Project Technical Specialist - Small Scale Fisheries

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

About The Position

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) advances the 2030 Agenda through its Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation toward more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agrifood systems. This effort promotes better production, improved nutrition, a healthier environment, and enhanced livelihoods, ensuring no one is left behind. The position is located in the Subregional Office for the Pacific Islands (SAP) in Apia, Samoa. The SAP Office is responsible for developing, promoting, overseeing and implementing agreed-upon strategies and projects for transforming food, agriculture and rural development. It also develops and maintains relations with subregion-wide institutions. The Subregional Office for the Pacific Islands (SAP) is a subsidiary of the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP). FAO-SAP is implementing the project “Strengthening Small-Scale Fisheries in the Pacific Islands (Phase II)” over four years which aims to improve food security and climate-resilient coastal livelihoods in Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Samoa, with women and girls exercising increased voice, agency and equitable access to benefits in fisheries governance, services and markets. Building on the achievements and lessons from Phase I, the project responds to persistent challenges faced by small scale fisheries (SSF) communities—climate vulnerability, limited livelihood diversification, weak data systems, gender inequalities, and gaps in local management capacity. The project supports governments and coastal communities to achieve healthier fisheries resources, strengthened market access, improved governance, and greater socio-economic benefits, particularly for women, youth, and vulnerable groups who depend heavily on the sector. The intervention is structured around four interlinked outcomes: 1. Improved meaningful participation and influence of women alongside men in community-based fisheries management decision-making in coastal communities in Samoa and Solomon Islands. 2. Increased income and value derived from fisheries products for women participating in coastal fisheries value chains in Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Samoa. 3. Increased participation in and benefit from climate change response initiatives for women and girls in coastal communities in Vanuatu and Fiji. 4. Enhanced equitable access to and benefit from gender-responsive and shock-adaptive social protection for women and informal workers in fish value chains in Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Samoa. The project contributes directly to national development priorities, FAO’s Blue Transformation vision, and the broader UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for the Pacific, supporting a more resilient and food-secure Blue Pacific Continent and to Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy Action Area 1, gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

Requirements

Advanced university degree from an institution recognized by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/UNESCO in fisheries, social science, gender or equivalent is required; Consultants with a bachelor's degree need two additional years of relevant professional experience.
At least 5 years of relevant experience in small scale fisheries, monitoring and evaluation, multiple stakeholders’ management, gender and/ or closely related fields.
Working knowledge of English
Results Focus
Teamwork
Communication
Building Effective Relationships
Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
Efficiency, competence and integrity as well as negotiating skills, tact and diplomacy are essential.
Able to work with multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural project partners at regional and international level
Excellent communication and interpersonal abilities, with experience liaising between diverse project stakeholders
Demonstrated effective writing and critical analysis skills

Nice To Haves

Proven ability to manage and implement complex projects
Demonstrated practical experience in monitoring and evaluation of a performance measurement framework
Proven experience of applying gender equality concepts
Practical experience in the Pacific context
Established relationships with relevant institutions in one or more of the project countries / region
Proven experience of managing a global team of researchers and / or consultants

Responsibilities

Plan project activities, procurement and staffing over a four-year timeframe
Facilitate and support all aspects of the project implementation
Ensure the preparation, monitoring and updating of workplans.
Ensure that relevant data is collected for effective monitoring against a performance measurement framework.
Develop Terms of Reference and Letters of Agreement for project affiliate personnel and service providers.
Participate in interview panels for the recruitment of affiliate personnel (but not staff members).
Liaise, and maintain positive working relations with stakeholders.
Develop a Project Task Force (PTF) and liaise with, provide reports to and receive guidance from the Project Task Force (PTF)
Identify, mitigate and manage potential risks, report and escalate issues when necessary.
Monitor the progress and quality of deliverables from contracted experts.
Prepare progress and final reports for the resource partner
Monitor and review interim and final narrative financial progress reports of LoAs and service contracts
Ensure the development of national project communication plans
Provide inputs to visibility and knowledge products, including lessons learned, case studies, and communication materials.
Contribute to the development and delivery of training materials and workshops for government and community stakeholders.
Finalise Monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) methodologies and complete MEL plan
Implement the MEL Plan
Ensure the mainstreaming of gender and a focus on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in the design and implementation of project activities.
Ensure the alignment of project activities with national policies and parallel initiatives
Liaison with OCC will be maintained, either directly or through an agreed focal point/coordinator, to ensure compliance with OCC standards, aligned messaging, and appropriate review and clearance processes.
All communication materials will follow FAO clearance processes and comply with FAO standards