Horticulture/ Agronomy Specialist

Job Description

Title: Horticulture/ Agronomy Specialist

Company Name: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Vacancy: Not specific

Job Location: Cox's Bazar

Employment Status: Contractual

Educational Requirements:
∎ Master's degree in agricultural science with post-graduation in horticultural crops or agronomy;

Experience Requirements:
∎ At least 7 year(s)

Job Context:
∎ Reporting Lines
∎ The Horticulture Agronomy Specialist is a SC 09 Position and will work under the overall supervision guidance of the FAO Head of Sub-Office, Cox`s Bazar, Bangladesh and the direct supervision of the Team Leader, the incumbent will be responsible for enhancing horticultural crop production, food security, strategies and programmes to support the improved farming practices for marginal and smallholder farmers in increasing production as well as households` income..
∎ Technical Focus
∎ The incumbent will be responsible for providing technical guidance in planning, development and implementation of the agricultural farming systems through adoption of innovative technologies for horticultural high value and commercial crops under adverse climatic environment
∎ Duration: 12 months (with possibility of extension)

Job Responsibilities:
∎ Promote climate resilient production technologies that will address food security increasing marginal households' participation, especially women, in agricultural production systems and markets in improving their nutritional levels and households' income;
∎ Adopt an integrated approach that links sustainable crop production, households' nutrition and economic resilience efforts to the marginal and smallholder farming communities;
∎ Oversee and guide agricultural production and farmer mobilization activities in the project area and effectively manage relationships with the government and implementing partners;
∎ Contribute in the planning of project activities and set high quality performance targets ensuring adherence to technical standards, best practices and donor guidelines;
∎ Use appropriate project management tools to plan, review and track progress on project implementation and utilization of project resources;
∎ Identify training needs for the government and implementing partners' staff and support the capacity building of the project farmers on improved crop production;
∎ Provide technical support to partners on best ways to plant, harvest, and cultivate crops in the challenging agro-ecological zones;
∎ Contribute to the collection and dissemination of relevant data and information related to agricultural production, households' income and food value chains including impacts, lessons and good practices;
∎ Contribute to the organization of and/or participate in meetings, conferences, workshops, consultations and field visits as needed;
∎ Assist the MEAL team in properly recording and archiving the field trial and demonstration data to support various audiences, while contributing to annual and semi-annual reports;
∎ Assist in designing and implementation of capacity building strategies with an emphasis on developing appropriate training content and materials for different stakeholder groups;
∎ Work closely with public and private sector partners to develop innovative approaches to extend and scale-out smallholder's access to new technologies and management practices;
∎ With a focus on on-farm research, coordinate participatory trials and demonstration on high value crop production, efficient use of irrigation water and resource conserving crop management in commercial climate adaptive farming systems;
∎ Prepare journal ready research results in peer-reviewed publications and /or conference proceedings;
∎ Perform other related duties, as required.

Additional Requirements:
∎ Minimum of Seven (7) years of progressively responsible professional work experiences with the United Nations or international development organizations on horticultural crop production, food security and agricultural development
∎ National of Bangladesh
∎ FAO Core Competencies
∎ Results Focus
∎ Teamwork
∎ Communication
∎ Building Effective Relationships
∎ Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
∎ Technical/ Functional Skills
∎ Experiences in working for value-added agronomic products, services, and recommendations to partners and stakeholders;
∎ Knowledge in working for farm trials, demonstrations and research projects on climate adaptive crop production technologies;
∎ Proven track record of successful teamwork, good presentation/facilitation skills;
∎ Excellent verbal and written communication skills required;
∎ Ability to work independently and with minimum supervision;
∎ Self-motivation, willingness to learn and strong work ethics in a multi-disciplinary team environment.

Application Deadline: 14 Dec 2020

Company Information:
∎ 5 Dec 2020
∎ Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
∎ Business : UN Organization

Category: NGO/Development