Regional Coordinator and International Agriculture and Climate Change 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 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

Organizational Setting

The FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) is responsible for leading FAO’s efforts to achieve food security for all in the Asia-Pacific region. FAO’s three main goals are: the eradication of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition; the elimination of poverty and the driving forward of economic and social progress for all; and, the sustainable management and utilization of natural resources, including land, water, air, climate and genetic resources for the benefit of present and future generations.
Under the Corporate Initiative Taskforce on Scaling up Members’ access to environment and climate finance, RAP supports FAO Member Countries to strategize and develop proposals to access finance, including but not limited to GEF, GCF and the Adaptation Fund, and to achieve their climate ambitions in the agriculture and land-use sectors. As part of this work, FAO with the support of six countries from Southeast Asia, has developed the first multi-country GCF Readiness project for the Asia region.
The three-year readiness project is entitled “Agriculture Sector Readiness for enhanced climate finance and implementation of Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture priorities in Southeast Asia”. The countries included under this collaborative project are: Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. The project will be implemented in close coordination with the respective NDAs and the Ministries of Agriculture through the ASEAN Climate Resilience Network focal points of each participating. This regional project will build capacity to access climate finance for the agriculture sector and create opportunities to scale promising models at national and regional levels. The project countries will also share experiences and co-create proposals for sector specific climate action at the regional level with public and private sector climate and agriculture finance experts. Investment plans will focus on facilitating farmer’s access to capacity to access capacity, resources and finance to address climate change risks.

A regional project team and six country based national project teams will be established for the effective implementation of the project. While the regional project team will oversee project implementation progress and maintain communication with the rest of the PMU to ensure a smooth flow of work, the national project team will lead the implementation of the project activities in the country and coordination for the regional activities.

To support the implementation of the project activities, FAO is seeking a motivated, dynamic consultant to serve as a Regional Coordinator and International Agriculture and Climate Change Specialist. The position will be based at the FAO Regional Officer for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok, Thailand.

Reporting Lines

The Regional Coordinator and International Agriculture and Climate Change Specialist will report primarily to the project’s FAO Lead Technical Officer (LTO) - Natural Resources Officer RAP (Climate Change and Bioenergy) and Budget Holder (BH), both based at FAO-RAP. Additionally, s/he would work under the technical and the overall administrative supervision of the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, FAO Representatives in participating countries, the FAO-GCF Coordination Unit, and in close collaboration with dedicated project staff and operational partners at regional and country level, the consultant will lead, monitor and coordinate implementation of the entire project.

Technical Focus

Climate change and Development, Adaptation, Mitigation, Agriculture, Policy and Governance, Programme Management

Tasks and responsibilities

The consultant is expected to undertake the following tasks, under the orientation of and in close discussion with the FAO Lead Technical Officer:

• Work closely with the Regional Project Team, the Project Management Unit (PMU), National Coordinators and other technical experts to lead the day-to-day implementation of project activities.
• Lead the selection and procurement of regional project human resources and inputs and support the selection and procurement of project human resources and inputs at the national level.
• Lead the planning, implementation, and monitoring of project activities; directs review of relevant documents and reports; identifies priorities, problems and issues to be addressed and proposes corrective actions; liaises with relevant parties; identifies and initiates follow-up actions.
• Lead the preparation and execution of the overall project annual work plan and budget.
• Establish the technical direction for the project including the technical approach, requirements and templates of all key project deliverables at the regional and national levels.
• Ensure the quality/effectiveness of capacity development and knowledge sharing including preparation of related information, learning, and on-line tools.
• Lead regular coordination meetings with the Regional Project Team and National Project Teams to monitor the progress and implementation status of the project.
• Establish project partnerships and relationships to support successful project implementation.
• Lead the organization of PMU and Project Steering Committee meetings to review project progress and seek guidance on implementation issues.
• Supervise, and where necessary, lead the preparation of written outputs and reports, e.g., quarterly and annual reports, background papers, analyses, and prepares substantial sections of reports and studies, inputs to publications as necessary.
• Lead and/or guide organizaton of consultative and other meetings, conferences, including proposing agenda topics, identifying participants, preparation of documents and presentations and coordinating the organizational efforts of the project team and partners.
• Manage outreach activities including the design and facilitation of training workshops and seminars and makes presentations on assigned topics/activities.
• Prepare inputs and materials on climate, climate change and climate change impacts on agriculture.
• Coordinate with relevant stakeholders at the national and regional levels including PSC members from the NDA and Ministry of Agriculture as well as ASEAN CRN members, DAEs, public, private and civil society actors.
• Lead field missions, including provision of guidance to external consultants, government officials and other parties.
• Perform other duties as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• At least ten (10) years of relevant experience in policy advice and analysis relating to sustainable development of food and agriculture systems, climate finance and investment plans, and coordination and monitoring of project activities with at least five (5) years of relevant experience in management of international development projects focused on agriculture and climate change.
• Advanced university degree in climate change, land use management, agricultural economics, development economics, project management and business administration, or a related topic.
• Working knowledge (level C) of English and limited knowledge (level B) of one of the other FAO official languages (for COF.REG). In the case of PSA.SBS a working knowledge of English will be sufficient.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/ Functional Skills

• At least ten years of relevant experience working in an international organization or setting on topics related to climate change and agriculture and/or natural resource management; particularly in Southeast Asia.

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