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- FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture.
- Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply;
- Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAO's values
- FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination
- All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
- All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality
Organizational Setting
The Agrifood Economics and Policy Division (ESA) conducts economic research and policy analysis to support the transformation to more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agrifood systems for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind. ESA provides evidence-based support to national, regional, and global policy processes and initiatives related to monitoring and analysing food and agricultural policies, agribusiness and value chain development, rural transformation and poverty, food security and nutrition information and analysis, resilience, bioeconomy, and climate-smart agriculture. The division also leads the production of two FAO flagship publications\: The State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) and The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI).
Within ESA, the Monitoring and Analysing Food and Agricultural Policies (MAFAP) programme seeks to establish country owned and sustainable systems to monitor, analyse, and reform food and agricultural policies to enable more effective, efficient, and inclusive policy frameworks in 8 developing and emerging economies. MAFAP works with government institutions, research organizations and other partners to create sustainable policy monitoring systems and carry out a consistent set of policy and public expenditure analyses across a wide range of agricultural value chains. MAFAP analyses are used to inform targeted food and agricultural policy reforms that will result in a more conducive environment for agricultural investment and productivity growth, especially for smallholder farmers. As such, MAFAP supports most of FAO strategic objectives, and in particular those of enabling inclusive and efficient agrifood systems and helping eliminate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition.
Reporting Lines
Under the direct supervision of the MAFAP Project Manager and the overall guidance of the Deputy-Director, ESA, the consultant/PSA will contribute to the work of the MAFAP programme, in support of policy monitoring and policy reform activities. Activities will focus mostly, but not exclusively, on MAFAP partner countries (Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda) and applicants will be required to work in close collaboration with the FAO Representation in the relevant country of assignment, as well as the relevant FAO regional and/or sub-regional office.
The post will be in various locations.
Technical Focus
The Economist (Agricultural Policy Analyst) will support economic and policy analysis of a range of technical issues related to food and agriculture in developing countries. In particular, FAO is looking for candidates with experience in one or more of the following areas of expertise\:
• Public expenditure analysis and/or public financial management systems
• Analysis of agricultural prices and/or price distortions and incentives
• Agricultural value chains and commodity markets
• Agrifood trade policy
• Agricultural development strategies/investment plans
• Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) and Partial Equilibrium modelling
• Cost-benefit analysis of agricultural interventions
She/he will work in close coordination with the other members of the MAFAP team. She/he will be familiar with one or more of the above analytical methods, tools, and areas of work. She/he will be familiar with policy engagement and advice efforts in an international development setting, preferably on agricultural and/or food security policy issues.
Tasks and responsibilities
• Produce policy monitoring indicators and analyses related to price incentives along agricultural value chains.
• Compile and classify large datasets to produce food and agricultural public expenditure indicators and analysis.
• Contribute to the effective implementation of strategic partnerships within FAO and with other development partners involved in agricultural policy monitoring activities.
• Contribute to the development of technical products and analytical studies to support evidence-based policy reform processes with a focus on trade and market price policies and/or investment priorities in the framework of agrifood systems transformation strategies.
• Contribute to the drafting of actionable and high-quality policy recommendations, technical reports, and policy briefs.
• Participate in policy-relevant meetings, roundtables or other events related to food and agricultural policy analyses and reform in developing countries.
• Support capacity development activities benefitting government counterparts and other selected national partners.
• Support day-to-day implementation of activities in close partnership with national counterparts.
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements
• University degree in agricultural economics, development studies, political science, public policy, public financial management, international development, or related fields.
• Minimum of 1 year for category C, 5 years for category B, 12 years for COF category A, and 15 years for PSA category A of relevant experience in the areas listed above.
• Working knowledge (level C) in English and limited knowledge (level B) in another FAO official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish). For PSA, knowledge of English (level C) only is required.
FAO Core Competencies
• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
Technical/Functional Skills
• Work experience in one or more developing countries, and preferably in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Extent and relevance of experience in in conducting quantitative economic analysis of agricultural and food policies, including analysis of agricultural policy distortions and public expenditure for the food and agricultural sector.
• Experience in conducing qualitative analyses of food and agriculture policy processes.
• Familiarity with providing policy advice to governments in developing countries.
• Experience in presenting analytical results in concise and effective manner also to non-technical audience.
• Knowledge of current political economic conditions in developing countries, and ability to analyse the policy context at country level building on political economy tools.
• Capacity to lead and facilitate high-level policy dialogues and workshops and interacting with government officials on key policy issues affecting agriculture and food security, would be considered as an asset.
• Experience with softwares used for statistical analysis (e.g. Stata, R, Python) would be an advantage.
• Proficiency in French and/or Arabic would be an asset.
• Advanced university degree in agricultural economics, public policy, development studies, political science or related fields would be an asset.
Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
- FAO does not charge any fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview, processing)
- Please note that FAO will only consider academic credentials or degrees obtained from an educational institution recognized in the IAU/UNESCO list
- Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http\://www.whed.net/
- For more information, visit the FAO employment website
- Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.
HOW TO APPLY
• To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, and language skills
• Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile
• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application
• Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work, character, education, military and police records to ascertain any and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications
• Incomplete applications will not be considered
• Personal information provided on your application may be shared within FAO and with other companies acting on FAO’s behalf to provide employment support services such as pre-screening of applications, assessment tests, background checks and other related services. You will be asked to provide your consent before submitting your application. You may withdraw consent at any time, by withdrawing your application, in such case FAO will no longer be able to consider your application
• Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered
• Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile
• We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.
If you need help or have queries, please create a one-time registration with FAO’s client support team for further assistance\: https\://fao.service-now.com/csp
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