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 2024-2026, FAO will continue to implement emergency and longer-term, resilience-building projects and programmes in the context of the UN Strategic Framework for Afghanistan (UNSFA) and the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan.

There are two (02) positions, one position in each duty station: Gardez & Herat – Afghanistan.

Reporting Lines

Overall supervision of the FAO Representative, the direct supervision of Head of Regional Offices and the technical supervision of the Head of Livestock and Animal Health Team.

Technical Focus 

Provision of technical assistance in the area of animal health, animal production, and value chain development

Tasks and responsibilities

•    Contribute towards the development of an extension, animal health, feed, fodder crop, and AI data collection network and assist in analysing the data to prepare recommendations for extension staff and farmers;
•    Participate in field activities, including administering dewormer medicine, vaccination of animals, distribution of concentrate animal feed, and distribution of live pullets and poultry packages to project beneficiaries with the collaboration of the Implementing partners at the regional level;
•    Support the preparation of training modules to be delivered to the technical staff of implementing partners, which aims to strengthen the linkage of households with field veterinarians and para-veterinarians;
•    Provide training and supervision for field staff in extension work, specifically on animal feeding, fodder crops, rearing of calves and heifers, animal health, cattle housing, and improvement of the genetic potential of the local animal breed;
•    Support the timely distribution of project inputs to households with specific reference to addressing the  proper storage of inputs;
•    Implement animal health related vaccination campaigns;
•    Work in close collaboration with the other field officers to monitor the implementing partner’s field activities to assure  smooth project implementation;
•    Monitor activities, ensure adherence to the work plan timeframe, and make recommendations to the Head Livestock Team for any required procedural changes;
•    Support the team members in providing the sessional calendar for livestock intervention in the Region;
•    Participate in regional training workshops as appropriate;
•    Regularly contacting field visits to monitor the livestock condition and   production in order to explore the actual challenges of the farmers to be addressed by the program;
•    Perform any other related duties as required.

Minimum Requirements

•    Advanced university degree (Master or equivalent) or University degree (Bachelor) in veterinary science/livestock production
•    For Advanced university degree (Master or equivalent) at least four (4) years of relevant work experience in animal health and animal production
•    For  university degree (Bachelor) at least six (6) years of relevant work experience in animal health and animal production.
•    Working knowledge (level C) of English and 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  

•    Experience with emergencies and development initiatives in Afghanistan;
•    Demonstrated experience in the implementation of activities in collaboration with public and private sectors;
•    Demonstrated experience in dealing with partners and other stakeholders;
•    Experience with the United Nations or I/NGOs is considered a strong asset.
•    Strong professional command of Microsoft Office, in particular Word and Excel.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing)
• 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 seeks gender, geographical and linguistic diversity in its staff and international consultants in order to best serve FAO Members in all regions. 

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
• 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 create a one-time registration with FAO’s client support team for further assistance: https://fao.service-now.com/csp

FAO IS A NON-SMOKING ENVIRONMENT

Job Description – Regional Livestock Productions and Health Specialist (2402399) (fao.org)