staff position Organizational Unit: FRNIR Type of Requisition: NPO (National Professional Officer) Duration: Fixed-term: one year with possibility of extension

Organizational Setting

• The main aim of FAO country offices, which are headed by FAO Representatives, is to assist governments in developing policies, programmes and projects that achieve food security and reduce hunger and malnutrition; develop agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors; and ensure the utilization of environmental and natural resources in a sustainable manner.

Reporting Lines

• The National Professional Officer reports to the FAO Representative (FAOR) in Nigeria under the technical supervision of the Chief Technical Adviser (CTA) for the 'Sustainable Development of Fisheries and Aquaculture Value Chains in ACP Countries' project (FISH4ACP).

Technical Focus:

• Programme development, technical support, coordination and operational assistance, outreach and reporting to partners based on the knowledge of the local conditions, culture, language and institutions of the country of assignment.

Key Results

• Research, technical analysis, and project related services to support the delivery of programme projects, products, and services.

Key Functions

• Provides technical support/analysis to various assessments, studies and initiatives and provides technical backstopping to field projects;
• Collaborates in the development of improved/updated tools, systems, processes, and databases;
• Participates in multidisciplinary teams, and/or leads working groups/teams collaborates with other departments and agencies on work groups and committees and promotes best practices;
• Collaborates in, provides technical backstopping to and ensures the quality/effectiveness of capacity development activities within member countries such as policy support, organizational development and individual learning events including preparation of related information, learning materials, online tools;
• Promotes knowledge sharing and best practices at international meetings and conferences and influences partners in stakeholder consultations;
• Researches and analyses technical, social, economic, environmental, institutional, and technology related information, data and statistics and/or related policy issues to support the delivery of programme projects, products and services;
• Produces a variety of technical information, data, statistics and reports as well as input for technical documents and web pages;
• Supports resource mobilization activities in accordance with the FAO Corporate strategy.

Specific Functions

• Coordinates the knowledge sharing emerging from the value chain to ensure information is widely disseminated within the FISH4ACP project and externally;
• Oversees development and implementation of the FISH4ACP communication strategy at country level;
• Supports and monitors the value chain analysis (VCA) in the first year and the value chain development activities in years two through five of the project, facilitating linkages between stakeholders, including the formation of the VCA teams and value chain task forces, and the organization of value chain stakeholder workshops;
• Contributes to the data collection and analysis, as well as report-writing (as applicable), with a main focus on the strategy and implementation sections;
• Leads the regular monitoring and evaluation (M-E) of the programme, at country level, throughout the project duration, including the selection of value chain-specific indicators, as well as the regular reporting of progress to the CTA;
• Acts as the Secretary to the FISH4ACP Value Chain Task Force (VC-TF) and organizes meetings and plans agendas;
• Prepares reports every six months for submission to the Project Management Unit (PMU), which will include information on results achieved, constraints and possible solutions, impact evaluation, as well as administrative and financial updates;
• Prepares and executes the FISH4ACP annual country level work plan and budget and oversees the preparation of the country level value chain work plan and budget;
• Develops and maintains partnerships with country and regional stakeholders who can contribute to achieving FISH4ACP value chain objectives;
• Collaborates closely with consultants (national and international) responsible for value chain project tasks and ensures  the implementation of a sustainable systems-based value chain approach;
• Coordinates, collates and analyses quarterly value chain progress reports from the value chain task forces to gauge the impact of FISH4ACP interventions;
• Performs other duties as required.

Minimum Requirements Candidates will be assessed against the following:

• National of Nigeria;
• Advanced university degree in Development Economics, Fisheries Economics or Marine Affairs with a specialization in fisheries, aquaculture or natural resource management and/or governance environmental policy or other field related to fisheries;
• Five years of relevant experience in fisheries and aquaculture development, trade, fishery products safety and quality, value chain development, field of statistics and data management of fisheries, or related field;
• Working knowledge of English and limited knowledge of French;
• Working knowledge of the local language (if not English or French, Spanish).

Competencies:

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

Technical / Functional Skills:

• Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions is desirable;
• Extent and relevance of experience in practical sustainable value chain development, technical cooperation-related activities, policy advice and analysis relating to food and nutrition security, fisheries and aquaculture, agriculture and rural development, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes and/or providing technical support and advice on institutional capacity building processes;
• Extent and relevance of experience in establishing and maintaining partnerships with UN agencies, NGOs as well as donors, private sector, universities, research institutions and government institutions and agencies;
• Depth of familiarity with fisheries and aquaculture sector in developing countries, and extent and relevance of experience in programme/project management, value chain analysis, sustainable fisheries and aquaculture management;
• Extent and relevance of experience in project coordination and an understanding of the purpose and functions of technical programmes, operational guidelines and programme / project management procedures, preferably those adopted by the United Nations or FAO would be considered an asset;
• Extent and relevance of experience in editing and publishing communication products related to fisheries and/or value chain activities;
• Working knowledge of both English and French is considered a strong asset.

Conditions of Service

• A competitive compensation and benefits package is offered. For information on UN salaries, allowances and benefits, click on the following link: https://icsc.un.org/Resources/SAD/Booklets/sabeng.pdf (PDF)
• FAO encourages a positive workplace culture to increase inclusivity and diversity within its workforce. FAO applies measures in which all staff members contribute equally and in full to the work and development of the Organization. This includes:
  • Elements of family-friendly policies
  • Flexible working arrangements
  • Standards of conduct

General Information

• FAO reserves the right not to make an appointment, to make an appointment at a lower grade, or to make an appointment with a modified job description.
• Staff members in this category are recruited locally and paid according to a local salary scale. Salary scales are reviewed periodically on the basis of comprehensive surveys of the best prevailing conditions of employment in the locality.

 

How to Apply Interested and qualified candidates should: Click here to apply Application Deadline 24th February, 2020; (Time - 10:59:00 PM) Application Procedures and Important Notice

• Your application will be screened based on the information provided on your online profile;
• Please note that FAO will only consider academic credentials or degrees obtained from an educational institution recognized in the IAU / UNESCO list;
• 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 and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications;
• Incomplete applications will not be considered;
• Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered;
• To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, 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;
• We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.