Capacity Development Officer (e-learning)

Organizational Setting

The Partnerships and UN Collaboration Division (PSU) is responsible for coordinating and overseeing the identification, strengthening and stewardship of strategic partnerships with UN agencies and non-state actors (NSAs) including civil society, academia and research institutions, family farmers' and indigenous peoples' organizations and parliamentarians.

The Division leads FAO's engagement in the UN Development System repositioning, develops capacities, fosters dialogues, scales up programmes and advocates for FAO's corporate positions in support of FAO's new Strategic Framework and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It ensures that multi-stakeholder processes and strategic interventions globally and locally are an integral part of FAO's work and provides targeted support for successful collaboration with NSAs and UN agencies.

The Division has the lead responsibility for the promotion of the Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (CFS-RAI) and the implementation of the Food Coalition, the UN Decade of Family Farming (2019-2028) and the FAO Policy on Indigenous Peoples. It is also in charge of FAO's e-learning programmes delivered through the FAO e-learning Academy and access to scientific and technical data through knowledge platforms and enhanced information policies and standards, promotes and facilitates knowledge sharing on sustainable food security and nutrition among various stakeholders.

The position of Capacity Development Officer (e-learning) is located in the Responsible Agricultural Investments, Learning, and Agriculture Information Management Unit (PSUR) of the Partnerships and UN Collaboration Division, at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy.

Reporting LinesThe Capacity Development Officer (e-learning) will report to the Capacity Development Officer (e-learning)/Head of the FAO e-learning Academy under the overall guidance of the Senior Capacity Development Officer (Outreach)/Head, Responsible Agricultural Investments, Learning and Agriculture Information Management Unit in the Partnerships and UN Collaboration Division (PSU).

Technical FocusDevelopment and implementation of programmes and activities related to the design, creation and delivery of FAO e-learning courses for the use by agricultural and food security professionals worldwide; and to better link academic curricula and programmes to equip young professionals with the competencies and knowledge needed to contribute to the transformation of agrifood systems.

Key Results

Contribute to the development and strengthening of capacity development activities.

Key Functions

• Undertakes learning needs assessments and curricula design processes, through consultative multi-stakeholder workshops, including job and task analysis, knowledge and skills required by the various target audience groups.
• Provides technical guidance for the development of technical content and associated materials and ensures complete subject coverage, content accuracy, quality, coherence and suitability for the development of learning materials.
• Applies appropriate learning strategies according to the content, based on adult learning theories and specific quality criteria for the creation of engaging learner-centric courses, with assorted interactive elements, examples, and case-based scenarios.
• Adopts experiential and reflective learning methods and selects instructional multimedia to increase learner retention, according to the target audience needs, characteristics, context and environment.
• Carries out in depth pedagogical analysis, scenarization of content, and storyboarding, and support the creation of job-aids and performance support tools.
• Oversees the production of curricula in close collaboration with subject matter experts, courseware developers and Instructional Technology Specialists.
• Designs blended learning programmes for delivery at global, regional, and national levels.Assesses learners' performance and evaluates learning outcomes using the Kirkpatrick evaluation model.

Specific Functions

• Liaises with PSU instructional designers, FAO technical divisions, external experts and partners to coordinate the production, technical peer review process and quality assessment of the e-learning courses during the design and development stage and before publication.
• Creates, delivers, collects and evaluates learner surveys for the various courses and creates statistical reports on the uptake and of the e-learning courses.
• Supports developing procedures to improve the storage, search and retrieval of learning content and provides technical support to learners and partners.
• Assists the investigation and creation - together with other members of the FAO e-learning Academy - new and innovative ways to deliver e-learning content (e.g. mobile and responsive design, interactive videos, Artificial Intelligence integration and serious gaming).
• Identifies, assesses and develops strategic engagements and partnerships with academic and research institutions, FAO Decentralized Offices and technical divisions.
• Contributes to, and expands, the outreach to academic and research institutions for the uptake of FAO e-learning materials into academic curricula worldwide.
• Performs other related duties as required.

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CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree in education, distance learning/e-learning, communication, agricultural sciences, social sciences, or any field related to FAO's mandate.
• Five years of relevant experience in capacity development-related activities.
• Working knowledge (proficiency - level C) of English and intermediate knowledge (intermediate proficiency - level B) of another FAO official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish).

Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions is desirable.
• Extent and relevance of experience in development and strengthening of capacity development activities.
• Excellent analytical and conceptual skills.
• Extent and relevance of experience in collecting and analysing technical information and data for the creation of learning materials.
• Extent and relevance of knowledge and experience with the development and/or delivery of e-learning courses, including the use of the technologies to create and deliver e-learning and blended learning courses.
• Extent and relevance of experience in providing capacity development support to technical units and projects.
• Extent and relevance of experience in establishing and maintaining partnerships with external partners, in particular for the creation and uptake of e-learning materials.
• Working knowledge (proficiency - level C) of another official FAO language would be an asset.