Organizational Setting

The Partnerships and UN Collaboration Division (PSU) of FAO is responsible for coordinating and overseeing the identification, strengthening and stewardship of strategic partnerships with UN agencies and non-state actors (NSAs) including parliamentarians, civil society, academia and research institutions, family farmers’ and Indigenous Peoples’ organizations. The Division leads FAO’s engagement in the UN Development System repositioning, develops capacities, fosters dialogues, 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 and access to scientific and technical data through knowledge platforms and enhanced information policies and standards, to promote and facilitate knowledge sharing on sustainable food security and nutrition among various stakeholders.

Reporting Lines

The consultant will work under the general guidance of the Leader of the FAO elearning Academy (Capacity Development Officer).

Technical Focus 

PSU needs 3 professional profiles: 1. E-learning course creation specialist, 2. E-learning system management specialist, 3. E-learning support specialist. The incumbents will produce, deliver and disseminate interactive e-learning courses and learning materials, in the various technical areas related to FAO’s mandate, priorities and strategic framework, and the SDGs.

Tasks and responsibilities – E-learning course creation specialist

The assigned tasks and responsibilities related to the e- learning course creation can include the following elements:
•    Develop engaging learner-centred courses, rich in interactive elements, examples, knowledge assessment tests and case-based scenarios.
•    Design and develop the graphical interface, layout, visual and navigation elements for the e-learning courses, according to FAO standards and quality criteria, and in close collaboration with the Instructional Designers of the FAO elearning Academy, to support the understanding of the concepts presented in the lessons.
•    Select, in coordination with PSU instructional designers, the most appropriate instructional multimedia to increase learner retention, according to the target audience needs, characteristics, context and environment.
•    Liaise with PSU Instructional Designers, FAO Technical Divisions, external experts and partners to coordinate the production, technical peer review process and quality assessment of the e-learning courses before publication.
•    Create knowledge assessment tests and exercises (multiple choice, matching/drag-drop, multiple answer, ordering, etc.) to be integrated in the lessons to assess the knowledge of the learners, based on Kirkpatrick evaluation model.
•    Create additional learning elements such as glossary, learner tutorials, performance support tools and other resources to be integrated in the course.
•    Liaise with E-learning Systems Developers and Instructional Designers for the release of the course on the FAO elearning Academy website.
•    Test the finalized e-learning course, ensure that all links and resources are available, and support the release of the final product.
•    Undertake the conversion of e-learning materials and related job aids for use in face-to-face training workshops.

Tasks and responsibilities – E-learning system management specialist

•    Manage and maintain content on the FAO e-learning Academy’s learning management system;
•    Deploy the e-learning courses in different formats (SCORM, downloadable packages, etc.);
•    Coordinate the release and delivery of new e-learning courses and associated materials;
•    Implement final testing and certification on courses loaded on LMS;
•    Create, deliver, collect and evaluate learner surveys for the various courses;
•    Create statistical reports on the uptake and of the e-learning courses;
•    Develop procedures to improve the storage, search and retrieval of learning content;
•    Provide technical support to learners and partners; and
•    Investigate and create – together with other members of the FAO elearning Academy – new and innovative ways to deliver e-learning contents (e.g. mobile and responsive design, interactive videos, serious gaming)

Tasks and responsibilities – E-learning support specialist

•    Monitor the preparation of FAO e-learning Academy courses fact sheets;
•    Support the coordination of content development with the Instructional Design team;
•    Support the finalization of co-publishing agreements in collaboration with OCC for external partners;
•    Input to the FAO Publication Workflow System (PWS) for the course fact sheets;
•    Coordinate the printing and delivery of PSU promotional materials;
•    Manage the help and support service for the FAO elearning Academy, in particular provide general help and first level technical support to worldwide learners, and investigate problems that learners might encounter;
•    Support facilitation and management of learning events (logistics, equipment, materials, invitations, contracts) undertaken by PSU;
•    Support the delivery of curriculum design and learning needs assessments workshops organized by PSU.
•    Conduct quality assessment of the e-learning courses before publication, according to the FAO elearning Academy quality criteria and standards; and
•    Develop educational resources and materials suited to face to face training, based on the learning courses content

 
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

•    For Consultants: Advanced University degree in graphic design, multimedia animation, marketing, communications, and/or related field. A first level University degree in combination with demonstrated, relevant and qualifying professional experience in learning technologies of at least 1 year for Category C, 5 years for Category B and 12 years for Category A can be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.
•    For PSAs: University degree or specialized diploma in graphic design, multimedia animation, marketing, communications, and/or related field. Demonstrated, relevant and qualifying professional experience in learning technologies of at least 1 year for Category C, 5 years for Category B and 12 years for Category A can be accepted in lieu of a university degree.
•    For consultants and PSAs: 1 year for Category C, 5 years for Category B and 12 years for Category C of progressively responsible professional experience in (i) developing e-learning courses; (ii) digital design and rendering of educational content, (iii) developing educational resources and materials suited to face-to-face training, (iv) organizing learning events, (v) communication design, and (iv) using authoring (storyboarding) software and tools.
•    For Consultants: Working knowledge of English, French, Arabic or Spanish and limited knowledge of another FAO official language.
•    For PSAs: Working knowledge of English, Arabic, French or Spanish.

 
FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills 

•    Excellent visual ideation, creativity and conceptual skills, and knowledge of typography and colour theory.
•    Excellent communication skills, as well as gender sensitive and cross-cultural competency.
•    Experience in working with international development organizations or UN agencies is highly desirable.
•    Experience with the development and/or delivery of multilingual e-learning courses, related to food, agriculture, environmental sciences, and related social sciences is considered a strong asset
•    Experience with the development of learning materials for face to face capacity development interventions, related to food, agriculture, environmental sciences, and related social sciences is considered a strong asset
•    Level, extent and relevance of past experience with Adobe Creative Suite, particularly Illustrator, InDesign or Photoshop is highly desirable.
•    Experience in creating interactive courses using Articulate Storyline is considered a very strong asset.
•    Experience using screen capturing, interactive video, creation of animations and interactive infographics for enhancing the learning experience is considered highly relevant.
•    Ability to operate effectively in a team, contributing positively to team operations and working relationships.
•    Experience with Learning Management Systems, in particular Moodle
•    Familiar with sharable e-learning formats (SCORM), and web based technologies (HTML5, CSS, scripting) used for e-learning; and
•    Experience in facilitating and organizing events and learning needs assessment workshops are considered relevant.