The Needs Assessment Specialist deployed for surge support will report to the Technical Officer, under the technical oversight of the FAO Representative in the country of assignment and in close coordination with the OER Evidence Team.

Technical Focus 

Surge support to assessment activities in terms of food security and agricultural livelihoods, ensuring these are assessed and reported in an accurate and timely manner.

Tasks and responsibilities

•    Support data collection and needs assessment activities for major crises or disasters occurring in supported countries;
•    Design a phased assessment framework composed of different assessment methodologies, in line with needs for information;
•    Coordinate the assessment process with the country office, the food security cluster, implementing partners, and other divisions involved in the assessment;
•    Review secondary data and consolidate baselines;
•    Design assessment tools, supervise data collection, and control data quality; Assist in the cleaning, analysis, interpretation and visualization of collected data;
•    Help draft and also review assessment and monitoring reports, and assist in their dissemination;
•    Facilitate discussions on assessment findings, contribute to their interpretation and to the formulation of operational recommendations and further data collection needed;
•    Liaise with HQ and regional offices to disseminate agreed frameworks, methodologies, tools and recommendations;
•    Ensure that data and analytical products align with the global standards, protocols and formats;
•    Leverage Data in Emergencies (DIEM) capabilities throughout the assessment process;
•    Document methodology and lessons learnt, and contribute to the development of guidance materials related to the monitoring system and emergency assessments;
•    Contribute to capacity development of FAO assessment staff and partners (Webinars, training sessions);
•    Perform other related duties as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

•    Experience in post disaster emergency and rehabilitation assessment and programming.

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.
•    Experience in humanitarian contexts is desirable.
•    Familiarity with Post-Disaster Needs Assessments processes as well as damage and loss concepts applied to the agricultural sector.
•    Working knowledge of mobile data collection tools (e.g. Kobo toolbox) and statistical software packages (SPSS, STATA and/or R).