Senior Economist

Organizational Setting

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

The FAO Investment Centre (CFI) provides investment and finance solutions that lead to more efficient, sustainable, inclusive and resilient agrifood systems. Working in over 120 countries, the Centre provides a full suite of investment and finance support to FAO Members. It partners with governments, international and national financing institutions, the private sector and farmers, research institutions and academia to improve the quality and quantity of agrifood investment.

The Centre's four main areas of work include support to strategic investment planning and policy, public investment, private investment and innovative finance. These are complemented by the knowledge for investment and capacity development for investment programmes that serve to share knowledge, learn and build capacities at country level. For additional information on the FAO Investment Centre, its activities, partners and the organizational structure please visit the following link.

The post is located in the West and Central Africa Service (CFIE) of the FAO Investment Centre (CFI) at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy.

Reporting Lines

The Senior Economist reports to the Chief, West and Central Africa Service (CFIE) of the FAO Investment Centre (CFI).Technical Focus

Provide analytical, strategic and technical leadership on economic and financial themes regarding agricultural and food systems-related policies, public sector strategies and plans, as well as individual public and private investment operations and programmes. This includes the formulation, implementation and evaluation of investment policies, strategies, programmes and projects in food and agriculture, rural development, natural resource management and agro-processing.

Key Results

Delivering investment and finance support solutions through the provisions of technical advice and capacity development, in

collaboration with country stakeholders and cooperating partners, to achieve impact at scale in the transformation of agrifood

systems in the scope of the FAO Strategic Framework.

Key Functions

• Leads, or participates in, multidisciplinary teams to assist governments in the identification and preparation of investment and finance support initiatives in the fields of food and agriculture, rural development, natural resource management and agro-processing, and participates in pre-appraisal and appraisal missions.
• Leads, or participates in, multidisciplinary teams for the implementation support and the preparation of final evaluation of investment and finance support solutions.
• Advises governments in the preparation of food and agriculture, rural development, natural resource management and agro-processing studies and strategies, and in the formulation of national sector and/or sub-sector investment plans and programmes.
• Advises on developing inclusive and sustainable agrifood systems, involving producers, their organizations, other private sector actors, civil society organizations and governments.
• Leads the formulation and delivery of capacity development initiatives in the areas of food and agriculture, rural development, natural resource management and agro-processing investment support to government staff, non-state actors and private sector organizations.
• Prepares documents in accordance with FAO, government and financing partners' requirements.
• Advises on task organization, selection of consultants and preparation of terms of reference and in ensuring the quality of outputs.
• Represents the Organization at international and inter-governmental meetings and conferences, advocates for strategic partnerships, best practices and effective policy dialogue; develops and negotiates effective working relationships and agreements with international and national partners.
• Establishes, promotes and maintains relationships with relevant Strategic Programmes, FAO technical units and Decentralized Offices in order to ensure best synergies between investment, policy and innovation work in support to Member Nations.
• Leads or participates in resource mobilization activities in accordance with the FAO Strategic Framework.
• Provides guidance, mentoring and advice to junior staff.

Specific Functions

• Leads and/or provides substantial contributions for the design of sovereign lending operations financed by partner financial institutions in close collaboration with local public institutions; including investment and finance support projects and programmes in agricultural and rural development topics.
• Assesses the feasibility and viability of different public investment options both from an economic perspective and in terms of institutions’ capacity and their suitability to be implemented at local level.
• Leads and/or participates in reviewing the performance of sovereign lending projects or programmes financed by partner financial institutions during implementation, making recommendations for their enhancement, and assesses their impact after completion in order to inform the design of future operations.
• Conducts policy analysis (including potentially public expenditure reviews and market price support analysis) to identify opportunities to improve public investment and promote more and better private investment for agrifood systems transformation towards greater sustainability.
• Leads and/or participates in the preparation of public investment plans, strategies and other guiding public documents in agriculture and rural development or specific sub-sector.
• Leads and/or participates in conducting studies which support the identification of investments and improve sectoral policies.

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CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree in economics, agricultural economics, natural resources economics, agribusiness management or a closely related field.
• Ten years of relevant experience inthe practical application of economic analysis to development issues, including analytical studies, and/or in the formulation and implementation of food and agriculture, rural development, natural resource management and agro-processing investment and finance support programmes in developing countries and/or countries in transition.
• Working knowledge (proficiency - level C) of English and intermediate knowledge (intermediate proficiency - level B) of another official FAO language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish).

Competencies

• Results Focus
• Leading, Engaging and Empowering
• Communication
• Partnering and Advocating
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
• Strategic Thinking

Technical/Functional Skills

• Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions, is essential,
• Extent and relevance of public and private sector professional experience in areas such as agriculture, agribusiness, agro-processing, public-private partnerships, natural resource management and greening of agrifood systems.
• Extent and relevance of experience in leading/preparing on topics related to agrifood sector investments.
• Extent and relevance of experience in leading, or participating, in multidisciplinary teams for the preparation, technical support and evaluation of strategies, analytical and feasibility studies and investment programmes in agriculture, rural development, natural resource management and agro-processing, with focus on financial and economic aspects.
• Extent and relevance of experience in leading and/or contributing significantly to policy work related to agrifood sector investment (analytics and policy processes). Sound knowledge of policy analytical tools such as public expenditure reviews and market price incentives analysis is an advantage.
• Extent and relevance of experience in leading, or participating in, the preparation of strategies and investment plans and investment plans and other pre-investment work related to agrifood sector.
• Extent and relevance of experience in formulation, implementation support and evaluation of investment operations related to topics such as food security, agriculture, rural development, natural resource management, agro-processing and finance.
• Knowledge of investment criteria and procedures of international development finance institutions is an asset.
• Extent and relevance of experience in leading, or participating in, multidisciplinary teams.
• Extent and relevance of experience in dealing with public and/or private sector stakeholders such as senior government officials, as well as development partners and other country stakeholders.
• Knowledge of the context as well as partners and institutions of the region is an asset.
• Demonstrated capacity to write technical reports in English and French.
• Working knowledge (proficiency – level C) of French is a very important asset.