Staff Development

Staff development is a high priority in FAO as a service organization and is an integral part of the Organization’s HR strategy. It is closely linked to other key components of this strategy, including career development, performance management and HR planning. Some 1.35% of the Organization’s budget is regularly allocated to staff development activities.

The new performance management system PEMS provides the means of assisting staff in planning their individual professional development.

The assessment of their competencies and roles in the context of the performance appraisal process will facilitate identification of their training and development needs and the development of an individual training plan for the next performance cycle. It will also assist them in improving their job performance, sustain their motivation, and develop competencies to prepare for future jobs, thus benefiting both the staff member and the Organization.

The different types of training are sorted as follows:

internal to FAO, external

by location: local, regional or  international/corporate level

All FAOR requests for i) External Training, ii) additional staff development allocations, and iii) further corporate training, should be addressed to the concerned Regional Office.

Regional Offices should provide OSD, for its records, with relevant information on:

• the various training programmes being organized and also
• the staff in their region who have been approved to undertake such training programmes.

Please note that Government Provided Staff have access to the same opportunities as regular staff. Their training requirements are recorded in the office training plans and they will shortly be given access to learning@fao where they can access the same learning opportunities than FAO employees.

	Sections
	-	By Organizer: Internal/external to FAO
	-	By Location: Local, regional or international/ Corporate level

Tranining in FAOR Office

In line with the Organization’s policy, the allocation for Staff Development (SDV) for the FAOR Network is calculated as 1.35% of RP staff costs.

SDV in the annual allotments for FAORs. While funding for staff development is not shown separately in the 2010-2011 provisional allotments, budget holders should however allocate resources equivalent to at least 1.35% of biennial staff costs to staff development  as per OSP (ex-PBE) instructions. Of that amount, 60% will be available for direct expenditure by offices for staff development, while 40% will be set aside to support corporate staff development initiatives benefiting the staff in the country offices, such as management development and leadership, competency development, and project management skills. If needed, FAO Representatives (FAOReps)  can increase the resource allocation to training of the staff in the country office, from within the resources available to the office.

Past practice by OSD. In past years, half of the SDV global allocation was allocated directly to the Country Offices (COs) for local training, in line with their priorities as expressed in their biennial training plan, including technical/IT training and other competency related development. The remaining amount served to support a wide variety of centrally organized targeted training events such as Refresher Briefings for FAO Representatives (FAOReps), Briefings of Assistant FAOReps, participation in Logical Framework Approaches Workshops, Office Management and Administration Courses, as well as participation of selected FAOReps in the UNCT Leadership and Coordination Skills Workshops in Turin. In addition OSD liaised with CSPL (ex-AFHT) and other partners in order to identify and mobilize additional training resources for this purpose, and funds were also mobilized from corporate learning programmes such as PEMS, RBM and Management and Leadership Development.

ROs are encouraged to continue to help mobilize additional funds for  SDV and training. OSD is also available to support the  ROs and CSPL to develop training plans for staff in Decentralized Offices (DOs).  

External Fora/Meetings

Participation of FAO Representation staff in external fora/training
As regards invitations to attend external fora/meetings, the Office of the Director-General is responsible for approving staff attendance at meetings organized by external entities.

If FAOR staff is invited to external training, such as for instance UNCT Leadership and Coordination Skills training, then clearance of the Subregional Coordinator (where applicable) is required , as well as approval of the ADG/Regional Representative (ADG/RR). If the training event takes place outside the Region, the ADG/RR should seek the Deputy Director-General/Operations’ approval of the proposal. 

UN Country Team Training:The aim of this programme is to help strengthen leadership skills of senior UN leaders through an eight-day workshop offered four times each year, where participants share and learn from each other and reflect on their own leadership.  Through attending these workshops, participants improve their skills in: (i) Leadership and facilitating/managing diverse teams; (ii) Political acumen, negotiation and consensus building; and (ii) Advocacy and media communications.  More information about the programme can be found at the following link:  http://www.unssc.org/home/themes/un-leadership/unct-leadership-and-coordination-skills
The Organization usually seeks to identify two FAO participants for each workshop. The total cost of each workshop, in 2012, is USD 6,000. For 2012, CSPL will fund 80% of the tuition fees (USD 4,800).  The Regional Office is required to ensure the coverage of the remaining 20% (i.e. USD 1,200) plus travel and DSA costs.
Click HERE for CSP e-mail message on the procedure to be followed.