Technical Advisor - Agronomy P-4 - Policy and Technical Advisory Division
Organizational Context
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is an International Financial Institution and a Specialized United Nations Agency whose mission is to enable poor rural people to overcome poverty. IFAD's headquarters is in Rome, Italy, and is present in more than 90 countries to develop and finance programmes and projects aimed at increasing agricultural productivity and incomes.
The Programme Management Department (PMD) is responsible for the overall lending programme of the Fund, and is composed of five Regional Divisions, Environment and Climate Division (ECD), and Policy and Technical Advisory Division (PTA).
PTA has articulated its broader role around four key functions and activities: i) quality enhancement in support to Country Programs at both design and implementation stages; ii) knowledge management and contribution to the development of operational "products"; iii) policy engagement; and iv) networking and strategic partnerships.
Within PTA, the Farming Systems for Food Security (FS2) Unit's main functions are providing demand-led technical advisory services along the country program and project cycle, support to learning, knowledge management and scaling up, operational policy development, management of capacity building programs and coordination of selected partnerships at regional or international levels in the Farming Systems and Food Security domain. Services are built up around improving the rural poor and smallholder farmers' durable access to and sustainable use of their natural resource base with equitable benefits to their rural societies. It focuses on promoting multiple nexus and synergies between agriculture-livelihoods-natural resources-food security and markets. Farming systems (crop, livestock and fisheries/aquaculture), land and water, food security, public health and nutrition, rural energy and infrastructure are its key areas.
Purpose of Position
The Technical Advisor - Agronomy will work with other thematic Technical Advisors to enhance the quality, relevance and effectiveness of IFAD country programmes, loan and grant funded projects, policy advice and knowledge management. The incumbent will facilitate integrated analysis of the different dimensions of food security and farming systems processes (with special emphasis on sustainable use of natural resources) to ensure coherence of PTAs advice to COSOP, project design and implementation support.
Duties and responsibilities
Under the general supervision of the Director, PTA and the direct supervision of the Senior Technical Advisor (STA) on Crops and Farming Systems in FS2, the incumbent will:
Provide, in close collaboration with the STA on Crops and Farming Systems, guidance to the country programme teams on agronomy, soil fertility, crop-livestock interactions, and product value addition in support to the country strategy development, project design, review and implementation support.
Provide up-to-date professional advice and information to IFAD staff and partners on agricultural production and farming systems, with special emphasis on staple crops, to enhance the quality of the design, implementation and monitoring of programmes and to provide policy advice to countries.
Participate in loan and grant funded projects implementation support, to provide on-demand technical support to on-going programmes; participate in project implementation support/supervision missions.
Contribute to innovation, learning and knowledge management by actively engagingin the agricultural knowledge creation and sharing at country, regional and international levels in the areas of food security, agricultural production in farming systems, and climate-smart agriculture technologies. This would be achieved working in close cooperation with colleagues within and across Functional Units and other relevant IFAD Divisions
Act as the interface between PTA-FS2 and the Environment and Climate Division (ECD), especially to what relates to the Adaptation for Small holder Agriculture Programme (ASAP), through building synergies in the area of agriculture and climate change issues.
Contribute to building the documentation of field and research-tested approaches, and the development of products, tools and guidelines in the areas of crop production for food security, farming systems and climate-smart agriculture with potential for scaling up at the country, regional or inter-regional levels.
Collaborate with other colleagues in FS2 in the development, day-to-day management, supervision and evaluation of the FS2 grants projects relevant to farming systems, providing pro-active orientation of applied research work in support to the support to country programme enhancement, knowledge sharing, development of products in support for scaling up of successful field experiences.
Strengthen and develop partnerships at the national, regional and international levels for purposes of joint policy engagement and knowledge generation and sharing, business model development, and represent IFAD at international fora in her/his professional area/domain.
Perform other related duties as may be requested by the Director of the Division.
Qualifications and Skills Required
Education and Experience
A minimum of Master's degree in agronomy, or other relevant crop sciences.
At least 8 years of successful professional experience in agricultural crop production, food security and farming systems in developing countries.
Professional experience in working on one or more of the following areas: crop intensification and diversification, adaptation to climate change in agriculture (conservation agriculture, rangeland management, crop/forage drought resistance, etc).
Familiarity with different stages of the project/programme cycle (design, implementation, supervision, monitoring and evaluation).
Knowledge of current issues in agricultural, environmental and rural development
Technical/functional competencies
Demonstrated competency in analysis and synthesis of information, and report writing.
Excellent time management and ability to deliver written outputs under tight deadlines.
Ability to work effectively in a multicultural and interdisciplinary team
Languages and other skills
Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English; including the ability to set out a coherent argument in presentations and group interactions
A working knowledge of another official language of IFAD (Arabic, French or Spanish) is desirable.
Other Information
Applicants should note that IFAD staff members are international civil servants subject to the authority of the President of IFAD, and they may be assigned by him/her to any of the activities of IFAD, including field assignments and/or rotation within IFAD.
IFAD reserves the right to appoint a candidate at the appropriate grade commensurate with experience and knowledge.
Interested candidates are requested to apply by completing IFAD's Personal History Form (PHF) in English. A separate CV may be attached if you so desire, only as a supplement and not a substitute to the PHF.
The application should be made through the online system only.
In the interest of making most cost effective use of funds and resources, we are only able to respond to applicants who are short-listed for interview. Candidates who do not receive any feedback within three months should consider their application unsuccessful.
Candidates may be required to take a written test and to deliver a presentation as well as participate in interviews.
Technical Advisor - Agronomy P-4 - Policy and Technical Advisory Division - deadline: 30 September 2012
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is an International Financial Institution and a Specialized United Nations Agency whose mission is to enable poor rural people to overcome poverty. IFAD's headquarters is in Rome, Italy, and is present in more than 90 countries to develop and finance programmes and projects aimed at increasing agricultural productivity and incomes.
The Programme Management Department (PMD) is responsible for the overall lending programme of the Fund, and is composed of five Regional Divisions, Environment and Climate Division (ECD), and Policy and Technical Advisory Division (PTA).
PTA has articulated its broader role around four key functions and activities: i) quality enhancement in support to Country Programs at both design and implementation stages; ii) knowledge management and contribution to the development of operational "products"; iii) policy engagement; and iv) networking and strategic partnerships.
Within PTA, the Farming Systems for Food Security (FS2) Unit's main functions are providing demand-led technical advisory services along the country program and project cycle, support to learning, knowledge management and scaling up, operational policy development, management of capacity building programs and coordination of selected partnerships at regional or international levels in the Farming Systems and Food Security domain. Services are built up around improving the rural poor and smallholder farmers' durable access to and sustainable use of their natural resource base with equitable benefits to their rural societies. It focuses on promoting multiple nexus and synergies between agriculture-livelihoods-natural resources-food security and markets. Farming systems (crop, livestock and fisheries/aquaculture), land and water, food security, public health and nutrition, rural energy and infrastructure are its key areas.
Purpose of Position
The Technical Advisor - Agronomy will work with other thematic Technical Advisors to enhance the quality, relevance and effectiveness of IFAD country programmes, loan and grant funded projects, policy advice and knowledge management. The incumbent will facilitate integrated analysis of the different dimensions of food security and farming systems processes (with special emphasis on sustainable use of natural resources) to ensure coherence of PTAs advice to COSOP, project design and implementation support.
Duties and responsibilities
Under the general supervision of the Director, PTA and the direct supervision of the Senior Technical Advisor (STA) on Crops and Farming Systems in FS2, the incumbent will:
Provide, in close collaboration with the STA on Crops and Farming Systems, guidance to the country programme teams on agronomy, soil fertility, crop-livestock interactions, and product value addition in support to the country strategy development, project design, review and implementation support.
Provide up-to-date professional advice and information to IFAD staff and partners on agricultural production and farming systems, with special emphasis on staple crops, to enhance the quality of the design, implementation and monitoring of programmes and to provide policy advice to countries.
Participate in loan and grant funded projects implementation support, to provide on-demand technical support to on-going programmes; participate in project implementation support/supervision missions.
Contribute to innovation, learning and knowledge management by actively engagingin the agricultural knowledge creation and sharing at country, regional and international levels in the areas of food security, agricultural production in farming systems, and climate-smart agriculture technologies. This would be achieved working in close cooperation with colleagues within and across Functional Units and other relevant IFAD Divisions
Act as the interface between PTA-FS2 and the Environment and Climate Division (ECD), especially to what relates to the Adaptation for Small holder Agriculture Programme (ASAP), through building synergies in the area of agriculture and climate change issues.
Contribute to building the documentation of field and research-tested approaches, and the development of products, tools and guidelines in the areas of crop production for food security, farming systems and climate-smart agriculture with potential for scaling up at the country, regional or inter-regional levels.
Collaborate with other colleagues in FS2 in the development, day-to-day management, supervision and evaluation of the FS2 grants projects relevant to farming systems, providing pro-active orientation of applied research work in support to the support to country programme enhancement, knowledge sharing, development of products in support for scaling up of successful field experiences.
Strengthen and develop partnerships at the national, regional and international levels for purposes of joint policy engagement and knowledge generation and sharing, business model development, and represent IFAD at international fora in her/his professional area/domain.
Perform other related duties as may be requested by the Director of the Division.
Qualifications and Skills Required
Education and Experience
A minimum of Master's degree in agronomy, or other relevant crop sciences.
At least 8 years of successful professional experience in agricultural crop production, food security and farming systems in developing countries.
Professional experience in working on one or more of the following areas: crop intensification and diversification, adaptation to climate change in agriculture (conservation agriculture, rangeland management, crop/forage drought resistance, etc).
Familiarity with different stages of the project/programme cycle (design, implementation, supervision, monitoring and evaluation).
Knowledge of current issues in agricultural, environmental and rural development
Technical/functional competencies
Demonstrated competency in analysis and synthesis of information, and report writing.
Excellent time management and ability to deliver written outputs under tight deadlines.
Ability to work effectively in a multicultural and interdisciplinary team
Languages and other skills
Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English; including the ability to set out a coherent argument in presentations and group interactions
A working knowledge of another official language of IFAD (Arabic, French or Spanish) is desirable.
Other Information
Applicants should note that IFAD staff members are international civil servants subject to the authority of the President of IFAD, and they may be assigned by him/her to any of the activities of IFAD, including field assignments and/or rotation within IFAD.
IFAD reserves the right to appoint a candidate at the appropriate grade commensurate with experience and knowledge.
Interested candidates are requested to apply by completing IFAD's Personal History Form (PHF) in English. A separate CV may be attached if you so desire, only as a supplement and not a substitute to the PHF.
The application should be made through the online system only.
In the interest of making most cost effective use of funds and resources, we are only able to respond to applicants who are short-listed for interview. Candidates who do not receive any feedback within three months should consider their application unsuccessful.
Candidates may be required to take a written test and to deliver a presentation as well as participate in interviews.
Technical Advisor - Agronomy P-4 - Policy and Technical Advisory Division - deadline: 30 September 2012
Post a Comment