International Agribusiness Specialist

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• FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture.
• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply;
• Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAO's values
• FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination　　
• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality

Organizational Setting

FAO assists governments to develop policies, programmes and projects to address hunger and malnutrition, and provides technical support for the sustainable development of their agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors and to respond to cries. The FAO Representation in Malawi is implementing its field programme based on the Country Programming Framework (CPF) that focuses on four thematic areas namely\: (i) Conducive agricultural policy and investment environment (ii) Food and nutrition security and livelihoods (iii) Governance of the environment, natural resources and ecosystems and (iv) Resilience of the agriculture sector and the food systems. The Operation and Coordination Unit of the country office is responsible for the development and delivery of field programmes and projects. It comprises three project coordination Groups for the thematic areas of Agriculture and Food Systems; Nature Resources and Environment; and Emergency, Resilience and ECTAD Group; and three Sections for Procurement, Operations, M&E and Information Management

The Agriculture and Food Systems Group is mainly responsible for the development and delivery of field programmes and projects related to Thematic Priority 2. A number of projects on agriculture extension, nutrition-sensitive agriculture, and food systems transformation are ongoing, including the Flanders-funded project on women and youth empowerment and the Joint UN Project on catalyzing private investment, enterprise, and SDG impact through innovative finance. New pipeline projects are under formulation, including but not limited to agriculture commercialization and food systems projects. Implementing, monitoring and evaluating these projects requires the deployment of an International Expert to lead the Agriculture and Food Systems Portfolio of the country office.

Reporting Lines

The International Agribusiness Specialist will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Malawi and the direct supervision of the Projects Manager (Head of Operation and Coordination Unit).

Technical Focus

The International Specialist will provide technical support and operational guidance to different projects and related activities within the Agriculture and Food System Group. Likewise, he/she will work closely with stakeholders such as Government Technical staff at national level, district councils, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), Community-Based Organizations and UN agencies.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Lead the agribusiness portfolio of FAO-Malawi and facilitate the mainstreaming of suitable agribusiness and value chain development approaches and practices in relevant programmes and projects implemented by the country office.
• Work as the Head of the Agriculture and Food System Group, coordinate the formulation and implementation of the group work plan, budget plan and procurement plan, and their implementation, regular review and updating.
• Facilitate the collaboration with FAO Lead Technical Officers and relevant offices; coordinate with other groups and sections at the country office for parallel collaboration, operational processing, monitoring, evaluation and reporting of projects related to the agriculture and food systems group.
• Collaborate and support project procurement actions for goods, works and services, preparation and management of contractual instruments such as Letters of Agreements, Contracts, Long-term Term Agreements (LTA) and other instruments with different service providers and contractors.
• Collaborate with donor agencies, government counterparts, steering committees and task force teams for strategic and technical issues related to food-systems transformation in Malawi.
• Contributes to partnership building, donor liaison, new pipeline building and resource mobilization for interventions related to agriculture and food systems transformation, as well as to other areas of interest of the country office.
• Monitor the project deliverables and expenditures as per donor and FAO guidelines in close cooperation with the project coordinator and budget holder and ensure that the project delivery is on track as per the work-plan.
• Closely liaise with the coordination officers in documenting evidence-based impact case studies and generating project quarterly, progressive and final reports as required by FAO and donors.
• Performs any other task assigned by the FAO Representative and Head of the Coordination & Operations Unit.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements
• Advanced university degree in agriculture, agro-industry, economics, agricultural economics or a closely related field.
• Seven years of relevant experience in the areas of agriculture and food systems development, formulation and implementation of agricultural investment projects and programmes, planning and technical cooperation in food and agriculture, application of value chain analysis and development, agribusiness and market development.
• Working knowledge (level C) of English, and limited knowledge of French or Spanish.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Extent and relevance of experience in the field of policy analysis relating to food and nutrition security, agriculture and rural development.
• Extent and relevance of experience in Africa, preferably in Southern Africa is considered an asset.
• Extent and relevance of experience in the management and implementation of large (development) projects, including the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation systems.
• Extent and relevance of experience in the identification, formulation and preparation of programme and project proposals as well as programme/project implementation, monitoring and review
• Ability to be multi-tasked and to handle large volumes of work in an effective and timely manner.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.

Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency

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

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