Organizational Setting

FAO’s office for Iraq is responsible for developing, promoting, overseeing and implementing agreed strategies for addressing countrywide food, agriculture and rural development. It develops and maintains relations with the relevant government entities and Ministries at country level. The post is located in Basra, Iraq.
FAO is dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. We especially encourage women to apply, as we value the unique perspectives and skills that female candidates bring, and we are committed to achieving gender balance across all sectors.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall guidance of the FAO Representative (FAOR) and supervision of the FAO Iraq Technical Advisor, the Technical Project Assistant will work in close consultation with FAO Iraq projects’ managers and technical guidance of the national and international projects’ technical specialists.

Technical Focus

The Technical Project Assistant shall assist the FAO’s specialists to organize and carry out day-to-day project activities mainly under project GCP/IRQ/007/SWE entitled: “Enhance Climate Resilience of vulnerable agriculture households in Southern Iraq through the promotion of climate smart irrigation management and good agriculture practices in selected value chains.”.

Tasks and responsibilities

The Technical Project Assistant shall assist the FAO’s Specialists to:

•    Liaise with the Agriculture directorates in the four project governorates (Maysan, Thi Qar, Muthanna, and Najaf) and other government authorities;
•    Assist in the preparation and consolidate technical documents, communication material, etc., including translations from English to Arabic and vice-versa;
•    Based on the inputs provided, prepare technical presentations;
•    Assist the M&E specialist in collecting and analysing data;
•    Assist to identify and quantify equipment, goods and service needs. Assist to prepare technical specifications and to assess technical offers;
•    Assist in administrative tasks related to procurement, customs clearance, distribution, installation, commissioning, accounting, training, etc.;
•    Assist in technical and logistic tasks for the preparation of trainings, training material and delivering of trainings;
•    Assist in the preparation of projects budget and forecasts;
•    Provide translation service (Arabic/English) during meetings, missions, training, etc.
•    Prepare activity reports.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

•    University degree in Bachelor degree in Agriculture Engineering, Engineering, Biology or related subjects.
•    3 years of experience in Agriculture or related sectors.
•    Working knowledge of English and Arabic.
•    Iraqi Nationality.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills 

•    Work experience in the south of Iraq,
•    Experience relevant to one or more of the following sectors: agriculture, irrigation, crop management, fertigation, IPM.
•    Familiarity with the extension service and field work

Selection Criteria 

•    Familiarity with one or more of the following sectors: agriculture, irrigation, crop management, fertigation, is mandatory.
•    Familiarity with training, organization of training programme.
•    Familiarity with project implementation.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION