National Value Chain Governance (VCG) Consultant

Organizational Setting:

For more than four decades, FAO has been working with the Government of the Philippines, civil society, community-based organizations and the private sector to address challenges in the agriculture, fisheries and forestry sector. Joint efforts have included increasing sustainability in agricultural production, promoting value-adding practices, improving post-harvest management, enhancing productivity and increasing the resilience of agriculture-based livelihoods to natural disasters, climatic hazards and armed conflict.

Reporting Lines:

The National Value Chain Governance (VCG) Consultant will be Under the overall guidance of the FAO Representative in the Philippines ad interim, direct supervision of the Assistant FAO Representative (Programme), day to day guidance of the Socio Economic, Disaster Risk Reduction-Climate Change Adaptation, and Environment and Natural Resources Team Leader, the technical oversight of the Regional Office Lead Technical Officer and technical supervision of the International GI Consultant.

Technical Focus:

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO-UN), working with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and partner government agencies, is implementing a project on ‘Enhancing Results-based Monitoring and Evaluation through Innovative ICT Solutions: Linking Upland Farmers to Market and Improving Municipal Waters Governance.’ (GCP/PHI/068/IFA). The project aims to develop and demonstrate replicable ICT models for (i) project services, and (ii) participatory, quantitative and qualitative assessment of market transactions, natural resources and project interventions and outcomes.

Tasks and responsibilities

The National Value Chain Governance (VCG) Consultant will contribute to the identification, development and capacity building of pilot GI products’ value chain and associations supported by FAO and will carry out the following main tasks:

1. Support the International GI Consultant in the planning, coordination and implementation of the foreseen technical and or awareness raising interventions on GI in the Philippines;
2. Support the development of the national inventory of GI potential products and the collection of local inputs for the selection of the two pilot GI value chains to be prioritized and developed under the project;
3. Support the identification process of up to two pilot GI products and organize a workshop to share the results with public authorities and stakeholders;
4. Participate and contribute in training/outreach meetings as requested and convene regular meetings/consultations with key stake-holders (such as producers, government institutions, wholesale and retail markets, and development partners) at central and local levels to understand the background and current situation of the two pilot GI value chains, as well as to perform value chain assessments (including analysis of strengths and weaknesses and mapping along the value chains and their institutional environment), and contribute to the building of the two pilot GI value-chains stake-holders group/association and their capacity building;
5. Contribute to drafting the roadmaps for the two pilot GI value chains to be validated by counterparts and other stakeholders;
6. Contribute to the collection of relevant technical data, in liaison with GI stake-holders and authorities, for the preparation of GI product specifications;
7. Support the creation and capacity-building of producer associations for the identified pilot GI products;
8. Support the preparation of GI product specifications;
9. Support the delivery of capacity building on GI internal control, and certification and external controls to the members of the two associations
10. Support the development of an action plan for product quality improvement, commercialization, sustainable agriculture practices, packaging, labelling / branding and promotion;
11. Coordinate with the International GI Consultant, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Contractor in the development of the ICT-based Monitoring and Evaluation Tool for GI;
12. Coordinate with the International GI Consultant, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Contractor in the development of an online directory for GI products and producers; and

13. Participate and contribute in training/outreach meetings on the field as requested and carry out other relevant duties within his/her technical competence as requested by the FAO Representative.

    CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree (advanced degree preferred) in the field of food/agricultural economics, value-chain/supply chain development, agricultural marketing/agri-business management or related disciplines;
• At least five (5) years of professional experience in national and local institutional development and food/agriculture value chains governance and development, and preferably trade/marketing and intellectual property rights;
• A National of the Philippines (resident of Davao Region preferred)

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Language requirement: Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and Tagalog.
• Good leadership and quantitative skills
• General knowledge and skills in the use of standard office software, such as MS Office (Word, Excel, Power Point).