Participatory Irrigation Management Specialist

Organizational Context

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a United Nations specialized agency dedicated to eradicating hunger and achieving food security globally. In Myanmar, FAO's Strategic Framework 2022–2031 guides its work, addressing immediate humanitarian needs and long-term development challenges. The organization supports food security, resilient livelihoods, sustainable agrifood systems, and promotes inclusive development, particularly for vulnerable communities. FAO emphasizes integrating humanitarian aid with resilience-building efforts, working through decentralized field operations and partnerships with local and international organizations to ensure context-specific programming and effective delivery in complex environments.

Job Purpose

The Participatory Irrigation Management Specialist will play a crucial role in assessing, rehabilitating, and ensuring the sustainable management of small-scale community irrigation infrastructure affected by floods in Myanmar. This position requires a blend of technical expertise in irrigation engineering and water management with strong facilitation skills to engage local communities and Water User Groups. The specialist will lead participatory processes to identify rehabilitation needs, develop resilient technical designs, and oversee implementation, ensuring that activities are technically sound, climate-resilient, and aligned with local capacities. The role aims to strengthen community ownership, improve water availability for agriculture, enhance livelihood recovery, and promote sustainable operation and maintenance practices, thereby supporting FAO's broader objectives in the region.

Responsibilities

The Participatory Irrigation Management Specialist will conduct detailed field assessments and engineering surveys of flood-damaged irrigation infrastructure, identifying specific failures and providing strategic input on technical, environmental, governance, and social aspects for participatory, conflict-sensitive, and climate-resilient rehabilitation. This includes designing and implementing assessment frameworks for baseline surveys, leading the identification and prioritization of infrastructure for rehabilitation through community consultations, and supporting community-led implementation to ensure sustainable operation and maintenance. The specialist will develop detailed technical designs, BoQs, specifications, and repair plans, ensuring they are context-appropriate and flood-resilient. Responsibilities also include documenting lessons learned from rehabilitation methods, providing technical advice on implementation arrangements, conducting post-rehabilitation assessments, and leading training for farmers on operation and maintenance. The role involves developing progress reports, cooperating with various teams and partners to promote synergies, assessing community-led flood preparedness mechanisms, and strengthening the resilience of agricultural water infrastructure.

Work Experience

Requires at least 7 years of practical experience in the assessment, design, operation, and maintenance of small-scale irrigation systems, particularly in flood-prone environments. A minimum of 5 years must be dedicated to participatory irrigation management (PIM), community-driven development (CDD), community-based disaster risk reduction (CBDRR), or comparable community-led rehabilitation projects. Experience should demonstrate a strong understanding of participatory approaches and community engagement in infrastructure development.

Skills

Proven capacity in structural damage assessments, developing engineering specifications, drawings, and Bills of Quantities (BoQs), and facilitating community-led consultations. Strong analytical, problem-solving, facilitation, communication, and report-writing skills are essential for producing high-quality technical reports. Professional proficiency in English and Myanmar languages, with advanced computer skills in standard office software. Experience with stakeholder engagement, community self-reliance approaches, UN agencies, and managing technical budgets and local dynamics is highly valued. Ability to apply adaptive engineering solutions and design inclusive planning frameworks is also crucial.

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