Kathmandu, Nepal
FAO Nepal
1902907
Agriculture Engineer
Job Posting: 06/Dec/2019
Closure Date: 20/Dec/2019, 10:59:00 PM
Organizational Unit : FANEP
Job Type: Non-staff opportunities
Type of Requisition : PSA (Personal Services Agreement)
Grade Level : N/A
Primary Location: Nepal-Kathmandu
Duration : up to 11 months
Post Number : N/A
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device
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.
Organizational Setting
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. FAO helps developing countries in transition modernize and improve agriculture including livestock, forestry and fisheries practices, ensuring good nutrition and food security for all. Upon request from the Government of Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, the FAO has provided technical assistance for the execution of the Technical Cooperation Project entitled ‘Technical support for sustainable agricultural mechanization of smallholder farms for enhancing agricultural productivity and production, and reducing drudgery of women and young farmers (TCP/NEP/3703)’. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD) with its outfits is the government counterpart responsible for the implementation of this project.
The objective is to provide needful technical expertise to carry out tasks as envisioned in the Terms of References (TOR) under the overall administrative supervision of FAO Representative and operational supervision of the National Project Coordinator (NPC) in Nepal, and the technical supervision of FAO-HQs.
Reporting Lines
The Agriculture Engineer will directly report monthly/regular activities to FAO Country Office and NPC of the project. The consultant will submit periodic and end-of-assignment report, and other relevant documents prepared under the project to FAO Country Office. The FAO CO will share it to the Lead Technical Officer to obtain technical clearance, and then, the reports and documents will submit to the NPC of the project.
Technical Focus
The consultant primarily will engage in building capacity of the extension workers, mechanization service groups/cooperatives in sustainable agriculture mechanization, and agriculture tools and equipment fabricators, blacksmiths and workshop operators in operation and maintenance. The technical focus will be placed to make the beneficiaries knowledgeable enough to put into practice their expertise and reduce the women drudgery, and achieve food security while improving people’s livelihoods drudgery. Besides, the specialist shall pay attention on the selection of sustainable agricultural mechanization in the form of tools, equipment and machines suitable for different agro ecological zones (Terai and Mid-hill) and adoption of them on to different production systems across the agri-food chains.
Tasks and responsibilities
Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative of Nepal and direct technical supervision and guidance of Lead Technical officer of FAO-HQs, in close coordination with project team and the National Project Coordinator, the incumbent will be responsible to carry out the following tasks:
- Assume overall responsibility for the management and smooth implementation of the project activities in accordance with the work plan and FAO procedures;
- Prepare and conduct inception workshop and produce reports;
- Select districts and villages/Mechanization Service Group (MSG) in consultation and collaboration with the lead government institution to undertake the project implementation;
- Organize workshops/meetings at provincial (Agriculture Knowledge Center) and local level stakeholders (municipalities) to orient them on the project and its implementation procedures;
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Liaise with National Project Coordinator (designated by the Gov.) on project matters and ensure timely delivery of
inputs;
- Demonstrate the agricultural machinery on the farmer’s fields to increase farm mechanization and productivity;
- Test and evaluate the tools, equipment and machines supported by the project at the farm level to ensure quality and performance;
- Select the agricultural tools, equipment, and machines based on the gender sensitive assessment, cropping systems, landscape and local availability to be supported to the beneficiaries, and prepare specification for procurement;
- Perform timely submission of the technical specifications of the tools, equipment, and machines to LTO for technical clearance;
- Assess training needs, develop training materials, and implement training courses on sustainable agricultural mechanization in selected cropping system and efficient management of tools, equipment and machines for Extension Workers and MSG;
- Develop training materials and implement training courses on the operation, repairing and maintenance of the selected tools, equipment and machines for blacksmiths and other local workshops operators/repairing centres nearby cities or at the selected villages;
- Review FAO published ‘Hire Services as Business Enterprise’ for building the trainings and identify suitable business model on CHSC on the management of tools, equipment and machines for MSG;
- Design, pilot and validate the Custom Hiring Service Centers adapted to the local needs and conditions;
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Identify and support to put in place institutional mechanisms to establish Custom Hiring Services based on proposed
business model;
- Update periodically the work plans and budgets in close collaboration with NPC and the Programme Officer, FAO-Nepal;
- Prepare SOPs for Custom Hiring Center (CHC) and orient MSG on it;
- Develop Project Document for up scaling large-scale results; and,
- Organize a final project result sharing workshop; and,
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- Provide any other support necessary to the project.
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements
- National of Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal
- Bachelor degree in Agriculture Engineering. Master degree in relevant field would add value.
- At least five years of work experience in the relevant field with emphasis on agricultural farm mechanization
- Working knowledge of English both in written and spoken
FAO Core Competencies
- Results Focus
- Teamwork
- Communication
- Building Effective Relationships
- Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
Technical/Functional Skills
- The specialist shall have competency and demonstrated practical relevant experience in sustainable agricultural mechanization in selected cropping system and efficient use and management of tools, equipment and machines suitable to the agro-ecological zones.
Selection Criteria
- Extent of relevant technical experience in the areas related.
- Ability to manage and work with a multidisciplinary and multicultural team.
- Experience in the project management and project proposal development.
- Good knowledge on promoting GESI in development projects.
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: [email protected]
- 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/
HOW TO APPLY To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. Only applications received through the recruitment portal will be considered. Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile. If you need help, or have queries, please contact: [email protected]
FAO IS A NON-SMOKING ENVIRONMENT
More Information
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