Economist (Climate Change Mitigation)

• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented member nations and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply for this position
• FAO does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

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 post is located in the Economic and Policy Analysis of Climate Change (EPIC) team. EPIC hosts (i) the EX-Ante Carbon-balance Tool (EX-ACT) - an appraisal system developed to estimate impacts of agriculture and forestry development projects, programmes and policies on carbon-balance, (ii) the EX-ACT Value Chain tool built to evaluate projects' socio-economic performance, climate mitigation potential, resilience and other environment aspects along agricultural value chains, (iii) Biodiversity Integrated Assessment and Computation Tool (B-INTACT) that provides a thorough biodiversity assessment of project-level activities. The team is engaged in variety of tasks including: (i) country and donor support through project impact evaluation using the suite of tools, (ii) policy analysis and advice related to carbon-balance evaluation (Iii) training and capacity building provision to wide range of partners (including, governments, donors, international organizations, NGOs), and (iv) tools development, refinement and technical support.

The Economist reports to the Senior Economist (EPIC Team Leader) under overall guidance from EX-ACT Coordinator.

The Economist will contribute to the IFAD project on Mainstreaming EX-Ante GHG accounting into investments in agriculture. In particular, (s)he will support participating developing countries in integrating climate change mitigation aspects into their agricultural strategies; build capacity in using EX-ACT suite of tools for systematic inclusion of climate change considerations into the decision-making processes; conduct carbon balance appraisals, biodiversity assessments and socio-economic analysis on a broad range of projects, programmes and policies; and support technical development of the EX-ACT tools.

Collection, analysis and review of information, data and statistics, and project/meeting services to support programme products, projects, publications, and services.

• Collects, reviews/cross checks and/or analyzes relevant agricultural, economic, trade, market, social, environmental, nutrition/food composition and/or gender related data, statistics and information to support delivery of programme projects, products, publications and services;

• Undertakes analysis, provides technical input for plans and reports and edits/revises technical documents and/or publications;

• Participates in the development of improved tools and methodologies;

• Updates databases and web pages;

• Participates in multidisciplinary project/work teams;

• Participates in the development of training materials and the organization of workshops/seminars etc;

• Participates in the organization, conduct and follow-up of meetings, consultations and conferences, the development/production of required materials and the provision of information and assistance to partners.

• Contributes to the development of a strategy and action plan for systematic inclusion of GHG accounting into agricultural projects;

• Designs and supports GHG monitoring system for on-going and completed projects;

• Conducts carbon balance appraisals, biodiversity assessments and socio-economic analysis on a broad range of projects, programmes and policies;

• Conducts training workshops (in person and webinars) on EX-ACT suite of tools to national and international partners;

• Provides technical support to the upgrading of EX-ACT suite of tools;

• Drafts various reports, briefs and other technical documents related to the use of EX-ACT tools and GHG accounting in the AFOLU sector;

• Performs other duties as required.

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• Advanced university degree in economics, agricultural economics, environmental economics or a related field;

• Three years of relevant experience in economic and quantitative analysis of food and agricultural issues, experience in climate change mitigation, carbon balance appraisals and GHG analysis in the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sector;

• Working knowledge of English and limited knowledge of another FAO official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish).

• Results Focus

• Teamwork

• Communication

• Building Effective Relationships

• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

• Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions is desirable;

• Extent and relevance of experience in collecting and analyzing technical information and data;

• Extent and relevance of experience in drafting, editing and revising technical and scientific documents;

• Extent and relevance of experience in GHG accounting in the AFOLU sector;

• Extent and relevance of experience in project analysis and evaluation in the context of climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation, preferably at multiple stages of agricultural value chains;

• Extent and relevance of experience in capacity building, especially in organizing meetings, workshops and trainings, particularly in developing countries;

• Familiarity with The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) framework and IPCC guidelines will be considered an asset.