Food Systems Specialist

HOW TO APPLY

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application interview meeting processing)
Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted
Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED) a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at
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Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment accreditation any residency or visa requirements and security clearances.

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

Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to more efficient inclusive resilient and sustainable agrifood systems for better production better nutrition a better environment and a better life leaving no one behind.

FAO is a specialized agency of the UN that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. FAOs goal is to achieve food security for all and ensure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active healthy lives. With 195 Members (194 countries and the European Union) FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide.

FAO India has the mandate to support the Government of India through its representation to improve livelihoods of farmers promote agrifood systems transformation and respond to the challenges of climate change biodiversity loss and environmental degradation through developing resilient and sustainable agrifood systems

All FAO interventions in India focus on promoting sustainable agriculture and enhancing capacities of stakeholders especially small and marginalized addition some of the projects also work with farmers collectives. Along the course of project implementation a number of targeted training and capacity building programs and events are organised from training of trainers on sustainable agriculture to awareness generation and training on climate resilience and climate smart agriculture. Some of the key projects implemented by FAO in India are as follows

Green Climate Fund (GCF) Readiness Project: GCF has approved the Government of Indias GCF Readiness Proposal Agriculture Sector Readiness for enhanced climate finance in India. The goal of this Readiness Proposal is to enhance Indias capacity to develop sub-national climate finance investment programs and projects linked to adaptation and resilience priorities for the agriculture sector. The Readiness Support Project will help address the following three barriers
Fragmentation in planning and monitoring climate action in agriculture sector.
Limited experience in accessing climate finance.
Limited private sector engagement for climate action in the agriculture sector

The proposed activities and outputs under this Readiness Proposal will contribute to achieve Outcomes 2.2 2.4 and 4.1 - of the 2019-2021 Readiness Programme Strategy. Specifically
Outcome 2.2 - GCF recipient countries have developed or enhanced strategic frameworks to address policy gaps improve sectoral expertise and enhance enabling environments for GCF programming in low-emission investment.
Outcome 2.4 - Strategies for transforming and attracting private sector investment for low emissions and resilience developed and being used
Outcome 4.1- An increase in the number of quality project state plans developed and submitted.

The Outputs supporting this Outcome are
Sub-national agriculture and climate investment plans (Output 2.2.1)
Strategies to engage with private sector on building climate resilient agriculture sector (Output 2.4.1)
GCF Project State plans supporting implementation of sub-national agriculture climate investment plans (Output 4.1.1)

The project will be implemented in close coordination with the National Designated Authority (NDA) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW) Government of India. The proposed states are Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh Odisha and Punjab.
FAO India is recruiting Food System Specialist. The position is based at the FAO Country Office in India located in Delhi.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in India Assistant FAO Representative (Program) and Assistant FAO Representative (Administration) the Food Systems Specialist will work with National Expert Value Chains and Markets relevant Project Managers Technical Officers and other team members.

Technical Focus

Provide technical oversight on Climate Resilient Agriculture Investment Plans (CRAIP) reports tools and methodologies agro-climatic assessments and ensuring alignment with project outputs and within the overarching goals of climate resilience and adaptation to align with GCF readiness.

Tasks and responsibilities

Assist in comprehensive diagnostics of food systems and climate risks to help identify priority vulnerabilities leverage points and transformation pathways across crops regions and value chains thereby contributing to the design of CRAIP investments.
Contribute to the design and implementation of a robust CRAIP investment prioritisation framework to support evaluation of climate-resilient agricultural options against criteria of impact feasibility scalability and institutional readiness.
Participate in conducting integrated analyses of climate livelihood and nutrition dynamics within food systems to help identify coherent climate-resilient investment pathways.
Support stakeholder engagement processes at state and national levels by contributing to the preparation of analytical inputs background documentation and facilitation frameworks to validate priorities and strengthen ownership of proposed investments.
Assist in consolidating technical assessments and stakeholder inputs into investment-ready narratives including risk analyses implementation pathways and monitoring indicators; contribute to drafting and quality assurance of the CRAIP report to ensure alignment with national food systems priorities climate commitments and international financing requirements.
Contribute to the preparation of GCF Concept Notes drawing on preparatory assessments and pre-feasibility studies with emphasis on priority agricultural sub-sectors such as agroforestry; help ensure coherence with Indias Country Programme and related programming documents.
Assist in developing the technical and analytical components of Concept Notes including investment design risk assessments financial/economic analyses and monitoring frameworks aligned with GCF requirements.
Support coordination and consolidation of stakeholder inputs background evidence and supplementary documentation to strengthen ownership ensure consistency and meet international financing standards.
Assist in aligning Concept Notes with international financing requirements ensuring integration of environmental and social safeguards coherence with global climate frameworks and consistency with donor expectations.
Support FAOR/AFAOR for meetings and representations when requested by the FAOIN leadership.
Collaborate with the FAO Country Office FAO Lead Technical Officers (LTOs) other National Experts as required
Any other duties assigned by the FAOIN leadership.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

Advanced degree in agriculture rural development ecology social sciences or related subjects.
At least 7 years of working experience in sustainable agriculture climate change adaptation capacity building research policy analysis and development.
Working knowledge (level C) of English is essential.
National of India or resident of the country with a valid work permit.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

Experience working with government agencies on development projects is desirable
Working proficiency in Hindi is desirable
Extensive experience managing developing capacity building resources and delivering training events.
Knowledge and experience in sustainable agriculture climate change carbon markets and/or agroforestry.
Strong technical knowledge and management skills including the ability to provide strategic guidance technical oversight mentor staff build strong teams develop work plans and manage budgets and project expenditures.
Excellent multicultural and interpersonal skills with experience networking with partners at all levels (ministries donors private sector NGOs and local community-based organizations).
Experience working with international and donor organizations (e.g. World Bank IFAD Asian Development Bank) on the implementation of participatory projects.
Proven written analytical computing presentation and reporting skills.

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FAO seeks gender geographical and linguistic diversity in its staff and international consultants in order to best serve FAOMembers 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 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 FAOs 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.