Senior National Project Agronomist Full-Time

Organizational Setting

The crisis in northern Mozambique has rapidly deteriorated because of conflict, insecurity and violence in Cabo Delgado. Specifically, the security situation in Cabo Delgado has been progressively deteriorating since December, with numerous attacks from the Non-State Armed Groups, both targeting civilians and military forces. This, coupled with the logistics access constraints (extreme weather, broken bridges, falling infrastructures, floods, etc) and repeated extreme climate events (floods, cyclones) puts a strain on humanitarian partners’ logistics capacity. In this context, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is implementing its Agricultural Livelihoods Response Plan for northern Mozambique, providing support to IDPs, host communities, returnees, and population affected by the cyclones, to foster resumption of crop production, fishing and livestock rearing activities while sustainably managing the soil, forest and fish resources. Projects developed under the Agriculture Livelihoods Response Plan will contribute towards enhanced food and nutrition security of the populations, while laying the foundation to build resilient livelihoods against future climatic shocks and stressors.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative (FAOR) in Mozambique, the direct supervision of the Head of Sub Office, and the technical leadership of the project Lead Technical Officer (LTO) in the Sub-Regional Office for Southern Africa (SFS) – the Project Agronomist will undertake the day-to-day operationalization of the project focusing on the crop production and productivity components.

Technical Focus

Research, technical analysis, and project related services to support the delivery of programme projects, products, and services.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Coordinate and oversee day-to-day implementation of the projects in line with the work plans elaborated; and suggest timely corrective actions on the project implementation if required;
• Prepare annual and quarterly work plans, procurement plan, travel plan and training plan, as well as Terms of References (ToRs) for all activities foreseen under the agriculture component;
• Liaise with the technical advisers (LTO, LTU, TCO) to obtain the requested technical clearance and support at regional and HQ levels;
• Assist in delivering the technical and organizational elements of the related project outputs, including specific activities such as data collection and organization of consultations within respective project components;
• Assist in selection of implementing partners among Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), universities, research institutes, national institutions to provide trainings and carry out other project activities, and assist the development of ToRs or Letter of Agreements (LoAs), where applicable;
• Coordinate the planning and follow up actions of implementation of training, demonstration sites, and other capacity building activities, as well as agricultural inputs distributions, the delivery of all field activities (performing regular visits to project field sites) and awareness raising activities;
• Make sure that all necessary inputs (personnel, technical support services, sub-contracts, training, data collection, information requests, etc.), including validated technical specifications for goods, construction and services are provided in a timely manner for timely procurement and/or delivery to beneficiaries and partners;
• Assure quality and sustainability of project activities and project outputs;
• Ensure adequate initiatives for gender mainstreaming and transformative approach, social inclusion, protection against sexual exploitation and abuse, as well as accountability to affected population, are taken;
• Plan and initiate regular events for better coordination among partners and stakeholders, facilitate and strengthen collaboration to ensure smooth implementation and delivery of project’s activities, as well as raising visibility and awareness related to project’s goals, activities and results;
• Regularly promote the projects and their outputs and findings on the provincial stage;
• Organize the project task force meetings and Project Steering Committee meetings where required; ensure that secretariat of such meetings is properly conducted, proposing agenda topics, identifying participants, following up the preparation of documents, presentations, reports, minutes, etc.
• Coordinate project interventions with other ongoing activities/projects of the Northern Mozambique portfolio;
• Support the proper Monitoring & Evaluation activities of the assigned project.
• Prepare progress reports and all monitoring reports requested;
• Support the identification of best practices and lessons learnt, ensuring their proper documentation and dissemination; promote knowledge sharing;
• Support the preparation of new project proposals for resource mobilisation;
• Perform other duties as required.

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in Agriculture, Agronomy, Crop Production, Crop Science sustainable agriculture (including livestock, forestry and fisheries), or related field;
• Five years of relevant experience in technical cooperation’s related activities, policy advice and analysis relating to food and nutrition security, agriculture and rural development, fishery, forestry, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes;
• Working knowledge of English and Portuguese;
• Mozambican National.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions is desirable.
• Relevance and extent of experience in in technical cooperation’s related activities, policy advice and analysis relating to food and nutrition security, agriculture and rural development, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes.
• Relevance and extent of experience in working with inter-governmental bodies and multi-disciplinary teams.

Additional Information

• FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing)
• 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.

FAO seeks gender, geographical and linguistic diversity in its staff and international consultants in order to best serve FAO Members in all regions.

How to Apply

• To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, and language skills.
• Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile.
• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.
• Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work, character, education, military and police records to ascertain any and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications.
• Incomplete applications will not be considered.
• Personal information provided on your application may be shared within FAO and with other companies acting on FAO’s behalf to provide employment support services such as pre-screening of applications, assessment tests, background checks and other related services. You will be asked to provide your consent before submitting your application. You may withdraw consent at any time, by withdrawing your application, in such case FAO will no longer be able to consider your application.
• Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered.
• Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile.
• We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.

If you need help or have queries, please create a one-time registration with FAO’s client support team for further assistance: https://fao.service-now.com/csp.