Natural Resources Management Specialist

Organizational Settings

The Land and Water Division (NSL) aims at enhancing the agricultural productivity and nutrition by advancing the sustainable use of land and water resources through their improved governance, management, development and conservation. It addresses the challenges member countries face in ensuring productive and efficient use of land and water resources in order to meet present and future demands for agricultural products, while ensuring the long-term sustainability of the land and water quantity and quality.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall supervision of the Deputy Director of the Land and Water Division (NSL) and the Senior Officer (NSL), and the direct supervision of the Project Manager of the nutrition-sensitive agricultural water management project, and in coordination and partnership with the FAO representation in Benin, the consultant will perform the following tasks:

Tasks and Responsibilities:

To achieve the objectives, the expert will carry out the following tasks:

• Support the activities of the project and liaise at technical level with government counterparts (e.g. Ministry of Agriculture), IFAD country office and the local project implementation partner for the efficient implementation of the project and identification of scope of the project to be harmonized across project countries. • Assist in the preparation of the targeting strategy of the project and the selection of the target areas and project beneficiaries. • Support the technical assessment of the main crop varieties produced and traded by local farmers, main agro ecological zones/conditions production/productivity constraints and water requirements. • Support the baseline data collection, analysis and report writing that will be conducted in partnership with national implementation partners. This includes assist in the provision of capacity building/training of enumerators for the collection of baseline data and the adjustment of the survey instruments to the country context. • Support and facilitate the organization of regular meetings of the project task force at the country level and the technical support group in headquarters. • Assist in data collection (crops and cropping patterns, water, agriculture and nutrition related data) and analysis from primary (preferred) and secondary sources. When applicable, assist in the collection and analysis of macro and micro-nutrient data for the calculation of nutrition-sensitive agricultural water productivity indicators. • Support the development of the project communications strategy/pan to raise awareness about the project in the country, including the development of a dedicated project webpage, maintenance, update and creation of contents for the webpage – in partnership with FAO-Benin and NSL communications team. • Act as the local project technical focal point for nutrition and water related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their targets, more specifically, the SDG targets 2.4, 6.4 and 12.3. Perform any other duties when required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree in agricultural economics, natural resources management, agriculture, irrigation, nutrition or other related fields - those with a PhD will have an added Advantage. • At least 5 years of relevant working experience in economic and quantitative analysis of food and agricultural issues, food security and nutrition analysis, water productivity assessment and capacity building at the national and field levels. • Excellent analytical and report drafting skills in French or English and limited knowledge (Level B) of one of the two (French or English). • National of Benin or resident in the country with a regular work permit.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Proven knowledge of UNFCCC greenhouse gas inventories and ETF requirements will be an asset • Candidates should be able to adapt to an international multicultural environment and have good communication skills • Proven ability to implement studies in a multidisciplinary team.