About Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Organizational Setting

FAO Afghanistan is investing, across all 34 provinces, in resilience reinforcing actions that focus on protecting agriculture livelihoods and local ecosystems, boosting local production of nutritious foods and cash-incomes, and safeguarding critical agriculture sectoral development gains achieved over the past couple of decades through revitalizing rural markets and economy. In 2022-2023, FAO will, under the life-saving assistance Outcome (1) of the UN Transitional Engagement Framework (TEF), focus on the following four priority actions: (i) Safeguarding Wheat Seed Security, (ii) Enhancing Local Production of Nutritious Food, (iii) Livestock Protection and Dairy Sector Support, and (iv) Restoring Irrigation Structures to Boost Cash Incomes. Additionally, FAO will contribute towards resilience building activities under Outcome 2 of the TEF.

There are a total of eight (8) positions, one position in each duty station: Bamyan, Gardez, Herat, Jalalabad, Kabul, Kandahar, Kunduz, and Mazar-e-Sharif.

Job Summary

Reporting Lines

The Social and Environmental Safeguard Assistant will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative, the direct and technical supervision of the Head of Water Resource and Irrigation Team, and the Senior Social and Environmental Safeguard Specialist from the WRI Team and in close collaboration with the Regional Coordinator.

Technical Focus

The Social and Environmental Safeguard Assistant will provide relevant technical assistance for the efficient implementation of the Water and Resilience Services within their Regional Office.

Duties & Responsibilities

Tasks and responsibilities

• Raise awareness regarding the purpose of water resource and irrigation related works at community level by disseminating information through locally relevant communication channels such as mosques, village meetings, NGOs as well as broadcast and print media.
• Identify primary and secondary stakeholders at local level in consultation with village leadership and conduct meetings with the stakeholders’ representatives.
• Provide support to the Senior and Environmental Safeguard Specialist on the issues related to the environmental and social safeguard.
• Seek the opinions of the beneficiaries on proposed activities; and involve them in planning, design, implementation, supervision and monitoring of the proposed activities.
• Prepare site-specific Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) at every stages viz Survey, design, construction and O&M of the irrigation schemes, flood protection works, watershed management and rain water harvesting works.
• Liaise with the Environmental and Social Safeguard Officer in Kabul to finalize the site specific ESMP in tune with the Environmental and Social Safeguard Framework (ESMF) of the Emergency and Food Security Project (EFSP).
• Provide priority to seek the views of the most disadvantaged and marginalized groups. Encourage an enhanced participation of women (especially female-headed households), landless, disabled and elderly people. Incorporate their ideas in the design for the social structures etc.
• Carry out compliance monitoring of Environmental and Social safeguards based on Environmental code of Practice (ECoP) and ESMF.
• Contribute in the preparation of the technical, social and agriculture inventory for the initial bench marking in tune with the indicators.
• Use socio-environmental findings to determine whether land acquisition including voluntary donation is required to enable the works to proceed.
• Carry out joint diagnostic walkthrough with the Mirabs, community and the technical staff for the identification of the maintenance need as well as institutional and agricultural problems associated with the proposed activities at the farm, tertiary, branch and the main canal levels.
• Facilitate negotiations within the community regarding the cost sharing (cash/kind/labour) as well as roles and responsibilities in the part of both the entities and prepare the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between them.
• Initiate the formation of the Irrigation Associations (IAs) in the applicable areas conducting the general assembly meetings with the wider participation of the works beneficiaries.
• Conduct a training need assessment and train government staff to deliver specific trainings for relevant local government officers, Mirabs, members of IAs and other key stakeholders on the subjects such as canal O&M, Irrigation management, resource mobilization etc.
• Help in identifying alternative livelihood options for the landless and marginalized farmers and oversee the implementation of such livelihood enhancement programmes.
• Mediate for the dispute resolution among the community as well as between the community and the contractor during the works implementation.
• Contribute to the periodic reporting.
• Perform any other duties as required.

Job Requirements

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree (Bachelor) in Sociology, Environmental Agriculture science or related field;
• A minimum of three (3) years professional experience in environmental and social management for water and irrigation related engineering works;
• Working knowledge (level C) of English and the local languages (Pashto and/or Dari); 
• National of Afghanistan.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Proven ability to prepare Environmental and Social Management plan in tune with the Environmental and Social Management Framework.
• Knowledge of Environmental Code of Practice (ECoP) in the development works.
• The incumbent must have the ability to build effective working relationships with national and international colleagues, with different cultural and technical background;
• Proven abilities in provision of advisory services in the area of supervision of constructions;
• Proven ability to plan, work and deliver agreed deadlines;
• Demonstrated interpersonal skills, as well as the ability to communicate effectively with all stakeholders and to present ideas clearly and effectively
• Good knowledge of the MS Office package, Internet etc.

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 please contact: Careers@fao.org
• Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted
• Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/  
• For additional employment opportunities visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/ 
•  Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances. 
• FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture
• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply
• Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAO's values
• FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination
• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality

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

Submission Guideline

• To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, and language skills

• Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile

• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application

• Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work, character, education, military and police records to ascertain any and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications

• Incomplete applications will not be considered

• Personal information provided on your application may be shared within FAO and with other companies acting on FAO’s behalf to provide employment support services such as pre-screening of applications, assessment tests, background checks and other related services. You will be asked to provide your consent before submitting your application. You may withdraw consent at any time, by withdrawing your application, in such case FAO will no longer be able to consider your application

• Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered

• Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile

• We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.

If you need help, or have queries, please contact: Careers@fao.org

Qualified female candidates are highly encouraged to apply.

Functional Area

Sociology

Agriculture

Enviromental Science

Countries

Attachments

Quick Guide_ Applying for AVacancy At FAO.pdf

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