Organizational Setting

The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations has recently developed a social media platform for the Directorates of Agricultural Extension, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and KP-Merged Districts and their field formations to establish and keep interactive connection with farmers. Created social media platform follows the hierarchy of the provincial agriculture extension system starting from Peshawar, followed by the Offices of District Directors of Agriculture (DDAs) and reaching out to the respective Agricultural Officers (AOs) and farmers within the related tehsils, circles and villages. This initiative aims to strengthen interactive communication and provision of quality advisory services to the client farmers as per their contextual needs. FAO seeks to on-board a Social Media Expert to structure the province-wise social media-based platform for agriculture extension services, assist with the registration of AOs and farmers, and facilitate drafting and posting of the required contents for the said domains. The established interactive platform should help farmers to timely resolve their issues and improve their agricultural productivity and resultant incomes while using digital innovations and tools.

The position is envisaged at SB III SC-6 level.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Pakistan (FAOR), and in close coordination with the Assistant FAO Representative (Programme), the incumbent will report to the Head of Office, FAO KP in the performance of the following tasks and duties:

Technical Focus 

Social media, digital media

Tasks and Responsibilities

•    Finalize structure of the social media platform for the provision of agriculture extension services in the province.
•    Conduct training sessions for agriculture extension workers and officers at all levels.
•    Develop strategies and methodologies for effectively connecting farmers to the established social media platform.
•    Draft, edit and regularly update high-quality visual contents, including flyers, posters, banners, brochures, and videos, produced and delivered as per FAO projects’ needs.
•    Support responsible officers of the agriculture advisory services in administering, moderating and maintaining the established social media platform.
•    Help extension workers in disseminating information about the social media platform and connecting farmers to use this system.
•    Produce regular reports on the performance of digital platforms with recommendations for improvement.
•    Expand the structure of a social media-based platform created for agriculture advisory services to cover all the  districts of the KP province.
•    Design and deliver series of trainings for the responsible officers of the Agriculture Extension Department, DDAs, AOs and extension workers on the effective and interactive usage of the social media-based platform, developed with the support of FAO that would help as a tool to reach out and provide agricultural advisory services to farmers.
•    Support responsible officers of the Agriculture Extension Department at all levels in creating and regularly updating content for the social media platform including texts, images and videos – tailored to the needs of the farmers in different contexts and regions of the province.
•    Establish mechanisms for regular and targeted dissemination of market prices of agricultural produce to farmers through the social media platform.
•    Help relevant staff of the Agriculture Extension Department with producing and updating multimedia content for digital platforms including basic graphic designs, photos and videos as requested by the Agriculture Extension Department.
•    Guide the responsible officers of the Agriculture Extension Department on systematic dissemination of information related to government policies and priorities to farmers through the established social media platform.
•    Setup a system and protocols of enabling farmers to post questions, upload pictures and videos that would describe the issues they are facing with farming technologies, pest or diseases to the social media platform to receive technical advice.
•    Create a system of regular collection and dissemination of market information for different farming inputs that farmers could find for their needs.
•    Any other relevant task and assignment.

All communication materials will follow FAO clearance processes and comply with FAO standards, including:

FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31: https://www.fao.org/strategic-framework/en
FAO social media policy and guidelines: https://www.fao.org/2/socialmedia
Social Media Branding Guidelines: https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/cb5044en 
FAOSTYLE: https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/cb8081en 
FAO terminology http://www.fao.org/faoterm 
FAO Names Of Countries https://www.fao.org/nocs/en  
Story guidelines, Story template, UN map standards, FAO logo policy and related branding guidelines (available to staff).

Further guidance regarding FAO communications, policies and procedures can be found through the FAO intranet, OCC section.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements   

•    University degree in Computer Sciences, Information Technology, or a related field.
•    Minimum seven years of relevant work experience in Agriculture Extension Services and creating Social Media platforms.
•    Working knowledge of English, Pashtu and Urdu.
•    National of Pakistan.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills 

•    Hands-on experience in social media digital content creation.
•    Strong IT Skills with digital content creation software and tools.
•    Strong understanding of agricultural extension services and the challenges faced by rural communities, along with familiarity with FAO’s work.
•    Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with a strong ability to adapt messaging to and serve diverse audiences.
•    Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; and ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a wide range of partners.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION