Island/Field Project Assistant

Organizational Setting

The FAO Subregional Office for the Pacific Islands (SAP) was established in 1996 in Samoa to coordinate the FAO work in 13 member countries in the Pacific subregion - Cook Islands, Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and one Associate Member, Tokelau. SAP is responsible for developing, implementing and overseeing programmes and projects to address food security, nutrition, agriculture, and rural development priorities. It develops and maintains relations with subregion wide institutions and entities. The Subregional Office is a subsidiary of FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) in Bangkok.

The main aim of the FAO country offices, which are headed by an FAO Representative, is to assist governments to develop 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 Global Environment Facility (GEF) has approved the “Integrated Agro-ecosystem approach for enhancing Livelihoods and Climate Resilience in Tuvalu” with GEF total budget of USD 2.64 million and total co-financing of USD 6.6 million. This project will be implemented by FAO in partnership with the Government of Tuvalu, executed and coordinated by the Ministry of Natural Resources, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs, Climate Change and Environment, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.  

The main objective of this project is to reverse land degradation, enhance local livelihoods and increase climate resilience through integrated agro-ecosystem (IAE) approach in all the islands of Tuvalu. The IAE approach emphasises a systems approach to local food production to reduce land degradation and improve the health of agro-ecosystems while ensuring socioeconomic benefits. This overall Objective will be achieved by: 

•    Strengthening enabling framework for implementation of integrated agro-ecosystem approach (Component 1). 
•    Implementing integrated agro-ecosystem approach in all the islands (Component 2). 
•    Ensuring project implementation is supported by an M&E strategy based on measurable and verifiable outcomes and adaptive management principles (Component 3). 

FAO in partnership with the Government of Tuvalu will set up a Project Management Unit within MLGA and will recruit a Project team, international and national constants (long and short term appointments) to co-ordinate and support project implementation. To coordinate and support implementation of activities in each island, Island/Field Project Assistant will be recruited as key members of the PMU, representing the project on the ground.

Reporting Lines 

Under the overall guidance of the FAO Subregional Coordinator (SRC) for the Pacific, and working closely with the Lead Technical Officer (LTO) and the Technical Adviser, with direct supervision of the National Programme Director (NPD) and the National Programme Coordinator (NPC), the Island/Field Project Assistant will perform the following tasks:

Technical Focus

The technical focus will be on landscape approach in the context of low-lying atolls, where the agricultural ecosystem covers the whole islands, including coconut agro-forestry areas that dominate the landscape, pulaka pit agricultural areas, as well as dwelling areas where home gardens are grown. The focus will also be on the Integrated Agroecosystem (IAE) approach that seeks to optimize the interactions between people and the natural resource base, while taking into consideration the sociocultural and economic aspects that need to be addressed for food security, sustainable livelihoods and for strengthening resilience to climate change at community level in Tuvalu. The scope of the assignment is to provide tools and capacity development for government agencies and communities to maintaining a sustainable balance between livestock production, crop production and agro-forestry system, biodiversity and ecosystem services. 

Tasks and responsibilities

•    Assist coordination and implementation of project activities in their respective islands;
•    Facilitate the development and implementation of participatory integrated and whole Island Agro-ecosystem Action Plans (IAEAP) in synergy with, and in support of the Island Strategic Plans (ISP);
•    Facilitate farmer trainings, and management of the demonstration sites and farmer field schools in the target localities;
•    Contribute to the inventory of Forest and Tree Resources;
•    Provide assistance to the MLGA on nursery propagations of planting material for distributions;
•    Support the installation and maintenance of the Solutions for Open Land Administration (SOLA) and Open Tenure (OT) Servers within each Falekaupule;
•    Conduct monitoring of project implementation and regular reporting;
•    Liaise with all project stakeholders, in particular the island Kaupule on project information and facilitate implementation of project activities;
•    Provide technical support to farmers and communities; 
•    Prepare and submit progress reports to the NPC;
•    Perform any other duties deemed necessary for the successful execution of the project;

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements   
 
•    University diploma or equivalent Institution in environmental management, environmental sciences, agriculture/horticulture science or related fields; 
•    A minimum of five years of working experience, five of which should be in the management or coordination of international, regional or national projects related to the agriculture and environment;
•    Working knowledge of English and Tuvalu is required
•    National of Tuvalu

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Function 

•    Computer literacy required. 
•    Knowledge of the UN system and procedures preferred. 
•    Efficiency, competence and integrity as well as negotiating skills, tact and diplomacy are essential; 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION