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.
The Food Security and Agriculture Cluster (FSAC) with the support of the IPC Technical Working Group (TWG) provides evidence-based support to the response strategy development, by estimating the caseload. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is used as one of the major tools to describe the key drivers of food insecurity, phase classification of different provinces according to the food security situation or status, number of food insecure people in need and provides key recommendations to address the food insecurity faced by vulnerable men, women and children. The IPC Acute Analyses are key inputs in the development of the Afghanistan Humanitarian Needs Overview and Humanitarian Response Plan figures on the number of people in need and overall targets.
The Information Management Officer (IMO) is one of the core Food Security Cluster (FSC) Coordination team members and plays a vital role in collecting, analyzing, and sharing information that is important for the cluster stakeholders to make informed, evidence based and strategic decisions on:
• Food security needs and geographic areas of affected populations
• Location and activity of Food Security actors
• Key gaps in activity/program coverage and response overlaps
• Existing capacity (human, material, financial) to be utilized in support of the identified response needs
• Monitoring of the response against the HRP and other set indicators
Reporting Lines
The Information Management & Communication Specialist will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative and the direct supervision of the FSAC Coordinator.
Technical Focus
The incumbent will lead the information management and communication activities for the FSAC in Afghanistan.
Tasks and responsibilities
• Manage the FSAC Information Management (IM) Systems, provide recommendations and undertake relevant actions for its improvement/maintenance;
• Establish and manage a GIS Unit capable of mapping FSAC data in connection with identified needs, presence of humanitarian operators, delivered aid, humanitarian gaps and other themes as required;
• Identify the needs, design and implement a communication strategy for the FSAC;
• In close liaison with cluster lead agencies, provide support to the improvement, maintenance and updating of the various databases concerning the food security sector (activities, contacts, funding);
• Assess training and capacity-building needs relevant to IM, and recommend adequate actions; organize and/or conduct relevant training as appropriate;
• Enhance the capacity of FSAC partners at the national and regional level regarding monitoring and reporting (data collection, mapping/ infographics, data compilation and organization);
• Improve the IM products: 5Ws database, Partners Presence Map, Gap Analysis, Funding Analysis, Activity Analysis;
• Train FSAC partners on assessment design to ensure data quality; ability to manage platforms and tools that support data collection (ReportHub); Create and maintain contact directories and mailing lists;
• Maintain updated FSAC and the Humanitarian Response webpages with all relevant material;
• Contribute to the development of HNO, HRP, SRP and contingency plans;
• Contribute to the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF) process;
• Assist in organizing FSC Meetings and working groups (if applicable);
• Liaise with OCHA and IM Focal Points in other clusters and attend IM Working Group meetings or other relevant WG meetings – share information as appropriate.
• Liaise with other information/communication specialists and decision-makers to identify common grounds for collaboration and information interchange;
• Review all FSAC reports and communication material to ensure relevance and correctness;
• Prepare and supervise the production of periodical FSAC releases (newsletter, bulletins, and dashboard) as well as other visibility materials (press releases, brochures, presentation folders, banners, etc.);
• Ensure that the FSAC-related information displayed websites is correct and up to date;
• Provide information management support to regional FSAC focal points in field as required
• Perform any other duties as required.
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements
• Advanced (Master’s) degree or University (Bachelor’s) degree one relevant subject (e.g. information science, computer science, GIS, agriculture, agriculture economics, food security, nutrition, social sciences, journalism or related fields) and, preferably, a training certificate in one or more of the other subjects;
• For advanced degree at least five (5) years of professional experience in information and communication management;
• For university degree at least seven (7) years of professional experience in information and communication management;
• 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
• Very good skills in the use of GIS software;
• Prior experience working with an international organization (UN, international NGO) is a strong advantage;
• Excellent writing and communication skills in English;
• Very good skills in the use of office automation packages (MS Office or similar) including software for presentations and publications (PowerPoint, Publisher or similar);
• Good skills in database management and data analysis;
• Good interpersonal communication and coordination skills;
• Practical knowledge of the cluster approach would be an advantage.
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
Qualified female candidates are highly encouraged to apply.
https://jobs.fao.org/careersection/fao_external/jobdetail.ftl?job=2201707&tz=GMT%2B02%3A00&tzname=Europe%2FBerlin
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 (... Read More
