Job Posting: 13/Feb/2026 Closure Date: 27/Feb/2026, 4:59:00 PM Organizational Unit: NSP Job Type: Non-staff opportunities Type of Requisition: Consultant / PSA (Personal Services Agreement) Grade Level: N/A Primary Location: Italy-Rome Duration: Up to 11 months Post Number: N/A IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device
- FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture.
- Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply;
- Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAO's values
- FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination
- FAO’s commitment to environmental sustainability is integral to our strategic objectives and operations._ **Organizational Setting** The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31 by supporting the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind. The Plant Production and Protection Division (NSP) contributes to FAO’s work by supporting countries to transition to sustainable crop production systems, which produce more with less, through optimization and minimization.



This requires the integration and harmonization of all appropriate crop production policies and practices to both optimize productivity and minimize the system’s environmental footprints and thereby eradicate hunger and malnutrition while preserving the natural resources. The position is located in the Crop and Mechanization Systems team (NSPLD), one of the six teams that make up the Division. NSPLD contributes to NSP's overarching goal of fostering resilient and sustainable plant production and protection systems that produce more with less. The team leads the efforts to develop, validate, and promote the adoption of context-specific, modern agronomic practices with sustainable agricultural mechanization as an integral part that sustainably enhances the productivity, efficiency, and resilience of diverse cropping systems. **Reporting Lines** The Consultant/PSA will work under the supervision of an officer in the NSPLD team. **Technical Focus** Strengthening the value chains of horticultural crops for enhanced input use-efficiency, resilience to shocks, and overall sustainability of the systems, especially for small-scale farmers in developing countries. **Tasks and responsibilities** The consultant/PSA will assist in the delivery of a work programme aimed at promoting approaches and practices and policies for sustainable and resilient urban and periurban cropping systems at global, regional, national and local levels.



The key functions of the consultant / PSA may include the following: - Provide technical support and sundry backstopping interventions for projects, programmes and initiatives across FAO regions to strengthen institutional and human capacities for the production systems of diverse horticultural crops - including fruits and vegetables and mushrooms - with focus on one or more of the following areas: quality seeds, planting materials and seedlings; soil health; soil moisture management, including efficient irrigation systems; plant health, through integrated pest and disease management; innovations in agronomics, including protected cultivation systems, soilless systems; sustainable agricultural mechanization; digital agriculture; and pollinators.
- Support the assessments of horticultural cropping systems and provide recommendations on validated innovative practices, and technologies along value chains to improve farm productivity; nutritional quality and safety of produce; and smallholders’ incomes and livelihoods.
- Support the development and review of technical documents related to different areas of horticultural crop production and protection and deliver relevant training programmes, especially for agronomists and extension staff of Member Countries.
- Assist in project implementation from conceptualization, through implementation and reporting to monitoring and evaluation in close collaboration with members of project teams, as required.
- Develop and review technical specifications for inputs and equipment for horticultural crops production systems, including in support of the implementation of projects.
- Collaborate with FAO technical teams, divisions, and decentralized offices and other partners on topics re

📌 Junior Agricultural Specialist (Roma)
🏢 Fao
📍 Roma