FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
INTERNAL Professional Vacancy Announcement No: INT-VA-2196-RNE
Deadline For Application: 30 July 2009
Position Title Senior Field Programme Officer
Duty Station Cairo, Egypt
Grade Level P-5
Duration Fixed Term: 3 years
CCOG Code: 1A11
Organizational Unit Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa RNE

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the overall managerial and administrative supervision of the ADG/Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa, RNE, the overall and technical guidance of the Chief, Field Programme Monitoring and Coordination Service, TCOM, and as part of the Regional Outposted Technical Officers Group, the incumbent will have the overall responsibility for the coordination and implementation of the field programme in the Near East and North Africa region. He/she will coordinate and monitor the field projects/programmes of the region, be responsible for the management and day-to-day operation of the complete project cycle, from inception to closure, for projects operated by the Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa, and for which he/she would have been designated budget holder, and provide guidance to and oversee the work of other project budget holders in the region. The incumbent will coordinate and oversee all the activities in the Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa and of any other project operations personnel hired in the region, and she/he will support, and contribute to FAO’s field programme development in the region. He/she will act as the coordinator of operations team and provide guidance in the implementation of work assigned to the operational units in the region. In particular, he/she will:

  • Coordinate, oversee and monitor field programme development including the management of pipelines, and implementation-related work of the other operating units in the region;
  • Contribute to the formulation and monitoring of National Medium-term Priority Frameworks (NMTPFs);
  • Advise and participate in determining field programme development strategies at regional, subregional and country level;
  • Identify major issues negatively affecting the field programme in the region and assist to ensure that appropriate action is taken;
  • Advise responsible officers on major issues affecting the operation of specific projects, with particular emphasis on large-scale, GEF-funded projects as well as joint programmes (UNJPs), and any other projects identified as having a high risk profile;
  • Contribute to the development of results-based management in the field programme in line with corporate standards, concepts and policies, taking into account the NMTPF and the Strategic Framework;
  • Report regularly to TCOM on the field programme situation in the region identifying issues and trends, and upon request, support TCOM in the preparation of corporate and ad hoc reports on the situation;
  • Contribute to project formulation, appraisal and clearance;
  • Liaise with donors and regional organizations to mobilize resources;
  • Provide quality assurance for project/programme proposals in the region, including providing operational clearances for project proposals to be eventually operated by the Regional Office and overseeing those of other budget holders in the region;
  • Assume budget holder responsibility for projects assigned to the Regional Office;
  • Provide operational guidance and support to technical support units and project personnel, including backstopping missions and act as the “first port of call” on all operational issues for project budget holders in the region;
  • Contribute to the determination of workloads, business volumes and operational capacity of the various operating units in the region;
  • Coordinate and oversee the preparation of delivery estimates for the projects and programmes in the region and maintain the project cycle data and information in the corporate Field Programme Management Information System (FPMIS);
  • Oversee the preparation of delivery estimates by project budget holders in the region and monitor the accuracy of the FPMIS data for projects in the region, including pipeline information;
  • Organize and oversee training of project budget holders in the region on operational procedures;
  • Perform other related duties as required.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
Candidates should meet the following:

  • Advanced university degree in Agriculture or a subject related to the work of the Organization
  • Ten years of relevant professional experience in planning and operating development cooperation programmes/projects in developing countries and in the field programme development/implementation
  • Working knowledge of English and limited knowledge of French

SELECTION CRITERIA
Candidates will be assessed against the following:

  • Relevance and level of academic qualifications and language abilities; knowledge of Arabic would be an asset
  • Extent and relevance of professional experience in programme/project management, in the management/operation of small-, medium- and/or large-scale projects at country and regional levels, including indepth knowledge of related administrative, operational and financial procedures
  • Extent and relevance of experience and skills in project identification, programme and project formulation, analysis, planning and implementation
  • Level of knowledge of results-based management methods and experience in their application
  • Knowledge of field programme issues in the Near East and North Africa Region
  • Knowledge of global issues, trends and constraints in development cooperation with particular reference to hunger and poverty reduction
  • Quality of communication and interpersonal skills;
  • Ability to write analytical reports for management

Please note that all candidates should possess computer/word processing skills and should be capable of working with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
* The length of appointment for internal FAO candidates will be established in accordance with applicable policies pertaining to the extension of appointments.

REMUNERATION

INTERNAL VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENTS are open for competition to staff who are holding a fixed-term, short-term or continuing appointment; Associate Professional Officers (APO), National Professional Officers (NPO) at FAO; and current staff members of other organizations and agencies of the United Nations common system.

TO APPLY: Carefully read and follow the Guidelines to applicants

Send your application to:

V.A  INT-VA-2196-RNE
 TCOM - TCO Division
FAO Via delle Terme di Caracalla 00100 Rome ITALY
Fax No: +39 06 570 56291
E-mail: VA-2196-RNE-TCO-INT@fao.org

This vacancy is open to male and female candidates. Applications from qualified women candidates and applications from qualified candidates from non/under-represented member states are encouraged. Please note that FAO staff members are international civil servants subject to the authority of the Director-General and may be assigned to any activities or office of the organization.

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