Organizational Setting

The Partnerships and UN Collaboration Division (PSU) is responsible for coordinating and overseeing the identification, strengthening and stewardship of strategic partnerships with UN agencies and non-state actors (NSAs) including civil society, academia and research institutions, family farmers' and indigenous peoples' organizations and parliamentarians. The Division leads FAO's engagement in the UN Development System repositioning, develops capacities, fosters dialogue, scales up programmes and advocates for FAO's corporate positions in support of FAO's new Strategic Framework and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It ensures that multi-stakeholder processes and strategic interventions globally and locally are an integral part of FAO's work and provides targeted support for successful collaboration with NSAs and UN agencies. The Division has the lead responsibility for the promotion of the Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (CFS-RAI) and the implementation of the Food Coalition, the UN Decade of Family Farming (2019-2028) and the FAO Policy on Indigenous Peoples. It is also in charge of FAO's e-learning programmes delivered through the FAO e-learning Academy and access to scientific and technical data through knowledge platforms and enhanced information policies and standards, promotes and facilitates knowledge sharing on sustainable food security and nutrition among various stakeholders.

The position is located in the Responsible Agricultural Investments, Learning and Agriculture Information Management Unit (PSUR) of the Partnerships and UN Collaboration Division (PSU), at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy. The incumbent will be recruited under the project entitled Enhancing the FAO elearning Academy to improve the capacities and skills of youth agri-entrepreneurs through innovative learning. 

Reporting Lines

The Capacity Development Officer (e-learning) will work under the direct supervision of the Capacity Development Officer (e-learning)/Head of the FAO e-learning Academy and in close technical collaboration with the Lead Technical Officer (LTO)/Senior Instructional Designer. The Capacity Development Officer (e-learning) will also collaborate with other FAO consultants, professionals and administrative staff.

Technical Focus 

The Capacity Development Officer (e-learning) will coordinate the implementation of the capacity development activities currently established through the project. The overarching goal of the project is to enhance the capacities and employability of agrifood entrepreneurs (including youth). To achieve this, the project strengthens the FAO eLearning Academy to deliver AI-enhanced, competency-based learning pathways that build job-relevant skills and technical competencies. Through the development of a dedicated Youth Hub and the establishment of strategic partnerships with universities and specialized institutions, the project provides tailored learning opportunities, certification mechanisms and targeted technical support. These measures enable young agrifood entrepreneurs to acquire and apply certified knowledge, improve business and innovation capacities, and develop or scale up their small and medium enterprises.

Key Results

Contribute to the development and strengthening of capacity development activities.

Key Functions 

• Undertakes learning needs assessments and curricula design processes, through consultative multi-stakeholder workshops, including job and task analysis, knowledge and skills required by the various target audience groups.

• Provides technical guidance for the development of technical content and associated materials and ensures complete subject coverage, content accuracy, quality, coherence and suitability for the development of learning materials.

• Applies appropriate learning strategies according to the content, based on adult learning theories and specific quality criteria for the creation of engaging learner-centric courses, with assorted interactive elements, examples and case-based scenarios.

• Adopts experiential and reflective learning methods and selects instructional multimedia to increase learner retention, according to the target audience needs, characteristics, context and environment.

• Carries out in depth pedagogical analysis, scenarization of content and storyboarding, and supports the creation of job-aids and performance support tools.

• Oversees the production of curricula in close collaboration with subject matter experts, courseware developers and Instructional Technology Specialists.

• Designs blended learning programmes for delivery at global, regional and national levels.

• Assesses learners' performance and evaluates learning outcomes using the Kirkpatrick evaluation model. 

Specific Functions

• Contributes to the pedagogical design and testing of AI functionality for personalized learning and adaptive support, in collaboration with other team members and an Artificial Intelligence and Learning Management System (LMS) programmer.

• Coordinates the design and production of a youth-dedicated learning platform and associated targeted learning paths and learning products.

• Collaborates with FAO technical divisions, external experts, and partners to identify the competency needs of agrifood professionals and design corresponding learning paths.

• Supports partnership coordination, including outreach and collaboration with universities, agronomic institutes, and specialized institutions for content development, localization, and mentorship activities.

• Ensures comprehensive project operations and oversight by preparing and monitoring workplan and stakeholder engagement, maintaining an up-to-date Results Framework with regular data collection, and overseeing the work of implementing partners and service providers.

• Ensures proactive risk management and issue escalation, while overseeing all project communications, visibility activities, and the timely preparation and submission of required reports.

• Performs other related duties as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in education, distance learning/e-learning, communication, agricultural sciences, social sciences, or any field related to FAO's mandate.

• Five years of relevant experience in capacity development-related activities.

• Working knowledge (proficiency - level C) of English and intermediate knowledge (intermediate proficiency - level B) of another FAO Official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish).

Competencies

• Results Focus

• Teamwork

• Communication

• Building Effective Relationships

• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

• Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions, is desirable.

• Extent and relevance of experience in development and strengthening of capacity development activities, including providing capacity development support to technical units and projects; collecting and analysing technical information and data for the creation of learning materials.

• Excellent analytical and conceptual skills, as well as gender sensitive and cross-cultural competency.

• Extent and relevance of knowledge and experience with the development and/or delivery of e-learning courses, including the use of the technologies to create and deliver e-learning and blended learning courses.

• Knowledge of AI applications in e-learning, with practical experience using AI-driven features integrated into authoring and content creation tools such as Articulate Storyline, Rise, and Vyond.

• Extent and relevance of experience in establishing and maintaining partnerships with external partners, in particular for the creation and uptake of e-learning materials.

• Extent and relevance of experience in coordinating multi-stakeholder projects.

• Working knowledge (proficiency - level C) of another official FAO language would be an asset.