Livestock Specialist – SC8

Organizational Setting

FAO is expanding its sectoral interventions in Kenya to the Dadaab refugee camps in Dadaab and Fafi sub-counties of Garissa County. Subsequently, FAO is jointly with UNHABITAT, UNHCR and WFP implementing the “Building Refugee Settlements in Kenya” project in Dadaab from 1st January 2024 – 31st December 2026, under the European Union funded Flexible Mechanism for Migration and Forced Displacement in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Overall Objective of the project is to contribute to the roll-out of refugee settlements in Kenya in which displacement affected communities (asylum seekers, refugees, and the host community) participate in fostering their common socio-economic inclusion and self-reliance. FAO, alongside WFP will be implementing activities aimed at achieving the Specific Objective 1: Improved availability and up-take of fresh, locally- produced and nutritious foods through more diversified, efficient, and higher value agricultural and livestock production.

Reporting Lines

The specialist will be under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Kenya and the Assistant FAO Representative Programmes, the general supervision of the Programme Manager Sustainable Agri-Food Systems and the direct supervision of the Project Lead of the “Building Refugee Settlements in Kenya” project (UNJP/KEN/122/EC).

Technical Focus

Provide day to day technical support to both refugee and host communities, implementing partners, and County Government in integrating the project livestock development component effectively while ensuring that the activities contribute to improved availability and uptake of fresh, locally- produced and nutritious foods in Dadaab.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Contribute to the development of guidelines and training modules on livestock production to be integrated into the Farmer Field Schools (FFS) curriculum for facilitators and participate in facilitators’ trainings to ensure proper identification of relevant livestock activities at community levels.
• Provide technical support to the implementation of all livestock value chain development activities through promotion of improved and innovative production technologies and management practices in close collaboration with key partners in the public and private sectors.
• Provide technical assistance on issues pertaining to livestock and poultry production, animal health, processing, and marketing, taking into consideration impacts on environment, food safety and associated human health risks.
• Support the development of sustainable, resilient, and competitive livestock value chains through capacity building on productivity-enhancing technologies, and support disease surveillance for early detection of risks and facilitate early response initiatives such as vaccination programmes to maximize potential market opportunities.
• Support development of practical and community-based animal health care and maintenance strategies to sustain livestock and poultry production and provide technical guidance on the development of livestock-related interventions including beneficiary targeting, training community-based animal health agents, vaccination programmes, etc.
• Participate in technical working groups on livestock production on behalf of FAO.
• Support monitoring and evaluation of outputs, indicators, and results of the project against the agreed work plan, subsequent regular report writing, and identify constraints and issues that require timely resolution and corrective actions.
• Perform other duties as may be assigned by the FAO representative or their duly appointed representative.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in Veterinary Medicine/Science and/or Animal Science or related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in animal production and animal health project interventions.
• Working knowledge of English and Kiswahili
• Must be a Kenyan National

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Demonstrated working experience in rural Kenya.
• Experience in participatory methodologies.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION