National Digital Villages 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.

Reporting Lines

The National Digital Villages Specialist shall work under the overall supervision of the Assistant FAOR for Georgia and the direct supervision of the Digital Agriculture Team Leader, in collaboration with the National Project Coordinator.

Technical Focus

Provision of analytical and technical support for the implementation of the TCP RER project “Digital Villages in Action’’ that employs a community-led and digitally enabled approach to rural development. The incumbent(s) will contribute to the implementation of FAO’s Strategic Framework linked mainly to Digital Agriculture (BP5).

Tasks and responsibilities

The National Digital Villages Specialist has the following tasks and responsibilities:

• Support the overall implementation of the “Digital Villages in Action” project 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 • Work closely with community leaders for the development of a DVI Roadmap for digital rural transformation of the selected village • Support implementation of selected digital intervention(s) • Facilitate twinning activities by establishing linkages and fostering cooperation on thematic areas related to digital agriculture between the villages/country and other selected villages/institutions and countries • Disseminate project results with the wider public via the organization of physical or virtual events • Support dissemination activities via various documents and content creation • Develop a DVI project proposal for resource mobilization • 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 experience in agriculture and/or digitalization and/or rural development. • Working knowledge of English (Level C) and Georgian languages • National or resident of Georgia with work permit

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, particularly in field positions is desirable. • Extent and relevance of experience in the project management of digitalization projects, preferably with a focus on agriculture and rural development. • Extent and relevance of experience in the implementation of projects for rural development. • Demonstrated experience in dealing with and working closely with rural communities. • Demonstrated capacity to write technical reports in English. Excellent communication skills.

Selection Criteria

• Extent and diversity of experience related to the above requirements.