National Project Personnel - National Agriculture Specialist

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FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

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Application deadline 2 years ago: Tuesday 30 Nov 2021 at 22:59 UTC

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Organizational Setting:

Achieving food security for all is at the heart of FAO efforts – to make sure people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. The FAO-GEF partnership addresses critical challenges at the nexus between agriculture and the environment. FAO has a history of partnership with the Government of Mongolia (GoM), to eradicate poverty and malnutrition through the development of the agriculture sector. It has also been an active partner of the government in protecting the environment,promoting sustainable development and the disaster risk management strategies of the country.

The project “Promoting Dryland Sustainable Landscapes and Biodiversity Conservation in the Eastern Steppe of Mongolia” is part of a global program led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN-FAO), the Global Environment Facility 7th replenishment (GEF-7) Sustainable Forest Management Impact Program on Dryland Sustainable Landscapes (SFM/Drylands IP). In Mongolia, the project is led by FAO in partnership with World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and will be executed by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) in collaboration with the Ministry of Food agriculture and light industry (MoFALI) and other partners.

WWF works to sustain the natural world for the benefit of people and wildlife. Working with many others – from individuals and communities to business and government – WWF urgently seeks to protect and restore natural habitats, stop the mass extinction of wildlife, and make the way we produce and consume sustainable. As a part of WWF Network, WWF-Mongolia embraces the concept of being international and at the same time national. WWF-Mongolia focuses its efforts on critical conservation issues in 2 of the world’s outstanding places for biodiversity conservation, the Altai-Sayan Ecoregion in Western Mongolia and Amur-Heilong Ecoregion Complex in Eastern Mongolia.

Reporting Lines: Consultant will work under the direct supervision of National project manager (NPM) and technical guidance by FAO-Lead Technical Officer (LTO) and WWF concerned experts in close collaboration with the MOFALI and MET.

Technical Focus: The objective of the project is to reverse and prevent dryland ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss through an inclusive, integrated landscape and value chain approach securing multiple environment benefits and sustainable, resilient livelihoods in the Eastern Steppe of Mongolia.

Tasks and responsibilities: Specific duties will include:

• Conduct assessment of training and investment needs on sustainable, resilient, climate-smart, environment- and biodiversity-friendly crop and fodder production for small farmers and crop production companies; • Develop sustainable horticulture and crop management technical guidelines/handbook for training/advocacy on by ensuring integration of livelihood, gender and social issues as well as in consideration of in-tact, healthy ecosystem parameters (i.e. promoting soil and water conservation, reducing soil erosion in grain production) and biodiversity issues; • Conduct training for subsistence vegetable and fruit tree growers, farmers, private companies and local government officers and trainers on environment and biodiversity-friendly, sustainable and climate-smart horticulture/crop/fodder production techniques to promote sustainable production and reduce soil erosion; • Lead the practical application of improved/climate-smart technologies into horticulture and crop production system by providing agro-technological on-the-job advice and training, including specific address of soil erosion, promoting sustainable water use, and reducing the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides; • In cooperation with the local agriculture officers, coordinate to sub-contract agrochemical and soil erosion analysis of agricultural soil for selected plots; • Promote biodiversity-friendly alternatives to chemical pesticides used in the target areas; • Ensure coordination of horticulture and crop farming activities with local investments by government, private sector, as well as other initiatives, and promote environmental sustainability of local investments in crop production; • Lead establishment of mechanisms for conflict resolution between herders and crop farmers or biodiversity conservation and crop farmers, where relevant; • Support the vegetable growers’ cooperative formation, farmers on agricultural product marketing for sustainably produced crops, through innovative and user-friendly marketing platforms; • Provide agro-technological support to subsistence small farmers and households to improve productivity and environmental sustainability; • Provide agro-technological support to fruit tree growers and the local herders to grow fruit trees as an alternative income source, build windbreaks, restoration of riparian forest and connecting forest patches within local initiatives; • Organize cross-site visits at aimag, national levels to transfer knowledge and exchange lessons learned on sustainable agriculture and smart-agriculture; • Support provision of small tools and inputs to local beneficiaries and develop technical and safety instructions when handing over the any equipment and tool; • Ensure implementation of ESMF measures and Stakeholder and Gender Action Plan with regard to crop production; • Define process and methodology for regular monitoring for value chain related activities in horticulture and crop production, develop a systematic data collection spreadsheet and lead the documentation and monitoring for these outputs; • Develop lessons learned and policy recommendations on the activities conducted and provide inputs for project progress reports and a consultant’s final report at the end of the project. This will include assisting Knowledge management and M&E specialist to prepare a scale-up strategy and investment plan for after project completion including specific options for MOFALI, aimag authority’s follow-up and scale-up after the project; • Any other tasks relevant to the assigned tasks.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced degree in agronomy, soil, crop and/or horticulture etc. • A minimum of 5 years directly applicable experience working on agronomy science and management, hands-on experience in sustainable agriculture, horticulture , crop and fodder production. • Excellent command of language in English and Mongolian including ability to write clearly and concisely at technical level. • Nationality of Mongolia.

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Familiarity with relevant national laws and regulations and international policies and methods for sustainable and smart agriculture development. • Strong participatory and facilitation skills, in leading stakeholder consultations and participatory planning • Previous experience with similar donor-funded project(s) is an advantage. • Proven experience with statistical and data analysis; familiarity with both qualitative and quantitative information analysis tools. • Excellent capacity to manage project planning, implementation and evaluation, • Excellent inter-personal skills, including the ability to develop and maintain strong relationships at all levels, • Teamwork and strong soft skills including interpersonal, ethical, listening and communication skills, proactive, problem solving, self-organizing, planning, organizing, setting priorities and efficient use of time; • Computer literacy in MS Office; e-agriculture, IPM, GAP, agriculture traceability and Agrolly systems; • In-depth knowledge of programme and project implementation is considered a strong asset; • Experience in international programme and project implementing organization is an asset; • Willingness to travel regularly in the field;

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/
Added 2 years ago - Updated 2 years ago - Source: fao.org