Project Field Assistant

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.

The work under the project falls within FAO’s global mandate to defeat hunger and achieve food and nutrition security. Through the project interventions, a more cohesive approach on food availability and nutrition, increased crop productivity, and improvement on the availability of community services will promote social cohesion and peace and stability in the target communities. While the primary FAO strategic objective that the project directly contributes to is Better Life, the project interventions also promote the remaining strategic objectives, Better Production, Better Nutrition, and a Better Environment.

Reporting Lines

The Project Field Assistant will be under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative, will report and be supervised by the Assistant FAO Philippines Representative for Programmes, and will have guidance from the Project Team Leader.

The Project aims to sustain the increase in productivity of rice and corn farming communities in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to avoid local food insecurity and rural unemployment due to the rippled effect of the ongoing Russia - Ukraine war. The Project’s expected outcome is “increased productivity and income of small-holder rice and corn farmers through the provision of inorganic fertilizers and training on soil testing and efficient use of fertilizers”. Moreover, it will contribute to BARMM’s ongoing programs and plans, such as the updated Bangsamoro Development Plan and BARMM Food Security and Nutrition Roadmap, and will complement the ongoing initiatives peace and development initiatives of the Government of Japan in BARMM.

Technical Focus

The Project Field Assistant shall provide a broad range of support function in the field during the project implementation. This includes providing assistance to achieve project outputs through coordination work, field visits, monitoring and documentation of activities, and other field related duties.

Tasks and responsibilities

Under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the Project Coordinator, and in coordination with the project technical specialists, the Project Field Assistant, shall perform the following tasks:

• Assist the Project Team in the coordination activities with target local government units (LGUs), beneficiary farmer’s cooperatives/associations, and other implementing partners and stakeholders in the field;

• Assist the Municipal MAFAR Officers and Agricultural Extension Workers and Farmer Leaders in soil sampling and geo-referencing of soil sampling points;

• Assist in the implementation of Project interventions to include, but not limited to, distribution of project’s agricultural inputs, including the required documentation of acceptance by the beneficiaries; monitoring of initial results/outcomes of intervention; and report writing;

• Provide overall support to Project technical specialists in the conduct of capacity-building activities, such as organizing trainings and workshops; conduct of actual trainings/workshops, preparation of documentation reports on all training activities, workshops, meetings and other project activities; and submitting these documentation reports to Project Coordinator and technical specialists for review;

• Inform the Project Coordinator and Project technical specialists on existing and potential field implementation challenges and issues that require immediate attention, and recommend viable alternatives to resolve problems and issues;

• Assist in maintaining an up-to-date database of soil sampling points per assigned municipalities, results of rapid soil test, fertilizer recommendations, cropping pattern, crop yields including immediate results of interventions;

• Assist in monitoring the cost recovery scheme of beneficiary farmer’s cooperatives/associations; and

• Perform other related duties as required by the FAO Representative.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in one of the following: Agriculture (with major in Agronomy, Horticulture, Soil Science), Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural Extension, or a closely related field;

• Minimum of 3 years of proven knowledge and experience in implementing agricultural project in the field;

• Working knowledge (Level C) of English and Filipino.

• National of the Philippines 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

• Good knowledge of the socio-economic and agricultural situation in the Philippines

• Excellent writing and communication abilities in English and Filipino

• Proven ability to conceptualize, plan and execute complex processes across a wide range of stakeholders, advance ability to work quickly and under pressure

• Ability to work effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team and take leadership when appropriate

• General knowledge and skills in the use of standard office software, such as MS Office (Word, Excel, Power Point)

• Language requirement: Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and Filipino.

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/
• Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.