Call for expression of interest dedicated to AGROVOC

The Partnerships and UN Collaboration Division (PSU) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is looking for Consultants or PSAs to provide technical support for content development and enhancement of the AGROVOC multilingual agricultural thesaurus. 

The consultants or PSAs should focus on one or more of the thematic areas such as nutrition, biotechnology, agroecology, food security and food systems, digitalization, forestry, climate change, agro-industry, rural development, animal health, natural resources, livestock, pest and pesticide management, pollination, food loss and food waste, economic and social development, land and water, emergencies and resilience and the environment and related topics and in the various areas related to FAO’s mandate, priorities and strategic framework, as well as the SDGs.

Tasks and responsibilities

The assigned tasks and responsibilities related to technical support in the area of information management can include some of the following elements:

• Support the overall AGROVOC content development strategy and maintenance, in particular, to improve discoverability and visibility of data and publications in line with the FAIR Principles (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reuse of digital assets).
• Review existing concepts in AGROVOC based on the specialized are of expertise on demand, based on a systematic approach.
• Identify gaps in content and suggest new concepts.
• Understand the AGROVOC hierarchy and suggest placement for new and existing concepts.
• Research pertinent definitions of concepts including their reliable sources, such as FAO publications, FAOTerm, domain specific literature among others.
• Contribute to the AGROVOC Editorial Guidelines Task Force with guidance on relevant domain specific authorities to check new and existing terminology in AGROVOC.
• Support the AGROVOC Editorial Main Team at FAO in any additional task related to terminology.
• Contribute to drafting reports/working papers and to disseminating results.

FAO frequently engages experts to work on short-term activities and projects as international consultants or under personal service agreements (PSA). International consultants or PSAs are engaged by the Organization to provide expertise, skills or knowledge for the performance of a specific task or piece of work, which is short-term by nature. The assignment may involve fulltime or part-time functions. The assignment can be from 1 month up to 11 months. The possibility of extension is subject to satisfactory performance and depending on the resources and needs of the Organization. 

Interested professionals should apply for the opening by Monday, 31 October 2022.

For more information and details about how to apply visit the dedicated FAO career webpage here.