Organizational Setting
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 global Agenda through the FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind. 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, reduce hunger and malnutrition, help develop the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors, and to use their environmental and natural resources in a sustainable manner. The support is based on the guidelines as provided by the Country Programming Framework (CPF). FAO country office in Lesotho has recently developed its Country Programming Framework (CPF), which has nutrition as one of its core pillars. While nutrition has always been an area of concern and priority for the country office, this area has not always been properly served due to the limited in-house technical expertise. As a result of this deficit, FAO has gradually lost its strategic positioning and leadership on nutrition programming in Lesotho.
For this current planning period great efforts are being made to ensure that nutrition is properly mainstreamed into major projects and programmes. This provides an opportunity to recruit professional project staff to lead FAO Nutrition programme in Lesotho
General Objectives of the Assignmentย
The goal of the assignment is to lead nutrition programming for the country office and provide nutrition advisory services to ROLL (Regeneration of Landscapes and Livelihoods) project and other projects that have nutrition component
Reporting Lines
The incumbent will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Lesotho, direct supervision of the Assistant FAO Representative for programme, technical supervision of SFS Nutrition Officer, and in collaboration with other programme staff, the incumbent will undertake the following task:
Technical Focus
Nutrition sensitive agriculture, community nutrition and nutrition education as derived from food based dietary guidelines
Tasks and responsibilities
The incumbent will undertake the following task:ย
โข ย ย Lead nutrition programming for the country office
โข ย ย Provide technical support to nutrition units of relevant government ministries and departments in implementing Behavioural Change Communication (BCC) and ensure that BCC programme is aligned with project objectives.ย
โข ย ย Assist in ensuring the quality of the training materials/guidelines/manuals and other reference documents to be developed for training facilitators and targeted beneficiaries related to nutritionย
โข ย ย Provide technical guidance during the design of the training package on nutrition education to farmers, including the curriculum for training of trainers and for farmersโ groups at the community level
โข ย ย Participate in the training programmes as one of the training resource persons and provide support to the District Nutrition Focal Points and Project Field Staff.ย
โข ย ย Conduct periodical supervision and monitoring of district and community-level training events and post-training activities
โข ย ย Support Government in implementing capacity enhancement training of district-level officials in pro-nutrition agriculture actions including training needs assessment, the development of a training package and conducting training of trainers.ย
โข ย ย Lead FAO efforts in supporting government to carry out advocacy events for nutrition sensitive agriculture including development of advocacy package for all levels and ensuring quality execution of events
โข ย ย Work closely with other FAO programme team members to ensure effective integration of nutrition in agriculture and natural resources management projects
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements ย
ย
โข ย ย Advanced University degree in in Nutrition, food security Food Science or related fields.ย
โข ย ย At least 10 years of professional work experience working food-based nutrition projects.ย
โข ย ย Working knowledge of English.
โข ย ย National of the Kingdom of Lesotho
FAO Core Competencies
โข ย ย Results Focus
โข ย ย Teamwork
โข ย ย Communication
โข ย ย Building Effective Relationships
โข ย ย Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
Technical/Functional Skills
โข ย ย Demonstrated interest in the technical areas described above.
Selection Criteria
โข ย ย Work Experience in managing community nutrition projects
โข ย ย Extent and relevance of experience and knowledge of nutrition policy and programming
โข ย ย Extend and relevance of experience and knowledge in planning and implementation of programmes related to nutrition and food security
โข ย ย Ability to write project proposals and mobilize resources
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing) Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/ย ย For additional employment opportunities visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/ย ย Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.ย