Malawi nationals: Expert on Irrigated Agriculture - Water Users Association (WUA)

United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

Malawi 🇲🇼

Job Posting: 25/Apr/2023
Closure Date: 10/May/2023, 12:59:00 AM
Organizational Unit: FRMLW
Job Type: Non-staff opportunities
Type of Requisition: PSA (Personal Services Agreement)
Grade Level: N/A
Primary Location: Malawi
Duration: 110 days
Post Number: N/A

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 Members 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 FAO’s values
  • FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination  
  • All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
  • All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality
  • FAO staff are subject to the authority of the Director-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the Organization.

Organizational Setting

FAO assists governments to develop policies, programmes and projects to address hunger and malnutrition, and provides technical support for the sustainable development of their agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors and to respond to cries. FAO in collaboration with the Government of Malawi and with support of multiple development partners is implementing a wide range of activities to improve livelihoods of small-scale farmers as well as assisting a more inclusive and sustainable development in the country.  FAO Malawi is currently supporting the Government to strengthen community-based resilience in vulnerable rural areas, facilitate a more sustainable management of natural resources and supporting nutrition-sensitive agriculture.  Likewise, FAO provides and mobilizes technical assistance required by the country in areas related with agriculture production, agriculture economics and other areas relevant. 

Reporting Lines

The National Expert on Irrigated Agriculture, Water Users Association (WUA) will be under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative, through the Assistant FAO Representative (Programmes), and the direct operational supervision of the Head of Technical Section, and close collaboration with the Project Coordination Section. 

Technical Focus

The National Expert on Irrigated Agriculture, Water Users Association (WUA) will assist in ensuring quality assurance of the good agricultural practices in the implementation of the FAO projects, including community outreach activities.

Tasks and responsibilities

The incumbent will specifically:

•    Assist in carrying out orientation of the Department of Irrigation’s (DoI) technical staff to sustainable irrigation management and modernization and National irrigation master plan and investment framework (2015), National irrigation policy (2016) and Irrigation code of practice and equipment standards (2018).
•    Conduct training needs assessment of the DoI technical staff to identify gaps in capacity of the technical staff.
•    Liaise in conducting training, guidance and technical support in developing managerial and organizational capacity of the technical staff. 
•    Assist in carrying out the TCP Activity 1.3, training activates for the DoI technical staff on the following subjects: Irrigation water management; operation and maintenance of irrigation schemes; good agricultural practices in irrigated crop management; irrigation agronomy; FAO four betters; entrepreneurial skills development; business plan development; irrigation engineering instrumentation and measurement; irrigation water users associations’ formation and governance.
•    Liaise in producing O&M manual for training the WUAs.
•    Assist in conducting on-the-job training to develop design reports for developing 8 small irrigation schemes.
•    Liaise during training of the DoI trainees in the use of irrigation equipment procured under the TCP for collecting field data.
•    Conduct training, guidance and technical support in developing managerial and organizational capacity of the Water User Associations (WUAs). Under guidance of the International Irrigation Expert, the National Expert on Irrigated Agriculture (WUA) will guide the DoI trainees in developing training materials for training WUAs on the following topics: Operation and maintenance (O&M) of irrigation systems; Efficient irrigation practices and on-farm water management (OFWM); Good agricultural practices (GAP) and climate smart agriculture; Integrated watershed management (IWM); Crop diversification and intensification; and Inclusive Value chain and Marketing.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

•    Advanced University degree in the field of Irrigation Engineering, Agricultural Water Management, Water Resources Management or related field. 
•    Minimum 10 years of relevant experience in institutional capacity building focusing on participatory irrigation O&M, agriculture water management and design of irrigation systems.
•    Working knowledge of English.
•    National of Malawi or a legal resident in the country with a valid work permit.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills 

•    Excellent team work skills 
•    Ability to work independently  
•    Computer skills in Word, data processing and presentation
•    Good oral and written communication skills in English 

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

 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

  • FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing).
  • Incomplete applications will not be considered. If you need help or have queries, please contact: Careers@fao.org
  • Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted.
  • Only language proficiency certificates from UN accredited external providers and/or FAO language official examinations (LPE, ILE, LRT) will be accepted as proof of the level of knowledge of languages indicated in the online applications.
  • For other issues, visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/
  • Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances. 

HOW TO APPLY
• To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, and language skills
• Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile
• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application
• Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/ 
• Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work, character, education, military and police records to ascertain any and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications
• Incomplete applications will not be considered
• Personal information provided on your application may be shared within FAO and with other companies acting on FAO’s behalf to provide employment support services such as pre-screening of applications, assessment tests, background checks and other related services. You will be asked to provide your consent before submitting your application. You may withdraw consent at any time, by withdrawing your application, in such case FAO will no longer be able to consider your application
• Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered
• Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile
• We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.

If you need help, or have queries, please contact: Careers@fao.org
 

FAO IS A NON-SMOKING ENVIRONMENT 


POSITION TYPE

ORGANIZATION TYPE

EXPERIENCE-LEVEL

DEGREE REQUIRED

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