National Value Chains and Rural Finance Specialist - SURAGGWA
Organizational Context
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) country offices, led by an FAO representative, aim to support governments in achieving food security and reducing hunger. This involves developing policies, programs, and projects to enhance agricultural, fisheries, and forestry sectors, while promoting sustainable use of natural resources. FAO's support in Nigeria focuses on increasing production and productivity, fostering agriculture-based economic growth, and building resilience in livelihoods. The incumbent will contribute to the country's program and project portfolio, providing essential technical support.
Job Purpose
This role focuses on program development, coordination, and operational assistance, leveraging knowledge of local conditions, culture, language, and institutions in Nigeria. The specialist will ensure effective and efficient coordination and provide technical and operational support for the FAO Representation's program and project activities. This includes contributing to the development of strategies and implementation plans that align with FAO's objectives for food security, sustainable agriculture, and resilient livelihoods within the Nigerian context.
Responsibilities
The specialist will collaborate on communications regarding wild foods, forests, healthy diets, and bioeconomy, drawing from research and local materials. They will develop and deliver training needs assessments and tools, providing technical advisory support for project development, implementation, and reporting. Responsibilities include reviewing project documents to identify training needs for Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs), conducting baseline assessments for NTFPs, and facilitating community trainings on restoration processes and NTFP nursery establishment. The role involves acting as a Technical Lead for reports on forest-based contributions to agrifood systems, overseeing assessments on wild food consumption and NTFP sustainability, and providing technical guidance for wild food/NTFP projects. The specialist will participate in technical meetings, support the FAO Representation in other technical areas, and coordinate the preparation of various technical reports and documents. Additionally, they will assess institutional gaps, propose capacity-building strategies, develop inter-agency coordination frameworks, support monitoring systems, facilitate training programs for various actors, and provide technical support for institutional reforms. The role also includes carrying out any other relevant duties as requested.
Work Experience
A minimum of five years of experience in Forestry or Community Mobilization is required. Experience should align with the educational background in Environmental Studies, Value Chain Development, or a related field. The candidate must be a national of Nigeria and possess a working knowledge of English and Hausa.
Skills
Key skills include results focus, teamwork, communication, building effective relationships, and knowledge sharing. Essential functional skills involve field implementation of environmental, land restoration, or natural resource management programs. Experience in environmental and social safeguards, gender mainstreaming, social inclusion, and understanding of environmental and social management frameworks is crucial. Proficiency in stakeholder engagement, community participation, grievance redress, and accountability mechanisms is necessary. Experience in land restoration, sustainable landscape management, NTFP value chains, and climate-resilient livelihoods is important. Skills in program monitoring, safeguards reporting, and working in Northern Nigeria are highly valued. Data analysis for biodiversity and climate research, workshop facilitation, and training on climate-smart crops are also beneficial. Working knowledge of local languages like Hausa, Kanuri, or Fulfulde is an added advantage.