Back National Agriculture Coordination and Liaison Specialist

Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations is the specialized agency of the United Nations for food, nutrition, agriculture, and forestry. FAO’s global vision is for a world free from hunger and malnutrition where food and agriculture contribute to improving the living standards of all, especially the poorest, in an economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable manner. Achieving food security for all is at the heart of FAO's efforts – to make sure people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active and healthy lives. 

The mission of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is to work to eradicate hunger and promote global food security together with balanced and complete nutrition. Our mandate is to raise levels of nutrition, improve agricultural productivity, better the lives of rural populations and contribute to the growth of the world economy. 

Our three main goals are the eradication of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition; the elimination of poverty and the driving forward of economic and social progress for all; and, the sustainable management and utilization of natural resources, including land, water, air, climate, and genetic resources for the benefit of present and future generations. 

Years of conflict and recurring climate shocks have led to a prolonged humanitarian crisis and high political tensions. The deteriorating humanitarian situation in recent years has led to continued high humanitarian needs across Ethiopia, with over 20 million people – internally displaced persons (IDPs), returning IDPs, crisis-affected communities, and returning migrants among them – need humanitarian assistance and protection services in 2024. Climatic shocks such as floods and drought continued to drive high food insecurity needs across the country. In addition, to livestock death further increasing risks to people’s livelihoods. There is therefore a need for a coherent, efficient, and effective agriculture response by Government, humanitarian partners, and donors. The National Coordination specialist will be deployed to the Ministry of Agriculture and work closely with the Chair of the Disaster Risk Management Agriculture Task Force (DRM-ATF).

Reporting Lines

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative (FAOR) in Ethiopia  and the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) Crops Directorate (Chair of the Disaster Risk Management (DRM)-Agricultural Task Force (ATF), the direct supervision of the Assistant FAO representative and in close collaboration with the DRM-ATF Coordinator and other relevant units, the National Coordination Liaison will support the strategic, coordination, programmatic and operational aspects of MoA and FAO programme in Ethiopia.  

Technical focus

This position will be based at the Ministry of Agriculture and assists the Chair with some of the day-to-day tasks of the DRM-ATF and other Agriculture sector coordination tasks.

Tasks and responsibilities

•    Represent the MoA in leading the DRM-ATF: ensure inclusion of key partners at regional level, assist in developing the agenda, follow up on the action points and ensure that the DRM-ATF plans are linked to the MoA Strategic plans.
•    Lead in close coordination with the DRM-ATF coordinator the needs assessment & analysis, support in conducting surveys such as Seasonal Assessments, Rapid Needs Assessments, Emergency Food Security Assessment  (EFSA) and Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM)/, secondary data review, and dissemination of available information to the partners.
•    Contribute to country level contingency planning and participate in sector-wide emergency preparedness and response planning.
•    Lead Government contribution to the preparation of various written and info-graphic output, monthly bulletins, analysis, sections of reports and studies, inputs to publications, maps for the agriculture sector and regular situational reports.
•    Assist in identifying capacity gaps and needs and provide training and capacity building opportunities to ATF partners.
•    Assist in the leadership of the Crops, Livestock and Monitoring and Analysis technical working groups, ensuring active DRM ATF members` participation.
•    Share the MoA monthly response report or data on crops and livestock interventions to enable the DRM-ATF to have a complete understanding of the response status, coverage and gaps.
•    Assist the Ministry to lead the revision of the DRM-ATF Crop and Livestock roadmaps in all the regions in line with the current context and considering the current food insecurity drivers.
•    Manage the Letters of Agreements (LoAs) for coordination and assessments issued to the Regional Bureaus of Agriculture and communicate the progress, challenges, and recommendations through a monthly update.
•    Contribute to the finalization of the response packages (crops, livestock, and cash) that are fit for purpose and can result in sustained food security impact through a transparent, objective, and participatory approach of all relevant technical DRM-ATF partners.
•    Assist in the development of appropriate methodologies for establishing and/or verifying agriculture-related needs through post disaster assessments.
•    Support in linking emergency and resilience/rehabilitation interventions to DRM initiatives, linking assessment and early warning data to targeted and appropriate responses.
•    Represent the DRM-ATF Chair in the DRM-ATF Strategic Advisory group meetings and give strategic guidance and direction in the management of the DRM-ATF.
•    Represent the MoA in all the response coordination platforms (Methodology working group, Disaster Risk Management Technical working Group, Flood and Drought taskforce meetings) and communicate the sectors plans, priorities, challenges, and recommendations.
•    Assist to identify through the DRM-ATF partners advocacy issues to be channeled to the MOA leadership and give regular feedback on the progress.
•    Conduct regular support missions with the DRM-ATF coordinator, relevant technical MoA experts to the Regional DRM-ATFs to ensure strong, effective regional agriculture coordination platforms and build stronger linkages with all Sub-national DRM-ATF platforms.
•    All other related tasks as assigned by the DRM-ATF Chair.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements 

•    National of Ethiopia 
•    Advanced university degree in food security, agriculture, economics, humanitarian affairs or related field.
•    Minimum 7 years of professional experience in humanitarian response at a mid or senior level. Experience in food security related topics is mandatory 
•    Working knowledge of English and good knowledge of the local language (s) used at the duty station is required. 

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills 

•    Ability to work and plan at strategic and operational levels.
•    Understanding of the international humanitarian response architecture, including humanitarian principles, coordination mechanisms, humanitarian reform and action, and funding mechanisms (e.g. Humanitarian  Programme Cycle - HPC, Central Emergency Response Fund and Flash Appeals, Pooled funds).
•    Ability to express and summarise ideas orally and in writing in a diplomatic and inclusive manner.
•    Ability to organise workshops, meetings and to present outcomes on behalf of a group of stakeholders.
•    Ability to take leadership of all the sector assessments, survey, and monitoring and evaluation.
•    Strong English communication skills, both written and oral.
•    Establishes and maintains productive partnerships with partners by gaining their trust and respect. 

Selection Criteria 

•    Experience in the Agriculture coordination is desirable.
•    Familiarity in working with UN agencies, Government and other partners.
•    Ability to work under pressure and willingness to travel frequently to fragile locations of Ethiopia. 
•    High proficiency in written and oral English.
•    Demonstrates integrity and ethics in the conduct of his/her work.
•    Willingness and ability to work in difficult environments, in often-stressful time- critical situations.
•    Experience of the country or regions of deployment is desirable.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION