2302498
National Specialist on Information, Communication and Knowledge Management/Sharing
Job Posting: 17/Aug/2023
Closure Date: 31/Aug/2023, 9:59:00 PM
Organizational Unit : FEUZB – FAO Representation in Uzbekistan
Job Type: Non-staff opportunities
Type of Requisition : PSA (Personal Services Agreement)
Grade Level : N/A
Primary Location: Uzbekistan-Tashkent
Duration : 6-11 months
Post Number : N/A
FAO seeks gender, geographical and linguistic diversity in its staff and international consultants in order to best serve FAO Members in all regions.
- 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 staff are subject to the authority of the Director-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the Organization.
Organizational Setting
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is an intergovernmental Organization with more than 192 member countries. Since its inception, FAO has worked to alleviate poverty and hunger by promoting agricultural development, improved nutrition and the pursuit of food security – defined as the access of all people at all times to the food they need for an active and healthy life.
TCP/UZB/3808: Preparing the grounds for digital transformation of agriculture.
Agriculture is an important sector of Uzbekistan’s economy with about 27 percent of the country’s labour force employed in agriculture, contributing 28 percent to GDP. The importance of digital transformation of the sector is emphasized in the national agricultural priorities, Presidential Decrees on Digital Uzbekistan and Agriculture Innovation Systems signed in 2020-2021, as well as outlined as one of the priority cooperation areas in the recently signed FAO–Uzbekistan CPF for 2021–2025. A range of digitalization projects focused on digital transformation of agriculture sector were launched by the Government of Uzbekistan with support of several international partners (such as UN agencies, European Union, WB), enabling the required preconditions for rapid and successful transformation of agriculture.
The lack of decentralized knowledge exchange mechanisms available to farmers and agribusiness entrepreneurs is an obstacle towards successful rural transformation and extension services. The stakeholders include public and private sectors, smallholder and family farmers, academia, civil society. In view of these challenges, there is a need for: 1) Assessing the enabling environment for digital transformation of agriculture in Uzbekistan with a special focus on small farmers’ and rural development needs and 2) Developing capacities on innovation and knowledge transfer with smallholders and family farmers at decentralized level.
FAO has the expertise, methodologies that can address the above challenges such as the guide on e-agriculture strategy, Virtual Extension Research Communication Network (VERCON) conceptual framework, Technologies and Practices for Small Agricultural Producers (TECA), etc.
The outcome of the project will address the national and decentralized levels by developing a national programme of action on the digital transformation of agriculture developed and piloting at decentralized level with smallholder and family farmers.
The first output can be achieved relying on both the outcomes of the relevant completed and ongoing projects (e.g. EU Ask Facility) and FAO’s own methodologies and expertise.
The second output requires detailed stakeholder analysis of existing knowledge exchange system accessible to smallholder and family farmers and developing capacities matching the identified gaps and needs. The mechanism will be shaped following the analysis during the first stage of the project, but it will 1) follow the FAO’s vision of multi-stakeholder decentralized approach; 2) spread across public, private and other relevant sectors; 3) focus on all types of agriculture related innovations and knowledge (including, but not limited to digital).
Reporting Lines
National Specialist on Information, Communication and Knowledge Management/Sharing will work under overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Uzbekistan and the direct supervision of the Assistant FAOR Programme, and technical guidance of the Lead Technical Officer, in collaboration with the FAO Uzbekistan team and national team of the project.
Technical Focus
Position holder is intended to provide overall support and technical assistance to FAO’s detailed work plan of the assignment and take FAO eLearning course on experience capitalization and communication for rural development. Capitalize on inception workshop presentations and organize them on FAO website as video recordings and PDF presentations. Analyse the content provide during inception workshop to support the Innovation and digitalization roadmap prepared by project team. Develop communication and knowledge sharing strategy at decentralized level (Fergana region).
Tasks and responsibilities
The incumbent will undertake the following duties:
- Prepare detailed work plan of the assignment and take FAO eLearning course on experience capitalization and communication for rural development
- Capitalize on inception workshop presentations and organize them on FAO website as video recordings and PDF presentations
- Analyse the content provide during inception workshop to support the Innovation and digitilization roadmap prepared by project team
- Develop communication and knowledge sharing strategy at decentralized level (Fergana region)
- Establish a working group on content co-creation, documentation and sharing;
- Develop communication channels for decentralized services delivery on agriculture innovation knowledge;
- Organize regular stakeholder meetings on communication, knowledge sharing and management;
- Undertake activities for development of rural communication services in Fergana region in collaboration with AKIS Living labs and Novkent Digital Village Project;
- Organize required capacity development workshops on experience capitalization and knowledge sharing, participatory video, and digital skills
- Prepare Terminal Report of the project;
- Perform other relevant tasks.
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements
- Advanced university degree in communication, knowledge management, agriculture, computer science, information technology, or a related field.
- At least 5 years of proven experience in agriculture, digital technologies or digital agriculture fields is required.
- Proficiency (Level C) in English and Uzbek (both written and spoken) is required, including excellent reporting skills. Proficiency in Russian is an advantage.
- National or holder of a valid work permit in Uzbekistan.
FAO Core Competencies
- Results Focus
- Teamwork
- Communication
- Building Effective Relationships
- Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
Technical/Functional Skills
- Good communication skills.
- Ability to work in an interdisciplinary team.
- Expertise on video (making, editing, sharing) will be considered as an asset.
- Expertise in the Uzbek food and agricultural system will be considered as an asset.
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: Careers@fao.org
- Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted.
- Only language proficiency certificates from UN accredited external providers and/or FAO language official examinations (LPE, ILE, LRT) will be accepted as proof of the level of knowledge of languages indicated in the online applications.
- For other issues, 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.
HOW TO APPLY
- 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
- 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/
- 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
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