Job Detail

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 Senior Programme Specialist works under the overall guidance of the FAO Representative and the direct supervision of the Assistant FAOR (Programme) and the Emergency and Rehabilitation Officer / Head of Emergency and Resilience Team, in close collaboration with operations, project management and administrative staff of FAO in Afghanistan.

Technical Focus

The incumbent will contribute to the development of overall programming of FAO in Afghanistan including the project concept notes and project documents as per FAO project cycle guidelines and provide technical support to the programme unit. The incumbent will also update FPMIS tasks relevant to the programme unit.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Contribute to the formulation and preparation of programme, project and work plan proposals for the country; participate in the preparation of draft field project documents and technical clearances and final approval under different funding arrangements;
• Provide information and technical support for project formulation, implementation, monitoring and reporting, in line with the FAO Project Cycle;
• Provide technical support to the Programme colleagues on the implementation of the FAO Strategic Framework (Four Betters);
• Support the achievement of the SDG agenda during the project preparation and implementation of the projects;
• Support the project formulator with the preparation and presentation of project proposals and fully-fledged project documents mainstreaming FAO Programme Priority Areas (PPA);
• Create the pipeline concept notes in FPMIS (FAO Field Programme Management Information System) and as per the project cycle complete the project formulation in close consultation and coordination of the project tasks force members;
• Review and make recommendations to improve current programme/projects administration procedures and processes;
• Support efficient coordination between FAO Regional offices across Afghanistan for operational matters relevant to programme/projects;
• Provide support to drafting and reviewing TCP/TCP-f project proposals;
• Act as a focal point for all project/programme development matters, organize and handle the day-to-day activities of the field programme and take action in consultation with supervisors on any issues which arise during the execution period;
• Prepare project task force meetings and provide secretariat support;
• Ensure 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;
• Participate, as requested by the Supervisor, in the One-UN processes pertaining the Programme Management Team (PMT), Transitional Engagement Framework (TEF), Special Trust Fund for Afghanistan (STFA), and support FAO’s participation in the related working groups thereof;
• Liaise with partners, UN agencies and other organizations on different matters as required;
• Undertake field visits as required and collect information and lesson learnt from the ongoing projects to develop new ideas for the project concept notes;
• Perform other related duties as required.

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=2201705&tz=GMT%2B02%3A00&tzname=Europe%2FBerlin