National consultant – Research-good policies and institutional practices for food systems in Rwanda

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FAO seeks gender, geographical and linguistic diversity in its staff and international consultants in order to best serve FAO Members in all regions.
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Qualified female applicants and qualified nationals of non-and under-represented member countries are encouraged to apply.

Persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply.

All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.
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Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Our goal is to achieve food security for all and make sure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. With over 194 member states, FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide. We believe that everyone can play a part in ending hunger.

The Agrifood Economics Division (ESA) conducts economic research and policy analysis related to all five of the Organization's strategic objectives (food security and nutrition, sustainable agriculture, poverty reduction, inclusive food systems and resilient livelihoods). ESA provides evidence-based analytical support to national, regional and global policy processes and initiatives related to food security and nutrition and sustainable agriculture; and leads the production of two FAO flagship publications: The State of Food and Agriculture and The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World. ESA also leads large programmes at country level on agricultural and food policy monitoring, climate smart agriculture (CSA), agribusiness and food value chains, rural poverty, and food security information and analysis in support of national policies.

The Sustainable Markets, Agribusinesses and Rural Transformations (SMART) Team of ESA works towards addressing sustainable structural transformation of food systems and associated agribusiness transition including smallholder farming systems, agribusinesses, value chains development, and agri-food policy analysis carried out under the aegis of Strategic Programme 4 “Enabling Inclusive and Efficient Agricultural and Food Systems” (SP4).

Reporting Lines

The selected candidate will report to the Assistant FAOR Programme.

Technical Focus

National governments and stakeholders are calling on the global community to provide guidance on national level good practice policies and initiatives that contribute to sustainable transformations of food systems. In response, ESA and SP4 have entered into a Letter of Agreement with Wageningen University & Research (WUR) to embark on a series of national case studies to identify options, opportunities, and principles to guide good policy and practices. Results will then be shared with policy makers and food industry leaders to inform their

policies and operations so that they can play a responsible role in food systems’ development.

The objective of the study is to identify good policies and institutional practices for food systems transformation. An important part of the research is the use of semi-structured interviews with representatives from an array of institutions covering the food systems domain to understand some of the background processes that have taken place prior to the launch of instrumental policy and programmes and during their implementation.

Rwanda has been identified as a country with potential to be part of the research as it offers a lot of learning potential that could be adapted by peer countries. Documentation of the research findings will also provide a valuable opportunity for stakeholders in the Rwandan agri-food sector to contribute to the global debate on the sustainable transformation of food systems by sharing impressions on what has worked and not worked, thus far, for the country’s national food system. The results of the research will also act as inputs for the Food Systems Summit.

Tasks and responsibilities

In collaboration with fellow FAO colleagues and WUR researchers, the consultant will:

• Review and provide inputs to the literature review conducted by WUR
• Review and provide inputs on preliminary list of key institutional informants
• Draft and distribute emails among selected
• key informants to arrange online interviews
• Attend online interviews and prepare written reports of each of them
• In collaboration with FAO colleagues and WUR , perform the data entry and analysis
• In collaboration with FAO colleagues and WUR, provide the preliminary case study report
• Present the report to FAO colleagues and WUR researchers to get their insight for the amendment and finalization of the report
• Submit to FAORW Office a final report

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree in economics, agriculture, international development or any other relevant subject.
• A minimum of 5 years of working experience in the field of agrifood policy.
• Working knowledge of English and limited knowledge of French is an asset.
• Nationals of Rwanda or resident in the country with a regular work permit.
  

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Previous working experience in Rwanda and familiarity with the country situation will be highly desirable
• Work experience in Agriculture intensification and food security areas in Rwanda
• Extent and relevance of experience in addressing institutional issues related to project management involving stakeholders and farmers associations establishment and management
• Strong knowledge and understanding of FAO project cycle
• Extensive field experience in developing countries.

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Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency.