Innovation Specialist (Community Development and FFS)

Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.

The Office of Innovation (OIN) is an important instrument within FAO to provide strategic direction and help drive and coordinate innovation across the work of the Organization, i.e., to consolidate and strengthen FAO's innovative spirit, including the innovation of approaches and cooperation models. OIN supports the Programme Priority Areas, ensuring that FAO mainstreams innovation in its programmes, facilitates cross-collaboration between the various FAO units, and aids in forging and reinforcing transformative partnerships.

The incumbent will work in the Office of Innovation, which has an overall responsibility for leadership in innovation in FAO programmes and projects and supporting innovatively the FAO’s Innovation Programme. The incumbent will work within the Futuring Farmer Field Schools Unit in providing support to FAO, FAO Members, extension workers, farmers, and other stakeholders.

Reporting Lines

Under the direct supervision of the Senior Coordinator in the Office of Innovation (OIN), and the day-to-day supervision of the Futuring Farmer Field Schools (FFS) Unit of OIN, the incumbent will support various tasks related to community development through FFS approach and the review of project documents and tools in order to ensure participatory methodology and FFS principles.

Technical Focus

Contribute to participatory community development approach and innovation projects, and support various aspects of community development focused on smallholder farmers, including livelihoods, farmer empowerment and sustainable agriculture. The incumbent will provide technical support on project design, project implementation and use of tools, in order to assure that participatory approach is correctly considered, and specific activities well designed and planned to make also vulnerable groups active participants to development processes, with focus on gender, youth and other dimensions of inclusiveness, e.g. digital and rural inclusion.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Assure that community needs assessment and analysis, capacity development and training, community engagement, and sustainable development practices are included into projects and match the FFS principles; • Assure that community needs assessment and analysis, capacity development and training, community engagement, and sustainable development practices adequately integrate gender, youth, agroecology, and nutrition aspects; • Backstop project and initiatives in order to assure that participatory community development is correctly taken into consideration and well managed, and revise technical documents and activity reports; • Support the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) process of community development initiatives, in particular in terms of design and inclusion of qualitative and quantitative indicators are in line with the monitoring, evaluation and learning framework of farmer field school (FFS) interventions develop by the FAO; • Support the formulation of interventions, integrating farmer field schools (FFS) and other community development initiatives, gender equality and agroecological transformation of agrifood systems; • Provide technical expertise to national projects and to the Global FFS Platform to address overall challenges related to community development, including to gender mainstreaming and digital inclusion, farmer needs, participatory capacity development, stakeholders engagement, digital agriculture and agroecological agroecosystem design and capacity development.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree, in agriculture (economics, agribusiness, digital agriculture, innovation systems), development studies, social sciences, innovation or related studies or any other relevant degree. • Working Experience: 3 years of relevant professional working experience in community development through participatory approaches. • Working knowledge of English (level C), and limited knowledge of French or Portuguese (Level B).

FAO Core 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 • Extent and relevance of experience in different countries • Extent and relevance of experience in community development processes • Understanding of the farmer field school approach