Horticultural Value Chains Development Expert

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to achieve food security and nutrition for all. With presently 194 member states, and working in more than 130 countries worldwide, including Namibia. FAO contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.

The aim of the FAO Country offices, which are headed by an FAO Representative, is to assist governments to develop policies, programmes, and projects to achieve food security and to reduce hunger and malnutrition, to develop the agricultural, fisheries, and forestry sectors, and to use their environmental and natural resources in a sustainable manner. FAO Country Office activities include the design and implementation of country-specific field programs, liaison with local donors' representatives, and active outreach activities related to FAO initiatives.

Background

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is one of the three Participating United Nations Organizations (PUNO) supporting the implementation of the Global Accelerator (GA) Joint Programme (JP) for jobs and social protection funded by the United Nations through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Fund Secretariat. The JP is anchored in the transformative role of the agriculture sector as a source of jobs and the extension of social protection. In addition, it zooms into the biomass sector considering its emergence as a new source of growth for the country, with evident potential to unlock novel inter-institutional partnerships and innovative financing, and to expand value-chains for economic transformation.

The JP targets vulnerable and marginalized individuals and groups mainstreaming the human rights-based approach; leveraging policy and regulatory changes, building capacity, and supporting market-ready projects in a manner that integrates the three dimensions of sustainable development, while ultimately catalysing the Global Accelerator in Namibia, in line with the national development agenda. Nationally, the GA Programme adopts a-whole-of-Government approach, reporting to the TROIKA+ forum of Ministers of Finance, Justice and Labour Relations; and National Planning Commission, with support from Steering Committee and the National Global Accelerator Technical Team (NGATT).

At the UN system level, the management and implementation arrangements for the GA is coordinated through the Resident Coordinator’s Office (RCO) and is led by the International Labour Organization (ILO) working in close collaboration with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and FAO. The latter is spearheading efforts to unlock employment opportunities in the agriculture sector and therefore require the services of a national consultant, as outlined below.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative and direct supervision of the Assistant FAO Representative (Programme), and in close collaboration with the Lead Technical Officer, the Horticultural Value Chains Development Expert is responsible for providing technical leadership and hands-on field-level implementation support for horticulture value chain development under the Global Accelerator project titled “Agri-Systems transformation through biomass processing for decent jobs, social protection in Namibia”.
 

Technical Focus

He/she is responsible for supporting improvements in horticulture production, productivity, post-harvest handling, quality assurance, aggregation, and market access for youth, women and marginalized groups. The expert ensures that interventions are technically sound, market-oriented, climate-smart, and aligned with the project’s outputs, addressing systemic bottlenecks rather than providing short-term or unsustainable support.
The position holder works closely with youth, farmers, private sector, extension agents, and local government institutions to facilitate adoption of improved practices, strengthen linkages among value chain actors, and improve competitiveness and inclusiveness of horticulture value chains

Tasks and responsibilities

•    Day-to-day technical leadership and field-level implementation support to ensure achievement of project objectives, outputs, and outcomes.
•    Support farmers and private actors to adopt improved practices that enhance productivity, quality, and resilience to climate shocks and environmentally sustainable approaches.
•    Provide technical support on good agricultural practices, post-harvest handling, grading, sorting, storage, packaging, and quality assurance to reduce losses and meet market and buyer standards.
•    Conduct a rapid diagnostic of priority horticulture value chains, identifying key constraints in production, post-harvest handling, aggregation, and market access.
•    Build capacity of youth, women and marginalized groups in conducting market research and identifying and leveraging partnerships to enhance access to critical input, output and finance markets.
•    Facilitate the development and operationalization of inclusive aggregation models and strengthen linkages between producers, cooperatives, MSMEs, buyers, processors, exporters, and other market actors.
•    Support introduction and scaling of appropriate technologies and innovations related to horticulture, post-harvest management, and market access.
•    Contribute and support the activities related to identifying investment opportunities and de-risking schemes through blended financing along the horticulture value chain, supporting the establishment of multi-stakeholder coordination platforms and disseminating knowledge and best practices.
•    Work closely with extension agents and service providers to strengthen delivery of horticulture advisory and business development services.
•    Perform any other job-related tasks assigned by the Project Team Leader that are consistent with the objectives and scope of the project.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

•    Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) from an institution recognized by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/UNESCO in Horticulture, Agriculture, Agronomy, Plant Sciences, Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness, Value Chain Development, or a closely related field. 
•    Minimum of  5 years of experience in horticultural value chain development, agribusiness or market access initiatives, and post-harvest management.
•    Working knowledge of English is required.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Professional Experience

•    Demonstrated experience in smallholder-inclusive value chains preferable in arid and semi-arid contexts.
•    Proven experience working with producers, private sector actors, processors, traders, and public institutions.
•    Experience in Namibia and/or Southern Africa is an added advantage.

Technical/Functional Skills

•    Strong technical knowledge of horticultural production systems, including input supply, production, post harvest handling, value addition, and post harvest loss reduction.
•    Practical experience in market access, aggregation models, and contract farming. 
•    Familiarity with food safety, quality standards and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) requirements relevant to horticulture. 
•    Experience supporting or advising on policies, strategies or programmes related to horticulture or agribusiness. 
•    Ability to conduct value chain analyses, feasibility assessments and market studies. 
•    Experience with donor funded projects and results based programme implementation.
•    Strong analytical, reporting and facilitation skills.
•    Organized, punctual and detail oriented.
•    Ability to analyze data and provide evidence-based advice.
•    Excellent command of English (reading, writing and speaking).
•    Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.

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

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

HOW TO APPLY

• To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO [link removed] 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/ [link removed]. These qualifications should be in alignment with the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) mappings [link removed]. 

• 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 create a one-time registration with FAO’s client support team for further assistance: https://fao.service-now.com/csp [link removed]

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