National Project Personnel – Gender

Organizational Setting

The main aim of the FAO country offices, which are headed by a FAO Representative, is to assist governments to develop policies, programmes and projects to achieve food security and to reduce hunger and malnutrition, to help develop the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors and to use their environmental and natural resources in a sustainable manner.

GRASP (Growth for Rural Advancement and Sustainable Progress, Pakistan) is funded by the European Union and implemented by the International Trade Centre (ITC). GRASP aims to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable, inclusive economic growth in Pakistan by strengthening small-scale agribusinesses in Balochistan. To achieve this goal, the programme will support Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME’s) and agribusinesses in the horticulture and livestock sectors to become more competitive by making improvements at all levels of the value chain, including the enabling business and policy environment. GRASP aims to particularly enhance the engagement of rural women in agricultural production and value addition activities and enable to them to tap into economic opportunities in the selected value chains.

The position is at SB4 SC8 level

Reporting Lines

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Pakistan and in close coordination with Assistant FAOR, Programme, the Gender Specialist will directly be supervised by the Senior Project Officer, Balochistan and the Chief Technical Advisor GRASP. Technical guidance will be provided by the relevant units in FAO Headquarters and FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP).

Technical Focus

• Gender Specialist will work collaboratively with FAO gender experts from other FAO projects to ensure best practices are adopted throughout the provincial program.
• Engage with staff/ partners/ beneficiaries/government officials on gender mainstreaming and its practical agricultural/horticultural value chain development applications.
• Assist in the development of proposals, work plans, field-related working papers and documents, and support donor reporting.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Manage and lead the Women Economic Empowerment team consisting of FAO and GoB staff stationed in the Districts and in Quetta.
• Lead the team and organize the activities that are to be conducted in collaboration with District teams and female supply chain stakeholders (beneficiaries).
• Develop guidelines for gender specific programming; take lead in directing gender-specific field level initiatives
• Identification of market oriented, commercial value chains for women, in close cooperation with Government of Balochistan line Departments and private stakeholders, in particular with input suppliers traders, buyers and end users of horticultural and livestock products.
• Identification of market opportunities and impediments for supply chain development and to develop strategies to solve bottleneck and to capture opportunities together with stakeholders.
• Training and capacity development of project staff, government officials, and public institutions on gender issues and their practical application to achieve objectives related to enhanced agricultural and horticultural productivity, quality compliance, diversified markets, and food security.
• Ensure and contribute to developing gender-sensitive training material, manuals and IEC material
• Development of agribusiness opportunities and business cases customized to the specific circumstances of Balochistan and facilitate farmers, traders and other supply chain actors to successfully market their products
• Screen and analyse ongoing and completed agribusiness and value chains pilot projects for opportunities for up scaling, extension and dissemination.
• Collecting, organizing and analysing market intelligence, information about markets and market partners and develop sustainable value chains and agribusiness opportunities.
• Liaison with international and national consultants, Federal and Provincial Government Departments and relevant institutes and organizations, including other Government or donor supported programmes in Pakistan.
• Identification of economic opportunities for women such as female operated value chains and agribusinesses.
• Successful female business cases and value chain pilots reported and disseminated to other Districts
• Perform any other relevant duties as requested by the FAO Representative in Pakistan.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advance university degree in agribusiness, agronomy, horticulture, rural development, sociology, gender studies, marketing or equivalent level and background.
• 08 years’ experience as gender advisor within agricultural sector, especially marketing aspects, with the private sector;
• Previous management experience;
• Working knowledge (Level C) of English. Good knowledge of Urdu and Balochi and/or Pashtu;
• National of Pakistan.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Demonstrated ability in directing women’s economic empowerment through agricultural enterprises / business development, and experience in training of women groups in rural areas;
• Remain open to change and ability to manage complexity;
• Ability to work and act under pressure and with discretion in multicultural environment;
• Ability to deal with stakeholders from a broad range of backgrounds;
• Demonstrate capacity to plan, prioritize and deliver tasks on time to meet goals in a high-pressure environment;
• Maturity and confidence in dealing with high-ranking official of government institutions, international institutions and non- government institutions;
• Familiar with FAO procedures, possess strong supervisory, communication, team building and computing skills (word processing, spreadsheets and data-bases).

Selection Criteria

Candidates will be assessed against the requirements listed above. Preference should be given to local candidates.

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
• Only language proficiency certificates from UN accredited external providers and/or FAO language official examinations (LPE, ILE, LRT) will be accepted as proof of the level of knowledge of languages indicated in the online applications
• For additional employment opportunities visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/