Organizational Setting

Under UNJP/ALB/022/JP, FAO Albania leads efforts with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to support the sustainable digital transformation of Albania’s agriculture and rural areas with an ambitious 3-years joint programme entitled “Digital Agriculture and Rural Transformation (DART)” as part of the SDG Fund – Digital Transformation Window call.

DART aims to increase agriculture productivity, advance socio-economic growth, and enhance rural livelihoods in Albania by 2027. It harnesses the potential of digitalization to transform the agri-food sector from national level to underserved rural areas in Albania delivering on three components: 1) the formulation of Albania’s National Digital Agriculture Strategy and Action Plan (led by FAO, with support from ITU) 2) the farmer-centric design and delivery of digital services via the recently launched national Farmers’ Portal (Portali i Fermerit) (led by FAO) 3) the development of digital capacities among national public workers, TVET schools and centres; smallholder farmers and other vulnerable groups in rural areas (led by ILO).
A key deliverable under Component 2 is the enhancement of the Albania Farmers’ Portal, ensuring user-centered, inclusive, and accessible digital services that support rural women and men equally. To achieve this, FAO Albania seeks a Service Designer to conduct user research and a gap analysis on the current information and knowledge services provided through the Farmers’ Portal and contribute to its overall enhancement, especially by devising a sustainable Product Development Roadmap.

This position offers a National Personal Service Agreement (PSA.NAT) contract for up to an initial 230 days (equivalent to 11 months). A break from duty of at least 30 consecutive days is mandatory within any twelve-month period after which the contract is renewable upon satisfactory performance and funds availability.

Only persons holding citizenship and/or valid residence permit in Albania are eligible to apply.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall supervision of the Assistant FAO Representative, under the technical leadership of the FAO Senior Technical Advisor on Digital Agriculture, in close coordination with the national and international consultants involved in the project, and in consultation with focal points in the relevant Ministries, UN Agencies and international and national partners, the Service Designer shall undertake the tasks and responsibilities outlined below.

Technical Focus

In close collaboration with the DART project team, the Service Designer will conduct (1) User research and need analysis, (2) perform a gap analysis (3) support the co-design of the product development roadmap (4) lead iterative prototyping development.

Tasks and responsibilities

Conduct User Research & Needs Analysis

•    Assess the current state of the information and knowledge services provided through Farmers’ Portal for farmers.
•    Assist the Senior Technical Advisor in organizing and facilitating focus groups, deep dive interviews, and utilize advanced user-centric research methods with farmers, especially smallholder farmers and those from the underserved regions of Albania, including women, youth, elderlies and farmers with disabilities.
•    Assist the Senior Technical Advisor in gathering insights on user needs, pain points, and expectations for the Farmers’ Portal from a diverse group of farmers, extension workers, and stakeholders from public and private sector, ensuring gender-responsive and inclusive participation.

Perform the Gap Analysis

•    Identify gaps in the usability, accessibility, and inclusivity of the Farmers’ Portal.
•    Analyze potential technical and content improvements aligned with best UX practices.
•    Identify barriers for women, youth, and vulnerable populations in accessing digital services and explore how feasible would it be the usage of different delivery methods for services (e.g., SMS, communication Apps, radio announcements) to each type of end-user (farmers, private-sector agro-industries, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Albania).
•    Research international and best practices in knowledge portals and digital public services provision in agriculture to further provide perspectives and inform the analyses;

Support the Co-Design of the Product Development Roadmap

•    Develop user journey maps and service blueprints to improve user interactions with the Farmers’ Portal.
•    Facilitate the development of a product vision canvas for the enhanced Farmers’ Portal.
•    Work alongside technical teams to define feature enhancements and ensure farmer-centric design principles.

Lead iterative prototyping development

•    Develop mock-ups, prototypes and low/high fidelity versions of the portal and its features to gather insights from real users; implement changes and create new version of the prototype for development.
•    Establish measurable metrics to assess the success of the enhanced portal
•    Establish tools for gathering users’ engagement for continues improvement and feedback mechanism
•    Develop UX recommendations for future upgrades and integrations with other digital services.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements    

•    Advanced university degree in UX Design, Service Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or related fields emphasizing qualitative and quantitative user research methods (Sociology, Psychology, Anthropology, Market Research, Graphic Design, Agriculture Engineer)
•    5 years of relevant experience in User Research, UX Design, or Service Design or Product Management for digital services.
•    Working knowledge of English and Albanian
•    National of Albania or resident of the country with a valid work permit.

FAO Core Competencies

•    Results Focus
•    Teamwork
•    Communication
•    Building Effective Relationships
•    Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills 

•    Experience working on e-government services, platforms or digital agriculture is a strong asset.
•    Direct experience in agriculture and rural areas of Albania is a strong asset.
•    Strong expertise in qualitative and quantitative user research methods.
•    Experience with participatory design methodologies and inclusive digital solutions.
•    Strong communication skills and ability to work with government and rural communities.

Selection Criteria 

•    Proven experience with UX research and/or service design projects
•    Strong expertise in qualitative and quantitative user research methods.
•    Knowledge on low-code no-code platforms
•    Knowledge on product management
•    Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
•    Strong attention to detail.
•    Strong problem-solving and time-management skills.
•    Ability to collaborate effectively with team members.
•    Ability to work independently.