Early warning system specialist – FAO Uganda

Job: Early warning system specialist

Organizational Setting

FAO has a clear mandate for, and comparative advantage in, supporting early warning and early action to protect food security and agriculture. As part of FAO’s overall goal of ending hunger and poverty, Strategic Objective (SO) 5 aims to increase the resilience of livelihoods to threats and crises. Under this objective, three Organizational Outcomes prioritize FAO’s role in early warning; prevention and mitigation; and preparedness and response. FAO already supports or directly manages a range of early warning systems at global, regional and national levels, which are key to resilience programming and has a substantial portfolio of work in supporting nationally led response and, where necessary, directly manages humanitarian and resilience interventions in this sector.

The FAO Representation in Uganda (FRUGA) is currently implementing an initiative to strengthen shock responsive systems in Uganda. The project is funded by the European Union and implemented in collaboration with the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), the District Local Governments (DLGs) of Karamoja sub-region and the World Food Programme (WFP). This collaboration aims to enhance the capacity of the Government of Uganda to predict, respond and reduce the impacts of shocks in Karamoja. Developing a people-centred Early Warning System (EWS) for Karamoja sub-region is a key deliverable. The system development would improve the capacity of stakeholders to generate, analyze and disseminate accurate, timely and actionable early warning information.  

Reporting Lines:

The Early Warning System Specialist reports to the Project Manager and will work in consultation with the unit team leader.

Technical Focus:

 Leads the planning, development, and implementation of the EWS.

Tasks and responsibilities:

The Early Warning System Specialist will: 

• Develop technical design of the Early Warning System and leads all technical consultations with OPM, DLGs and other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Government of Uganda;
• Determine system requirements, including information technology infrastructure and datasets, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders and FAO divisions;
• Carry out a disaster risk prioritization exercise for Karamoja sub-region, including analyzing recurrence intervals, likelihood assessments, and impact assessment;
• Lead the process of indicator selection in consultation with key stakeholders as well as build stakeholder consensus of (biophysical) thresholds for early action and response;
• Develop a template for EWS bulletins and integrate bulletin generation through the system in consultation with key stakeholders;
• Determine and design a strategy for the EWS bulletin to enrich livelihoods and impact socio activities in Karamoja meaningfully;
• Develop a communication strategy to ensure EWS messages are disseminated to communities of Karamoja through an appropriate medium;
• Determine and develop strategies to ensure that the EWS Bulletin reaches and is read by the communities of Karamoja sub-region;
• Develop and maintain an Early Action repository for Karamoja sub-region as well as contribute to DLG contingency planning processes;
• Contribute to the disaster scenario planning exercises in collaboration with key project stakeholders;
• Develop technical Terms of Reference (ToRs) for implementing partners and support all procurement processes in line with FAO’s rules and regulations;
• Supervise and coordinate the work of capacity building officers based at DLGs of Karamoja sub-region;
• Contribute to the development and implementation of the project’s Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEAL) framework;
• Identify and develop training and capacity building opportunities for project staff and stakeholders;
• Attend project coordination meetings as well as support the work of the project steering committees;
• Regularly travel to Karamoja sub-region for project monitoring and provision of technical support;
• Perform any other duties related to the development and implementation of the EWS.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements   

• University degree in meteorology, agro-meteorology, hydrology, agriculture, environmental sciences, natural resources management, disaster risk reduction, or a related field
• Five years of relevant experience in agriculture, early warning systems, vulnerability analysis, disaster risk management, information technology, and/or project management
• Working knowledge of English and limited knowledge of one of the other FAO official languages (French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Russian)

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions is desirable. 
• Extent of relevant work experience in implementing Early Warning Systems in Uganda or in East Africa
• Extent of experience and knowledge of modern information technology tools and techniques including real-time data collection, storage and analysis
• Extent of experience and knowledge with Geographic Information Systems, remote sensing or computer programming
• Extent of experience and knowledge of managing technical projects

Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency

HOW TO APPLY

To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Only applications received through the recruitment portal will be considered.

We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline

If you need help please contact: Careers@fao.org

FAO IS A NON-SMOKING ENVIRONMENT

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