Soil, water and waste management specialist

 Job Description  2200564 Soil, water and waste management specialist 

Job Posting

: 02/Mar/2022

Closure Date

: 17/Mar/2022, 12:59:00 AM

Organizational Unit: FNLEB

Job Type

: Non-staff opportunities

Type of Requisition: PSA (Personal Services Agreement)Grade Level: N/A

Primary Location

: Lebanon-Beirut

Duration: 40 workings days in a 6 month periodPost 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 United Nations Productive Sectors Development Programme (PSDP) aims to support gender-responsive job creation and economic opportunities in the agriculture and agro-food sectors. Six UN organizations have joined efforts to implement this programme: UNIDO, FAO, UNDP, ILO, UN Women and UNICEF. The PSDP includes interventions on three levels: the macro (national policy), meso (institutional) and micro levels. The micro-level aims at improved capacity of women farmers, women-led cooperatives and women-led micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), as well as male-led entities in productive sectors to create and sustain gender equitable job opportunities and adopt environmentally sustainable practices. The programme has selected pilot value chains such as fruits, vegetables, nuts and pulses and the pilot areas of Akkar and North of Lebanon for the micro-level implementation.

With the aim of ensuring food safety and quality standards of agricultural produce within the selected value chains, 250 men and women farmers and 20 men and women farm workers, will be supported through awareness sessions and technical training on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). Women and men farmers will be further supported through monitoring their improved practices and provision of related inputs to help them acquire GAP certifications.

 

Reporting Lines

The Soil, water and waste management specialist will report to the project manager/ CTA

 

Technical Focus

• Assess current farm practices and available on-farm techniques and innovations and provide recommendations;
• Prepare training module on recommended best practices for soil, water and waste management  taking into consideration women’s and men’s different roles in these activities, their different needs and capacities. A needs assessment (administered to a gender-balanced pilot group) will be undertaken to tailor the training module. The training will ensure a gender-sensitive and inclusive language (e.g. through examples and photos, avoiding gender stereotypes and biases in the material prepared); if needed, it will be made accessible to make with a lower level of literacy and education and lesser exposure to agricultural technical training.
• Develop awareness raising material on best on-farm sustainable practices targeted at both women and men, of different ages. As mentioned above, the material will be developed using a gender-sensitive and inclusive language and will try to include sustainable practices in tasks and roles managed by women and men, highlighting women’s role and contribution (actual and potential) to soil, water and waste management;
• Conduct ToT for project/MoA/IDRAC facilitators;
• Collaborate with the project experts on related tasks as will be requested and or required.

 

Tasks and responsibilities

• Assess current farm practices and available on-farm techniques and innovations and provide recommendations for the following:
  • Maintain or improve soil organic matter using soil-building crop rotations;
  • Avoid contamination with agrochemicals, organic and inorganic fertilizers and other contaminants by adapting quantities, application methods and timing to the agronomic and environmental requirements;
  • Efficient irrigation practices, methods and technologies minimizing losses in the supply and distribution of irrigation avoid unproductive irrigation water losses and adopt water-saving measures and recycling where possible;
  • Avoid the contamination of water resources with production inputs, waste or recycling products of organic, inorganic and synthetic nature caused directly by inadequate handling practices and technologies and indirectly by erosion and leaching;
  • Enhance the functioning of the water cycle to increase soil moisture storage and minimize runoff of water and associated contaminants;
  • Maintain or improve soil organic matter using soil-building crop rotations;
  • Avoid contamination with agrochemicals, organic and inorganic fertilizers and other contaminants by adapting quantities, application methods and timing to the agronomic and environmental requirements;
  • Maintain accurate records of energy use, and of storage and disposal;
  • Adopt energy saving practices in tools and machinery size, maintenance, and use (e.g. zero or minimum tillage);
  • Minimize non-usable wastes and dispose of them responsibly.
• Prepare training module on recommended best practices for soil, water and waste management  taking into consideration women’s and men’s different roles in these activities, their different needs and capacities. A needs assessment (administered to a gender-balanced pilot group) will be undertaken to tailor the training module. The training will ensure a gender-sensitive and inclusive language (e.g. through examples and photos, avoiding gender stereotypes and biases in the material prepared); if needed, it will be made accessible to make with a lower level of literacy and education and lesser exposure to agricultural technical training.
• Develop awareness raising material on best on-farm sustainable practices targeted at both women and men, of different ages. As mentioned above, the material will be developed using a gender-sensitive and inclusive language and will try to include sustainable practices in tasks and roles managed by women and men, highlighting women’s role and contribution (actual and potential) to soil, water and waste management;
• Conduct ToT for project/MoA/IDRAC facilitators;
• Collaborate with the project experts on related tasks as will be requested and or required;
• Prepare reports as needed by the management.

 

 

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

 

Minimum Requirements   

• University Degree in environment/soil sciences or management /water management. or agriculture;
• Minimum 5 years of experience in soil, water and waste management at farm level;
• Good knowledge of latest techniques and technologies available in the Lebanese market for the fruits, vegetables and pulses sector;
• Good knowledge of the fruits, vegetables and pulses growers and local conditions of Akkar and north of Lebanon;
• Working knowledge of English and Arabic.
• Nationality of Lebanon or resident in the country with a regular work permit.

 

FAO Core Competencies

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

 

Technical/Functional Skills

• Ability to combine, synthesize and analyse information;
• Good relational skills with people with different education levels, and social and cultural background;
• Proven skills of report writing and communication in English and Arabic very good knowledge of the communication and documentation standards.

 

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/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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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