NATIONAL SUSTAINABLE VALUE CHAIN SPECIALISTS (2 POSITIONS)

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 (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and malnutrition. The main aim of the FAO country offices, which are headed by an FAO Representative, is to assist

governments to develop policies, programmes and projects to achieve food security and to reduce hunger and malnutrition, to help develop the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors, and to use their environmental and natural resources in a sustainable manner.

FAO is implementing a global 2-year Flexible Multi-Partner Mechanism (FMM) programme, entitled “Sustainable, resilient and inclusive food systems development”. The programme is being implemented in 13 countries around the world, and Zambia happens to be one of the 5 African beneficiary countries. Under component five (iv) of the FMM programme, a project was developed and launched, under the title “Incentivizing Public-Private Investments in Agribusiness Project (IPPIP)”. In light of the FMM programme’s component iv [ie. Market-led agro-industrial development], the IPPIP aims at (i) conducting a value chain analysis (VCA), as well as developing a strategy that identifies the key entry points for VC upgrading, a potential roadmap, as well as indicative investment requirements.

Therefore, this Vacancy Announcement (VA) is with reference to the project’s need for two (2) National Consultants to conduct data collection and analysis in the Soybean Value Chain, as well as the inter-linkages with related sub-sectors (e.g. poultry, dairy and aquaculture) in Zambia. The activities under this VA will be developed/implemented between July and November 2021.

Reporting Lines

The National Consultants will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Zambia, under the guidance and technical supervision of the Agricultural Economist Officer and under the technical and operational guidance of the International Value Chain Analysis Specialist. The 2 National Consultants will also cooperate closely with the FAO-UNIDO Programme on Opportunities for Youth in Africa (OYA).

Technical focus:

The Sustainable Food Value Chains (SFVC) analysis and development has been identified as one of the key entry points towards sustainable development. To advance towards nutritionally, socio-economically and environmentally sustainable VCs, policy makers and VC’s actors require information on inclusive and sustainable food value chains and market systems, in line with the three pillars of sustainability:

• Economic: inclusive incomes, jobs and livelihoods; commercial and fiscal viability of activities conducted by each system actor and the benefits and costs to society as a whole; effectively linkages among small and medium agricultural producers and processors to end markets through value addition.
• Social: equity in the distribution of added economic value and benefits for society at large, taking into account vulnerable groups categorized by gender, age, ethnicity, income/wealth and socioeconomic status; supply higher-value, nutritious and differentiated food and feed to improve diets and nutrition; and decent employment (in particular for rural women and youth).
• Environmental: reducing contamination, managing waste effectively and ensuring that the impacts of VCs’ activities on the surrounding natural environment are neutral or positive, taking into consideration biodiversity, water, soil, animal and plant health, the carbon footprint, the water footprint, and food loss and waste; utilize natural resources in a sustainable manner, including environmentally sustainable practices through climate change adaptation and mitigation measures.

It also requires sustainable investments along the VC. This would involve overcoming the bottlenecks and risks that discourage investments through participatory processes (including with small and medium enterprises – SMEs –, development and commercial financial institutions; domestic, regional and global investors; and the governments), technical assistance and awareness of existing tools that enable private investment in agriculture sector. In addition, strengthening value chains’ governance, stakeholders’ interactions, collaborations and engagement and understands interconnectedness and trade-offs between social, economic and environmental impacts are crucial for the way forward.

Tasks and responsibilities

The objective of the national consultants’ assignment is to conduct data collection and analysis to provide an initial broad understanding of the state of soybean VC - with respect to the core sustainable dimensions – economic, social and environmental -, considering territorial differences-, highlighting current performance, trends, challenges and opportunities, particularly in the youth employment.

• Carry out situational analysis and literature review to get familiar with the current government policy thrust in soybean value chain [ie. national policies, strategies and incentive frameworks for the soybean and related subsectors, i.e. poultry, dairy and aquaculture]. Past and ongoing national initiatives in the soybean and related sectors will be reviewed. Soybean governance; statistics and reports as well as inputs for technical documents, existing Soybean VCA in Zambia etc.
• Develop a technical work plan for primary data collection process, considering the situation of Covid-19 and the limitations in carrying out the study on the ground, to produce Soybean VCA from a functional and economic, social and environmental standard point.
• Conduct a series of individual interviews with key informants on different topics affecting the Soybean VCA: socio-economic, end markets; employment, livelihoods; mid-stream segments and markets; food security, nutrition, health; environment and natural resources; agribusiness and investment needs assessment;; and stability, risks, territories, and governance issues.
• Contribute and support the activities related to identifying and costing the investments needed to upgrade the Soybean VC in Zambia
• Support FAO team conducting an analysis of de-risking schemes through blended financing along the Soybean VC; customizing investments to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), establishing VCs’ multi-stakeholders platforms; facilitating policy dialogue; and disseminating knowledge & best practices.
• Organize and co-facilitate two multi-stakeholder workshops
• Map and build synergies with parallel projects focused on SFVC and food systems within FAO and in consultation with UNIDO OYA PROGRAMME.
• Support the international consultant in processing and analyzing data and drafting the Final Report on Soybean VCA and Development Strategy in Zambia.
• Support project management activities, including publication of the Value Chain Analysis and Development Strategy

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced/ Masters Degree in Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Science or related field,
• At least 5 years relevant experience in one or more of the following areas: value chain analysis and development, agribusiness and market development, agro-food processing, post-harvest handling, and agro-food industry technologies.
• Excellent working knowledge of Microsoft Excel
• Working knowledge of the English language [i.e. spoken and written]
• Should be a Zambian National 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

• Quantitative Data Analysis
• Knowledge of socio-economic issues in agriculture/ food sector and food security (micro-level)
• Knowledge of environmental issues
• Rural finance analysis
• Knowledge of policy and governance issues (macro-level)

Selection Criteria

• Demonstrable experience in analysing the soybean value chain or related sub-sectors in Zambia and/or other countries
• General experience with value chain analysis, research and strategic analysis for the agricultural sector.
• Demonstrable experience in data collection, cost-benefits analysis, financial business projections, heat mapping, calculation of mitigation and adaptation potential of technologies and practices, identification of policy and institutional barriers,
• Familiarity with stakeholder mapping for value chains
• Experience in organizing and facilitating workshops, meetings, seminars, and training courses in the technical area of value chains development.

Added Advantage

• Familiarity with the green agenda, climate change mitigation and adaptation and climate smart agriculture will be a major advantage.
• Experience in global and/or regional best practices and innovative approaches and international benchmarks (including Moroccan models for development and implementation of sector and VC development program, finance, including the NIRSAL model for de-risking and blended instruments for value chain financing) is highly desirable.
• Experience working with a UN agency, and/or experience in the private sector, working at different stages of the food value chain will be a major advantage.

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