National Specialists on Small Ruminants Value Chain Analysis (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan)

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

• FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background, and culture
• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented member nations, and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply
• Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct and to uphold our values. FAO has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and FAO, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination
• All selected candidates, therefore, will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality
• The incumbent may be re-assigned to different activities and/or duty stations depending on the evolving needs of the Organization

Organizational Setting

The Sub-Regional Office for Central Asia of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO-SEC) is responsible for developing, promoting, overseeing and implementing strategies for addressing food security, agriculture and rural development priorities in the sub-region. The Organization’s technical assistance includes institution building, development of knowledge and competencies, and exchange of experience among countries facing the challenges of transition.

FAO SEC is implementing a three-year project entitled “Improving efficiency of small ruminants production for reduction of the GHG emission intensity (GCP/SEC/014/TUR)” funded by the Government of Turkey started in April 2021. The expected outcome of the project is the increased capacity at national and sub-regional level to analyse the small ruminants production systems and make them more efficient, in a gender-sensitive manner, in each participating country and in the Central Asian sub-region as a whole. The improvement of agricultural value chains and the development of sustainable livestock production are amongst the priorities for FAO’s work in the Central Asia. In this regard, the project aims to contribute to the sector development at national level.

Reporting Lines

The National Specialists will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Sub-regional Coordinator for Central Asia (SRC, SEC) or FAO Representatives of the country of their assignment, and under the guidance and technical supervision of the Lead Technical Officer (LTO) of the Project and operational guidance from SEC Field Programme Unit (FPU) or FAO Representation. He/she will work under the technical guidance of international consultants and the project Technical Officer (TO), and cooperate closely with relevant national authorities and other stakeholders.

Technical Focus

• Value Chain Analysis
• Small Ruminants Production System

The objective of the national consultants’ assignment is to conduct a value chain analysis of the small ruminants production systems considering the FAO Guidelines on developing gender-sensitive value chains. Additionally, the national consultants will evaluate current husbandry practices in the target countries, including breeding, feeding and herd management and the role and needs of women and men of different ages. Under the overall supervision of the Sub-Regional Office for Central Asia of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the technical supervision of the Senior Animal Health & Production Officer of FAO-REU (LTO), in coordination with Monitoring Officer, National Project Coordinator, the International and National Consultants and the Implementing Partner (IP), each national consultant will provide support to the project implementation by performing the following main duties:

Tasks and responsibilities

• Facilitate and coordinate a gender sensitive value chain analysis, framed by the FAO guides: ‘Developing sustainable food value chains: guiding principles’ and ‘Developing gender sensitive value chains: a guiding framework’ and the Sheep VC analysis in Azerbaijan (FAO 2020)
• Facilitate and coordinate the stakeholder mapping workshop with stakeholders (with FAO staff) to obtain an overview of the SR VC in the country, agree on methodology and tools that will be used in the VC analysis and assign roles and responsibilities to different actors.
• Support the IC mission to the country
• Train the VC team on value chain analysis, including data collection for value chain analysis, mapping, and other relevant tools and methodologies.
• Conduct end market analysis, including market demand, structure and drivers.
• Interview key informants and VC stakeholders along the chain (farmers, aggregators, processors, distributors) as well as support service providers and policy makers, ensuring gender disaggregation.
• Based on key informant interviews and desk research and analysis of the data collected, prepare a value chain analysis identifying constraints, opportunities and leverage points for upgrading of the value chain
• Contribute to drafting a vision for the development of the sheep value chain and a concrete upgrading strategy to achieve the vision.
• Present findings from the value chain analysis at a stakeholder workshop and contribute to validation of the proposed vision and strategy by stakeholders to ensure their support, engagement and ownership.

National consultants will receive methodological guidance including training and support from FAO International Consultant, as well as a methodological guide to conduct the above-mentioned activities.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in animal production,
• 10 years of progressive experience in development or the ruminant’s subsector preferred,
• Working knowledge of English or Russian
• National of the Recipient Country (e.g. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) or resident with a regular work permit.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

Selection Criteria

• Demonstrated ability to liaise with multiple stakeholders including national governments and regional organizations, effectively building an understanding and partnership with them
• Excellent communication skills in English and Russian, both orally and in writing, and ability to draft technical reports in English

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