Management Information Systems Specialist

Organizational Setting:

For more than four decades, FAO has been working with the Government of the Philippines, civil society, community-based organizations and the private sector to address challenges in the agriculture, fisheries and forestry sector. Joint efforts have included increasing sustainability in agricultural production, promoting value-adding practices, improving post-harvest management, enhancing productivity and increasing the resilience of agriculture-based livelihoods to natural disasters, climatic hazards and armed conflict.

Reporting Lines:

The Management Information Systems Specialist reports to the National Food Security and Nutrition Specialist.

Technical Focus:

In December 2019, the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the implementation of the Enhanced Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty (EPAHP) was formally signed by eleven (11) government agencies working together towards attaining the Sustainable Development Goal 2 on Zero Hunger. The EPAHP aims to increase productivity, ensure food security and nutrition as well as address hunger and poverty especially in the countryside.

One of the main goals of EPAHP is to contribute to the Government’s goal of reducing poverty incidence to below 14% by 2022. Hence, it aims to support community-based organizations (CBOs) and small-holder farmers through direct market linkages as well as access to programs and funding as they are considered as the poorest sector. The Philippine government also aims to reduce malnutrition to 21.4% by 2022 through the implementation of both nutrition sensitive and nutrition specific interventions as stated in the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition (PPAN) 2017-2022.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is the lead agency in the implementation of the EPAHP. The feeding program of DSWD which caters to poor malnourished school children in the country is one of the banner programs of the government that addresses hunger. However, the availability of food supply which is an integral part of ensuring continuous operation of the Feeding Centres, is sometimes compromised because of unsteady source of food to cater to the needs of feeding programs.

Primarily, the CBOs are targeted as source of food supply among the partner National Government Agencies (NGAs) and Local Government Units (LGUs) for their feeding programs. While there is already an existing Community Participation Procurement Manual (CPPM) which the DSWD uses as guide to target existing and possible sources of food supply for the feeding centres, there is no existing mapping system that would readily cater to the immediate needs of the centres.

A Digital Mapping System (DMS) of CBOs is essential to monitor and ensure resilient and continuous source of food supply and relevant services to the EPAHP Convergence Program. Likewise, this proposed initiative will also serve as a model to strengthen the capacities of CBOs and become front liners for supply of food in times of crisis such as during disasters as well the current situation of COVID-19 pandemic.

Tasks and responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the National Food Security and Nutrition Specialist Working in close coordination with the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Specialist and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Management Information Systems Specialist will carry out the following tasks:

1. Review existing management information system (MIS) of Community Based Organizations (CBOs) of government agencies participating in EPAHP such as the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Agriculture (DA) and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) among others, and provide recommendations on how these will complement the DMS;
2. Develop a framework of the DMS showing the interface of relevant information and existing online market platforms (such as the e-Kadiwa, etc) in consultation with EPAHP member agencies, including the Manual of Operations, Data Dictionary, M&E guidelines, for reference of the end-users;
3. Develop the DMS with complete systems documentation based on the consultations conducted;
4. Conduct the pilot testing of the DMS in Local Government Units (LGUs)
5. Lead in the conduct of trainings of target users of the DMS as well as on other technical support such as System Utilization and System Management and Administration among others;
6. Coordinate with relevant government agencies for Non-Disclosure Agreement and compliance with ICT Security Requirements (i.e. Captcha, Encryption, Audit trail, CSRF and other related security features) as necessary;
7. Ensure compliance to Republic Act No. 10173 ( Data Privacy Act of 2012), Warranty and Efficient Service support of the DMS to be developed;
8. Ensure completion of System Documentation which includes the following: System Design (Wireframe, use case), Technical System Documentation, Installation Guide and system administration manual, Troubleshooting Guide, User Guide/Manual
9. Work closely with the National Specialist on Monitoring and Evaluation and the EPHAP NPMO Team to ensure that M&E requirements are incorporated in the design and framework of the DMS;
10. Support the preparation of project reports, relevant briefers, highlights of meeting; and other project-related documents;
11. Coordinate and liaise with government counterparts, and other implementing partners;
12. Carry out any other relevant duties within his/her technical competence as may be requested by FAO, and;
13. Submit a final report and documentation of the project activities and outputs conducted;

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced University Degree in Computer Science, Agricultural Engineering, Information Technology or other related fields.
• At least 10 years professional experience on project management and information systems development related to agriculture, food security or nutrition
• A National of the Philippines.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• General knowledge on Data Privacy Act

• General knowledge and skills in the use of standard office software, such as MS Office (Word, Excel, Power Point).

• Language requirement: Excellent written and oral communication skills in English
• Proficient in databases (e.g. SQL, MySQL, etc. ) and programming languages (e.g Python, Java, PHP, etc.)
• In line with FAO policy, commitment to placing accountability to people affected by disaster framework at the core of FAO’s emergency policy and practice, from preparedness up to the onset of an emergency in all phases of the programme cycle

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/