National Coordinator (Flagships Initiative)

Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. FAO’s goal is to achieve food security for all and make sure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. With 195 Members - 194 countries and the European Union, FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide. 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 FAO-Country Office for Lesotho is responsible for developing, promoting, overseeing and implementing agreed-upon strategies and projects for transforming food, agriculture and rural development. As part of its drive to accelerate achievement of SDGs, FAO has established flagship initiatives that are meant to transform agrifood systems to be more productive, competitive, resilient and inclusive. These initiatives include Hand in Hand Initiative (HIH), One Country One Priority Product (OCOP), digital villages (DVI), and Green Cities (GCI). Each country is implementing different initiatives depending on its context and comparative advantage. In addition to this global flagship initiatives Lesotho is implementing a Special Programme for transformation of agrifood system. These initiatives and special programmes are implemented through different government technical departments, academic institutions and South-South Cooperation partnership. Given the multiplicity of players for the implementation of these initiatives, there needs to be strong coordination and support to achieve the set Programme objectives. To this end, FAO is looking for a national coordinator that will support the implementation of flagship initiatives.

Reporting Lines

The National Coordinator shall work under the overall supervision of the FAO Country Representative in Lesotho, direct supervision of the Assistant FAO Representative for programme and in liaison with the relevant technical units in HQ and Sub-regional office

Technical Focus

Coordinate key stakeholders including relevant government departments, parastatals, academia and research institution for smooth and impactful implementation of flagship initiatives. Establish synergies and facilitate partnerships between state and non-state actors for promoting innovation and accelerating transformation of the agricultural sector.

Tasks and responsibilities

The coordinator will provide overall leadership, management and technical guidance to ensure the achievement of programme objectives and delivery of project outputs across existing flagship initiatives. In particular, the incumbent will be responsible for delivering the following primary duties: The incumbent will be primarily responsible for the following tasks and duties:

•     Acquaint self with all the support projects for the implementation of the Special Programme for agrifood system transform and associated flagship initiatives 
•     Provide technical guidance to government departments and other implementing partners for the implementation of ongoing projects. 
•     Work closely with national focal points for different flagship initiatives and instil ownership and leadership of such initiatives across government departments
•     Liaise with South-South technical partners for effective delivery of technical assistance to the OCOP initiative
•     Facilitate stronger collaboration between government departments and the National University of Lesotho for establishing a robust potato seed system
•     Prepare and monitor implementation of the annual workplans and for different support projects
•     Liaise with FAO technical units for mobilizing technical and financial resources for scaling the initiative in Lesotho
•     Ensure effective liaison and maintain good communication with global and regional partners including International Potato Centre and the Chinese Academy for Agricultural Science. 
•     Facilitate policy dialogue for the establishment of public private partnership for the development of robust potato seed system, which includes adequate infrastructure and production facilities for invitro seedling propagation.
•     Coordinate internal and external actors for the delivery of the special programme for agrifood system transformation
•     Carry out any other duties related to implementation and delivery of flagship initiatives

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements
   

•     Advanced university degree Agronomy, Agriculture, Agricultural Economics or related field 
•     10 years of relevant experience in Agronomy, Agriculture, Agricultural Economics or related field 
•     Working Knowledge (proficiency - level C) of English and Sesotho, 
•     National of Lesotho

FAO Core Competencies

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

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION