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.
Reporting Lines
The Operations Specialist will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative, and the direct supervision of National Operations Officer.
Tasks and responsibilities
• Act as a focal point for all project operational matters, organize and handle the day-to-day operational activities of the field programme (including emergency, rehabilitation and development projects,) and take action in consultation with supervisors on any issues which arise during the execution period;
• Develop and maintain the online and offline Afghanistan Programme Dashboard which will keep track of all the FAO projects in the country with project summary and data;
• Develop a system to ensures the timely provision of project inputs (personnel, technical support services, subcontracts, training, equipment and supplies) directly by the Organization or, when appropriate, through contractors and in liaison with other support units;
• Develop and maintain database/MIS for FAOAF that will facilitate and track the internal administrative processes of functions from different users at field level and to the focal units at the FAO Representation through eManagement.
• Ensure that the web-based tools are capable of preparing statistical tables, graphs, maps and other information outputs;
• Organize project task force meetings (as required) and act as the secretariat to such meetings;
• Update the status of LFM, work-plan and budget in FPMIS for pipeline and ongoing projects;
• Contribute towards ensuring the timely provision of project inputs (personnel, technical support services, subcontracts, training, equipment and supplies) directly by the Organization or, when appropriate, through contractors;
• Ensures the completeness and quality of data and documentation in the FAO corporate systems (e.g. GRMS, FPMIS), for all assigned operational field projects and activities and all data stored in the database is checked for accuracy;
• Monitor progress of the projects, facilitate/support operational and financial closure and, where necessary, identify corrective measures to overcome operational constraints;
• Manage project budgets and Field Budget Authorization (FBAs) and ensure the correct revisions of budget/FBAs as required;
• Raise Purchase Requisitions (PR), in GRMS;
• Contribute towards ensuring the timely preparation and submission of the project progress/implementation, terminal reports and any other reports required by the Organization and contribute towards the preparation of analytical reports on project performances, as required;
• Coordinate action concerning the completion of field projects and arrange for timely and adequate reporting, including identification of project follow-up requirements;
• Analyse the project status and take action or provide recommendations to the responsible units and officers for correction action on timely basis;
• Analyse country level portfolio and draft presentation to report country level status of projects/ programme;
• Provide operational support and promote capacity development at the country-level;
• Contribute to the resource mobilization activities in the preparation and/or assessment of new projects;
• Participate in the identification and preparation of concept note and project formulation as required, and provide necessary support on the development of project work plans, operational clearance, appraisal and approval process in FPMIS, quality assurance
• Perform any other tasks as required.
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements
• Advanced (Masters) degree or University (Bachelor) degree in Agriculture, Agri economics, Computer science, Software engineering, Business Management or a closely related field.
• For advanced degree at least five (5) years of relevant work experience in planning, implementation, and administration of agricultural development programmes, including the preparation, monitoring or evaluation of development projects;
• For university degree at least seven (7) years of relevant work experience in planning, implementation, and administration of agricultural development programmes, including the preparation, monitoring or evaluation of development projects;
• 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
• Working experience in complex programme management;
• Previous work experience with the UN is an advantage;
• Good knowledge of corporate information systems;
• Experience working with donors and other partners;
• Additional relevant professional experience in Afghanistan, particularly in project cycle management, public administration or project operations is a strong advantage;
• Excellent data visualization skills;
• Excellent data reading and data reporting 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
Qualified female candidates are highly encouraged to apply.
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
