FAO – Food and Agriculture Organization

Junior Professional Officer (JPO) Chiffre Nr. 2025-1-11

1.         General Information

Job Title: JPO, Associate Professional Officer (Forestry)

Agency: FAO – Food and Agriculture Organization

Unit: Forestry Division (NFO).

Country and Duty Station: Rome, Italy

Duration of assignment: 2 years with possibility of extension for another year. The extension of appointment is subject to yearly review concerning priorities, availability of funds, and satisfactory performance.

Please note that for participants of the FAO JPO-Programme at least three years of work experience are mandatory! Relevant work experience can be counted. In order to assess the eligibility of the candidates, we review the relevant experience acquired after obtaining the first university degree (usually bachelor’s degree).

Qualified female applicants and qualified nationals of non-and under-represented member countries are encouraged to apply.

Persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

The incumbent may be re-assigned to different activities and/or duty stations depending on the evolving needs of the Organization.

2.         Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agri-food systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.

In 2024, FAO Members endorsed the “FAO Forestry Roadmap: From Vision to Action 2024–2031” to guide its work in 2024–2031. The Roadmap is designed to operationalize FAO’s reinvigorated, fit-for-purpose business model in forestry to ensure an inclusive and agile organization that is transparent, open, innovative, responsible, effective and impactful – and that serves its Members in achieving the four betters. One of the three Forestry objectives of the Roadmap is to “Scale up science- and evidence-based innovation to increase the forest sector’s contributions to global solutions and accelerate sustainable agrifood systems transformation’. One Priority Action under this Objective is to “Support countries to strengthen forestry education, training and capacity development on value-adding innovations and technologies, leaving no one behind, including through forest and farmer field schools.”

This Priority Action will be implemented, based on related work, in particular the results of the Global forest education project (GCP/GLO/044/GER) funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. The work will build on two key outputs of the project, a Call to Action on Forest Education launched at the International Conference on Forest Education (ICFE, June 2021) and the establishment of a Collaborative Partnership on Forests’ Joint Initiative on Forest Education (CPF JI-FE), led by FAO and with ITTO, IUFRO and the Center for International Forestry Research-World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF) as main partners. The Initiative works to rejuvenate forest education globally through undertaking key actions related to education, training and knowledge sharing, including improving the use of traditional forest-related knowledge.

Building on and complementing the global forest education project, in 2024 FAO will launch a multi-country project “Strengthening institutional capacities to train the next generation of forest and farm producers and practitioners, GCP /GLO/1243/GER”, funded by the German government. It aims to also use this project to trigger national, regional and global policy attention and engagement to further support the capacity development and practical training needs of rural youth towards more sustainable practices and higher value added production, using forests and trees.

Reporting Lines

The Associate Professional Officer reports to the Senior Forestry Officer and Team Leader (Forestry and Livelihoods Team) within the Forestry Division (NFO). The incumbent will work in collaboration with relevant colleagues across work streams in FAO’s Forestry Division.

Technical Focus

The focus of the Associate Professional Officer will be to assist in the implementation of the FAO Forestry Roadmap priority action related to forestry education and training, based on the Call to Action on Forest Education and the Collaborative Partnership on Forests’ Joint Initiative on Forest Education, in particular in the implementation of the project on “strengthening institutional capacities to train the next generation of forest and farm producers and practitioners, GCP /GLO/1243/GER ”. The Associate Professional Officer will also play a key role in working with and supporting the engagement of youth, including in the context of the follow-up to the World Forestry Congress “Call for Action on Youth”.

Key Results

In line with the implementation of the FAO Forestry Roadmap: “From Vision to Action 2024–2031”, the JPO will support countries to strengthen forestry education, training and capacity development with a focus on the next generation of forest and farm producers and practitioners. Through his / her efforts, the JPO will create synergies with the Global Forest Education Project (GCP/GLO/044/GER) funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture to support increased policy awareness and action on forest education and training at different levels of formal and non-formal education and to promote youth engagement in sustainable forest management.

3.         Key Functions

• Collects and analyses relevant technical, social, economic, environmental, institutional and technology related information, data and/or statistics to support the delivery of programme projects, products and services;
• Undertakes analysis, provides technical input for plans and reports and edits/revises technical/scientific documents;
• Participates in the development of improved work methods, tools and systems;
• Updates databases and web pages;
• Participates on multi-disciplinary project/work teams;
• Collaborates in the development of training tools and materials and the organization of workshops/seminars etc.;
• Participates in the organization, conduct and follow-up of meetings, consultations and conferences, the development/production of required materials and the provision of information and assistance to partners.

4.         Specific Functions

• Assists with implementation of the FAO-led activities in the follow-up to the Call to Action on Forest Education, in particular on the Joint Initiative on Forest Education of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (JI-FE);
• Supports the engagement of youth, including in the context of the follow-up to the World Forestry Congress “Call for Action on Youth” and in consideration of the recent internship report “towards a meaningful youth engagement in NFO”;
• Provides support for research, publications and other materials, communications and outreach activities on forest education, training and capacity development undertaken by FAO and for the JI-FE;
• Supports in the implementation of the project “strengthening institutional capacities to train the next generation of forest and farm producers and practitioners, GCP /GLO/1243/GER;
• Supports work related to forest education and training at national, regional and global levels, with a view to raise awareness and policy discussion at the Regional Forestry Commissions;
• Supports the organization of country and regional forest education and practical training -related activities and initiatives;
• Supports the organization of national, regional and global policy dialogues and discussions for awareness raising and resource mobilization to revitalize practical training and forest education;
• Supports the organization of capacity building workshops;
• Assists with donor resource mobilization and project formulation on practical training and forest education-related themes.

5.         General requirements

Candidates will be assessed against the following:

Minimum Requirements

• Master’s degree in forest and/or natural resources management, sustainable development, or a related field.
• Three years of relevant experience in natural resources management, capacity development/education and community- based forestry including work with indigenous peoples and/or other local communities.
• 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 is desirable;
• Extent and relevance of experience in collecting and analysing technical information and data;
• Extent of knowledge of and experience in related fields such as sustainable forest management;
• Extent and relevance of experience in the preparation, editing and revision of technical/scientific documents and in organizing meetings and workshops;
• Experience in collaborating with other UN agencies and relevant international stakeholders.

Bitte senden Sie Ihre JPO-Bewerbung direkt an das Büro Führungskräfte zu Internationalen Organisationen (BFIO) unter Angabe der Chiffre Nr. 2025-1-11 auf dem Bewerbungsbogen

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