Background
Purpose
To provide technical monitoring and assistance to the EU Floods Recovery Programme team in the field of agriculture, for all implemented activities.
Objective
The principal objective of the assignment is as follows:
The Agronomist will provide assistance to the EU Floods Recovery Programme team in agriculture sector with specific focus on monitoring of all agricultural activities that have been implemented during the Programme duration. This applies to all subcomponents of agricultural assistance – 415 beneficiaries of commercial agriculture, 454 subsistence farmers, 261 raspberry producers, 126 wheat producers and 9 poultry farmers.
Background Information
In May 2014 heavy rains fell over Bosnia and Herzegovina, causing massive flooding in northern, eastern and central parts of the country bordering Croatia and Serbia. The floods are the worst in 120 years and have brought enormous destruction in a country that is still recovering from the consequences of the 92-95 war and where significant groups of the population suffer from chronic poverty and unemployment. The natural disaster affected a quarter of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina and approximately one million people, which is approximately 27% of the country’s population of 3.8 million. Some 50% of local governments were affected by the floods with a number suffering near-complete flooding of urban, industrial and rural areas. Consequently, houses, infrastructure, schools, hospitals, private facilities, farms and crops were damaged or destroyed, causing deterioration of public services, local economy and agriculture activities.
In cooperation with national and local governments, the UN, European Union and the World Bank are conducting a recovery needs assessment to identify short, medium and long-term recovery priorities in a variety of sectors. The results and findings of this assessment will inform the design of relevant interventions to address the consequences of the floods in an integrated and sustainable manner.
In the meanwhile, and based on an assessment conducted on the 46 most affected local governments, the UN has identified the critical recovery demands and their financial projections for the next few months, in the following sectors:
- Rehabilitation and reconstruction of public buildings and services,
- Shelter and Housing,
- Debris Management and demining,
- Community Infrastructure: small roads & bridges,
- Water, Sanitation and Sewage, and
- Livelihoods and Agriculture.
Through its Livelihoods Recovery component, the EU Floods Recovery Programme provided grants to individuals selected through public calls who have suffered property damage as a result of May 2014 floods, with the aim of helping them recover from economic loss in selected local administration units: Doboj, Prijedor, Banja Luka, Laktaši, Srbac and Celinac.
Duties and Responsibilities
The Agronomist for agriculture sector will work under the supervision of EU Flood Recovery Project Manager to complete all activities devised in this terms of reference.
Scope of work
The Agronomist will provide assistance to the EU Floods Recovery Programme in the agriculture sector with specific focus on monitoring of implementation of recovery activities for selected beneficiaries through all subcomponents of agricultural production. This will also include assistance and support to individual producers in adoption of modern agricultural technique.
Key functions
The functions of the Agronomist for agriculture sector will include the following:
- Technical assistance to the EU Floods Recovery Programme team;
- Technical monitoring of all agricultural beneficiaries.
1. Technical assistance to the EU Floods Recovery Programme team:
- Assists EU Floods Recovery Project Manager in coordinating of the monitoring plan;
- Assists extension service providers;
- Conduct field monitoring of all beneficiaries;
- Inspect usage of all input supplies (seedlings, irrigation systems, plant protection and fertilizers);
- Provides technical advice to farmers in implementation of individual farm investment plans;
- Prepares proper documentation of all undertaken actions;
- Prepares proper documentation of issues that arise during the implementation of the sub-activities;
2. Technical monitoring of all agricultural beneficiaries:
- Conduct field monitoring and site visit for each beneficiary;
- Monitor on the usage of all input supplies (seedlings, irrigation systems, plant protection and fertilizers);
- Monitor of sowing season.
3. Support to the EU Floods Recovery Programme team in effective mainstreaming of gender equality
- Provides effective support to the EU Floods Recovery Programme team in mainstreaming gender equality in Project implementation as well as that knowledge on gender equality is incorporated in the project knowledge management activities and products;
- Ensures all the data, when collecting and compiling inputs relating to project, are sex and age disaggregated and evaluated from the gender point of view ; and
- In the preparation of consultations/trainings ensures minimum 30% participation of the other sex.
4. Reporting:
- Progress report on implemented activities on monthly basis;
- Final Report
Deliverables and timelines
The Agronomist for agriculture sector is responsible for completion and submission of the following deliverables:
Deliverables (outputs) Deadline
- Technical assistance to the EU Floods Recovery team
a) Detailed work plan - 2 days
- Delivery of the detailed work plan stating all activities that should be taken with regards to the Key Functions for each municipality (including time table and activities, inclusion of means to achieve envisioned results (seedlings, plant protection etc.) Detailed work plan will be approved by Floods Recovery Livelihoods Coordinator. 01.04.2016;
- Technical assistance to beneficiaries – 28 days
a) Conduct the monitoring missions for beneficiaries
- Visit reports for each farmer, 30.09.2016
- Reporting – 15 days
a) Progress report on implemented activities on monthly basis; Monthly
b) Preparation of final report for every beneficiary; 30.11.2016
Competencies
Competencies
The minimum required experiences of the proposed Consultant are:
Core Values:
- Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
- Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
- Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, disabilities, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
- Treats all people fairly without favoritism.
Core Competencies:
- Knowledge in agribusiness and state of the art agricultural techniques and practices
- Promotes a knowledge sharing and learning culture in the office and in the field
- Ability to assist in implementation, monitoring and evaluation of agriculture projects
- Good communication skills, both orally and in writing, in a clear and persuasive style tailored to match different audiences.
Building trust:
- Deals openly, honestly and transparently with issues, resources and people.
Required Skills and Experience
- University Degree in Agriculture and minimum 2 years of relevant experience
- Specific field experience in greenhouse production, strawberry production and peppers or cucumber-pickled production;
- Experience involving the provision of technical assistance to farmers;
- High level of maturity and excellent inter-personal skills required;
- Previous experience with an international public and/or private sector Organization would be considered as an additional asset;
- Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, PPT etc.);
- Readiness for intensive field work, using own car;
- Driver's license required;
- Excellent command of B/C/S languages;
- Fair command of English.
Application procedures
Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via this website. The application should contain:
- Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position and a brief methodology on how you will approach and conduct the work (if applicable). Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application.
- Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees (blank form can be downloaded from http://europeandcis.undp.org/files/hrforms/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc ); please upload the P11 instead of your CV.
- Financial Proposal - specifying a total lump sum amount for the tasks specified in this announcement. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (number of anticipated working days, travel, per diems and any other possible costs). Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee, health insurance and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services...). All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal.
Please scan all above mentioned documents and upload as one attachment only online through this website.Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.
Note:
- For an assignment requiring travel, consultants of 62 years or more require full medical examination and statement of fitness to work to engage in the consultancy;
- Due to large number of potential applicants, only competitively selected candidates will be contacted for remaining steps of the service procurement process.
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