Job Posting: 30/May/2019
Closure Date: 10/Jun/2019, 10:59:00 PM
Organizational Unit: FAO Representation in the Philippines
Job Type: Non-staff opportunities
Type of Requisition: PSA (Personal Services Agreement)
Grade Level: N/A
Primary Location: Philippines-Cotabato
Duration: 660 days (30 months) spread over 36 months
Post Number: N/A
Organizational Setting
FAO’s approach to development assistance in Mindanao focuses on supporting the rehabilitation of agriculture and fisheries-based livelihoods, accelerating agriculture-based enterprises and increasing access to sustainable energy, and resilience to risk in municipalities affected by natural disasters and conflict. FAO interventions will include, among others:
1. Introduction of various productivity enhancing technologies to improve household incomes and promote sustainable agricultural practices.
2. Technical assistance to government in reviewing existing policies that promote equitable agribusiness venture arrangements between farmers and agribusiness firms and capacity building activities for farmers that are anchored on the value chain approach.
3. Capacity building on enterprise development and agribusiness that will allow farmers, fisherfolk and local government units to maximize potential market opportunities.
4. Restoring and increasing the productivity of agriculture and fisheries-based livelihoods of smallholder farmers and marginalized fishers, decommissioned Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) combatants and their families
Enhancing the competitiveness of farm households, particularly women, to establish and manage microenterprises
5. Facilitating the establishment of agribusiness enterprises with production-market contract agreements or similar arrangements
Reporting Lines
Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in the Philippines, and close coordination with the Assistant FAO Representative (Programme) and Project Manager, and the agribusiness and value chain officer in RAP, the International Chief Technical Adviser/Value Chain Specialist will exercise overall responsibility in the improvement of opportunities for local communities to derive economic, livelihood and food security benefits from the agribusiness enterprises provided by the project.
Technical Focus
FAO has been implementing various projects in Mindanao which are guided by the FAO Mindanao Strategic Programme for Agriculture/Agribusiness and an emergency/rehabilitation project for Marawi City and other affected municipalities. In Marawi, The emergency and recovery assistance being currently provided by FAO is a bridge mechanism to jumpstart the restoration of farming activities of Internally Displaced People (IDPs), and ensure food availability and incomes. A short to medium-term recovery and rehabilitation is imperative to push for the momentum of providing livelihood opportunities of the IDPs and restoring the food supply chain and eventually the whole agribusiness value chain.
Tasks and responsibilities
The International Chief Technical Adviser/Value Chain Specialist shall perform the following responsibilities:1. Provide technical guidance and clearances on project decisions and strategies;
2. Select agricultural commodities/value chains that have a comparative advantage, and potential for sustainable development and women’s economic empowerment;
3. Conduct assessments of demand and market conditions for products within selected value chains including analysis of input and output markets, their structure and dynamics between actors, procurement processes, related standards, existence of monopolies, identification of lead firms, etc. in order to identify agri-market and business development opportunities;
4. Undertake a desk review of the enabling environment in which the selected value chains are embedded, including relevant activities conducted by government or other development partners on the selected commodity value chains.
5. Identify opportunities for value chain finance and propose suitable agribusiness financing options that also address climate related risks
6. Establish public-private engagement platforms for market-based value chain strategic planning
7. Oversight of program performance and re-design of interventions, as required, to achieve program outcomes;
8. Mentor national staff.
9. Establish close coordination and working mechanisms with Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA)/Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) authorities and relevant BARMM Ministries, Department of Agriculture Regional Field Office XII, Department of Trade and Industry, and other government agencies ;
10. Prepare project terminal report.
11. Carry out any other relevant duties within his/her technical competence as may be requested by the FAO Representative.
Minimum Requirements
• The candidate must have an advance degree in agriculture, agricultural economics, agribusiness or related field with complementary knowledge in designing capacity building strategies/activities.
• The candidate should have at least 10 years practical experience in the planning and implementation of livelihood/agribusiness, rural development and emergency rehabilitation projects;
• Must have at least 10 years of professional and practical work experience in the planning and implementation of rural development projects at the field or regional level;
• Working knowledge (level C) of the FAO official language used for communication within the country (English). Knowledge of the local language would be an asset
FAO Core Competencies
• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
Technical/Functional Skills
• Must be familiar with the local rural setting in the Philippines particularly in Mindanao;
• 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 is of importance as is the ability to take leadership when appropriate;
• General knowledge and skills in the use of standard office software, such as MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
FAO does not charge any fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview, processing)
Please note that FAO will only consider academic credentials or degrees obtained from an educational institution recognized in the IAU/UNESCO list
Only language proficiency certificates from UN accredited external providers and/or FAO language official examinations (LPE, ILE, LRT) will be accepted as proof of the level of knowledge of languages indicated in the online applications. Candidates should upload language certificate/s when submitting their application. For further information on categories, contract duration and honoraria
