Northern Part of Cyprus_Technical Assistance for the implementation of farm advisory services

The purpose of the contract is to assist the Turkish Cypriot community in the implementation of its strategy for farm advisory services (FAS). Such services are fundamental for the development of activities in the agricultural sector. A strategy was established in 2017 in order to establish a structured approach and provide a wide spectrum of services to the farmers operating in the Turkish Cypriot community. The Consultant will be required to implement the following outputs:

  • to identify the relevant Turkish Cypriot stakeholders in the agriculture sector and involve them at each stage of the contract's implementation ensuring constant dialogue and informed participation,
  • to assist the relevant Turkish Cypriot stakeholders in the implementation of its farm advisory services strategy,
  • to provide technical assistance to farmers on topics including: Mediterranean agriculture, EU acquis inagriculture, farm management innovation and related practices to increase the income and the competitiveness of farms; as well as assistance with rural development project preparation and implementation,
  • to support Turkish Cypriot relevant stakeholders in raising awareness amongst farmers as regards the benefits of farm advisory services. In this respect, the Consultant should advise on supplies which could be effective for didactical purposes,
  • to assist in the design of up to 2 related calls for proposals, as required
  • to assist Turkish Cypriot stakeholders in maintaining a robust monitoring and evaluation system to review the effectiveness of the provided farm advisory services.
Qualifications: 

Duties and responsibilities

He/she will be responsible for organising, coordinating and managing the work of the FAS team and will carry out the following tasks:

  • Manage the inputs of the experts, according to the work programme and activity-based personnel programme;
  • Contribute directly to the implementation of Tasks 1, 2, 3 as from point 4.2;
  • Organise and implement the activities in this ToR in accordance with EC rules;
  • Pro-active participation in meetings related to the Programme, called by the Contracting Authority or the local administration.

The Team Leader will be based in the northern part of Nicosia.  She/he will travel regularly to the field.  She/he should spread his/her presence evenly throughout the duration of the contract.

Qualifications and skills

The Team Leader should have the following background / experience:

  • Agriculture (University Degree awarded on completion of at least three years study in a University or equivalent institution in the field of agricultural sciences) or equivalent degree closely related to the subject of the project.
  • Excellent communication, interpersonal, organisational and reporting skills, as well as strong confident leadership;
  • Full computer literacy;
  • Excellent command of written and spoken English.

General experience

  • At least 10 years and up to 15 years[1] of cumulative post graduate experience in technical assistance in Mediterranean agriculture and advisory services in agriculture.

Specific experience

  • At least three and up to five years[2] post graduate experience in a senior position relating to implementation of farm advisory services in EU Member States, Candidate countries[3] or Potential Candidates.
  • Experience in leading a team in at least one project of at least one year duration in the field of capacity building for agricultural or rural extension.
  • Experience in one and up to three project(s)[4] in the field of implementation of agricultural or rural development EU acquis will be an advantage.
  • Experience in drafting guidelines for grant schemes under PRAG rules will be an advantage.

    The Key Expert must be able to provide support throughout Cyprus, if required and should therefore be in possession of the necessary permissions/visas.

 

[1] Experience in excess of this upper threshold will not be taken into account during the scoring of the offers.

[2] Experience in excess of this upper threshold will not be taken into account during the scoring of the offers.

[4] Experience in excess of this upper threshold will not be taken into account during the scoring of the offers.

Start / Duration: 

 The provisional commencement date of the contract is December 2018

Please send you most recent CV to: Barbara.braun [at] afci.de Please note, that only shortlisted experts will be contacted