JOB DESCRIPTION

Organizational Setting

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Our 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.

The FAO Partnership and Liaison Office in the Republic of Kazakhstan is responsible for developing, promoting, overseeing, and implementing strategies for addressing food security, agriculture, and rural development priorities in the country in close collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan and other national stakeholders.

Reporting Lines

The Operations Specialist will work under the direct supervision of the Investment Support Officer/OiC FAO Kazakhstan, in close collaboration with the Programme and Administration Units, Operations Unit, Regional and Subregional Offices.

Technical Focus 

Provide operational coordination for FAO Kazakhstan projects, ensuring efficient project implementation, compliance with FAO’s Project Cycle Management (PCM) procedures.

Tasks and responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Investment Support Officer/OiC FAO Kazakhstan, the incumbent will perform the following duties and responsibilities

•    Coordinate day-to-day project operations of the FAO Kazakhstan projects in order to ensure timely provision of scheduled inputs and monitor their timely execution in line with the project work plan including facilitation of personnel recruitment and procurement actions (including LoAs);
•    Organize periodic Project Task Force meetings and provide guidance and advice on the PCM procedures, and ensure conformity of the activities with the project document;
•    Be responsible for budgetary management and monitoring of the approved field expenditures including conduct budget revisions, regular update of delivery estimates in FPMIS, facilitate Call for Funds (CCF) and prepare financial report as per donor requirements;
•    Coordinate the preparation or update of work plans including budget and logical framework matrices;
•    Ensure timely updating the Field Programme Management Information System (FPMIS) inputs, including delivery estimates, logical framework matrices, work plans, budget (as mentioned above) and uploading documents such as BTOR, Technical reports, Workshop Proceedings, LoAs, etc.;
•    Formulate correspondence with recipient governments, donors and other entities ensuring the quality of correspondence in consultation with FAOR;
•    Participate on behalf of the team leader or project manager in various meetings organized for donor coordination and resource mobilization, as required;
•    Prepare analytical reports/information on project performance and other issues, as required;
•    Train FEKAZ personnel to ensure knowledge transfer and build local capacity for sustainable project implementation;
•    Perform other related duties as required by the supervisor.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

•    University degree in agriculture, economics, business administration, agricultural economics or any other field related to the work of the Organization.
•    At least 7 years of relevant experience in agriculture, economics, business administration, agricultural economics.
•    Working knowledge of English.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Selection Criteria 

•    Working knowledge of Russian is an asset.
•    Knowledge of United Nations/FAO’s operational guidelines and project / programme management procedures is an asset.
•    Ability to effectively use standard office software, such as MS Office (Windows, Word, Outlook, Excel, Power Point, Exchange).

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements