Plant health management specialist

CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST – VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT: 2102379

Plant health management specialist

Job Posting: 25/Aug/2021

Closure Date: 08/Sep/2021, 4:59:00 PM

Organizational Unit: SFE

Job Type: Non-staff opportunities

Type of Requisition: Consultant / PSA (Personal Services Agreement)

Grade Level: N/A

Primary Location: Home-Based

Duration: 11 months

Post Number: N/A

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device

FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background, and culture

Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented member nations, and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply

Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct and to uphold our values. FAO has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and FAO, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and discrimination

All selected candidates, therefore, will undergo rigorous reference and background checks

All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality

The incumbent may be re-assigned to different activities and/or duty stations depending on the evolving needs of the Organization

Organizational Setting

The FAO Subregional Office for Eastern Africa (SFE) is responsible for developing, promoting, overseeing and implementing agreed strategies for addressing subregional food, agriculture and rural development priorities. It develops and maintains relations with subregion-wide institutions including Regional Economic Integration Organizations (REIOs). It assists the FAO Representations (FAORs) in the subregion with addressing subregional food security, agriculture and rural development issues at country level. The Office is also responsible for the liaison with the African Union Commission (AUC) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). The Subregional Office is a subsidiary of FAO’s Regional Office for Africa (RAF).

The nine East African countries (Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan and Uganda) that comprise the FAO-SFE sub-region has a total population of about 263.3 million as of 1st July 2019 with a combined GDP of US$203.1 billion. As one of the fastest growing regional integration areas, its growth is attributed in part to a progressive manufacturing sector characterized by agro-processing and industrial production and an export sector consisting of commodities including horticulture. Despite the growth figures cited, East African countries substantially lag behind other countries in African FAO sub-regions in terms of agricultural productivity and trade. A significant component of food loss and market access losses can be attributed to plant and animal pests and diseases and to food safety threats including biological toxins, microbial contaminants and pesticide residues. There are numerous interventions in the sub-region that target specific pests or agricultural production issues but few of these address the overarching institutional capacity gaps that prevent the establishment of a sustainable enabling environment necessary to promote trade and investments in the agricultural sector and thereby protect the livelihoods of so many who depend on agriculture.

Since its entry into force in May 2019, the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) continues to explore how to galvanise the 55- member states of the African Union into a single trading block. This presents an opportunity to boost intra-African trade if the AU member states can put in place systems that remove barriers to trade in agricultural products, particularly those related to SPS measures. Realising the aspirations of AfCFTA with respect to trade in agricultural commodities will therefore require comprehensive capacity enhancement at all levels of priority value chains. To strengthen member states capacities will require the institutions responsible for supporting agricultural industry with SPS compliance to invest in better food and trading systems over the long-term.

To transition from policy to operations, it is essential that AfCFTA starts by generation of evidence on the bases of SPS notifications using data from EU and other trading partners as an exemplar then cascading these to the intra-Africa SPS concerns, by evaluating the policies that prevent institutions to operationalise official SPS standards.

The FAO-SFE, through its multi-disciplinary team, supports initiatives strengthening better production and better lives through specific interventions such as digital agriculture, crop health programmes and enhancing the business of agriculture focusing on enhancement of value chains.

Reporting Lines

The adviser will work under the overall supervision of the Sub-Regional Coordinator–SFE and direct supervision of the SFE Crop Production Officer. The Adviser will be guided technically by multidisciplinary team experts from FAO-SFE as well as key technical experts from RAF and other development partners as identified.

Technical Focus

The Adviser will provide technical advisory support services to address a range of crop health, production and trade regulation issues. The Adviser will facilitate inclusive, evidence-based policy dialogues, leading to a shared understanding of the solutions needed for enhancing surveillance and establishing a responsive early warning system against plant pests and diseases in the sub-region. The Adviser will facilitate the identification of investment and programming adjustments needed at the FAO-SFE as well as at the national level and with development partners to achieve a robust system to address the threats of emerging plant pests in the sub-region.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Facilitate dialogue among relevant stakeholders at sub-regional level to identify and address gaps to effectively manage the institutional issues that prevent or impede an effective framework for pre-emptively identify and manage emerging plant pests.
• Support policy work around regulatory systems and specifically, identify policy and regulatory framework gaps and conflicting incentives and recommend the adjustments needed to improve the direction of investments at national and sub-regional levels.
• Analyse information and formulate interventions in the form of long-term projects/programmes;
• Facilitate coordination between development partners and relevant donors to support the identified priorities.
• Provide technical backstopping and training as required to member states;
• Provide technical inputs relating to the RAF regional priority themes and programmes relevant to crop production and protection;
• Prepare technical recommendations for enhancing member states’ capacities in plant health matters, particularly, early warning and response systems;
• Perform other related duties as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University Degree in agricultural health disciplines such as entomology, plant pathology or applied fields such as crop protection or agronomy.
• Relevant experience establishing or managing plant health systems, providing technical support in pest risk analysis, providing technical assistance for strengthening phytosanitary programmes, and analysis of policy and institutional frameworks.

o Consultant level B: a minimum of eight years of relevant experience

• Working knowledge of English, and limited knowledge of one of the other official FAO languages (French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Russian) for COF.REG. For PSA.SBS, the requirement is a working knowledge of English

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Work experience in more than one location or area of work particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Relevant practical experience in developing countries in other regions of the world is an added advantage.
• Demonstrated experience in strengthening the enabling environment and institutional framework for effective regulatory management of plant pest and diseases.
• Extent and relevance of experience in systems design for effective plant health programmes at national, regional or global levels.
• Extent and relevance of experience in facilitating policy dialogue and multi-stakeholder consultations.
• Extent and relevance of experience in developing or managing capacity development programmes
• Familiarity with the IPPC and its standards as well as with crop production and crop health systems in Eastern and Southern Africa.

Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

FAO does not charge any fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview, processing)

Please note that FAO will only consider academic credentials or degrees obtained from an educational institution recognized in the IAU/UNESCO list

If you are in possession of language certificate/s from UN accredited external providers and/or FAO language official examinations (LPE, ILE, LRT), please attach the certificate/s when submitting the application.

For more information, visit the FAO employment website

HOW TO APPLY

To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Only applications received through the recruitment portal will be considered.

We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline

If you need help please contact: [email protected]

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