What It Does: FAO works to defeat hunger and improve nutrition by helping governments and development agencies in agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and land and water resources.
Mission: To make sure everyone has regular access to enough nutritious food and leads healthy lives. It aims to help eliminate hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition in rural populations.
Size and Presence: The FAO is composed of 195 member countries and has employed around 11.561 employees as of 2019. There are eight departments to take care of different issues.
Best Known For: An oldest permanent specialized agency of the United Nations providing assistance to boost agricultural productivity to eliminate hunger and improve nutrition.
The Good Bits: The organization has many positions starting from entry-level to top-level and provides proper training to fulfil the role and responsibilities of the job righteously.
The Not So Good Bits: FAO is too decentralized and this could be a limitation as most of the staff on duty works at the centre of the lot which means fewer observations of complex issues.
Founded on 16 October 1945, FAO consists of 195 members including 194 countries and the European Union. The main office is located in Rome, Italy but has field offices in over 130 countries. The agency is the result of an idea that came to the mind of a Polish-born American agriculturalist and activist David Lubin in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
In 1905, the International Institute of Agriculture (IIA) was created during an international conference held in Rome. The institute was created by the King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III and it was the first intergovernmental organization to deal with agriculture issues on a global scale. This led to the creation of a permanent organization for food and agriculture, FAO.
Now the FAO has 195 members working hard to address the issues in agricultural development by member nations. It strives to make agriculture more productive and sustainable so that hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition can be eliminated. The central mission of the organization is to reduce rural poverty by ensuring inclusive and efficient food systems.
The organization is funded by industrialized countries and development banks. It has seven departments to take care of every issue related to agriculture.
FAO is a partner agency of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and was established to address the world’s most challenging agricultural issues. As the agency works for a special cause, candidates looking for a role here should expect an accountable environment. The bigger job roles come with bigger responsibilities as they need to manage everything on an International level.
Candidates can visit the site and create a profile to log in and check vacancies. FAO only considers applications received through the FAO career portal and does not entertain incomplete applications. The assessment phase will comprise of an interview, a reference check, and some other tests depending on the position level and area of work.
The hiring process may take an average of 75 days as it works on a global scale and receives many applications for open positions. As of requirements, candidates should be 32 years of age with some advanced academic qualifications and a minimum of one year of relevant experience.
Candidates can browse the official website to know more about the agency’s ideology and current job openings. As far as the membership of the FAO is concerned, it is open to any State or regional economic integration organization meeting the criteria outlined in the FAO Constitution.
FAO offers countless growth opportunities, including training, workshops, and training courses depending on the specific roles. The agency offers a dynamic and multicultural work environment where one can learn a lot. It has staff from over 100 countries which means a truly international workplace and scope to learn new things every single day.
Candidates can also apply for internships with FAO and interns receive a stipend in local currency. The stipend is provided directly by the sponsoring institutions and does not exceed USD 700 per month. The promotions of the full-time employees depend on their performances, achievements, and expertise in their department.
The staff categories include internationally recruited staff and locally recruited staff. The internationally recruited staff has senior-level staff and professional staff. On the other hand, the locally recruited staff has general service staff and National Professional Officers.
FAO follows the UN common system of salaries, allowances, and benefits. There will be a base salary that is determined by the post grade and the existence of any dependants. The base salary is supplemented by a post adjustment depending on the cost of living in the duty station and the United State dollar’s exchange rate. Hardship allowance is also there depending on the living and working conditions.
Salaries and allowances paid by FAO are exempt from national income tax in most cases. Applicants can check the UN salary scales by visiting the site or referring to the UN Common System Salaries and Allowances Booklet.
Apart from the salaries, grants, and allowances, FAO offers several benefits to its employees including…
FAO strives to help member nations become independent by addressing agricultural issues and generating revenue out of agricultural products. Rather than providing food to countries in need, the organization helps them set up sustainable food sources. This helps in addressing the root cause and provides benefits to the people in the long run.
Apart from helping with agriculture, the organization also protects livelihoods from disasters. Each year, millions of people are confronted by disasters and crises and such emergencies threaten production as well as access to food.
Being an agency with a social cause and operating on an international level, it may have faced several controversies. However, this doesn’t stop it from working to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security.