Job Posting: 31/Mar/2025
Closure Date: 01/Jul/2025, 4:59:00 PM
Organizational Unit: NFIFO - Technology and operations Team
Job Type: Non-staff opportunities
Type of Requisition: Consultant / PSA (Personal Services Agreement)
Grade Level: N/A
Primary Location: Italy-Rome
Duration: From one to eleven months
Post Number: N/A

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device

• 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

FAO’s commitment to environmental sustainability is integral to our strategic objectives and operations.

TECHNICAL FOCUS

NFIFO’s work also includes the implementation of the GloLitter Partnerships, RegLitter, PROSEAS, REBYC III and other projects. The team is currently seeking incumbents to assist in the implementation of a range of fishing operations related activities at national and regional level with the following technical expertise:

• Law of the Sea. Experts on fishing regulations and/or environmental law with a particular focus on prevention and reduction of pollution from ships.
• Fishing gear technology to support fishing gear modifications (incl. fish aggregating devices - FADs) experts
• Gear marking experts with experience in prevention and reduction of gear loss and ghost fishing.
• Waste management experts with a particular focus on plastic litter produced by the fishing sector, including abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gears (ALDFG).
• Fisheries infrastructure engineers and architects.
• Naval architects and boat builders with experience in fishing vessel design and construction.
• Occupational safety and health (OSH) experts with experience in commercial fishing and the seafood industry.
• Remote sensing, geographical information systems (GIS) and artificial intelligence (AI) tools specialists.
• Fisheries economists with experience in financial and economic analyses of fishing operations, or fisheries credit and insurance programme development.
• Data analysts.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

• University degree for:
  o COF.REG: in Fisheries / Biology/ Veterinary/ Environmental Studies, Marine engineering, Architecture, Development Studies, Economics, Occupational Health and Safety, Political Sciences, Law, Business Administration, International Relations, or other relevant field.

o PSAs: University degree in the above areas. A technical diploma plus demonstrated and relevant professional experience of at least 5 years can be accepted in lieu of a university degree.

• Relevant experience in one or more areas in the field of fishing operations and vessel design and technology; fishing technology, gear selectivity and environmental impacts of fishing; pollution reduction in fisheries, waste management, fisheries infrastructure development, including harbours and landing sites for fishing vessels; fishing fleet economic performance; fisheries micro-finance and credit, fisheries insurance; fisheries investments; sustainable business model development, small-scale fishing technology; emergency response; safety at sea; and programmes/ projects formulation and implementation.

Years of relevant experience:
o For COF.REG level C: two to four years of relevant experience.
o For PSAs level C: one to four years of relevant experience.
o For COF.REG/PSAs level B: at least five years of relevant experience.

o For COF.REG/PSAs: level A: at least 10 years of relevant experience,

• Working knowledge (level C) of English

TECHNICAL/FUNCTIONAL SKILLS

• Work experience in more than one location or above mentioned areas of work, particularly in developing countries is desirable.
• Extent and relevance of field experience in a technical area of assignment.
• Extent and relevance of experience in providing technical advice at local, national, regional and global levels.
• Extent and relevance of knowledge in the implementation of international instruments, standards and guidelines, related to above fields of expertise. Particularly knowledge of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and related guidelines is desirable.
• Extent and relevance of experience in project/programme formulation and implementation of projects, programmes and studies in the pertinent field of expertise.
• Extent and relevance of knowledge and understanding of the work of international organizations, regional entities and national governments.
• Extent of experience with working in a team of professional staff from diverse technical and cultural backgrounds and expertise.
• Extent of experience in monitoring, knowledge management and information dissemination.
• Extent of experience with capacity development and knowledge sharing activities.

The tasks and responsibilities of each selected COF.REG or PSA.SBS will be defined in the Terms of Reference for the specific assignment. In general, depending on the specific assignment, designated tasks and responsibilities will normally include a number of the following elements:

Consultants (COF.REG) and Subscribers (PSAs)

• Support project formulation in accordance with FAO’s Strategic Framework and the FAO project cycle.
• Carry out coordination, implementation and administration of assigned activities in accordance with FAO rules, procedures and systems, and donor requirements.
• Support implementation of the above-mentioned projects (GloLitter Partnerships, RegLitter, PROSEAS and REBYC III) and other projects.
• Provide substantive technical inputs to relevant activities and projects, including studies, publications and analyses, knowledge products and dissemination materials related to NFIFO’s areas of work, including guidelines, manuals, research papers, capacity building and training materials, and related websites.
• Collect, manage and analyze data to be used to inform and guide the teams’ technical and policy work.
• Perform outreach and communication-related activities.
• Any other duties related to NFIFO’s areas of work.

Consultants (COF.REG)

• Carry out organization of and participate in external events (including field missions) in support of the delivery of NFIFO’s programme of work, including consultation, training, capacity building and technical assistance.
• Collaborate with other FAO divisions, UN agencies (e.g. IMO, ILO, UN Environment, World Bank), intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and other external partners in the areas of NFIFOs programme of work, as well as areas of mutually beneficial interest to FAO Member countries.
• Contribute to NFIFO’s work related to resource mobilization, monitoring of regular programme expenses and organization of international meetings.
• Assist beneficiary countries in undertaking the necessary policy and legislative revisions for the adoption and effective implementation of the provisions of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Marking of Fishing Gear, FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and complementary international instruments.
• Support implementation of the above-mentioned projects (GloLitter Partnerships, RegLitter, PROSEAS and REBYC III) and other projects.
• Represent NFIFO at internal and external meetings, particularly those related to the development and implementation of NFIFO’s activities.
• Prepare and organize consultations, workshops and technical meetings.
• Collaborate with relevant institutions, networks and platforms that could help FAO leverage its messages and advance global dialogue on various issues related to NFIFO’s programme of work, helping the Organization specifically to implement its Programme Priority Area (PPA) on Blue Transformation, as well as FAO’s PPAs on Bioeconomy for sustainable food and agriculture, Scaling up Investment and Resilient agri-food systems.