National Lead Livestock Specialist
Provide technical leadership for livestock-related interventions in Sudan.
Overview
Provide technical leadership for livestock-related interventions in Sudan.
You have:
- Advanced university degree in Veterinary Medicine, Animal Science, Livestock Production, Animal Health, Agriculture, Natural Resource Management or a related field.
- Minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in livestock production, animal health, veterinary services, livestock development, pastoral/agro-pastoral systems or related areas.
- Working knowledge (level C) of English and Arabic.
- National of Sudan.
Organizational Setting
FAO Sudan assists the Government to formulate policies, programmes and projects to address the root causes of hunger and malnutrition, develop the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors, and utilize environmental and natural resources in a sustainable way.
Livestock and pastoral/agro-pastoral production systems are central to Sudan’s rural economy, providing food, nutrition and income to millions of households. However, conflict, restricted mobility, climate variability, degradation of water and rangeland resources, and limited access to animal health services have adversely affected livestock productivity and the resilience of pastoral and agro-pastoral communities.
FAO Sudan is implementing interventions aimed at strengthening livelihoods, livestock production systems, land governance and natural resource management. The National Livestock Specialist will provide technical leadership and support to ensure the quality, coherence and effective implementation of livestock-related activities across relevant projects, with particular attention to animal health, disease surveillance, fodder and feeding systems, livestock value chains, producer organizations and community-based livestock service.
Reporting Lines
The National Livestock Specialist will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Sudan and in close coordination with the Assistant FAOR (Programme) and relevant Project Coordinators. The incumbent will work closely with FAO technical specialists, Monitoring and Evaluation staff, implementing partners, relevant federal and state authorities, veterinary services, producer organizations and other stakeholders.
Technical Focus
Technical leadership and coordination of livestock-related interventions, including livestock production and health, disease surveillance, community-based animal health services, fodder and feeding systems, rangeland management, livestock value chains and resilience of pastoral and agro-pastoral communities. The incumbent will also provide technical guidance to implementing partners, contribute to monitoring and evidence generation, and ensure that livestock interventions comply with FAO technical standards, safeguards and relevant donor requirements.
Tasks and responsibilities
• Provide technical leadership and guidance in the design, planning and implementation of livestock-related interventions, including livestock restocking, animal health campaigns, vaccination, disease surveillance, fodder production, pasture rehabilitation and livestock water infrastructure. • Support needs assessments, vulnerability and beneficiary targeting, feed balance and gap assessments, livestock value chain analyses and other technical assessments required for programme design and implementation. • Provide technical quality assurance during beneficiary selection, distribution of livestock and related inputs, vaccination and treatment campaigns, fodder establishment and other field activities. • Provide technical oversight and support to implementing partners and monitor the quality and timely delivery of livestock-related activities and Letter of Agreement (LoA) deliverables in accordance with FAO standards. • Coordinate with relevant federal and state veterinary authorities, State Ministries, private service providers, Community Animal Health Workers (CAHWs) and communities on vaccination, deworming, treatment campaigns, disease surveillance and cold-chain management. • Support the strengthening of early warning, disease reporting and community-based animal health systems and contribute to contingency planning and livelihood protection measures in crisis-affected areas. • Promote livestock interventions that are resilient, conflict-sensitive, gender- and youth-responsive and adapted to climate variability and changing environmental conditions. • Develop and facilitate technical capacity-building activities for implementing partners, veterinarians, CAHWs, extension workers, producer associations and women and youth livestock groups, including training on animal husbandry, animal health, nutrition, fodder management and rangeland management. • Contribute to strengthening livestock value chains and producer organizations, with particular attention to improving access to services, markets, inputs and livelihood opportunities. • Coordinate with land governance, natural resource management and other relevant technical specialists to address land–livestock conflicts, pasture use and sustainable natural resource management. • Develop and apply appropriate technical indicators, beneficiary registers and monitoring tools for livestock-related outputs and provide technical inputs to project monitoring and evaluation frameworks. • Prepare technical inputs for project progress reports, donor reports and missions, Results-Oriented Monitoring (ROM), lessons learned, visibility materials and other programme documentation. • Ensure that livestock interventions incorporate appropriate safeguards, accountability to affected populations (AAP), prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA), environmental and climate-related considerations, and risk mitigation measures. • Contribute to operational research, after-action reviews and analysis of the effectiveness, cost-efficiency and value for money of different livestock intervention modalities. • Represent and support FAO in technical meetings, coordination mechanisms, working groups and discussions with government authorities, UN agencies, clusters, donors, partners and other relevant stakeholders on livestock-related matters. • Prepare technical case studies, success stories, lessons learned, policy briefs and other knowledge products to document and communicate results and good practices. • Perform any other related duties as required.
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements
• Advanced university degree in Veterinary Medicine, Animal Science, Livestock Production, Animal Health, Agriculture, Natural Resource Management or a related field. • Minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in livestock production, animal health, veterinary services, livestock development, pastoral/agro-pastoral systems or related areas. • Working knowledge (level C) of English and Arabic. • National of Sudan.
FAO Core Competencies
• Results Focus • Teamwork • Communication • Building Effective Relationships • Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
Technical/Functional Skills
• Extensive and relevant experience in livestock development, animal health, veterinary services and pastoral/agro-pastoral production systems. • Experience in the design, implementation and technical monitoring of livestock, livelihood, resilience or emergency interventions. • Experience in animal disease surveillance, vaccination campaigns and community-based animal health services. • Experience working with government institutions, implementing partners, UN agencies, NGOs and other stakeholders in livestock or related programmes. • Knowledge of livestock production systems, fodder/feed management, rangeland management and livestock value chains. • Experience in field assessments, monitoring and technical reporting, including the use of relevant indicators and monitoring tools. • Experience working in conflict-affected, climate-vulnerable or humanitarian contexts is an asset. • Knowledge of the Sudanese livestock sector and pastoral/agro-pastoral context is highly desirable.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
- FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing)
- 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.
Potential interview questions
| Describe your experience in livestock development and how it relates to the role. | The interviewer wants to understand your background and direct relevance to the position. | Discuss specific projects and the outcomes you achieved. |
| How do you ensure that livestock interventions are gender- and youth-responsive? | This question seeks to assess your approach to inclusivity in interventions. | Pro members can see the explanation. |
| Can you explain a time you managed a conflict in the livestock sector? | Pro members can see the explanation. | Pro members can see the explanation. |
| What methods have you used for monitoring and evaluation of livestock projects? | Pro members can see the explanation. | Pro members can see the explanation. |
| How do you promote collaboration among stakeholders in livestock projects? | Pro members can see the explanation. | Pro members can see the explanation. |
| Describe your experience with animal disease surveillance. | Pro members can see the explanation. | Pro members can see the explanation. |
| How do you balance livestock interventions with environmental sustainability? | Pro members can see the explanation. | Pro members can see the explanation. |
| What key challenges have you encountered in livestock-related interventions? | Pro members can see the explanation. | Pro members can see the explanation. |