UNDP | Agribusiness and Marketing Specialist

الوصف الوظيفي

FAO Agribusiness and Marketing Specialist - Ramallah

Application Type :     External Vacancy
Job ID/Title :     958 - FAO Agribusiness and Marketing Specialist
Category :     Other
Brand : FAO
Post Level : SB4/2
Application Deadline :     25-Sep-17
Duty Station :     Ramallah
Type of Contract :     Service Contract
Duration of Initial Contract :     1 year, renewable based on fund availability and performance

Background:

FAO’s Coordination Office for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) Programme assists the Palestinian Government to formulate and implement policies, programmes and projects to achieve food security and to reduce hunger and malnutrition, to help develop the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors, and to use their environmental and natural resources in a sustainable manner.
The incumbent will provide technical guidance for the implementation of a recently launched a project entitled “Reform and Development of Markets, Value Chains and Producers’ Organisations” (GCP/GAZ/014/MUL), which seeks to enable the Palestinian agribusiness to generate better income, trade and welfare following an integrated value chain development approach towards more market-oriented, competitive and profitable agribusiness. The project will intervene in all stages of the value chain to achieve the following four outputs: (i) improved production and productivity (pre-production and production); (ii) improved quality and value addition (post-harvest and transformation); (iii) improved competitiveness and market access (distribution and marketing), and; (iv) improved service delivery and institutional capacities (enabling environment).
Under the direct supervision of the Project Manager, the overall supervision of the Head of Programme, and in close collaboration with the Operations Officer and other relevant personnel as appropriate, the Agribusiness and Marketing Specialist will provide technical leadership and guidance for the implementation of activities mainly under output 2 and 3 of the project.

Description of Responsibilities:

-    Assist in preparing and keeping up-to-date the detailed workplans for the project’s activities, particularly under Outputs 2 and 3, and follow up on their implementation;
-    Assist in liaising with all implementing partners of the project, as well as in identifying and addressing their capacity development needs in order to ensure that all related activities are timely and properly designed, coordinated and implemented;
-    Lead and/or contribute to feasibility assessments, studies, reviews etc. as required;
-    Assist in the design and implementation of outreach and beneficiary mobilization activities targeting agribusinesses, cooperatives and farmers in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip.
-    Assist in the preliminary screening, scoring and ranking the applications for investment support;
-    Prepare the technical specifications for the goods, works and services to be procured for the implementation of activities under Outputs 2 and 3 of the project;
-    Evaluate and follow up on the capacity of (ex-ante) and quality of work (ex-post) of related suppliers and contractors;
-    Administer day-to-day operations on matters relating to the project implementation and follow up regularly with beneficiary producer organizations and other agribusinesses;
-    Coordinate with technical staff at relevant ministries (Ministry of Agriculture in particular) and other institutions to ensure that field activities are consistent with and complementary to other on-going agricultural projects;
-    Assist in the preparation of project reports and other information material in line with donor requirements and FAO rules and procedures in a timely manner;
-    Perform other related duties as required.

Competencies :

Corporate competencies:

- Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards,
- Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of FAO,
- Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability,
- Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional competencies:

a) Knowledge Management and Learning,

- Promotes a knowledge sharing and learning culture in the office,
- Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more practice, areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills.

b) Operational Effectiveness

- Ability to apply conceptual models in support of formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of projects,
- Strong IT skills.

c) Management and Leadership

- Focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback,
- Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude,
- Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills,
- Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure,
- Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.

d) Communication Competencies

- Effectively communicates relevant project information to superiors,
- Delivers engaging, informative and well-organized presentations,
- Demonstrated ability to work in a team, and interpersonal skills.

Qualifications :

Bachelor's degree in Economics, Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness, Business Administration, Agricultural Sciences or a closely related field.
At least four years of relevant work experience in the management and implementation of project in the field of agribusiness development and marketing.
Experience in coordinating and liaising with private sector, national authorities, UN, donors and non-governmental national and international organizations.
Working knowledge of spoken and written English and Arabic.
Ability to travel to the project sites in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.