NATIONAL PROJECT COORDINATOR

SUMMARY:
JOB TITLE: NATIONAL PROJECT COORDINATOR
PURPOSE OF THE POST
The National Project Coordinator (NPC) will coordinate the activities of the project “Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Technical Assistance for the development of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Roadmap towards supporting Decadal Plan implementation” on the ground, ensuring successful implementation in alignment with the objectives outlined in the proposal for the STI Roadmap.
The NPC will report directly to the Deputy Directors and Director of the Agricultural Biotechnology Unit that oversees the project, on the achievement of the deliverables of the project and the delivery of an approved STI Roadmap for agriculture, forestry and fisheries.
The NPC will work closely with the Agricultural Biotechnology Unit, the National Project Coordinator from FAO, consultants/experts/technical officers from FAO, and various national stakeholders, ensuring that all project activities are carried out in a timely, efficient, and effective manner and all deliverables of the project are met.
The NPC will also handle administrative tasks, preparation of reports/submissions, coordination of meetings, and liaise with stakeholders to foster collaboration and ensure alignment with the project goals.

POSITION INFO:
Description of Tasks:
Facilitate the development of the STI Roadmap and action plan in support of the Decadal Plan:

• Organize an Inception Workshop for relevant stakeholders.
• Provision of support for establishment of a STI Roadmap Development committee.
• Provision of constant technical advice and support to
• consultative processes.
• Identifying, mapping and prioritization of related STI needs.
• Consolidation of the priorities into STI Roadmap and action plan in support of the Decadal Plan.
• Oversee the day-to-day management and coordination of the project, ensuring that all activities are carried out in line with the approved project plan.
• Provision of support in setting up of a governance structure and institutional arrangements for implementation of the STI Roadmap and action plan.
• Working with the project team to incorporate comments and inputs from the validation workshop and finalize the report and the action plan for endorsement by the company.
• The STI Roadmap report and the action plan developed.
• Conduct a landscape analysis of the current STI landscape in Agriculture in South Africa including opportunities, challenges, success stories and best practice models including development, dissemination, adoption and scaling up of relevant agricultural innovations and technologies:
• Support the FAO appointed service provider/consultant to conduct a landscape analysis of Support the FAO appointed service provider/consultant to conduct a landscape analysis of Agricultural STI in South Africa, including successes, capacities, infrastructure and skills.
• Support the development of models for best practices in support of agrifood systems transformation.
• Support the efforts to link farmers and stakeholders for improved access to agriculture technologies and innovations.
• practices, success stories and policy implications in subsectors of agriculture.
• Attendance registers, Demonstration reports, Dialogue Reports and Other government related reports.
• Strengthen agricultural STI partnerships, governance, advocacy, awareness, and coordination through knowledge sharing and international best practices.
• Technical support to strengthen the integration of STI for crop and animal productivity enhancement and sustainable food system transformation through analysis of opportunities from international best practice - what will work for South Africa and why.
• Technical support to strengthen technology sharing and dissemination systems and value chain development – how to move from demonstration to scaling agricultural innovation and securing investments to do so.
• Technical support for assessment of potential opportunities and development of digital agriculture decision support systems to strengthen extension services and support farmer development programmes through digitally enabled agricultural extension.
• Reports - Terms of references, MoAs, MoUs etc.

• Oversee the day-to-day management and coordination of the project, ensuring that all activities are carried out in line with the approved project plan.
• Coordinate the engagement of stakeholders, including the Department of Agriculture (DoA), Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and Environment (DFFE), Provincial Departments of Agriculture, industry, academia, civil society, and NGOs. Support company adh oc ad hoc stakeholder engagements related to the project and STI Roadmap in response to requests from the Deputy Directors and/Director.
• Ensure seamless communication between the company, FAO, and national stakeholders.
• Ensure timely and effective monitoring of project activities, tracking progress against milestones and key performance indicators.
• Prepare detailed and regular feedback and reports on project progress for the company, FAO, and other key stakeholders.
• Organize and maintain project documentation, including meeting minutes, reports, submissions, and correspondence.
• Assist in the preparation of meeting agendas, facilitate discussions, and follow up on action items to ensure effective delivery of project objectives.
• Support the recruitment of project consultants and assist in managing their tasks as needed.

• Departmental policy and formulation.
• Knowledge of National Science, Technology and Innovation.
• Knowledge of Agriculture innovation and policies.
• Understanding of innovation value chains related to Agriculture bioeconomy.

• Programme and project management.
• Scientific methodologies and models.
• Research and development.
• Computer-aided scientific applications.
• Knowledge of legal compliance.
• Technical report writing.
• Creating high performance culture.
• Professional judgment.
• Data analysis.
• Policy development and analysis.
• Scientific presentation.

• Strategic capability and leadership
• Decision making
• Team leadership
• Creativity
• Financial management
• Customer focus and responsiveness
• Communication
• Computer literacy
• Networking
• Planning, organizing and execution
• Conflict management
• People management
• Change management
• Problem solving and analysis

• At least 3 years of experience in project management, particularly in the fields of agriculture or biotechnology.

• NQF level 7/Degree preferably in the fields of agriculture, biotechnology, or related fields.