Horticulture Specialist

Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Our goal is to achieve food security for all and make sure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives.
The FAO Representation on Bangladesh was established in 1978, and since then it supports country’s efforts in agriculture, food, forestry, fisheries, livestock, rural development, and climate change. Bangladesh, home to the world's most densely populated flood-plain delta, faces fast population growth, dwindling land resources, natural disasters and global climate change, as well as rising prices of food, fuel, and fertilizer. Despite these challenges, the country's farmers and fishers are remarkably resilient. 
The FAO Representation in Bangladesh is expected to start implementation of “Building capacity of local farmers to support school feeding in selected Upazilas of Sylhet, Bangladesh” project. The project will seek to improve food production and promote sustainable local markets for diverse and nutritious foods. School children will benefit from improved nutrition and food security, and farmers will be able to produce higher quantities of quality food and effectively market their products. Assistance for relevant government agencies and various committees will support a longer-term institutionalization, ensuring that the target population will have access to nutritious and fresh food on a regular basis.

Reporting Lines

The incumbent will be working under the overall supervision of FAO Representative in Bangladesh and direct supervision of the of the National Project Coordinator with backstopping from the International Team Leader / Senior Technical Advisor. The duty station will be posted at Madhabpur, Habiganj, Sylhet 

Technical focus

The incumbent will be responsible for direct implementation of horticulture-related activities and training. 

The position is offered at SC7.

Tasks and responsibilities

•    Liaise with relevant implementing partners of the project and stakeholders along selected horticulture value chains. 
•    In cooperation with relevant local authorities, plan, facilitate and monitor development of school gardens.  
•    Provide training to the school committees and aggregation centres committees and farmers on good agricultural practices and production technology of selected horticultural crops. 
•    Co-organize and facilitate project-related workshops and meetings on project activities, outputs and outcomes to key stakeholders.  
•    In cooperation with the National Project Coordinator and the project stakeholders, prepare the work plan for horticulture-related activities 
•    Ensure systematic monitoring of the activities, capturing lessons learned and knowledge management to cooperate with Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist and Communication Specialist.
•    Timely inputs to preparation of project-related reports and related documentation along with the dissemination of communication materials.. 
•    Perform other related duties assigned by the National Project Coordinator. 

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements   
 
•    University degree in horticulture, agriculture, agronomy or related discipline.
•    Minimum 07 years of relevant experience. 
•    Working knowledge of English. 
•    National of Bangladesh. 

FAO Core Competencies

•    Results Focus
•    Teamwork
•    Communication
•    Building Effective Relationships
•    Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

•    Excellent people skills – ability to work with a wide range of stakeholders from different backgrounds, including UN Agencies, Government and NGOs. 
•    Ability to work both with minimal supervision and as part of a team.
•    Ability to deliver outputs by agreed deadlines, sometimes at very short notice.
•    Experience delivering field programmes is compulsory.
•    Field experience in the Habiganj district is a strong advantage. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION