Republic of Moldova

International Agriculture and Rural Development Expert /Technical Adviser

Vacancy Number: 80/Pr-2008

Background
During the summer of 2007, Moldova is suffering from an extraordinary drought that is affecting most of the country.  The extreme climate conditions have lead to an unusual situation and a profound crisis in the agricultural and food sector, demonstrating the high vulnerability of the sector; the yield and productivity of agricultural crops in 2007 are registering the lowest rate within the last decade, prompting a major collapse in this sector.  According to international ratings on the impact level of this phenomenon on ecology and agriculture, this drought is of catastrophic proportions, similar to that of 1946-1947. 
The lack of rainfall during crop flowering, seed set and ripening, coupled with excessive temperatures and an insufficiency of productive humidity, have caused varying degrees of crop damage.  According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry (MAFI), it is estimated that the total area damaged by the current drought is about 1.2 million hectares or approximately 84% of the total surface area of arable fields.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme (FAO/WFP) have estimated an opportunity cost of lost production, at market prices, at nearly €300 million for cereal crops only.  For most crops, the estimated volume of production is much lower than the 2006 level: for winter wheat – 44.5%, for spring barely – 50.2%, for corn – 27.6%, for sunflower- 28.6%, and for sugarbeet – 48.3%.  The drought has also affected the family livestock: 1/3 to 1/2 of household cattle holdings have been sacrificed, depending on area.  Lower or no returns to land, much less food from home garden production, loss of savings, food and income from liquidated family livestock, increased food expenditures, as well as higher prices for other basic requirements (energy, gas, heating, etc.) will have serious implications on the living standards of vulnerable people.
The Relief and Technical Assistance Response for the Drought Crisis in Moldova constitute a coordinated United Nations response to the request for assistance made by the Prime Minister of Moldova to the United Nations Secretary General in July 2007.  This project was designed to address primarily the emergency needs (seeds and fodder distribution, food packages, etc) and builds on the findings of the joint UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme assessments undertaken during July and August 2007.  As the emergency phase comes to a close, there is a need to look into the mid and long term effects of he drought and design a coordinated UN response to address rural development and livelihoods issues, as envisaged during the design of the emergency phase.

Duties and Responsibilities
           
Under the overall supervision of the UN Resident Coordinator, the direct supervision of the UNDP Portfolio Manager, and in close cooperation with the UN Drought Respond Project Team and FAO technical personnel in Moldova, as well as close collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry and other national and International NGO’s and institutions, the Agriculture and Rural Development Expert/Technical Adviser will assist the UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative, the Government of Moldova, and International institutions in the country in finalisation of the implementation of the UN Drought Response Project and in planning and designing the after drought rehabilitation activities of agriculture-related and rural development projects and promote cooperation and technical assistance in order to improve effective response to natural disasters and propose appropriate measure to mitigate the impacted of the drought and other natural disaster.  The following tasks are envisage to be initiated and completed during the assignment:

• provide technical and operational support to the finalization of the implementation of the UN Drought Respons Project;
• advice the UN Resident Coordinator and UN Country Team on all issues pertaining to the post drought recovery and development related technical assistance matters warranting UN response;
• promote cooperation and coordination among partners to ensure an effective and coherent programme response to the drought that has affected the country’s agricultural sector;
• together with UNDP, concerned UN Agencies and other relevant partners, promote the programmatic transition from emergency to medium and longer term development for the agriculture and rural sectors in the drought affected areas;
• assess community development opportunities and propose relevant programmatic interventions to address medium and long term measures supportive of sustainable rural development;
• provide technical assistance for the formulation of a medium and long-term support package and draft the project document thereof in response to the needs emerging from the drought crisis.  The incumbent will factor in sustainable development approaches to tackle the drought and agriculture-related problematic from a poverty reduction perspective;
• based on assessed needs and agreed priorities, lead the preparation of project profiles, project documents and related reports for submission to donors; all projects should propose appropriate measures and recommendations to mitigate longer term adverse effects of the drought on the rural livelihoods and agriculture sector;
• support on preparation of relevant policy environment for implementation of agriculture-related development strategy in Moldova; ensure close liaison with key national counterparts (i.e. Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry) throughout the process;
• provide technical assistance, as required, to the Ministry of Agriculture and other Ministries as relevant as well as to UNDP in the framework of designing rural development interventions;
• perform other duties as required by the UN Resident Coordinator.

Expected outputs / Deliverables

The Consultant is expected to contribute directly to the following outputs:

• Emergency of UN Drought Response successfully completed;
• UN priorities for medium and long-term actions defined in a programme document;
• End-of-mission report articulating achievements, difficulties encountered and recommendations to be submitted no later than one week prior to the end of the assignment.

Duty Station

Chisinau (Moldova), with frequent travel to the field and project sites.

Duration of assignment

Two (2) months.

Qualifications

• Degree in agronomy, rural development, or other relevant field.
• At least 10 years’ of professional experience in agriculture with at list 7 years field experience in emergency, rehabilitation and development and technical assistance programmes, with specific focus on natural disasters, agricultural relief and food security.  Demonstrated excellent interpersonal and professional skills and Good command of English Knowledge, including project formulation, monitoring and reporting.
• Experience in liaising and working in close collaboration with both Governmental and non-governmental sectors,
• Good knowledge of the UN system’s procedures and operational activities.  At least 3 years’ experience with a UN agency (FAO, WFP, UNDP, OCHA) are required.  Knowledge of UNDP rules and procedures would be an advantage.
• Strong ability to draft and produce top-quality documents, presentations and reports.
• Fluency in verbal and written English and Russian.
• Knowledge of information technology tools (Word, Excel, Power Point)
• Familiarity with the geographical region.

Security

The Consultant must be aware of security phase of country of assignment and understand the implications for his/her own security. As soon as s/he arrives at the duty station, s/he must contact the designated UN security officer to be briefed on all the recommended security measures. In case this procedure is not properly applied, the consultant may not be covered under the insurance.

Vaccinations

The Consultant must ensure that he/she has received any necessary medical vaccinations / medical care before departing from home address.

Personal History Form (P11)

Interested persons should submit their application letters and duly completed Personal History Form (P11) with the mark “International Agriculture and Rural Development Expert /Technical Adviser” by 23 May 2008, 16:30 (local time) to the following address: UNDP Office, 131, 31 August 1989 Street, MD-2012, Chisinau, Moldova, alternatively by email to vacancies-moldova@undp.org.

Only those short listed will be contacted.

Failure of candidates to submit a duly completed P11 form, as well as false representations on this form, shall constitute sufficient grounds for withdrawal of further consideration of the application. All information provided in the P11 form will be treated as strictly confidential.