National Digital Agriculture Specialist

Organizational Setting

The Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (REU) is responsible for leading FAO’s response to regional priorities for food security, agriculture and rural development through the identification, planning and implementation of FAO’s priority activities in the region. It ensures a multidisciplinary approach to programmes, identifies priority areas of action for the Organization in the Region and, in collaboration with departments and divisions at Headquarters, develops, promotes and oversees FAO's strategic response to regional priorities.

In response to the growing demand for seizing the opportunities brought by digital technologies, FAO REU established its specialized team for Digital Agriculture in 2020. With a mission to act as a catalyzer for the digital transformation of agriculture across Europe and Central Asia, the team provides critical capabilities to country offices, technical units, and Members, while leading the implementation of key corporate initiatives, such as the FAO Digital Villages (DVI) and the Hand-in-Hand (HiH) initiative.

Over the last couple of years, the team has been supporting several Members in designing and implementing national digital agricultures roadmaps, strategies and programmes, introducing key eGovernment solutions, as well as working at field level to increase access and uptake of ICTs by smallholder farmers. With the roll-out of the Digital Villages Initiative in the region, the team aims at accelerating a digitally enabled transformation of rural areas by capitalizing on the European experience with Smart Villages and FAO’s longstanding experiences and practical knowledge in rural development.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Assignments pursuant to this Call for Expression of Interest will be at the Organization’s country offices in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Only nationals of Tajikistan and applicants holding a valid work permit in the country will be considered for the position.

The incumbent will be hired for approximately up to 120 days until December 2023 and must reside in Dushanbe area. FAO might hire different profiles to fill this vacancy; hence, assignment’s duration might vary from 20 days to up to 120 days.

Reporting Lines

The National Digital Agriculture Specialist will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative of Tajikistan and the direct supervision of the REU Digital Agriculture Team Leader.

Technical Focus

Provision of analytical and technical support for the implementation of the following projects:

• TCP/TAJ/3810/C8 “Provision of Technical Assistance on E-agriculture to the Ministry of Agriculture”
• FMM ‘’Piloting Digital Villages in Central Asia’’ that employs a community-led approach to rural development and encourages a higher degree of digital solutions uptake in agriculture.

The incumbent(s) will contribute to the implementation of FAO’s Strategic Framework linked mainly to Digital Agriculture (BP5). Specifically, the Digital Agriculture team is looking for National Specialists with experience and working knowledge on various thematic areas related to:

• Digital agriculture strategy/roadmap
• Digital villages
• Support to implementation of digital agriculture solutions
• Rural development and community-led developmental approaches

Tasks and responsibilities

Under TCP/TAJ/3810/C8 “Provision of Technical Assistance on E-agriculture to the Ministry of Agriculture”

• Support conducting a series of key informant interviews (KIIs) with various stakeholders, including Government institutions, solution providers, farmers organizations, and other actors;
• Analyze the findings of the KIIs and the additional inputs that is received via responses to a questionnaire;
• Work with the team to elaborate strategic recommendations based on the findings and contribute to the writing and finalization of the “Roadmap for the digitalization of agriculture in Tajikistan”;
• Contribute to the design, organization and delivery of workshops in Dushanbe;
• Support with various translation tasks, including the translations and PowerPoint development in Tajik;
• Any other duty required.

Under FMM ‘’Piloting Digital Villages in Central Asia’’

• Support the overall implementation of the “Piloting Digital Villages in Central Asia” project of the TCP/RER by working closely with rural communities, the country office and the regional office
• Identify villages that have the potential to become digital villages through desktop research, interviews with community leaders or by publishing an open call for interest, and support assessment of their readiness levels
• Identify gaps and needs of the selected rural communities on the path of digital rural transformation
• Assist with the development of a DVI Roadmap for digital rural transformation of the selected village
• Develop a DVI project proposal for resource mobilization
• Facilitate twinning activities by establishing linkages and fostering cooperation on thematic areas related to digital agriculture between Tajikistan and other countries/smart villages
• Disseminate project results with the wider public via the organization of physical or virtual events
• Support dissemination activities via various documents and content creation
• Any other duty as required

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in economics, agricultural economics, business administration, computer science, international development, or a related field.
• At least 5 years of relevant experience in digital agriculture and/or rural development.
• Working knowledge of English (Proficient, Level C) and native Tajik. Proficiency in Russian is highly desirable.
• National or holder of a valid work permit of one of Tajikistan.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Extent and relevance of experience in elaborating digital strategies and advising on the use of digital technologies, preferable for agriculture and rural development.
• Extent and relevance of experience in projects with a focus on agriculture and/or rural development, ideally with a focus on digitalization.
• Demonstrated experience in dealing with government officials, development partners and other country stakeholders.
• Demonstrated capacity to write technical reports in English. Excellent communication skills.