National Legal Consultant on Seed Legislation

FAO seeks gender, geographical and linguistic diversity in its staff and international consultants in order to best serve FAO Members in all regions.

• 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 member nations, 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 our values. FAO has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and FAO, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination
• All selected candidates, therefore, will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality
• The incumbent may be re-assigned to different activities and/or duty stations depending on the evolving needs of the Organization

Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), together with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ), received funds from the European Union (EU) to implement the project PROMOVE Agribiz – Improving Rural Competitiveness in Nampula and Zambézia Provinces, Mozambique, with the overall objective of contributing to a sustainable, inclusive and broad-based economic growth and poverty reduction in the context of national food and nutrition security and climate change. The project will achieve the objectives through (i) improving the food and nutrition security and resilience of smallholders and climate-smart and nutrition-sensitive agriculture, and (ii) enhancing rural competitiveness by improved participation of smallholders in economic activities, economic diversification, improved access to rural services and improved rural investment.

Under the project FAO will lead several components, including, (i) the market oriented sustainable production systems development; (ii) the agricultural policy dialogue; (iii) the institutional and community capacity building; and (iv) market linkages by providing tailored innovative solutions that improve sustainable and resilient production systems. In the result area for nutrition, the project will ensure application of measures that contribute towards addressing micronutrients deficiencies and prevention of chronic malnutrition. The project focuses on enhancing the production and availability of diversified food, nutritional education and social behaviours change communication for the promotion of appropriate healthy and nutritional behaviours practices.

To this end, FAO is recruiting a National Legal Consultant on Seed Legislation, to support the implementation of the PROMOVE Agribiz. This position is based in Maputo city, Mozambique with frequent travel to the target districts.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Mozambique, the direct supervision of the Chief Technical Advisor (CTA), and the technical supervision of the Development Law Service (LEGN), the incumbent will be responsible to support the revision and development/improvement of the legislative framework for seeds in Mozambique.

Technical Focus

Law, National seed regulation drafting.

Tasks and responsibilities

Specific responsibilities:

• Collect all legislation relevant for seed quality control in the country, including legislation that is directly and indirectly relevant to seed quality control. Monitor the legislation that is (and is not) included in FAOLEX and share the soft copies with the Legal Officer.
• Collect relevant studies on the seed legislation (quality control and certification).
• Send the electronic files of the legislation to the Legal Office in a zipped folder.
• Organize meetings with the relevant national stakeholders engaged in the seed sector. Discuss with them the existing flaws of the seed legislation and the possible technical solutions. Prepare a short report (reporting notes) after each meeting.
• Prepare a report describing the national legal seed framework, following the advice of the Legal Office, that includes: (i) an analysis of the legal framework for seeds (policy, law and regulations); (ii) identification and analysis of flaws in the seed sector with recommended legal solutions to achieve the policy objectives; (iii) the elements that should be incorporated and modified in the current legal framework (Decree and Seed Regulation); (iv) an analysis of the different options to approve the revised legal framework, with pros and cons and expected timeline.
• Discuss the content of the report with the Legal Office. Discuss it then with the project team once it is cleared by LEGN, as well as with the national stakeholders. Collect feedback and modify/strengthen the report as needed be.
• Participate in a workshop to discuss the content of the report and to decide on the way forward. Organize follow up meetings with the relevant national authorities to decide the way forward. Prepare a short report of the workshop as well as short report following each meeting.
• Based on the feedback collected at the meetings, prepare a revised draft law or regulation (including the framework Decree).
• Discuss the draft with the Legal Office and the project team. Once the draft is ready, discuss it with the national authorities and with other national stakeholders until there is national consensus on the content of the draft
• Prepare a final report including a commented version of the draft legislation with recommendations for its approval and implementation

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree/ University degree/ in Law
• 5 years of relevant experience in development of seed or other areas of agriculture legislation
• Working knowledge of English and Portuguese
• Previous experiences with the UN system will be an added advantage
• National of Mozambique

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Experience in providing consultancy at international level
• Experience in drafting legal documents
• Experience in formulation of legal instruments with government, in particular in the area of agriculture

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