Fishery Officer (Biodiversity Mainstreaming in Fisheries)

Organizational Setting
The Fisheries and Aquaculture Division (NFI) is responsible for the economic, social, institutional, governance and policy aspects of FAO’s activities related to fisheries and aquaculture and their development, with particular emphasis on human well-being, food security and poverty reduction; post-harvest utilization, marketing and trade with due regard to the protection of the environment, food security and the well-being of fishing communities; collection, compilation, validation, trend analysis and dissemination of the best available and up-to-date fishery statistics and for the syndication of the FAO information on all aspects of world fisheries and aquaculture. The Division is also responsible for FAO’s activities related to the management and conservation of the living aquatic resources used by fisheries and aquaculture, including the biodiversity and ecosystem maintenance and restoration, with particular emphasis on most vulnerable and threatened species and habitats; management of responsible fisheries and aquaculture in accordance with modern management standards and best practices; development of fisheries technology, with due regard to the protection of the environment, food security and the well-being of fishing communities, including the safety of fishers and fishing vessels.
FAO’s Strategic Framework has 20 Programme Priority Areas (PPAs). The post, located in NFI’s Resilience Team (NFISR) at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, will particularly focus on the resilient agri-food systems PPA, and will help guide and contribute to NFI’s strategies and implementation of work to achieve FAO’s ‘Four Betters’.

Reporting Lines
The Fishery Officer (Biodiversity Mainstreaming in Fisheries) reports to the Senior Fishery Resources Officer/Leader of the Resilience Team (NFISR).

Technical Focus
Fisheries and aquaculture resilience.

Key Results
Research, technical analysis and project related services to support the delivery of programme projects, products and services.

Key Functions
• Researches, analyses and provides access to fisheries and aquaculture technical, social, economic, environmental, institutional and technology related data, and information and/or related policy issues to support the delivery of fisheries and aquaculture programmes, projects, products, publications and services.
• Produces a variety of technical data, statistics, information and reports as well as input for technical documents and web pages.
• Provides technical, statistical, and/or analytical services on various studies, projects and initiatives, and/or assessments; provides technical backstopping to field projects.
• Participates in the development of improved/updated technical, statistical and/or analytical tools, methodologies, systems, databases and/or key social/economic/environmental/ nutritional and/or early warning indicators, etc.
• Participates in multidisciplinary teams and/or leads working groups/teams; collaborates with other Divisions/Offices/Centres and agencies on work groups and committees and promotes best practices.
• Collaborates in, provides technical backstopping to and ensures the quality/effectiveness of capacity development activities within Members, such as organizational development and individual learning events, including preparation of related information, learning materials and on-line tools.
• Promotes knowledge sharing and best practices at international meetings and conferences and influences partners in stakeholder consultations.
• Supports resource mobilization activities in accordance with the FAO Corporate Strategy.

Specific Functions
• Supports the development of NFI strategies, planning processes and resource mobilization to promote positive transformation of fishery and/or aquaculture value chains to mainstream biodiversity, a’progressive, interactive process of recognizing the values of biodiverse systems in the development and management of fisheries, accepting full accountability for, and effectively responding to, the broader impact of fishing, aquaculture and related activities on the structure and function of ecosystems.
• Assists in coordinating the policy and practice work across NFI teams focused on mainstreaming biodiversity, while maintaining open lines of communication and close links with relevant FAO Divisions/Offices/Centres and Member networks, including Regional Fisheries Bodies.
• Assists with FAO processes supporting Members in negotiating and delivering on international commitments across multilateral environmental agreements, including fisheries and aquaculture inputs into the CBD Kunming-Montreal Framework.
• Supports global initiatives to maintain and restore biological diversity and the structure and function of ecosystems through initiatives like the FAO UNEP Decade of Ecosystem Restoration.
• Coordinates, in cooperation with other FAO teams, support to Members on spatial management tools designed to mainstream biodiversity in fisheries and aquaculture, such as Marine Protected Areas and the establishment and reporting of Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs).
• Assists in designing and implementing projects to assess and document mainstreaming of biodiversity in fisheries and aquaculture including support for monitoring evaluation and reporting.
• Supports the development of novel technological solutions to aid recording, analysis and communication of i) the contribution of fisheries and aquaculture to the resilience of species and ecosystems, ii) actions to decrease vulnerability and increase resilience of species and ecosystems, and iii) measurement of the effectiveness of solutions implemented.
• Communicates complex concepts in a diverse range of information and awareness raising products (including for policy briefs, flagship publications, key messages, talking points, presentations, opinion pieces and social media) to highlight FAO priorities and achievements in work related to increasing resilience of fisheries and aquaculture (including through the use of novel digital technologies).

---

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements
• Advanced university degree in the field related to management/conservation/economics of fishery or aquaculture social-environmental systems, marine affairs or similar.
• Five years of relevant experience in fisheries or aquaculture management or related field.
• Working knowledge (proficient – level C) of English and limited knowledge (intermediate – level B) of another FAO official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish).

Competencies
• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building effective relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills
• Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions.
• Experience with digital approaches or work experience in international organizations or multidisciplinary teams, including relevant experience working in developing countries on resilience.
• Extent and relevance of experience in the planning and implementation of projects related to building resilience of fishery and aquaculture social-environmental systems.
• Extent and relevance of experience in providing support and technical advice to international organizations and intergovernmental processes.
• Depth of familiarity with fisheries and aquaculture sectors in developing countries, and relevant in-country experience working on strengthening approaches linked to sustainable use of aquatic resources and social-environmental resilience building.
• Extent and relevance of experience in use of digital technologies for collection and dissemination of information across various communities of practice and audiences.
• Extent and relevance of experience in managing and editing publications and their dissemination, including through use of digital formats and novel technologies.