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Climate change economist

Rome

  • Organization: FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
  • Location: Rome
  • Grade: Consultancy - Consultant - Contractors Agreement
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Economics
    • Environment
    • Meteorology, Geology and Geography
    • Climate Change
  • Closing Date: Closed

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device

  • 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 Members 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 FAO's values
  • FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination  
  • All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
  • All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality
  • FAO staff are subject to the authority of the Director-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the Organization.


Organizational Setting

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 the EX-ACT suite of tools to measure the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and biodiversity outcomes of policies and investments in the agri-food sector: (i) Ex-Ante Carbon-balance Tool (EX-ACT) that accounts for GHG emissions from farm-level interventions; (ii) Biodiversity Integrated Assessment and Computation Tool (B-INTACT) that provides a thorough biodiversity assessment of land-use-based interventions; and (iii) EX-ACT Value Chain tool that identifies off-farm sources of GHG emissions and farm-to-retail socio-economic benefits along the agri-food value chains. The team is engaged in variety of tasks including: (i) country and donor support through project and policy evaluation using the suite of tools; (ii) policy analysis and advice related to climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation; (iii) training and capacity building provision to wide range of partners (governments, donors, international organisations, NGOs, etc.); and (iv) tools development, refinement and technical support.
Reporting Lines

The Consultant/PSA will work under the overall supervision of the EPIC Team Leader and direct supervision of the EX-ACT Coordinator, in close collaboration with EPIC team members, other FAO staff (within headquarters, regional and country offices) and external partners, as required.

Technical Focus

The Consultant/PSA will conduct carbon balance appraisals, biodiversity assessments and socio-economic analysis on a broad range of projects, programmes and policies related to sustainable agriculture and value chains, at various stages of their development including design, implementation and monitoring; conduct trainings; support technical development of the tools; update and maintain various underlying databases. The Consultant/PSA will also contribute to research on cost-effectiveness of agri-food sector interventions in terms of their climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation outcomes.

Tasks and responsibilities

The assigned tasks and responsibilities related to this area of work may include the following:

- Conduct carbon balance, biodiversity and/or socio-economic appraisals, collecting associated data and preparing associated economic and financial reports as required;
- Support the design of agri-food projects to ensure their sustainability, and in particular maximization of their climate change mitigation and biodiversity outcomes;
- Support the research on cost-effectiveness of climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation options in agri-food sector to support formulating robust recommendations for strategic orientation of policies and investments of FAO’s Member Countries;
- Support development and maintenance of the EX-ACT suite of tools (EX-ACT, EX-ACT VC and B-INTACT);
- Liaise with internal and external partners, including governments, donor institutions, international organisations, NGOs, national institutions, and academic and research organizations;
- Prepare and providing training and information material (capacity building) on the use of tools to a wide range of stakeholders with diverse background;
- Provide technical inputs into communication materials, including briefs, leaflets, presentations and text for the website;
- Any other tasks as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING


Minimum Requirements


- University degree in economics, agricultural economics, environmental economics or closely related field;
- Relevant experience in environmental economic analysis, climate change mitigation and/or biodiversity conservation assessments in the agri-food sector:
o For Consultants/PSA level B: at least five years of relevant experience;
o For Consultants/PSA level C: one to four years of relevant experience;
- Working knowledge of English, French or Spanish and limited knowledge of one of the other two or Arabic, Chinese, Russian, for Consultants. Working knowledge of English, French or Spanish 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
• Extent and relevance of experience in assessing climate change mitigation and/or biodiversity conservation outcomes of public or private interventions (policies, investments etc.) in the agri-food sector
• Extent and relevance of experience in database management
• Familiarity with UNFCCC framework and the IPCC guidelines for GHG inventories in sectors related to agriculture (AFOLU, energy etc.) as well as familiarity with CBD post 2020 framework and the implementation of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans
• Advanced knowledge of MS Excel
• Experience in GHG and/or biodiversity assessments of development projects would be an advantage
• Familiarity with geospatial data analysis for project design, monitoring and implementation would be an advantage
• Familiarity with ecosystem services valuation and carbon pricing would be an advantage
• Familiarity with computer programming languages (Python, R, Java script or other) would be an advantage


Selection Criteria

• Demonstrated awareness of climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation and sustainable development policy issues
• Ability to manage wide range of tasks and to work under tight deadlines
• Demonstrated capacity to work in multicultural and multidisciplinary team
• Excellent organisational skills
• Strong interpersonal skills

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

This vacancy is now closed.
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