Agri-Enterprise Development Specialist

FAO seeks gender, geographical and linguistic diversity in order to best serve FAO Members in all regions.

Qualified female applicants are encouraged to apply.

People with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply.

All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality.

FAO’s approach to development assistance in Mindanao focuses on supporting the rehabilitation of agriculture and fisheries-based livelihoods, accelerating agriculture-based enterprises and increasing access to sustainable energy, and resilience to risk in municipalities affected by natural disasters and conflict. FAO interventions will include, among others\:

1. Introduction of various productivity enhancing technologies to improve household incomes and promote sustainable agricultural practices.

2. Technical assistance to government in reviewing existing policies that promote equitable agribusiness venture arrangements between farmers and agribusiness firms and capacity building activities for farmers that are anchored on the value chain approach.

3. Capacity building on enterprise development and agribusiness that will allow farmers, fisherfolk and local government units to maximize potential market opportunities.

4. Restoring and increasing the productivity of agriculture and fisheries-based livelihoods of smallholder farmers and marginalized fishers, decommissioned Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) combatants and their families
Enhancing the competitiveness of farm households, particularly women, to establish and manage microenterprises

5. Facilitating the establishment of agribusiness enterprises with production-market contract agreements or similar arrangements

The Agri-Enterprise Development Specialist will be under the overall guidance of the FAO Representative, the direct supervision of the Assistant FAO Representative (Programme), and the day to day guidance of the Project Team Leader and in close collaboration with the Mindanao and Emergency Response and Preparedness Group Team Leader.

Technical Focus

FAO has been implementing various projects in Mindanao which are guided by the FAO Mindanao Strategic Programme for Agriculture/Agribusiness and an emergency/rehabilitation project for Marawi City and other affected municipalities. The MSPAA strategies for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) are in line with the Bangsamoro Development Plan (BDP, 2015) which FAO has also provided technical assistance in crafting the Economy and Livelihood component of the BDP. FAO will provide support to BARMM Ministries in areas related to our technical fields of expertise, including provision of technical support to the sectoral planning, capacity building for officials and local extension workers, and the development/implementation of socioeconomic packages and job generation/quick impact agricultural and environmental livelihood interventions for affected population and combatants.

Tasks and responsibilities

The Agri-Enterprise Development Specialist shall perform the following responsibilities\:

• Review past and-going programs on agribusiness and enterprise development to benchmark practices and identify approaches to strengthen and enhance private sector participation to scale up identified enterprise models, emerging ones and other potential market-led enterprises appropriate for areas affected by natural and human-induced disasters;
• Analyze training needs assessment reports and findings of Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR) – Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), Department of Agriculture – Regional Field Office (DA-RFO) and LGUs;
• Develop tools necessary in capturing inputs and information from various stakeholder involved for a more collaborative project planning;
• Take technical lead in identifying appropriate project interventions to implement the agri-enterprise/agribusiness component of the project and determine the specific training modules and inputs required for implementing the appropriate interventions;
• Develop activity design, training modules (including Farm Business School) for all capacity building activities related to marketing and agribusiness, ensuring that the specific needs of men and women are taken into consideration;
• Serve as resource person and/or facilitator in various agri-enterprise/agribusiness trainings;
• Coordinate with relevant government agencies including, among others the Department of Agriculture (DA), Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR) –Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, (BARMM), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), local government units and other key counterparts, to ensure coherent designing of programmes and interventions by all actors;
• Carry out any other relevant duties within his/her technical competence as may be requested by FAO

• The candidate must have a postgraduate degree in agribusiness, agricultural economics, or related field from recognized university with complementary knowledge in agricultural development planning
• The candidate should have at least 5 years practical experience in the implementation of projects on agribusiness, agri-based livelihoods, entrepreneurship and value chain development at the field level;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and Tagalog
• He/she must have intermediate to advance computer skills in the use of standard office software, such as MS Office (Word, Excel, Power Point).
• A national of Philippines

FAO Core Competencies

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

• Must be familiar with the local rural setting in Central Mindanao and Bangsamoro areas
• Proven ability to conceptualize, plan and execute complex processes across a wide range of stakeholders, advance ability to work quickly and under pressure.
• Ability to work effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team is of importance as is the ability to take leadership when appropriate

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