The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is inviting applications for a Young Professional Officer – Community-Driven Innovation position based at its headquarters in Rome, Italy.
The professional-level opportunity is part of the FAO Young Professionals Programme (YPP) and is aimed at talented early-career professionals interested in agricultural innovation, agrifood systems, rural development and agroecology.
The position is a P-1 staff appointment on a fixed-term basis of two years, with the possibility of extension. Applications are open until 14 October 2026 at 11:59 PM according to the FAO job posting.
FAO Young Professional Officer Opportunity Overview
The position is located within FAO’s Office of Innovation (OIN), which supports innovation across the organisation and helps strengthen innovative approaches, cooperation models and partnerships.
The Young Professional Officer will report to the Innovation Officer (Farmer Field Schools) and work with other OIN teams and FAO units. The technical focus is on innovation in agrifood systems, particularly community-driven and grassroots innovation, co-creation processes, multi-actor learning and evidence generation to support agrifood systems transformation, including agroecology.
Key details include:
- Position: Young Professional Officer – Community-Driven Innovation
- Job level: P-1
- Job type: Staff position
- Location: Rome, Italy
- Contract: Fixed-term, two years, with possibility of extension
- Post number: 2008723
- Application deadline: 14 October 2026, 11:59 PM
- Programme: FAO Young Professionals Programme
Responsibilities of the Young Professional Officer
The successful candidate will provide research, technical analysis and project-related support for assigned FAO projects, products and services.
Responsibilities include analysing social, economic, environmental, technological and statistical information and contributing to documents and technical outputs. The officer will also maintain records, databases and web pages while providing technical support to projects.
Specific responsibilities will focus heavily on grassroots and community-driven innovation. These include identifying, documenting and analysing farmer and community innovations, particularly those connected to agroecology.
The role will also support the design and implementation of community-driven, grassroots and frugal innovation activities in agrifood systems. This includes promoting innovation through Farmer Field Schools.
Other responsibilities include supporting the Global Farmer Field School Platform, contributing to knowledge management and communication, and helping highlight innovations emerging through Farmer Field Schools. The officer will also contribute to multi-actor learning and innovation processes involving Living Labs, Innovation Think Labs and communities of practice.
Who Is Eligible?
Applicants must hold an advanced university degree, such as a Master’s degree or equivalent, in agricultural innovation, systems agronomy, agricultural economics or a related field.
Candidates must also have at least one year of relevant experience in international development, with a focus on agrifood systems, rural development and innovation.
Language requirements include proficiency in English at level C and intermediate proficiency at level B in another FAO official language: Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish.
Importantly, candidates must be 32 years of age or younger as of 31 December of the year of application. The Young Professionals Programme is primarily targeted at talented and qualified professionals who are nationals of non- and under-represented countries. Priority consideration is given to candidates from Small Island Developing States, Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and developing countries in general.
Skills and Experience
FAO is seeking candidates with knowledge and experience relevant to community-driven innovation and agrifood systems.
Desirable experience includes working with community-driven, user-driven or participatory approaches in agrifood systems, as well as knowledge of rural development and innovation systems.
Experience with Farmer Field Schools or similar farmer-participatory approaches is also desirable.
Technical knowledge in areas such as participatory research, human-centred and co-design approaches, monitoring and evaluation, theory of change, KoboToolbox, data analysis using Stata, R or Python, food security metrics, value-chain analysis and gender and social inclusion analysis can be relevant to the role. Field experience in developing-country contexts is also desirable.
Salary and Benefits
FAO states that a competitive compensation and benefits package is offered. Subject to eligibility, benefits can include dependency allowances, rental subsidy, education grants for children, home-leave travel, 30 working days of annual leave, pension entitlements, international health insurance, optional life insurance and disability protection.
The organisation also highlights flexible working arrangements and family-friendly policies as part of its workplace measures.
How to Apply for the FAO Young Professional Programme
Candidates must apply through the official FAO recruitment portal. Applicants should create and complete an online profile containing their employment history, academic qualifications and language skills.
A letter of motivation must be attached to the online profile. Applicants should ensure that all information is complete and accurate because incomplete applications will not be considered.
FAO states that only applications submitted through its recruitment portal will be considered. Candidates are encouraged to apply well before the deadline.
Application Deadline
The application deadline for the Young Professional Officer – Community-Driven Innovation position is 14 October 2026 at 11:59 PM.
The opportunity provides an entry point into international civil service for qualified young professionals working in agricultural innovation, agrifood systems, agroecology and rural development. Interested candidates who meet the age, academic, experience and language requirements should review the official vacancy carefully and submit their applications through the FAO recruitment system before the closing date.
APPLY HERE
Deadline: 14 October 2026, 11:59 PM
