Compost Specialist Vacancy-Job Ref: ACLBFAO/2510/202160

Compost Specialist Vacancy-Job Ref: ACLBFAO/2510/202160
Beirut,Lebanon

JOB DESCRIPTION
The multiple crisis the country is passing through since 2019, has resulted in plunging all socio-economic indicators and threatening food security and livelihoods of most of the Lebanese people.
This has led FAO and GAC to prepare this project with the objective of strengthening the resilience, the food security and the livelihoods of vulnerable men and women farmers and their families and communities in the different Lebanese regions.
The approval of this project took place while two other projects were under finalization for approval by other donors, FAO and the Government and which have similar interventions:
– OSRO/LEB/100/JPN: Increase resilience of vulnerable smallholder farming families affected by the economic crisis/Covid-19, funded by Japan for USD 439,863
– UTF/LEB/037/LEB: Support to Farmers Affected by the COVID-19 and Financial and Economic Crises, funded by the World Bank through the Government of Lebanon for USD 10 million.
The implementation of this Project will be made in coordination with those mentioned projects, on the voucher component and will build on completed projects particularly the recently completed SFERA project and the ones focused on dairy and poultry assistance completed in the past few years for the relevant components.
Moreover, linkages will be made between the Project and the farm registry that will be established at the Ministry of Agriculture by promoting the registration of Project beneficiaries in the farm registry for future assistance

Reporting Lines

The compost expert reports to the Project Manager

Technical Focus

• Strong technical capacity in compost.
• Ability to report, coordinate and follow up with beneficiaries and partners.
• Capacity building, reporting and drafting skills.
• Gender equality and women empowerment

Tasks and responsibilities

– Conduct a mapping of the current and recent projects and initiatives related to the production and utilization of compost in Lebanon
– Conduct a rapid assessment of the current production practices and utilizations of compost
 The assessment should include a rapid diagnosis of the situation and the identification of the available and potential resources used and to be used in the compost making
 The assessment should take into consideration available resources at household level, municipal level and farm level
 The assessment should identify the good practices, the pre-requisite conditions and knowledge
 The assessment to include compost production gap (if any) and potential to fill this gap
 Highlight the potential impacts on the soils and the crops and identify practices to be adopted to reduce and mitigate negative impacts and optimize positive ones
 Include an environmental analysis that will investigate, among others, possible adverse environmental impacts from current composting practices in Lebanon, particularly compost originating from municipal solid waste
 Identify ways to avoid adverse environmental impacts and/or specific actions to address them by the Project
 Explore the potential of expanding composting from agricultural materials including animal manure and crop residues
 Examine the policy environment for the production and utilization of compost and will consider lessons learned in other countries in the region (e.g. GAC funded UNDP project in Jordan) and align with what works in the local context.
– Based on the assessment, an action plan will be prepared for priority activities to be implemented by the Project and/or by other potential development partners
 The action plan will integrate findings and recommendations from the assessment
 The action plan will identify hosting and sustainable management/ mobilizing resources of the national platform
 The action plan will include detailed actions to be implemented in different regions of Lebanon and their timeline
 The action plan will ensure that an environmental analysis is conducted and GAP are incorporated.
 The action plan will also identify opportunities for environmentally safe and climate smart practices to be promoted by the Project
 The action plan will include findings and recommendations from the rapid analysis and environmental assessment
– Identify women or women cooperatives potential beneficiaries of the Project who would be supported by the Project and become champions in promoting the selection /separation/collection of the domestic organic waste with agriculture left overs and crops residues and turn them to good quality compost to be sold or used locally
– Organize a national stakeholders’ workshop to disseminate the findings and recommendations of the aforementioned assessment and action plan for local compost production.
• Key outcomes of this workshop would be:
 to establish a national platform/working group among public and private sector agencies and community-based organisations (CBOs) or champion women/women cooperatives working on the promotion of compost production and utilization; and
 further development of the action plan outlining areas of responsibility for the platform/working group’s members and ensuring that potential adverse environmental impacts are clearly integrated in the action plan.
– Draft the terms of reference for one or more implementing organizations such as Arc-en-ciel and Composet Baladi who can implement the action plan including pilot and demonstration facilities for group-based and on-farm compost production in various agro-ecological zones – in partnership with members of the aforementioned platform/working group and selected women/women cooperatives; and organise exposure visits and demonstrations for smallholder farmers from the concerned agro-ecological zones, particularly those supported by the Project’s Outputs 1 and 2. The selected priority activities will also include measures to avoid adverse environmental impacts or to address them by the Project.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University Degree in Agriculture/Compost and/or any other related field.
• Minimum Three years of experience in farmers’ development and compost
• Very good reporting capabilities in English and Arabic language.
• Nationality of Lebanon or resident in the country with a regular work permit.

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.
• Extent and relevance of experience in agriculture/compost.
• Extent and relevance of experience with farmers
• Good knowledge with MS office applications including excel, word and power point.
• Excellent written and oral presentation skills.
• Highly accurate and organized.
• Ability to meet deadlines.
• Awareness on the importance of gender equality and women empowerment among farmers and beneficiaries.
• Knowledge or experience in women empowerment
• Good organizational and communication skills.

Please click on the button below to Apply.