Private Sector and Climate Change Specialist

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’s commitment to environmental sustainability is integral to our strategic objectives and operations.

Organizational Setting

The Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment (OCB) works to ensure that countries and stakeholders respond to the challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation. OCB provides a cross organizational coordination role on issues related to climate change, biodiversity and the environment and is the focal point for major multilateral environmental agreements including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The Office also assists FAO Members in their responses to the interlinked challenges of food security, climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation including through facilitating access to climate and environmental financing (such as the GEF and the GCF). In addition, OCB hosts the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) Programme, the Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture as well as FAO’s work on environmental safeguards.

The position is located under the Climate Change Team in OCB, which maintains relations with the UNFCCC and coordinates FAO’s engagement in the United Nations climate change conferences.

Reporting Lines

The Private Sector and Climate Change Specialist will work under the overall supervision of the Climate Change team leader and the direct supervision of an Officer of the team, as appropriate. When activities are carried out in countries, the consultant will be required to work in close collaboration with the relevant FAO Representation and Regional or Country Office.

Technical Focus

Support implementation, knowledge development, training and dissemination of FAO’s portfolio of support to countries and partners on climate change through the provision of technical expertise on climate change, private sector, climate finance and agrifood systems.

The Private Sector and Climate Change Specialist will support FAO, national counterparts and partners in the climate change programme of work including country-level activities; concept note development\: economic, market or value chain analysis; knowledge sharing and generation; capacity building and further development of activities under the climate change programme.

The focus of the support will be primarily on the implementation of ongoing projects and programmes within OCB’s portfolio by leading its private sector engagement component.

Tasks and responsibilities

Specific tasks will be related to areas of work of the team related to\:
• Oversee financial and economic analyses and assessments that contribute to the development of ongoing projects and programmes;
• Conduct value chain analysis of specific agricultural commodities, contributing to the development of ongoing projects and programmes;
• Write project concept notes, project proposals and other relevant documents that contribute to the development of ongoing and future projects and programmes;
• Develope training materials, workshops, and information materials;
• Outreach and facilitate partnerships with private sector actors, national institutions and other organizations.
• Review abd provide substantial inputs to relevant technical documents;
• Participate in country missions and provide guidance to national staff on private sector engagement and climate finance
• Any other duties related to the programme of work as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree in finance, economics, environmental sciences, agrifood systems or a closely related field;
• At least 1 yeat (category C), 5 years (category B) or 10 years (category A) of relevant work experience in private sector engagement in the context of environment-related activities or climate change actions is required.
• Working knowledge (proficiency - level C) of English

FAO Core Competencies

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

Selection Criteria

• Extent and relevance of experience in innovative financial instruments for climate change adaptation and/or mitigation, including blended finance, de-risk instruments and carbon markets
• Extent and relevance of experience in one or more of the following technical areas\: climate change and agriculture finance, project development (including GEF, GCF, etc.), climate investment plans
• experience in providing support to governments on private sector including development of policy enabling environment;
• Extent and relevance of experience in identification of information and data for analysis of climate change and agrifood systems contexts, including country level information, agrifood system context, environmental context and policy documents
• Extent and relevance of experience in tracking and analysing private and public financial flows to agrifood systems
• Extent of relevance of experience in managing partnerships with private sector companies, investment funds, private foundations, development banks, financial platforms and mechanisms
• Sound research and analytical skills, and the ability to gather information from different sources and present effectively both orally and in writing
• Knowledge of FAO tools, projects and activities on climate change is considered an asset
• Knowledge of additional UN official languages, Spanish and/or French in particular, is considered an asset

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 create a one-time registration with FAO’s client support team for further assistance\: https\://fao.service-now.com/csp

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