National Technical Project Coordinator

Organizational Setting

Since 2014 FAO has been supporting the Government of Sierra Leone in promoting a land reform process, inspired and guided by the principles of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the context of national food security (VGGT) through legal and policy advice, institutional development, capacity development and support to the establishment of a Technical Working Group (TWG) on Land.
The passage of the National Land Policy in 2015 and the Customary Land Act as well as the National Land Commission Act (NLCA) in 2022, represent significant land sector reforms towards decentralisation, strengthening of women's land rights, and protecting customary land. The Customary Land Rights Act seeks to secure customary land tenure and provides guidance for customary land registration, which is a new process in Sierra Leone. The National Land Commission Act seeks to reform the institutional structures responsible for land administration by merging several land administration functions in one entity. Further, the new land acts call for the decentralisation of land administration structures to the district, chiefdom, and village levels. Both acts emphasize the strengthening of women's land rights and women's decision-making power related to land.
Based on the above background, FAO has signed an agreement with the Ministry of Land, Housing and Country Planning (MLHCP) to provide technical assistance for the implementation of the project titled Innovative Solutions for Land Dispute Resolution in Sierra Leone (UTF/SIL/059/SIL), to pilot innovative approaches for land dispute resolution and capacity building of women, youth and other disadvantaged and vulnerable populations in the context of land sector reforms in Sierra Leone, as provided for in the National Land Policy 2015, Customary land Rights Act 2022, National Land Commission Act 2022 and other applicable land and gender laws..

Reporting Lines

Under the general supervision of the FAO Representative in Sierra Leone, the Project Technical Coordinator will be technically supervised by the Assistant FAOR (in charge of programme) in close collaboration with the FAO technical colleagues in the FAO HQ.

Technical Focus

The National Technical Coordinator should work with the objective of assuring efficient, smooth and timely implementation of the project and the timely achievement of the project outputs as per FAO standard and donor requirements. Provide programmatic and technical expertise needed to manage the project across the four districts. He/she is also responsible for the submission of high-quality project reports in a timely and coordinated manner to the MLHCP for onwards submission to the World Bank).

The NPC will liaise with the LTO on all aspects of project coordination and implementation including but not limited to\:

Tasks and responsibilities

• Responsible for the overall day-to-day management of the project technical package, including development of annual work plans, coordination of procurement actions, financial management, monitoring of implementation, etc.
• Timely compilation and submit project financial reports; six monthly and annual reports; environmental and social monitoring reports.
• Lead in carrying out all operational related functions such as budget revision (if needed), management of the FAO cooperate systems related to the project, initiation of procurement, etc.
• In collaboration with MLHCP and FAO HQ technical units, coordinate all technical inputs as agreed upon in the project document.
• Provide advisory and technical support to the three technical components on daily basis considering the expectation in accelerating the achievement of the project goals,
• Work with the FAO technical units in the development of technical specifications for all procurement actions in line with FAO policy and procedure,
• Support the selection process and coordinate service providers (contractors as per Project Agreement) using FAO technical guides by ensuring the best value for money and quality,
• Identify emerging risks in/to the technical package and, in collaboration with the Assistant FAOR (in charge of programme) and the HQ technical team, find sustainable solutions, without incurring inordinate costs on the implementation,
• Supervise project staff and assist to document good lessons during implementation for possible scale up,
• Facilitate and organize stakeholders’ meetings to discuss and exchange ideas on project issues and its relevance,
• Perform other tasks requested by the FAO Representative.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Master’s degree in Agricultural economics, Natural Resources management, Social Sciences and Development Studies or any other related field
• At least six years experience in agricultural livelihood/land tenure project management.
• Working knowledge of English (level C).
• National of Sierra Leone.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/ Functional Skills

• Experience working within a UN/International agency and especially joint projects in a livelihood context would be an asset;
• Good planning and time management skills is critical
• Ability to supervise, manage and support to field activities of the project
• Ability to multi-task,
• Providing coordination support with stakeholders and other community based organizations.
• Ability to manage trainings and capacity building programme of the project.
• Experience in analyzing institutional operations, systems and processes
• Knowledge and skills in socio–cultural analysis of Sierra Leone
• Experience in mainstreaming gender equality within programme design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation
• Relevance and extent of knowledge and experience in working with inter-governmental bodies and multi-disciplinary teams

Selection Criteria

• Experience in managing UN projects is considered an added advantage,
• Experience liaising with government staff and officials, development partners, NGOs and the private sector players.
• Experience in gender, women’s land rights protection, land governance
• Experience conducting needs assessment and documenting lessons during implementation,
• Ability to manage efficiently and work in team setting with high sense of confidentiality and flexibility,
• Ability to operate within a fast-moving environment and react appropriately to change,
• Excellent organizational skills, strong attention to detail, high regard for accuracy and top-quality work.
• Excellent drafting, communication and reporting skills, and the ability to present information in clear and concise manner.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION