National Agriculture Early Warning Systems Coordinator

Organizational Setting

The main aim of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) country offices, which are headed by a FAO Representative, is to assist governments to develop policies, programs and projects to achieve food security and to reduce hunger and malnutrition, to develop the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors, and to use their environmental and natural resources in a sustainable manner. The FAO Representation Office in Ethiopia provides technical assistance to the Government of Ethiopia on agriculture, livestock, fishery, forestry, and crosscutting sectors such as nutrition, social protection, resilience, gender, strengthening the evidence base, among others.

The mission of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is to work to eradicate hunger and promote global food security together with balanced and complete nutrition. Our mandate is to raise levels of nutrition, improve agricultural productivity, better the lives of rural populations and contribute to the growth of the world economy.

Our three main goals are: the eradication of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition; the elimination of poverty and the driving forward of economic and social progress for all; and, the sustainable management and utilization of natural resources, including land, water, air, climate and genetic resources for the benefit of present and future generations.

FAO Ethiopia was awarded the “Support to effective food security, nutrition and resilience programming in Ethiopia” by the European Union (EU) with an overarching objective of ensuring implementation of humanitarian food and resilience building livelihood interventions will have been enhanced. Among other activities, the project intends to support the Ministry of Agriculture to develop and implement crop and livestock early warning systems. The project also plans to support the policy environment to address food insecurity and vulnerability. In this regard, new early warning system and monitoring tools such as Livestock and Crop conditions monitoring including Pictorial Evaluation Tools, Agriculture Stress Index, feed inventory, and Predictive Livestock Early Warning Systems (PLEWS) will be integrated into the National Early Warning System.

Reporting Lines

The National Agriculture Early Warning Systems Coordinator will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative (FAOR) in Ethiopia and, specifically, under the technical and direct supervision of the Technical Adviser for Food Security.

Technical Focus

The focus of the assignment is the implementation of agriculture sector early warning systems related to crops and livestock sectors. Crop livestock early warning systems include Agriculture Stress Index Systems (ASIS) while Livestock Early Warning Systems includes Pictorial Evaluation Tools (PET) and Predictive Livestock Early Warning Systems (PLEWS). In addition to this, the post holder will also lead analysis of remote sensing products and markets monitoring activities.

Tasks and responsibilities

The incumbent will perform the following tasks: • Lead the establishment, implementation and coordination on Crop and Livestock early warning systems; • Oversee the implementation of Pictorial Evaluation Tools (PET) and Predictive Livestock Early Warning Systems (PLEWS); • Coordinate the support for MOA on implementation of agriculture stress index system; • In coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) experts, develop and deliver a capacity building program to ensure successful implementation of ASIS, PET and PLEWS in Ethiopia; • Coordinate the data collection, analysis and production of monthly crop and livestock situation reports; • Ensure regional FAO coordination offices, United Nations (UN) Agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and other partners are appropriately involved by relevant team members to ensure effective collaboration and coordination mechanisms for crop and livestock early warning systems; • Represent FAO in early warning technical coordination meetings with MOA, EDRMC and UN agencies; • Coordinate FAO support for planned and ad hoc national food security assessments; • Perform other related duties as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• The candidate must be a national of Ethiopia. • Master’s degree in Agriculture Sciences; Livestock production; Veterinary Sciences; Rural Development and Food Security, Agricultural Economics, Agrometeorology or related fields. • Minimum seven years of relevant experience in food security assessments, analysis and dissemination of early warning systems, coordination of partners, project management and working with crop and livestock technical teams. • Working knowledge of English and good knowledge of the local language(s) used at the duty station is required.

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 food security, livelihoods, humanitarian response; • Familiarity with Ethiopian government’s early warning systems and how they are coordinated among different stakeholders.

Selection Criteria

• Extent and depth of knowledge and experience working on area-level or national crop or livestock early warning systems; • In-depth knowledge and demonstrated expertise in food security and early warning information systems, and early warning systems policy environment in Ethiopia; • Demonstrated ability in design and implement integrated early warning systems; • Demonstrated capacity to support/facilitate trainings and conduct analysis; • Strong communication, writing and presentation skills in English.

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.