National Digital Agriculture Consultant

Job Title: National Digital Agriculture Consultant		Type of requisition:	PSA/NAT
		Duty Station:	Skopje
Organizational Unit:	REU	Duration:	50 days from 1 April 2024 until 28 February 2025, with possibility for extension of the contract

FAO seeks gender, geographical and linguistic diversity in its staff and international consultants in order to best serve FAO Members in all regions.
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.

Organizational Setting: Under the overall supervision of the Budget Holder and the Lead Technical Officer and the direct supervision of the National Team Leader/Legal Advisor and in close cooperation with the NPC from MAFWE, other national authorities, international experts, national and local consultants, the National Digital Agriculture Consultant will: Reporting Lines: Lead Technical Officer (LTO), National Team Leader and Budget Holder (REU) Technical Focus: agriculture, policy analysis and development, capacity development, digitalization, programme development. Tasks and responsibilities: Carry out an assessment of the enabling environment for digital agriculture, including existing policies, e-Government systems, digital solutions and services in agriculture through secondary research, interviews and questionnaires. Support the project team by providing information and a stakeholder mapping on the various sectoral actors’ roles including gathering information on the level of farmers’ digitalization in the country. Support the organization of various workshops/training materials. Contribute to drafting the core components of a National E-Agriculture Strategy and actions to be undertaken, under the guidance of the LTO and working collaboratively with international consultants. Communicate effectively and liaise with the national stakeholders, ensuring their needs and requirements and well reflected. Provide monthly reports on activities done and time spent. Carry out other activities within the technical competence as requested by the LTO, BH or National Team Leader/ Legal Advisor CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING Minimum Requirements A university degree in computer science, agriculture, rural development, economics, or related field. Additional qualifications or certifications in digitalization (digital agriculture, digital innovation), information technology, or agricultural technology is advantageous. Minimum of 5 years of experience in the areas related to agriculture and agricultural policies and digitalization in agriculture. Experience in conducting capacity building activities. Computer skills, in particular applications of the MS Office package. Good command of English and Macedonian is required, including experience in writing analytical reports. Ability and self-initiative to carry out assigned tasks within deadlines in a team as well as under minimal supervision. FAO Core Competencies Results Focus Teamwork Communication Building Effective Relationships Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement Gender and minorities awareness Additional Selection Criteria Good knowledge of policy, institutional and cross-sector coordination issues related to agriculture will be an asset. Capacity to manage tasks in a systematic and efficient manner with judgment, analysis, independence, and initiative. Capacity to communicate clearly both verbally and in writing. Demonstrated ability to establish good working relationship and team spirit both inside the Organization and with external partners such as government officers, farmers, service providers and other relevant stakeholders.

Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing). Incomplete applications will not be considered. If you need help, or have queries, please contact: iRecruitment@fao.org
Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted.
For other issues, visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/

HOW TO APPLY

To apply, please send an e-mail with your CV and cover letter attached to FAO-MK@fao.org using the subject line: “Vacancy - National Digital Agriculture Consultant”.

Deadline for submissions is 12:00 Central European Time (CET) on the deadline for applications date. We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.

If you need help, or have queries, please contact: FAO-MK@fao.org

FAO IS A NON-SMOKING ENVIRONMENT