Organizational Setting

The Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (REU) is responsible for leading FAO’s response to regional priorities for food security, agriculture and rural development through the identification, planning and implementation of FAO’s priority activities in the region. It ensures a multidisciplinary approach to programmes, identifies priority areas of action for the Organization in the Region and, in collaboration with departments and divisions at Headquarters, develops, promotes and oversees FAO's strategic response to regional priorities.

The REU Digital Agriculture Team

With a mission to act as a catalyzer for the digital transformation of agriculture across Europe and Central Asia, the Digital Agriculture Team leads the implementation of a large digital agriculture programme and key corporate initiatives, such as the FAO Digital Villages (DVI) and the Hand-in-Hand (HiH) initiative. In 2023, the team was awarded as FAO Team of the Year.

This position offers a Personal Service Agreement for an initial 6-month trial period, with the possibility of extension to 11 months contingent upon the incumbent's satisfactory performance. A break from duty of at least 30 consecutive days is mandatory within any twelve-month period after which the contract is renewable upon satisfactory performance and funds availability.

The incumbent will be based in Budapest at the FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia.

Reporting Lines

Under supervision of the Head of Digital Agriculture, the Subscriber will be responsible for overall programme support as follows:

Technical Focus

Perform a variety of functions to support the team with operational and administrative tasks, assisting in project management, development of communication materials and delivery of offline and online events.

Tasks and responsibilities

The incumbent will support activities related to information management, communication, admin and operations for the Digital Agriculture team, as well as with the production of briefs, as follows:

Information management and communication support:

•     Assist with development of communication material (e.g. content for social media, coordinate production of videos, etc.), including presentations on PowerPoint;
•     Assist in publishing content on the regional DVI hub (https://www.fao.org/digital-villages-initiative/europe), working closely with Country Offices and the Office of Communication (OCC) and ensuring that all content on the platform is updated consistent with the messaging and branding guidelines;
•     Assist in the organization and delivery of events, technical workshops, webinars;
•     Assist in the process of publishing of written materials using Publication Workflow System, ensuring compliance with relevant guidelines, and liaising with external providers as required;
•     Assist with information management tasks related to the FAO AgriTech Observatory;
•     Provide English-Russian translation support;

Administration and operations:

•     Assist with the hiring process of national and international affiliate personnel according to FAO rules and regulations, using the corporate recruitment system TALEO for monitoring and screening applications, including requesting the advertisement of vacancy announcements, taking minutes during interviews and drafting selection reports;
•     Assist with procurement of products and services by submitting of procurement plans and purchase requisitions, supporting in sourcing potential service providers and vendors, supporting in drafting Letters of Agreements and Procurement Contracts and other pertaining documents; 
•     Assist in travel arrangement for field missions and technical events by preparing travel plans, submitting travel requests, submitting travel expense claims; Prepare claims in in prescribed format on behalf of the officer for further processing; 
•     Assist in tracking progress on several projects and initiatives and in tracking budgetary expenses;

Brief production:

•     Identify, synthesize, and consolidate relevant data and intelligence to inform FAO’s high-level engagement with ministers and senior representatives in the region.
•     Develop tailored briefing materials aligned with regional priorities and strategic messaging objectives.
•     Ensure timely clearance and dissemination of briefs through internal quality control processes, maintaining responsiveness to senior-level decision-making timelines.

Perform other related duties as required.

FAO Standards and guidelines:

•     Liaison with OCC will be maintained, either directly or through an agreed focal point/coordinator, to ensure compliance with OCC standards, aligned messaging, and appropriate review and clearance processes. 
•     All communication materials will follow FAO clearance processes and comply with FAO standards, including: 
FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31: https://www.fao.org/strategic-framework/en    
FAO social media policy and guidelines: https://www.fao.org/2/socialmedia    
Social Media Branding Guidelines: https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/cb5044en   
FAOSTYLE https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/cb8081en    
FAO terminology http://www.fao.org/faoterm    
FAO Names of Countries https://www.fao.org/nocs/en       
Story guidelines, Story template, UN map standards, FAO logo policy and related branding guidelines (available to staff). 
•     Further guidance regarding FAO communications, policies and procedures can be found through the FAO intranet, OCC section.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

•     University degree in international relations, economics, agriculture, business administration, communications or a related field.
•     At least 1 year of relevant experience in supporting communication, information management, operations, administrative work, and programme/project management support.
•     Working knowledge (Proficient, Level C) of English and Russian. 
•     National of Hungary or resident of the country with a valid work permit.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills  

•     Extent and relevance of experience in programme and operational support;
•     Proficiency in Russian is highly desirable.

Selection criteria

•     Proficiency in using MS Office suite, namely Word, Excel, PowerPoint.
•     Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously. 
•     Strong problem-solving skills. Strong time-management skills. 
•     Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
•     Ability to collaborate effectively with team members and external stakeholders.
•     Strong attention to detail.
•     Ability to work independently.