National Project Coordinator (NPC)

The National Project Coordinator (NPC) will function as the national project coordinator at the FAO country office in Zambia, acting as the link between FAO Headquarters and local project partners. The role involves project management, value chain analysis, strategic leadership, and reporting to support sustainable aquatic value chains under the SVC4LLDCs project.

Responsibilities

• Technically support the implementation of the project workplan.
• Coordinate and support the planning, design and implementation of project activities and ensure the delivery of associated deliverables and outputs.
• Review and finalise project reports and outputs.
• Identify, recruit, manage, and supervise project partners.
• Liaise with and maintain strong and effective linkages with project beneficiaries, partners and related initiatives.
• Monitor and evaluate project activities.
• Contribute to the development and dissemination of information products based on project activities.
• Prepare reports for submission to the Project Management Unit (PMU), including information on results achieved, constraints and possible solutions, impact evaluation, as well as administrative and financial updates.
• Prepare and execute the SVC4LLDCs annual country level work plan and budget and oversee the preparation of the country level value chain work plan and budget.
• Support and monitor the value chain analysis (VCA) and the value chain development activities, facilitating linkages between stakeholders, including report writing with a main focus on strategy and implementation.
• Lead the design and establishment of a multi-stakeholder platform and coordinate its activities and implementation.
• Develop and maintain partnerships with country and regional stakeholders to achieve SVC4LLDCs value chain objectives.
• Collaborate closely with consultants responsible for value chain project tasks and ensure implementation of a sustainable systems-based and result-based value chain approach.
• Coordinate, collate and analyse quarterly value chain progress reports from the value chain task forces to gauge the impact of interventions.
• Coordinate knowledge sharing emerging from the value chain to ensure wide dissemination within the project and externally.
• Oversee development and implementation of the SVC4LLDCs communication strategy at country level.
• Lead regular monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of the programme at country level, including selection of value chain-specific indicators and regular reporting to the SVC4LLDCs Coordinator and Project Lead Technical Officer.
• Perform other duties as required.

Requirements

• Advanced university degree or equivalent in Fisheries and Aquaculture, Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness, Project Management, Natural Resource Management or related field.
• A minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible professional experience in the implementation and coordination of value chain development activities related to fisheries, aquaculture, agriculture, forestry, natural resources or related areas.
• Working knowledge (level C) of the English language.
• National of Zambia.
• Strong knowledge of fisheries value chains and market systems.
• Sound understanding of sustainable aquatic food systems and rural livelihoods.
• Proven experience in project planning, implementation, coordination and management.
• Knowledge of value chain analysis methodologies and value chain upgrading approaches.
• Strong analytical, organizational and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated ability to prepare high-quality technical reports, work plans and donor reports.
• Experience in facilitating multi-stakeholder dialogue and partnership development.
• Good knowledge of monitoring and evaluation frameworks, results-based management and logical framework approaches.
• Familiarity with FAO operational procedures, procurement, financial management and project cycle management is desirable.
• Excellent interpersonal, negotiation and communication skills.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision and deliver high-quality outputs under tight deadlines.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook).

Skills

• Fisheries Value Chain Strengthening
• Aquaculture Project Coordination
• Agricultural Economics
• Natural Resource Management
• Project Planning
• Project Implementation
• Project Management
• Value Chain Analysis
• Value Chain Upgrading
• Sustainable Aquatic Food Systems
• Rural Livelihoods
• Technical Report Preparation
• Donor Reporting
• Multi-Stakeholder Facilitation
• Partnership Development
• Monitoring and Evaluation
• Result-Based Management
• Logical Frameworks
• FAO Operational Guidelines
• Procurement
• Finance Management
• Project Cycle Management
• Microsoft Office Suite

Languages

English