National Gender Mainstreaming Specialist

Job Posting

: 05/Jul/2023

Closure Date

: 19/Jul/2023, 10:59:00 PM

Organizational Unit: FEUZB

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.
Reducing gender inequalities in the agricultural sector offers a critical development pathway for FAO to achieve its three global goals on reducing hunger and malnutrition, economic development (which includes the elimination of poverty) and the sustainable management of natural resources.

Reporting Lines

The National Gender Mainstreaming Specialist will work under the direct supervision of the FAO
•    for their adaptation to Uzbek context and languages; and finally, define rural communication services needed at decentralized level and processes to keep these services maintained and updated.
•    Facilitate the regional Innovation Policy Lab on gender in Fergana, under the guidance and in collaboration with the International consultant on AKIS, the Agricultural Extension Officer and the LTO.
•    Review and analyse the reports produced under the project on digital agriculture, enabling environment and knowledge transfer practices in Uzbekistan from gender equality perspective and in consultations with the REU Gender team, prepare Representative and Assistant FAO Representative in Uzbekistan and under technical guidance and support provided by the FAO REU Regional gender advisor.

Technical Focus

Position holder is intended to provide overall support and technical assistance to FAO’s development interventions, with focus on implementation of the CEDAW Article 14 and enhance FAO’s role in strengthening policy and programme linkages between social protection, agriculture, food security and nutrition.

Tasks and responsibilities

Project A: 
•    Provide technical support in mainstreaming gender equality and women’s empowerment perspectives into on-going projects/programme and other different projects implemented in UZ) and pipeline projects/program. Identify, document, and share promising good practices in FAO activities in the field.
•    Integrate gender-specific considerations into assessment methodology and throughout assessment process in collaboration with International and National Gender Consultants.
•    Prepare a gender strategy action plan for MNR.
•    Support potential investment models showcasing economic and ecosystem service flows are published and shared with regional and global partners, with attention to gender and equal access to natural resources, financial services and markets.
•    Organize gender-responsive training courses.
•    Develop two publications on gender responsive SLM/ innovative cropping techniques.
•    Support establishment of gender-responsive M&E framework based on logical frame and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), building on farmer consultations.
•    Support to produce gender aspects mainstreamed KM (Knowledge management) product and share with FOLUR IP and national stakeholders.

Project B: 
•    Conduct a workshop in Tashkent on benefits of integral landscape management, role of LDN indicators (land cover, land productivity, and soil organic carbon) and their drivers (soil erosion, soil salinity, soil carbon sequestration potential) based on the participatory needs’ identification and Gender Action Plan.
•    Identify entry points for strengthening of stakeholder participation in LDN target setting and implementation at sub-national level, including gender sensitive analysis.
•    Ensure that the project Gender Action Plan and other mechanisms developed for project implementation are followed and contribute to at least 30% participation of women in project activities and multi-stakeholders’ groups established in Bukhara-Navoi (pasture user associations at district level, FFS, VCs, etc.)
•    Contribute to provision of gender training for all project staff/ consultants and key stakeholders.
•    Monitor of socio-economic benefits using gender disaggregated data.
Project C: 
•    Carry out in-country reflection session for local authorities in target areas, sensitizing the authorities on gender-responsive approaches in climate-smart agriculture.
•    Support the international consultant in training for local authorities on communication, mediation, and negotiation skills, and on gender-responsive tools for management of cross-border related processes and use these tools in the implementation of national and local action plans.
•    Support local authorities in introducing and applying gender-responsive approaches in local planning for climate-smart agriculture and peacebuilding.

Project D: 
•    Coordinate timely implementation of the project activities, to ensure qualitative delivery the project’s key outputs. For that, s/he will work in close cooperation with the national stakeholders and support the project team, to ensure that a detailed work plan is developed and implemented in a timely manner;2) Communicate effectively with the project LTO, technical consultants and project stakeholders to ensure effective coordination so that the project team achieves desired outputs; for that, build regular and sustained communications and coordination actions (e.g. tech labs, workshops, meetings, field trips, skype/telephone conferences, emails) with the project team, stakeholders and partners in the pilot area; liaise with the national stakeholders for the purpose of the implementation of the relevant project activities.
•    Ensure that the project team and immediate stakeholders are aware and sensitized on FAO gender policy, its minimum standards and approaches in addressing gender-based inequalities in access to knowledge and innovation.
•    Under technical guidance of the REU Gender team, ensure gender mainstreaming in the project’s implementation and monitoring, in line with FAO Policy on Gender Equality 2020-2030 operations.
•    In close collaboration with the project team and other stakeholders, promote diversity and inclusion of all stakeholders and advance gender equality during the project implementation (workshops, interviews, field visits among the local stakeholders).
•    Review the research methodologies (in particular needs and capacities assessments) and survey questionnaires to ensure that concerns of women-farmers and women working in dehkan farms as family contributors are incorporated and their capacities on the access to and use of digital technologies are adequately assessed and addressed. For that, support and provide substantive contributions to the stakeholders’ analysis on the need for agricultural innovations, information and knowledge related to the innovation living labs in Fergana valley, based on the results of the mapping (activity 1.1), and especially the analysis of the capacity needs of the stakeholders to access, create, use, share and partner for agricultural information and innovations at decentralized level; preferred communication channels, content, knowledge/information products, trusted source of information and rural communication and advisory services needed; appropriate communication channels and products for innovation and knowledge sharing (platforms, websites, groups, etc.), corresponding rural communication services for successful knowledge sharing in the required areas and validating content from both FAO and external sources recommendations on mainstreaming gender.
•    Under technical guidance of REU Gender team, identify, collect and document the project’s lessons learned from the gender perspective by the end of the project, and if necessary, present at the concluding events.
•    Contribute to the project reporting process in accordance with the Guide to the FAO Project Cycle Management, monitors progress of implementation of the work plan, in particular, its timeliness, achievement of project objectives and impact, and implement corrective measures when required.
•    Assist the members of the project team in establishing a regional AKIS group and contribute to the formulation of the draft TORs for it, facilitate building their vision, mission and activity plan to act as a decentralised governance and partnership mechanism, promoting inclusion, cooperation, and equitable access to information, innovation and services.
•    Ensure that local innovation living labs  related to agricultural innovation and knowledge sharing at decentralized level involve rural women working in family farms, through regular network meetings with private sector, academia, and associations and farmers whereas feasible.
•    Support the National Expert on capacity Development and agricultural innovation (AKIS) to identify potential topics for at least two innovation living labs form groups, identify group facilitators, help develop work plan and monitoring and evaluation mechanisms,  and provide mentoring to the platforms, including by identifying additional expertise needed on a case-by-case basis, identify knowledge content to assist the work of the platform in collaboration with local knowledge actors, including research and extension, and provide support for the business planning and communication of the innovations.
•    Contribute to the organization of a final event on the lessons learned and recommendations from the decentralized level on knowledge sharing with smallholders and family farmers.
•    Perform other relevant tasks as might be required by the LTO.

Project E: 
•    Follow the work plan and its time frame.
•    With assistance from FAO UZB office, organize all necessary arrangements for the project activities planned in Uzbekistan, including a regional event.
•    Assist an International Consultant in updating the Country Gender Assessment and preparing a brief with the best practices in supporting rural women.
•    Support the organization of national workshops for the Ministry of Agriculture and other key stakeholders.
•    Work closely with FAO UZ Communication specialist to ensure visibility of the project activities in the media.
•    Ensure project reporting, contribute to FAO progress reports in English on project activities, and contribute to the Terminal Statement of the project with support from the LTO and other experts.
•    Perform other tasks as might be request by the LTO.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements 

•    University degree relevant to the required tasks (i.e. Gender, social science, environmental science, political science, institutional development, or related fields).
  •    At least five years of relevant experience in implementing gender mainstreaming interventions.
  •    Working knowledge (level C) of English, Uzbek and Russian.
  •    National of Uzbekistan or a legal resident in the country.

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.

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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