House 37, Road 8
Dhanmondi R/A
Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh

Vacancy Announcement

Deadline for Application: 03 May, 2021

National Agro-Processing Specialist

Organizational Setting
FAO is supporting the Government of Bangladesh to develop policies and programmes which will increase and improve safe food production in the country while improving the livelihoods and incomes of the most vulnerable. This includes the development of key strategies to modernize the agricultural sector and access market opportunities both nationally and internationally. FAO works in close coordination with other government, UN agencies, IFIs and civil society partners to analyse and identify pro-poor, environmentally beneficial and sustainable approaches to the development of the agriculture sector. The Agro-Processing Specialist position, as part of a team of technical consultants working in collaboration with technical partners and government, will develop a series of policy papers to identify short, medium and longer-term strategies for the sector, as well as the development of market-driven action plans for agro-processing, including key linkages to food safety, value addition, infrastructure investment and export market development.

Reporting Lines
The Agro-Processing Specialist position is under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in the Bangladesh and works in close consultation with the Deputy FAO Representative, Assistant FAO Representative (Programme), project Chief Technical Advisors, National Project Coordinators and other members of the programme team.

Technical Focus
The Agro-Processing Specialist will work as part of a Technical Task Team for the development of the short, medium and longer term across the agricultural sector, focusing specifically on the agro-processing portion of the work.

Tasks and responsibilities

  • Conduct literature review of studies and papers relevant to the sector, also identifying key specialist in the country and region for further potential collaboration;
  • Document and map ongoing work in the agro-processing sector both nationally and regionally, highlighting partnership opportunities for short, medium and longer-term, conducting targeted interviews with key government and private sector partners for validation;
  • Review government, IFI and private sector investments in agro-processing to determine lessons learned and areas of success to build upon;
  • Participate in the Technical Task Team, working closely with technical specialist from UN agencies, IFIs, civil society and private sector in representation of FAO;
  • Review the agri-inputs market to identify market gaps in technology and investment, indicating strategies to fill gaps in availability of, and quality of, agricultural inputs and technology – highlighting options for technical innovations including Return on Investment and Value For Money for various subsectors, i.e. dairy, fisheries, livestock;
  • Work closely with FAO specialists in Climate Smart Agriculture, Food Safety, Resilience, Food Systems Development, Agri-Business, Food and Nutrition Security, and others to ensure polices and recommendations are considerate of inter-sectoral linkages;
  • Infrastructure investments and bottlenecks, such as strategic cold storage and agricultural aggregation and marketing approaches
  • Develop Agro-processing components of larger programme proposal and strategies under development (GCF, Country Programme Framework, etc)
  • Develop concept notes and proposals for the implementation of small-scale pilot project in appropriate and innovative technologies;
  • Explore opportunities for partnerships with international agro-business and investments;
  • Participate in UN technical coordination structures, including other UN working groups as requested;

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

  • Advanced university degree in Food science, Food technology , Food processing engineering, , Agricultural Economics, Agriculture engineering or related fields;
  • Minimum of 7 years of relevant experience in Agro-Processing or Agro Industry in a humanitarian and/or development context with good analytical and reporting skills.
  • Demonstrated and documented success in similar work.

FAO Core Competencies

  • Results Focus and Innovation
  • Teamwork and Leadership
  • Communication
  • Building Effective Relationships – Institutional Bridges
  • Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement - Vision

Technical/Functional Skills

  • Excellent organizational skills and ability to manage workloads under tight deadlines;
  • Strong project management skills, including keen attention to detail and ability to follow tasks and ideas through to completion;
  • Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work with a team and with people from diverse backgrounds;
  • The incumbent must possess teamwork spirit, ability to work under minimum supervision, flexibility and good interpersonal skills.
  • Familiarity with food security and agriculture indicators.

Duration : 06 months with possible extension

Duty station: Dhaka, Bangladesh

Application Guidelines:
To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. Or visit the below link.

GPF link: https://jobs.fao.org/careersection/fao_external/jobdetail.ftl?job=2101159&tz=GMT%2B02%3A00&tzname=

Subject must refer Application for the position of “National Agro-Processing Specialist”

Application not submitted through the filled GPF will be discarded. Please do not submit any certificates/documents with your application.

Candidates not possessing the essential qualifications should not apply as their application will not be considered.

Any persuasion will disqualify the candidate; only short-listed candidates will be invited for the interview.

All recruitment to FAO posts is made on a competitive and transparent basis. Candidates are encouraged to apply directly to FAO and follow the instructions on the above-mentioned website. Please note that no intermediary is allowed to expedite or facilitate such process. All those who represent themselves as such are fraudulent and should be reported to FAO immediately.

Women candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.