National Operations Specialist

The National Operations Specialist supports project cycle management for the FAO portfolio in Georgia, including planning, formulation, monitoring, budget and financial oversight, reporting, and operational coordination among teams. The role ensures compliance with organizational rules and supports effective project implementation and closure.

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day support to project teams on operational aspects through all project cycle phases, from formulation to operational and financial closure, identifying operational gaps and risks and proposing corrective measures.
• Conduct continuous review and monitoring of project budgets, financial delivery, commitments, and forecasts against work plans for accuracy, and flag budget issues to the supervisor and propose corrective action as required.
• Monitor and maintain a current overview of the Country Office portfolio and pipeline.
• Maintain complete and current project data and documentation in FAO’s Field Programme Management Information System (FPMIS) throughout the project cycle.
• Support the preparation of draft budgets and budget revisions in FPMIS in line with FAO financial rules and resource partner agreements, with supporting justifications.
• Regularly review project financial transactions to ensure their correctness and take remedial action when required.
• Support the preparation and monitoring of annual work plans, tracking milestones and bottlenecks and recommending remedial action to overcome operational constraints.
• Support the actions required for the completion and closure of projects, including timely closure of outstanding commitments and disposal or transfer of project assets, as required.
• Support the identification of tools and processes to integrate risk management, compliance, and quality assurance actions into operations and programme activities.
• Compile inputs for the preparation of resource partner progress and final narrative and financial reports.
• Contribute to internal control actions, and support verification and audit missions and follow-up, as required.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Requirements

• Advanced university degree in business administration, economics, international development, agriculture, project management, public administration, international relations or any other discipline relevant to the work of the Organization.
• At least five years of relevant experience in programme/project management, operations, finance, coordination or related areas.
• Full proficiency in English and in Georgian (Level C).
• National of Georgia or resident of the country with a valid work permit.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple tasks and priorities.
• Experience in preparing project documents, reports, briefs and other programme-related materials.
• Experience supporting programme or project planning, implementation, monitoring, reporting and budget management.
• Experience working with multidisciplinary teams and stakeholders in an international environment.
• Good communication and coordination skills.
• Proficiency in standard office software applications.
• Experience working with the United Nations system or international organizations would be an asset.
• Knowledge of FAO project cycle management procedures and management information systems would be desirable.
• Working knowledge of Russian is an asset.

Skills

• Programme Management
• Project Management
• Operations Management
• Budget Management
• Financial Oversight
• Project Planning
• Project Implementation
• Project Monitoring
• Project Reporting
• Coordination with stakeholders
• Multidisciplinary Team Collaboration
• Report Writing
• Project Document Drafting
• Standard Office Software
• FAO Project Cycle Management
• Management Information Systems

Languages

English, Georgian