Organizational Setting

The Agrifood Economics Division (ESA) conducts economic research and policy analysis and provides evidence-based support to national, regional and global policy processes and initiatives related to monitoring and analysing food and agricultural policies, agribusiness and value chain development, rural transformation and poverty, food security and nutrition information and analysis, resilience, bioeconomy and climate-smart agriculture. The division also leads the production of two FAO flagship publications: The State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) and The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI).

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:
- For Consultants/PSA level B: at least five years of relevant experience;
- For Consultants/PSA level C: one to four years of relevant experience;
• Working knowledge (level C) of English, French or Spanish and limited knowledge (level B) 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

HOW TO APPLY

• To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, and language skills
• Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile
• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application
• Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work, character, education, military and police records to ascertain any and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications
• Incomplete applications will not be considered
• Personal information provided on your application may be shared within FAO and with other companies acting on FAO’s behalf to provide employment support services such as pre-screening of applications, assessment tests, background checks and other related services. You will be asked to provide your consent before submitting your application. You may withdraw consent at any time, by withdrawing your application, in such case FAO will no longer be able to consider your application
• Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered
• Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile
• We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.

If you need help, or have queries, please contact: Careers@fao.org

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