Irrigation and Water Specialist at Food and Agriculture Organization Of the United Nations

Organizational Setting

• The main 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 help develop the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors, and to use their environmental and natural resources in a sustainable manner.
• FAO Nigeria is assisting the government of Nigeria in transforming and building resilience of agri-food systems with better sustainability.
• The incumbent will work in the FAO Representation in Nigeria and will be expected to support the implementation of FAO Nigeria Country Programme Framework with emphasis on climate-smart agricultural practices, policies and programmes in the area of agroforestry, water and land resources management.

Reporting Lines:

• The Irrigation and Water Specialist reports to the FAO Representative (FAOR) and direct supervision of the Assistant FAO Representative (Programmes) and in close collaboration with the Programme Leads and FAO technical officers in the Sub-regional office for West Africa (SFW), Regional FAO Office for Africa (RAF) and Headquarters

Technical Focus:

• The main responsibility is to support implementation of climate-smart agricultural practices, policies and programmes in the area of agroforestry, water and land resources management, using innovative resource mobilization approaches and private sector engagements.

Tasks and Responsibilities

• Contribute to effective delivery of all or relevant components of these three projects through preparation of project work plans, including but not limited to field implementation modalities, and progress monitoring and, where necessary, assist in identifying corrective measures to overcome operational constraints;
• Facilitate the operational and logistical field actions in aspects of the project cycle management, including, choice of inputs and services and procurement plan, site selection, formulation of beneficiary targeting criteria, distribution mechanisms, activity monitoring, training and capacity building, and reporting, in conformity with enabling FAO rules, regulations, SoPs and best practices; 
• Ensuring the timely provision of project inputs (personnel, technical support services, sub-contracts, training, equipment and supplies) directly by the Organization or, when appropriate, through Implementing Partners;
• Identify and evaluate the capacity and quality of work of potential local suppliers of relevant technical goods and services;
• In collaboration with the MEAL unit, facilitate the monitoring and evaluation the projects and project performances (outputs and impact) and its linkages towards FAO’s Country Programme Framework (CPF) and UN cooperation and FAO strategic frameworks;
• Contribute to upscaling these projects and development of the programme portfolio through participation in formulation and preparation processes for new project documents, proposals, donor briefs and meetings; 
• Contribute to the preparation of technical elements of communication materials and informational/ knowledge products, technical specifications, terms of references, briefs, evaluation, project terminal reports, statements and correspondence for internal use and for recipient governments and donors;
• In close collaboration with relevant FAO technical officers, participate in  needs assessments, surveys and analyses relevant to CSA, water and land resources sectors;
• Monitor land and water resources developments, trends and prospects in the country; relate its implications to food security, livelihoods and other areas of FAO mandate and advise of measures to be taken by FAO;
• Collect relevant land and water resources documents and information, guidelines, policies, manuals, assessments produced by other sources (governmental, intergovernmental, bilateral and multilateral entities), to shape and define priorities, guidelines and standard for FAO interventions
• Perform other related duties as may be required from time to time during the consultancy.

Minimum Requirements
Candidates will be assessed against the following:

• Advanced University Degree in the field of Agricultural / Irrigation or Water Resources Engineering, Environment and Natural Resources Management, or other related fields. 
• Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in the area of water, irrigation and agricultural land management issues at national level.
• National or resident of Nigeria
• Working knowledge (proficient – level C) of English and limited knowledge (intermediate – level B) of any of the Nigeria main languages (Hausa, Yoruba or Igbo, Pidgin).

FAO Core Competencies:

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

Technical / Functional Skills:

• Excellent command of written and spoken English.
• Excellent communication, writing and presentation skills.
• Readiness to carry out visits to project sites and duty travel as required;
• Flexibility and adaptability to work in emergency situations with tight deadlines;
• Experience in a liaison function.
• Excellent team-building and cross-cultural skills.
• Thorough knowledge of FAO’s PCM guidelines and requirements.
• Sound knowledge of FAO’s procedures and guidelines.