Farmer Field School – Partnership Facilitator (06 positions)

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 Pakistan under the Green Climate Fund is implementing a project called Transforming Indus Basin with Climate Resilient Agriculture and Water Management in Punjab and Sindh Provinces. The project aims to develop the country’s capacity to get and use the information it needs to cope with the impacts of climate change on agriculture and water management. The overall goal of the projects is to enhance the capacity of agricultural and pastoral sectors to cope with climate change, by up scaling farmers’ adoption of climate change adaptation technologies and practices through a network of already established Farmers Field Schools, and by mainstreaming climate change adaptation concerns and strategies into on-going agricultural development initiatives, policies and programming.

The positions are based at Multan, Lodhran, Khanewal, Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarh and Sanghar.

The following position is SB3-SC5

Reporting Lines

Under the overall supervision of FAO Representative in Pakistan and in close coordination with GCF Technical Adviser, International Technical Officers and Provincial Coordinator, the incumbent will report to head of office and Provincial Project Coordinator under direct supervision of District Training Team Lead and in close collaboration with sectoral specialists and project team in performance of the following tasks and duties:

Technical Focus

Facilitate field level interventions for establishment of Climate Business Field School (CBFS), Farmer Field Schools for Women (FFS-W), and Climate Resilient Agriculture (CRA) demonstration sites.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Conduct the stakeholder meetings on establishing adaptive demo research plots in the working locations and prepare the meeting minutes.
• Assist in identification and selection of farmers for each demonstration plot.
• Participate in the Needs Assessment in each potential location for Demonstration Plots, to define the strategies of extensions through the Demos, topics of training, etc.
• Perform demo plot profiling and prepare a profiling report.
• Organize and plan exchange visits, field trainings, field days, sharing of practices, support field visits when required.
• Provide administrative and logistics support required for training and demonstration foreseen.
• Support the Project coordinator and District Training Team Leader in the preparation of work plans, workshop updates and the project reporting
• Assist in monitoring implementation of activities to achieve project outcomes
• Propose and Identify the best suitable adaptive research areas and propose the activities in a form of report
• Present the finding in the seasonal demo plot planning meetings for supporting the research activities in establishing a number of demo plots in a given season
• Apply the SOPs in due course for selecting the demo plots and the beneficiaries and obtain the beneficiary consents for using the selected lands for training purposes
• Share the outcomes of the research on a timely manner
• Establish the approved number of demo plots in the selected locations
• Prepare an implementation schedule of the demo plots using SOPs
• Conduct the needs assessment for each demo plots and prepare a report.
• Contribute to the CBFS and WOS curricula with special attention to the communication and visibility strategy of the project
• Assist in establishing further demo plots by the service providers under an LoA between FAO and Service providers
• Plan and conduct field days using the SOPs and prepare a report on the field days before and after
• Facilitate and contribute to the local level ToT for extension officers, staff and/or employees from partner organisations (entities) on women open schools activities under Letter of Agreements with Government/NGO/University or Rural Support Program Networks (RSPN)
• Provide continuous backstopping to the Farmer Facilitators, Government Extension Workers and Partner Projects/NGO/Private Sector Company Facilitators and RSPNs facilitators for women open schools
• Closely work with the CBFS and WOS facilitators in interacting with the testing and validation of the ongoing CBFS/WOS practices on the adaptive research demo plots
• Contribute to the identification of the Climate Resilient Incentive Package and Demo Plot input provision both for adaptive research and for learning sites for farmers
• Assist district team leader and sectoral specialist in the day-to-day monitoring of CBFS/WOS. interventions and compile monthly monitoring sheets (online/offline);
• Document, report and develop database, based on the progress of trained beneficiaries’ information
• Identify and develop case studies and success stories for periodic reports
• Ensure timely submission of WOS monthly work plan and progress reports (monthly, quarterly, and final) to supervisor;
• Within the present Terms of Reference, carry out other duties as requested by the project manager, provincial coordinator and technical officers

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in agriculture with Specialization in Agronomy, Agricultural Water Management, On Farm water management, Irrigation Agribusiness.
• Minimum 3 years of experience in Agricultural Research (Quantitative and Qualitative) including 1 year of experience in Farmer Field School (FFS) or Agriculture Extension.
• Working knowledge of English and in Urdu, Sindhi or local languages used in province.
• National of Pakistan.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Practical knowledge of agribusiness and Climate Resilient Agriculture (CRA) value chain experience are an asset.
• Practical knowledge of establishing demonstration plots, adaptive research & Community organization skills.
• Proficient in basic computer skills including MS Office.
• Good interpersonal & communication skills.
• Good drafting and report writing skills.
• Analytical, communication and presentation skills.
• Good networking and advocacy skills.
• Ability of working in a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic environment and rural communities.
• Familiarity with UN systems and procedures regarding code of conduct and resource use.
• Women with agricultural research background is highly promoted to apply.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION