Junior Professional Officer (Plant Protection) P-1

Organizational Setting

The Subregional Office for Central Africa (SFC) 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), namely the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC). It assists the FAO Representations (FAORs) in the subregion with addressing subregional food security, agriculture and rural development issues at country level. The Subregional Office is a subsidiary of FAO’s Regional Office for Africa.

The post is located in the Sub-regional Office for Central Africa in Libreville, Gabon.

Reporting Lines

The Junior Professional Officer (Plant Protection) reports to the Subregional Coordinator of the Subregional Office for Central Africa

Technical Focus

Contribute to the implementation of activities to support sustainable crop production intensification (SCPI)

Key Results

Analytical and database/web services to support programme projects, products and services.

Key Functions

· Analyzes relevant technical social, economic, environmental, and technology information, data and/or statistics for input in various documents;

· Maintains records and updates databases and web pages;

· Provides technical support to various projects;

· Collaborates in the development of training tools and materials and the organization of workshops/seminars etc.;

· Participates in the organization and follow-up of meetings, consultations and conferences, the production of required materials and the provision of information and assistance to partners.

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Specific Functions

· Review and analyze the development of strategies, projects and programmes, as defined through priorities in Country Programming Frameworks (CPFs) and other national strategy documents, to support the promotion of Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) in the context of achieving Sustainable Crop Production Intensification (SCPI) in line with the “Save and Grow” concept

· Review and analyze capacity development of the National Plant Protection Organisations (NPPO’s), the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and the Inter-African Phytosanitary Council (IAPSC) for improved implementation of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC)

· Collect and review status of Pesticide Risk Reduction programs/activities to assess capacity needs for strengthening holistic pesticide management in the sub-region in line with the international norms and standards for achieving SCPI in the region

· Review existing crop commodity networks in the sub-region particularly for plantain banana, cassava and fruit and vegetable value chains

· Review the status of existing endemic transboundary plant pests and diseases as well as those that pose potential threats to the sub-region and contribute to the establishment of a network for information exchange between countries

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

· Advanced university degree in agriculture: crop protection, plant sciences or related field

· One year of relevant experience in crop protection or production in the field preferably including experience in main crops of the subregion such as cassava, plantain bananas and horticultural crops

· Working knowledge of English, French or Spanish and limited knowledge of one of the other two or Arabic, Chinese, Russian

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 field positions is desirable

· Extent and relevance of experience in plant protection and production issues in Central Africa is desirable

· Extent and relevance of experience in international instruments related to plant protection (International Plant Protection Convention and Rotterdam Convention).

· Extent and relevance of experience in collecting and analysing technical information and data as well as preparation, editing and revision of technical/scientific documents

· Extent and relevance of experience in participatory extension approaches such as Farmer Field School (FFS)

· Extent and relevance of experience in organizing meetings and workshops

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

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

· All candidates should possess computer/word processing skills.

· Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which will be followed by a competency-based interview.

· Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your iRecruitment online profile (see “How to Apply”). We strongly recommend that you ensure that the information is accurate and complete including employment record, academic qualifications and language skills.

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

· Other similar positions at the same level may be filled from this vacancy notice and the endorsed candidates will be considered for the Employment Roster for a period of 2 years.

· Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments.

REMUNERATION

A competitive compensation and benefits package is offered. For information on UN salaries, allowances and benefits, click on the following link: http://www.un.org/Depts/OHRM/salaries_allowances/salary.htm

HOW TO APPLY:

To apply, visit the iRecruitment website at http://www.fao.org/employment/irecruitment-access/en/ and complete your online profile. Only applications received through iRecruitment will be considered.

Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile.

Vacancies will be removed from iRecruitment at 23:59 Central European Time (CET) on the deadline for applications date. We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date. If you need help, or have queries, please contact: iRecruitment@fao.org