Agribusiness and Program Development Specialist

Organizational Setting

FAO country offices are responsible for leading FAO’s response to governments’ priorities in developing agrifood

system policies, programmes, and projects - to achieve food security and nutrition and reduce hunger and malnutrition, promote sustainable use of natural resources, reduce rural poverty, strengthen livelihood resilience and inclusive business and income generation models – in line with the Organization’s Strategic Objectives and to accelerate progress for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

As part of FAO country office effort to support the Government of Egypt in enhanced climate resilience and efficiency of natural resource for all/rural people in a sustainable environment, FAO has been working towards improving management of land, water, fertilizer, pesticide and other agriculture inputs for efficient, more sustainable, healthy, income-generating agriculture production. Within this context, FAO is implementing projects in Egypt to support smallholder farmers in better managing their natural resources through various interventions, including the utilization of modern irrigation techniques, land use consolidation, agriculture waste transformation into valuable secondary products and improving agriculture value chains to become more competitive and inclusive.

The position is located in the FAO-EG Office in Cairo.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall supervision of FAO Representative in Egypt, the direct supervision of the project Manager, with the guidance of the project Chief Technical Advisor (CTA), the technical senior land and water officer (FAO-RNE), and in close collaboration with the FAO country and regional offices and project personnel, as well as Government counterparts and all stakeholders, the incumbent will carry out the following tasks.

Technical Focus

The main purpose of the assignment is to build capacities of persons with entrepreneurial mind-sets in rural communities, to establish efficient, sustainable, and commercially viable agrifood Enterprise Models that can be adopted/followed by others. Moreover, this role will be expected to develop national capacities on related subjects like setting up an MSME, business management, access to finance, improving quality standards etc. to allow for an enabling environment for business development Also as gender aspects are significant in MSME development and FAO related policies, the incumbent is expected to work closely and to coordinate with the FAO Gender department at the Country/regional and HQ levels.

Tasks and responsibilities

Program Development:

• Supports monitoring and reviewing the status of program and project implementation in FAO Egypt

• Assist in FAO Egypt’s resource mobilization efforts, including contributing to the development of concept notes with potential partners.

• Other duties as needed.

Technical support:

• Carry out data and information collection and analysis.

• Coordinate the planning and implementation of data collection activities on opportunities for MSMEs establishment, new legislations including preparing data collection tools and methodology.

• Conduct data cleaning, analysis, validation, and visualization and develop structure for synthesis and reporting the information gathered in the field.

• Collect, collate and review relevant documentation (ex. new legislations, initiatives, etc.) on the field of MSMEs financing/ creation/renewal/expansion, etc.

• Identify successful examples of small enterprises in the region and document the findings.

• Analyse and evaluate the experience, success factor and design a road map for the project activities that incorporate the findings.

• Identify policies, strategies and methods that can be utilized/adapted within the assigned project context and propose general recommendations and directions for MSME development.

• Design a methodology and conduct a realistic assessment of the current situation of SME sector in the target locations.

• Identify potential MSMEs types to be established through the project interventions on improving the competitiveness of selected priority value chains.

• Identify the required enabling environment, resources, finance, capacity required for establishment of the SMEs and support operationalization per target group.

Capacity building:

• Conduct feasibility studies and provide advice on economic viability for new entrepreneurs when requested.

• Develop programmes on how to support SME development through business support services, business incubators, and other innovative approaches.

• Support entrepreneurs in the design and implementation of tailored growth plans/strategies for their enterprises.

• Review business proposals prepared by future entrepreneurs and ensure their soundness.

• Support future entrepreneurs in identifying digital solutions to improve the MSME service quality.

• Build capacity of staff at the Entrepreneurs Support Division on various elements of a successful SME strategies development and monitoring and evaluation.

• Design and conduct training workshop sessions as required.

• Other duties as needed

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• An advanced university degree in agriculture, agriculture economy, agribusiness, or a related field.

• At least 7 years of experience in designing and implementing MSMEs establishment related activities.

• Working knowledge (Level C) of English.

• This position is only open to Egyptian nationals.

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus

• Teamwork

• Communication

• Building Effective Relationships

• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

• Relevance and extent of experience in working with inter-governemental bodies and multi-disciplinary teams.

• Excellent organizational skills;

• Good analytical skills with strong orientation to details;

• Experience in report writing and data analysis;

• Demonstrated communication skills, including the ability to convey and present sensitive issues/positions;

• Excellent analysis and report writing skills including the ability to develop presentations and deliver them to national level stakeholders.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing)
• Incomplete applications will not be considered. If you need help please contact: [email protected]
• 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 at http://www.whed.net/
• For additional employment opportunities visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/
• Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.