Project Background:
Combating land degradation and biodiversity loss by promoting sustainable rangeland management and biodiversity conservation project is a five year intervention of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) funded through the Global Environment Facility (GEF). This project aims to improve the sustainability of agriculture, forest, and land-use management through rehabilitating degraded rangelands, biodiversity conservation and enhancing and maintaining the livelihoods of Afghan rural communities in Khost, Laghman and Nuristan provinces in Afghanistan by employing the community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) approach. The project has three major components: (i) capacity-building at the national, sub-national, and district levels in community based natural resources management for sustainable rangeland and forest planning; (ii) Integrated management and restoration of degraded landscapes for biodiversity conservation and sustainable/regenerative rangeland management; (iii) Systematic creation and sharing of knowledge, project coordination, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and institutional capacity development.
The Senior GIS specialist will be responsible for all the geospatial data creation and management which would facilitate the implementation of participatory assessment and mapping of natural resources of the target districts. In addition, they will be preparing land-use/land-cover, watershed and topographic maps for RMAs and FMAs and target areas.
The Senior GIS specialist will closely work with appointed specialists and support the project task team in preparing maps of land-use/land-cover, rangeland hotspots, FMAs and RMAs, mission maps etc which would facilitate in devising strategies and plans for implementation of sustainable natural landscape planning. They will provide technical guidance for the implementation of forest restoration and management, agroforestry and small-scale greenhouses.
FAO is looking for qualified national staff fill the position of senior GIS specialist. This position will support the work of the GEF-funded” Combating land degradation and biodiversity loss by promoting sustainable rangeland management and biodiversity conservation” project in Afghanistan.
Organizational Setting
FAO Afghanistan is investing, across all 34 provinces, in resilience reinforcing actions that focus on protecting agriculture livelihoods and local ecosystems, boosting local production of nutritious foods and cash-incomes, and safeguarding critical agriculture sectoral development gains achieved over the past couple of decades through revitalizing rural markets and economy. In 2022-2023, FAO will, under the life-saving assistance Outcome (1) of the UN Transitional Engagement Framework (TEF), focus on the following four priority actions: (i) Safeguarding Wheat Seed Security, (ii) Enhancing Local Production of Nutritious Food, (iii) Livestock Protection and Dairy Sector Support, and (iv) Restoring Irrigation Structures to Boost Cash Incomes. Additionally, FAO will contribute towards resilience building activities under Outcome 2 of the TEF.
There are a total of eight (8) positions, one position in each duty station: Bamyan, Gardez, Herat, Jalalabad, Kabul, Kandahar, Kunduz, and Mazar-e-Sharif.
Reporting Linesc
The Survey, Design and Supervision Assistant Engineer will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative, the direct and technical supervision of the Head of Water Resource and Irrigation Team and Team leader/Regional Senior Survey and Design Specialist and in close collaboration with the Regional Coordinator.
Technical Focus
The Draftsman/Technical Specialist will provide relevant technical assistance and support for efficient implementation of component 2: Provision of Water and Resilience Services of the project.
Tasks and responsibilities
• Perform survey and other data collection (maps, benchmark levels, etc.) for the design of irrigation Schemes.
• Prepare full engineering drawings with AutoCAD, including materials list and full dimensioning, plus prepare a full bill of quantities for tendering from the drawing,
• Produce engineering drawings of the important and complex irrigation rehabilitation works.
• Ascertain the adequacy and quality of the work performed by his/her colleagues in Regional Offices.
• Have a full understanding of civil engineering materials and standards, especially for concrete and steel works.
• Prepare technical drawings and topographical maps as requested by the Design Engineer using AutoCAD and GIS.
• Train relevant staff in the preparation of technical drawings.
• Maintain a filing system for all technical drawings and topographical maps.
• Prepare and participate in training courses and on-the-job training.
• Collaborate with international staff and national consultants in the preparation of layout maps and technical drawings for irrigation schemes. Liaise with and assist the Regional Offices in filling any gaps related to the preparation of drawings when required.
• Train project staff in AutoCAD and supervise/validate all project drawings, including all FAO regional offices.
• Perform any other duties as required.
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements
• High School Certificate
• AutoCAD 2D & 3D Certificate
• At least seven (07) years of relevant experience with prominent firms or organizations in preparing engineering drawings, detailed scheme layouts with the use of Auto CAD software, and engineering draftsman in related disciplines with UN Organizations, and international NGOs in a multi-cultural office environment is required.
• Working knowledge (level C) of English and the local languages (Pashto and/or Dari);
• National of Afghanistan.
FAO Core Competencies
• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
Technical/Functional Skills
• Full knowledge of AutoCAD and GIS programmes
• Strong GIS skills, and computer skills, especially all MS Office applications and basic internet search engines or other relevant online tools.
• Understanding of engineering particularly irrigation schemes concepts and technologies.
• Excellent interpersonal communication and coordination skills, and a proven ability to work constructively with a variety of stakeholders to achieve common goals.
• Ability to work with minimum supervision in a multi-cultural environment.
• Excellent report writing skills
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
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 contact: Careers@fao.org