2301787
Agricultural and Agribusiness Technical Specialist for Higuey communities
Job advertisement : Jun 16, 2023
Publication cancellation date : Jun 30, 2023, 9:59:00 PM
Organizational Unit: FLDOM
Job type : Temporary work
Requirement Type: PSA ( Personal Service Agreements )
Grade Level: N / A
Main location : Dominican Republic
Duration: 3 months with the possibility of extension
Position Number: N / A
_ FAO seeks to ensure gender, geographic and linguistic diversity among its staff and its international consultants, in order to serve the Member States of the Organization in the best possible way in all regions.
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- FAO is committed to achieving diversity in its workforce in terms of sex, nationality, origin and culture.
- Women, nationals of under-represented or under-represented Member States and persons with disabilities with the necessary qualifications are encouraged to submit their applications.
- All persons working for FAO must comply with the highest standards of professional integrity and conduct and uphold FAO’s values.
- FAO, as a specialized agency of the United Nations, applies a zero tolerance policy for conduct incompatible with its statute, objectives and mandate, in particular sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination.
- All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
- All requests will be treated with the strictest confidentiality.
Organizational framework
Living conditions between urban and rural areas in the Dominican Republic present differences, as well as important socioeconomic gaps between the different territories. The existing disadvantage for the rural population is evident, whose living conditions and development possibilities are reduced by multiple barriers, among others, a lower availability of endowments and equipment for public services, and a fragile economic structure that causes migrations to the main cities and abroad of the country. This results in a gap in income and growth capacity and dynamism of the workforce, which, in turn, It also has a marked geographical expression due to the distribution of activities in the national territory.
In the specific case of the province of La Altagracia in the Municipality of Higüey are the communities Gina Jaraguá and Jagua Mocha, inhabited by a population made up of the vast majority of producers of family farming whose only productive activity is subsistence farming and have been losing interest in continuing cultivating the land since they encounter many limitations, despite being only twenty-five ( 25 ) minutes from the head municipality of the province of La Altagracia ( Higuey ) and no more than half an hour from the largest tourist pole in the country ( BAVARO-PUNTA CANA ). This laborious community, made up of working men and women, does not enjoy the benefits of electric power, drinking water and irrigation service, lack of financing. So,as a lack of structure for post-harvest management, penetration paths to their plots in poor conditions, lack of agricultural technical assistance and community strengthening, precarious conditions of the houses in which they live, among other difficulties.
To these challenges, we add the increase in vulnerabilities related to the negative impacts of climate change as a threat to achieve food security, overcome poverty and achieve sustainable development and be more resilient to these effects. These communities recently suffered the effects of Hurricane Fiona having direct and indirect effects on their agricultural and livestock productivity.
The Gina jaragua community consists of about 125 families and made up of about 650 members and has a cooperative. Similarly, the Jagua Mocha community has an association made up of 53 women producers. Support for the development of these communities involves a strategy based on a multidisciplinary approach that does not only address the merely technological aspect that leads to increased yields in its production and productivity, but must meet all those community demands that promote the increase in the quality of life of the members in a sustainable and sustainable way. In this sense, FAO, together with the SUPERATE Program and the Ministry of Agriculture, have been jointly implementing some activities both in Gina Jaragua and in Jagua Mocha, namely;construction of production units with levels of technologies, such as shade house infrastructure, drip irrigation system, seedling germinator bank, fish farming ponds, technical assistance for home production, shade, good food practices, among others. In addition, they have been working on a plan to incorporate their production with the tourism value chain, with the school feeding program, among others. with the school feeding program, among others. with the school feeding program, among others.
Based on the activities that are being carried out in these communities and the actions to be carried out later, technical support is required for these producers so that their levels of association, their levels of production and productivity can be strengthened and consolidated, and especially with regard to the marketing and marketing of its products. For these purposes, the hiring of a local Specialist who can work in person in the field who have knowledge or familiarity with other experiences of family farming development is contemplated. In addition, in good planting practices, post-harvest management, as well as marketing processes at the level of negotiation and contract compliance,and its link to private and public markets, especially with the tourism sector. The Specialist will carry out the work in coordination with the institutions of the national counterparts: SUPERATE and the Ministry of Agriculture, INESPRE, among others.
Work base: Gina Jaraguá and Jagua Mocha Communities, Higuey, Dominican Republic.
Hierarchical dependency
The person to be hired will work under the general supervision of the FAO Representative in the Dominican Republic and directly from the AFAOR-Programs and Project Specialists.
Field of specialization
Agronomy, agricultural sciences, agro-businesses.
Tasks and responsibilities
The Specialist will work in coordination with the people responsible for Monitoring and Evaluation ( M&E ), and Project and FAO Office Gender. In addition, it will be responsible for carrying out the following tasks, considering gender mainstreaming and vulnerable populations:
- Provide technical assistance in the area of planting, harvesting and production in the productive units
- Carry out and manage workshops and meetings with producers with a view to strengthening their productive and marketing capacities.
- Support in planning and scheduling of sowing according to demand and sales commitments.
- Support in strengthening the capacities of the Gina Jaragua Cooperative and the association of women producers of Jagua Mocha, especially in the financial and accounting aspects.
- Harvest monitoring and post harvest processes to ensure products arrive with the required quality and safety.
- Design of technical and economic data sheet of crops produced by farmers.
- Strengthen farmers’ capacities in the application of bioinsumptions ( pesticide and fertilizers ) and the monitoring of pests and diseases with a view to making applications more efficient.
- Application of good practices to improve irrigation practices.
- Prepare a final document containing the systematization of the applied methodology, the lessons learned and a measurement of the capacities that were strengthened.
THE CANDIDATES WILL BE EVALUED BASE TO THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA:
Minimum requirements
- National of the Dominican Republic or legal resident with work permit
- University degree of Engineer in agronomy, agricultural sciences or related areas.
- At least 5 years of experience in the agricultural production, associative and agricultural marketing sector.
- Practical knowledge of Spanish ( Level C ).
FAO core competencies
- Teamwork
- Results-based approach
- Communication
- Knowledge exchange and continuous improvement
- Building effective relationships
Technical / functional skills
- Availability to live and work in the field for the entire duration of the contract.
- Degree and relevance of the work experience with small producers, producer organizations and especially with groups of women and youth.
- Degree and relevance of experience in planning and production of vegetables in controlled spaces, management of irrigation and organic inputs, and agricultural marketing practices.
- Degree and relevance of experience in the application of rural tourism regulations and other modalities at the national level.
- Degree and relevance of knowledge in areas such as food security, rural and community development and protection of culture and biodiversity.
- Ability to write reports and technical documents
- Knowledge of the geographical context and work experience of the Dominican Republic will be valued.
- Excellent inter-personal communication skills.
- Willing to work as a team and in multicultural contexts.
- Ability to work under pressure and against tight deadlines.
- Familiarity with the work and programs of FAO and / or other UN agencies working in these areas is desirable.
- Familiarity with mainstreaming and applying the gender equality approach
Selection criteria
- Only pre-selected applicants who will go to the Panel interview stage will be contacted.
- Among the applications received, a preselection will be made based on the compatibility of professional profiles and the required competences.
- The person with the best performance in the interview will be the one who turns out to be selected.
- Applicants may be considered for other open positions at FAO.
- This position is open only to nationals of the Dominican Republic.
It is noted that all candidates should adhere to the Organization’s values of commitment to FAO, respect for all and integrity and transparency.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
- FAO does not charge fees at any stage of the recruitment process ( application, interview, processing ).
- Incomplete applications will not be taken into account. If you need help or have questions, contact: Careers@fao.org
- Applications received after the expiration of the application deadline will not be accepted.
- We inform you that FAO will only consider academic degrees or credentials obtained from a teaching institution included in the World Database on Higher Education, which is a list maintained by the International Association of Universities ( IAU ) / UNESCO. The list can be consulted at: www.whed.net/
- For any other questions visit the FAO website on employment: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/es/.
HOW TO APPLY Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile. We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline. If you need help, or have queries, please contact: Careers@fao.org
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