South-South Cooperation and Triangular Cooperation Specialist

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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 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

South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) is becoming very critical for FAO to support member countries in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the Asia and Pacific Region. A Special Adviser on SSTC in FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) is responsible for strategic development, advocacy, resource mobilization, partnership development, programmes and projects management. Its duty covers developing a regional SSTC Action Plan in line with the FAO’s SSTC Strategy, as well as actively establishing new partnerships from policy level and technical perspective, to support the regional SSTC initiative and the implementation of the Action Plan. The Special Adviser is also leading the development, implementation, and monitoring of SSTC programmes/projects in the region in close collaboration with PST, following the FAO rules and procedures, such as the project cycle, and monitoring and reporting on SSTC to the Regional Office in line with the Organization’s new Strategic Framework and related flagship programmes, in particular, the Hand in Hand Initiative (HIHI).
Special Advisor’s 2021 Workplan includes a “mapping exercise” to review the status of SSTC in relation to FAO’s country programmes in the region and to identify opportunities to expand SSTC activities in regional countries. The regional SSTC action plan will be developed in close consultation with key stakeholders both inside FAO and beyond.

Reporting Lines:

The incumbent will report to Jiaoqun Shi, Special Adviser for South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC), RAP.

Technical Focus

The SSTC incumbent will work directly with the Special Adviser for SSTC in RAP to support the successful implementation of the 2021 SSTC regional workplan.

Tasks and responsibilities

The SSTC incumbent will:
1. Support the SSTC regional mapping exercise
• Work with the Special Adviser to design survey tools to collect information from FAO Country Offices on the status of SSTC across the Asia and Pacific region and identify future growth opportunities.
o Systematic mapping of current and historical FAO-based SSTC activities in RAP region undertaken.
o Systematic mapping of opportunities for SSTC in RAP region, covering both recipients and providers, undertaken in close consultation with FAORs and PST.
o Identification of potential priority SSTC matchmaking opportunities for 2022 and beyond
o Identification of established SSTC programmes by other UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes (both recipient and provider countries), including UNDP.
o Systematic review of new opportunities for SSTC under RAP priority programs (such as HiHi, Digital village, SIDS Solutions Forum, One Health, etc.), identify target countries (donors and beneficiaries) and potential areas for SSTC activities.
• Coordinate the collection of SSTC-related information from FAO country offices in the Asia and Pacific Region, including from other UN agencies and stakeholders.
o Identification of potential cooperation opportunities for 2022 and beyond
o Lessons learned and identification of the good practices.
• Build and maintain a database (Excel, Access, or similar) to manage the information gathered in the SSTC Mapping Exercise.
o RAP-wide data of current and past SSTC activities.
o Priority list of potential SSTC recipient countries (at least 5) and provider countries (at least 3) developed in consultation with PST and FAORs.
o Priority list of at least 3 concrete “matchmaking” SSTC opportunities identified for immediate action.
o Information resource established for providing updated information on large-scale SSTC programmes by other UN AFPs (agencies, funds, and programmes.
• Build and maintain an information resource in the database is accurate and updated periodically, to ensure that this information is accessible, usable, and relevant.
2. Support the development of an FAO Regional SSTC Action Plan for the Asia and Pacific Region
• Support the Special Adviser in the development of the FAO Regional SSTC action plan through gathering information, consolidating inputs, drafting key sections, under close consultation with FAORs and PST.
3. Providing other consultancy and assistance as necessary.
• Identify knowledge gaps regarding the benefits and modalities for SSTC across the Regional Asia-Pacific region.
• Prepare information materials highlighting the benefits of SSTC and “good practices” (presentations /resource materials).
• Perform any other responsibilities assigned by the Special Advisor.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in agriculture, economics, international relations, international development, or a related field.
• Five years of relevant experience in development of information resources /databases, ideally in a development, especially SSTC/UN context, experiences in Asia-Pacific Region will be an asset.
• Working knowledge of English and limited knowledge of one of the other FAO language (French Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Russian) for Consultants. Working knowledge of English for PSA.SBS.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions is desirable. Extent and relevance of academic qualifications (i.e. PhD) is a strong asset.
• Extent and relevance of experience in liaising with national governments on the promotion and inclusion of the private sector engagement in public policies
• Extent and relevance of experience with development of information resources /databases, ideally in a development, especially SSTC/UN context.
• Demonstrated ability to write and/or edit technical documents clearly and concisely.
• Strong writing and communication skills.
• An advanced knowledge of MS Excel or MS Access or a similar database.

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