FAO recruit 01 West Africa Virtual Learning Centre Coordinator

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

Organizational Setting

FAO’s Sub-regional Office for West Africa (SFW) is responsible for developing, promoting, overseeing, and implementing agreed strategies for addressing sub-regional food, agriculture, and rural development priorities. It develops and maintains relations with sub-region-wide institutions including Regional Economic Communities (RECs). It assists the FAO Representations (FAORs) in the sub-region with addressing sub-regional food security, agriculture, and rural development issues at the country level. The Office has a multidisciplinary team of technical experts, in agriculture, forestry, fisheries, land and water, livestock and pastoralism, who provide technical support to the 15 member countries of ECOWAS in their fight against poverty and the promotion of food and nutritional security; as well as to a wider 17 member countries of the Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS) in strengthening the resilience of the Sahel countries.

The Virtual Learning Centers (VLCs) are online hubs conceived as a mechanism to improve regional delivery of online training and to transfer competences required to organize and deliver online training to FAO regional and sub-regional offices. This approach aims to ensure courses offered are in line with the training needs of the countries in the target regions and are well tailored to the local languages and contexts. The VLCs mission is to develop One Health related competences by providing trainees with access to inclusive, engaging and high-quality training using a variety of methodologies such as online tutored courses, blended learning, technical webinars and mobile learning.

There are already three VLC in Africa, covering the following sub-regions: Southern Africa, Eastern Africa, North Africa and Middle East. The need to establish a new VLC for West Africa that can deliver courses both in English and French has been identified.
The assignment will take place from the first months of 2023. The possibility of extension is subject to satisfactory performance and depending on the resources and needs of the Organization.

The purpose of this call is to attract talents to populate a roster for the position of Coordinator of the Virtual Learning Centre for West Africa.

Reporting Lines

The Virtual Learning Centre Coordinator will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Sub regional Coordinator for West Africa, and will directly report to the Animal Production and Health Officer in the Sub Regional Office for West Africa. He/she will also work under the policy and technical guidance of the VLC Coordinators in FAO Headquarters, the Leading Technical Officer of the VLC, and the Animal Health officer in charge of One Health intelligence and Early Warning,

Technical Focus

The consultant/PSA will provide support to enhance and deliver the work programme of the VLC in West Africa, under the overall guidance of the VLC Coordinators.
The VLC will be a tool for development and delivery of online virtual courses based on training needs and to support the regional networks, through the facilitation of meetings and virtual interaction. The VLC will initially focus on a delivering a series of courses on One Health topic areas.

Tasks and responsibilities

Following are the generic functions for which candidates are sought. Specific tasks and responsibilities will be defined in Terms of

Reference prepared for different assignments and according to the profile:

• Support the establishment of the VLC, ensuring strong collaboration with the different FAO units involved in the project at regional level, and with the focal points in the different countries within the sub-region;
• Support the continued growth and sustainability of the VLC through ensuring a sub-regionally relevant VLC work programme and strong collaboration and consultation within FAO and with regional partners, promoting advocacy of the VLC within and outside the organization; providing strategic foresight to anticipate future priorities and risks for the VLC; contributing to the definition of solutions towards sustainability of the VLC;
• Consult with target countries, national and regional organizations, existing reports and studies in order to review specific training priorities related to different areas of work in FAO in order to use this information to define a programme of online training based on needs and focus the efforts to attract funds according to the regional/sub-regional needs;
• Maintain a sub-regional network of national training focal points for communication and coordination with the relevant competent authorities in the countries (veterinary services, public health, wildlife management, etc);
• Manage or assist with the management of an existing multi-stakeholder advisory group of relevant regional organizations and bodies, including academic and institutional partners, to guide the identification of gaps and priorities, to promote the uptake of the VLC as a regional platform offering support for multiple training themes, and to ensure the future sustainability of the VLC;
• Manage input from subject matter experts and instructional design specialists to coordinate the development and delivery of v-learning courses and resources;
• Provide, when relevant, subject matter expertise in the development or adaptation of v-learning courses to the regional situation;
• Support the alignment of internal quality assurance processes that assure the quality of training courses, from development to delivery;
• Act as course coordinator of different courses to ensure smooth delivery and promote active participation of trainees;
• Support collection of relevant information after the delivery of courses in order to carry out a regular impact assessment. This will include drafting an impact assessment report suitable to inform further planning of the training programme;
• Provide support to regional networks and organizations through provision of virtual networking solutions such as webinars;
• Undertake other relevant tasks mutually agreed and deemed necessary by the relevant supervisors.

Candidates will be assessed against the following

Minimum Requirements for Consultants:

• University Degree in veterinary science, biology, public health, or other One Health related fields;
• At least five years of relevant post graduate experience in livestock health or production or One Health related areas;
• Working knowledge (Level C) of English and French.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Experience working for, or in support of, government services and/or international organizations in the West Africa; experience across multiple countries is highly desirable;
• High level of technical knowledge of zoonotic and transboundary animal diseases, emergency preparedness, wildlife management, risk analysis and One Health Implementation in West Africa, and a strong understanding of the varied capacity of governments to manage key challenges in these areas of work;
• Sound understanding of and experience with development and delivery of training for professionals through a range of online and other modalities.

Selection Criteria

• Experience managing capacity development projects at a national, regional or international level; projects involving training, extension development and/or delivery would be an advantage;
• Ability to work independently and in a small team environment to effectively develop, coordinate and deliver projects under limited supervision;

Please attach a document highlighting in 200 words or less any relevant project management experience you may have.
Please make sure a copy of your highest degree obtained and all relevant certificates are uploaded to your application.

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 any fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview, processing)
Please note that FAO will only consider academic credentials or degrees obtained from an educational institution recognized in the IAU/UNESCO list

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 more information, visit the FAO employment website

Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.

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.