International Consultant – Capacity Development and Coordination Specialist

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

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in the Philippines, in close coordination with the Assistant FAO Representative (Programme), Group Leader of the Mindanao and Emergency Preparedness and Response, and the Project Team Leader, the International Consultant - Capacity Development and Coordination Specialist will exercise overall responsibility in the implementation of various capacity building activities and coordination with government partners and donors for possible resource mobilization to upscale and continue the project interventions.

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. In Marawi, The emergency and recovery assistance being currently provided by FAO is a bridge mechanism to jumpstart the restoration of farming activities of Internally Displaced People (IDPs), and ensure food availability and incomes. A short to medium-term recovery and rehabilitation is imperative to push for the momentum of providing livelihood opportunities of the IDPs and restoring the food supply chain and eventually the whole agribusiness value chain.

Tasks and responsibilities

The International Consultant - Capacity Development and Coordination Specialist shall perform the following responsibilities\:

1. Provide technical guidance on project decisions and strategies;
2. Provide technical inputs on the design of training programmes on crops, livestock, fisheries, farm machinery operation and farmer field schools and farm business schools, ensuring that the specific needs of men and women are taken into consideration;
3. Oversight of project performance and re-design of interventions, as required, to achieve project outcomes;
4. Mentoring of national consultants;
5. Establish visibility, close coordination and working mechanism with Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA)/Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) authorities and relevant BARMM Ministries;
6. Provide technical inputs on the strategic plan for capacity building programmes/projects of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR) and other relevant Ministries;
7. Assist in the preparation of exit strategy plan to sustain capacity building activities of BARMM and its relevant Ministries and LGUs in the Bangsamoro
8. Carry out any other relevant duties within his/her technical competence as may be requested by the FAO Representative

• The candidate must have a postgraduate degree (preferable PhD) in agriculture, rural development, or development studies with complementary knowledge in designing capacity building strategies/activities.
• The candidate should have at least 12 years practical experience in the planning and implementation of rural development and emergency rehabilitation programme in the Philippines and the Southeast Asia region;
• Must have at least 10 years of professional and practical work experience in the planning and implementation of rural development and/or Disaster Risk Management programmes/projects at the field or regional level;
• Working knowledge (level C) of the FAO official language used for communication within the country (English).

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

Technical/Functional Skills
• Must be familiar with the local rural setting in the Philippines particularly in Mindanao;
• Demonstrated understanding of the purpose and functions of the technical programme, operational guidelines and project/programme management procedures, preferably those adopted by the United Nations or FAO, which would be considered an asset
• Ability to work effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team is of importance as is the ability to take leadership when appropriate;
• General knowledge and skills in the use of standard office software, such as MS Office (Word, Excel, Power Point).