National Agronomy Specialist
Dhaka
- Organization: FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
- Location: Dhaka
- Grade: Consultancy - Consultant - Contractors Agreement
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Occupational Groups:
- Agriculture and Forestry
- Closing Date: 2025-07-10
IMPORTANT NOTICE\: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device
- 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’s commitment to environmental sustainability is integral to our strategic objectives and operations.
Organizational Setting
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life, leaving no one behind.
FAO Country Offices, which are headed by an FAO representative and working to implement the corporate Strategic Framework at country level, offer policy advice and technical assistance to countries to develop policies, programmes, and projects to achieve food security and to reduce hunger and malnutrition, to help develop the agricultural sector in a sustainable manner to ensure zero hunger in the country.
The FAO Representation in Bangladesh (FAOBD) is providing technical assistance to the Government of Bangladesh to facilitate the implementation of the Agriculture Sector Transformation Programme (ATP), under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA). This initiative is funded by the Gates Foundation (GF) and is anticipated to be executed over a period of 38 months. The project aims to encourage investment in the crop sector and enhance the innovative technologies in line with agricultural transformation towards sustainable agro-economic growth in Bangladesh. The specific objectives, are to\:
• Conduct policy, institutional, and investment gap analyses to inform an effective action plan for agriculture sector transformation.
• Identify and establish effective pathways for prioritizing and coordinating resources and partnerships.
• Enhance collaboration with the private sector.
• Improve the scale and efficacy of investments in agrifood system research and innovation.
• Increase initiatives to safeguard environmental health, particularly considering climate vulnerability.
The National Agronomy Specialist will play a pivotal role in implementing the project activities in collaboration with relevant team members and units of FAO Bangladesh.
Reporting Lines
The National Agronomy Specialist is a SC-9 position (National Technical Expert). Under the overall guidance of the FAO Representative in Bangladesh, and direct supervision of the Technical Advisor in close collaboration with the Assistant FAO Representative (Programme) and National Project Coordinator (NPC), the National Agronomy Specialist will work closely with the Project team, FAOBD colleagues, focal persons of relevant government institutions, and other internal and external stakeholders for the implementation of the project activities aimed at developing the regional Priority Investment Plans to facilitate Agri-Transformation on six geographical regions and facilitating the implementation of a package of innovative technologies to propel agricultural transformation as foreseen in the project document.
Technical Focus
The technical focus of the assignment includes support to identify the availability of crop production technologies in each of the hotspots, other agricultural operations, developing checklist/tools for information generation to produce agro-ecological profiles/reports for 06 hotspots and assist in producing regional investment plans and implementation support to the GoB’s Program on Agricultural and Rural Transformation for Nutrition, Entrepreneurship, and Resilience (PARTNER) in collaboration with relevant government agencies and other stakeholders.
Tasks and responsibilities
• Provide technical and operational support for the implementation and monitoring of projects and activities related to crop production and protection.
• Draft technical reports on project deliverables, concept notes, and project proposal documents.
• Support the preparation of work plans and budget estimates for projects activities.
• Review consultant reports to ensure compliance with terms of reference and specifications prior to submission for LTO approval.
• Capitalize on existing and emerging information to develop knowledge products and tools that ensure the sustainability of acquired knowledge.
• Support the organization of training workshops and meetings with relevant partners.
• Perform any other related tasks as may be assigned.
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements
• Advanced university degree in agronomy or a relevant subject. A PhD in Agronomy is preferred.
• At least nine (9) years of relevant experience in agricultural development and/or project implementation.
• Working knowledge of English (level C)
• National of Bangladesh
FAO Core Competencies
• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
• Project Implementation
Technical/Functional Skills
• Excellent understanding of current national agriculture / crop production challenges and related agricultural policies and practices.
• Extend and relevance of work experience in agronomy / crop sector development, investment in agrifood system or public policy formulation in Bangladesh
• Strong analytical and conceptual skills with demonstrated experience in research and writing on topics related to investment in agrifood systems, innovative technologies and agriculture transformation.
• Demonstrated experience in providing technical advisory support to or working with government institutions, multistakeholder platforms and multidisciplinary teams.
• Experience in facilitating agencies and multistakeholder dialogues and consensus building on key national priority
• Capacity to work as an efficient team member to harness the project’s development objectives
• Skilled in designing and/or delivering workshops/seminars or other capacity development initiatives.
• Strong communication skills, including expressing research/technology results using imperial tables and graphical presentations
• Ability to work under pressure and prioritize tasks effectively.
• Highly developed interpersonal, negotiation and teamwork skills, and a networking aptitude.
• Knowledge of sustainable agricultural technologies/practices, agriculture policy landscape of Bangladesh including agricultural markets, trade policies, and international development issues
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
Applications from non-qualifying applicants will most likely be discarded by the recruiting manager.