PROJECT MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST

Overview

Ensure effective project management and implementation for farmer support initiatives

You have:

• Advanced university degree in Agriculture, Plant and Soil Science, Social Sciences, Public Administration or any other similar scope of study
• At least 7 years of relevant experience in Agronomy, value chain development and project management within the development sector. Prior UN experience would be an added advantage.
• Working knowledge of English together with Sinhala/Tamil is required
• Must be a National of Sri Lanka

Organizational Setting

The project “Responding to the Economic Crisis: Protecting smallholder farmer livelihoods with safe and efficient use of fertilizer and quality seed for better productivity in paddy farming” GCP/SRL/080/EC aims to enhance income and strengthen livelihoods of Sri Lankan smallholder farmers. In addition, to ensure food and nutrition security through increased productivity and production of paddy by applying appropriate fertilizer and seed technology.

The specific objectives are:

1. Ensuring food and nutrition security of targeted smallholder farmers through productivity and production increase Providing smallholder farmers having land holdings up of 0 to ½ acre (0 – 0.2 ha) with 50 kg bag of urea and those with holding of ½ to 1 acre (0.2-0.4 ha) with 100 kgs of urea, to enable them to cultivate successfully over the 2022/23 Maha and 2023 Yala cropping season. Starved of chemical fertilizers these farmers have suffered immensely due to a major crop failure over the previous two cropping seasons, affecting their ability to provide for their essential needs, including food. It is expected that Integrated Plant Nutrient Management (IPNM) training to these farmers will help them spread the use of urea supplied to them over two consecutive seasons.

2. Enhancing fertilizer use efficiency in paddy cultivation through capacity building, knowledge transfer and training on IPNM strategy Training and educating the extension workers and farmers in the use of IPNM strategy along with the supply of fertilizers to farmers. IPNM is the sustenance or adjustment of soil fertility level while achieving the optimum productivity of crops with all possible sources of plant nutrients in an integrated manner.

3. Increasing capacity of Sri Lankan farmers to grow quality paddy seeds for meeting the country’s requirement and strengthening government owned farms in growing and processing certified paddy seeds Enabling increased production of seed paddy from 1000 ha of new seed paddy farms to increase current formal seed supply from 19,200 tons to 24,000 tons (16 percent to 20 percent) per year through supply of urea and other inputs on priority to those taking to paddy seed cultivation. Further, the capacity of two government seed farms on seed processing and drying will be upgraded to absorb the seed processing needs of these new seed farmers. This would encourage public private partnership with medium to large farmers to adopt commercial seed paddy production.

Reporting Lines

The incumbent will provide technical orientation and backup in order to ensure the delivery of project outputs to a high standard, and in a cost effective manner, taking into account national and international best practices and research results, and in accordance with FAO, Government and donor norms. He / She will be under the overall administrative leadership and supervision of the FAO Representative in Sri Lanka (FAOR) and the direct supervision of the Assistant FAOR (Programme). He / She is expected to function with the technical guidance of the Lead Technical Officer (LTO) at the Headquarters in Rome and in collaboration with other relevant technical divisions at FAO Headquarters, and in close consultation with the Department of Agriculture and the Budget Holder (BH).

Technical Focus

Specifically, the incumbent will be responsible for ensuring that project outputs and targets are met as per project framework that activities are carried out as planned, within budget and time schedule and that reporting, monitoring and evaluation functions are carried out as per project requirements. She/he will also plan and implement project activities in close collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, and other relevant state and non-state stakeholders to ensure successful implementation of the project. In particular, the incumbent will perform the following tasks.

Tasks and responsibilities

1. Planning, implementation and management of Project activities • Provide overall guidance to, and supervision of, the project identify, plan, design implement and monitor the progress of delivery of activities as itemised in the results-based work plan; • Provide day-to-day administrative and management inputs to the project team assuring smooth implementation of the project; • Help identify Technical Specialist/Consultant candidates and work with the LTO and the BH to ensure their timely recruitment • Coordinating with other institutions in order to identify and realise opportunities for complementarity and synergies, including monitoring and oversight of co-financing commitments; • Ensure a results-based approach to project implementation, including maintaining a focus on project results and impact as defined by the project results framework indicators; • Regularly promote the project and its outputs and findings on a national, and where appropriate, regional stage; • Lead interactions with stakeholders and liaise with government agencies and communicate, regularly advocate and engage in policy dialogue on behalf of the project; • Facilitate interdisciplinary inputs from partner institutions and agencies • Coordinate closely with International Project Management Specialist and other relevant consultants for assuring smooth implementation of the project

2. Resources Management and Coordination • Manage all other staff and consultants hired under the project ensuring they fully understand their role and tasks • Provide administrative and management/supervisory support to long and short term Technical Specialists/Consultants to ensure timely delivery; • Create strategic partnerships related to the project and coordinate and network with various stakeholders to take forward the project; • Ensure that the project team follows up on the adoption/implementation of the recommendations/inputs provided by Technical Consultants; • Coordinate with the Government counterpart and various stakeholders for effective coordination and dialogue in the field of Agriculture. • Managing the procurement process in accordance with FAO rules and procedures.

3. Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting • Oversee preparation and implementation of project M&E plan, project communication and knowledge management plan • Prepare results based regular reports, donor reports and briefs as required. • Facilitate the submission of timely project implementation reviews and progress reports (narrative and financial) to the FAO Country Offices against the Programme M&E framework; • Facilitate effective communication of project progress to the key stakeholders related to the project.

Undertake any other tasks assigned or relevant in support of efficient implementation of the project.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree in Agriculture, Plant and Soil Science, Social Sciences, Public Administration or any other similar scope of study. • At least 7 years of relevant experience in Agronomy, value chain development and project management within the development sector. Prior UN experience would be an added advantage. • Working knowledge of English together with Sinhala / Tamil is required. • A National of Sri Lanka.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Experience in Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting • Experience in Resources Management and Coordination • Experience in Project Planning and Implementation • Experience in handlings major procurement assignments in emergency settings will be an added advantage

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.

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Potential interview questions

Added 3 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: fao.org