Economist

Organizational Setting

FAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. FAO's goal is to achieve food security for all and make sure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives.

The Agrifood Economics and Policy 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, 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). It also leads the technical work on the Roadmap to Achieve SDG2 without breaching the 1.5C threshold.

The post of Economist is located in the Food Security and Nutrition and Resilience (FSN-R) Pillar, in the Agrifood Economics and Policy Division (ESA) at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy.

Reporting Lines

The Economist reports to the Senior Economist (FSN-R), under the overall supervision of the Director of Agrifood Economics and Policy Division (ESA).

Technical Focus

The Economist will conduct research, economic analysis and writing on a broad range of issues pertaining to food security and nutrition and support the coordination of the SOFI report, an annual FAO flagship publication. The Economist will focus on providing technical expertise in advanced economic analysis, and depending on the topic being covered, this may include applying different qualitative or quantitative research methods, including econometric methods, performing partial or general equilibrium analysis or other – suitable for purpose - methods. He/she will help frame these analyses for a general audience. The analysis will provide evidence-based support to and feed into the preparation of the SOFI report. The Economist will work in close collaboration with the SOFI team, other FAO technical units, and focal points of the four co-publishing partners of the report, namely the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The Economist will also support the technical reviews of the five Regional Overviews of Food Security and Nutrition reports, as well as ad hoc country reports, ensuring their alignment with the global SOFI report and that they meet quality standards.

Key Results

Research and analysis of information, data and statistics, and the maintenance and updating of related tools, methodologies, and/or databases to support the delivery of programme products, projects, publications, and services.

Key Functions

• Researches and analyses [agricultural, economic, trade, market, social, environmental, nutrition/food composition and/or gender related] data, statistics and information to provide technical, statistical and/or policy-related information and analysis to support the delivery of economic and social development programmes work, products, projects, publications and services.

• Produces a variety of technical reports and input for technical documents, publications and/or web pages.

• Provides technical, statistical, and/or analytical services on various studies, projects and/or assessments and provides technical backstopping to field projects.

• Participates in the development of improved/updated technical, statistical and/or analytical tools, methodologies, systems, databases, and/or key social/economic/environmental/nutritional and/or early warning indicators, etc.

• Participates on multidisciplinary teams, collaborates with other departments and agencies on work groups and committees and promotes best practices.

• Collaborates in capacity development activities involving the planning and organizing of training workshops, seminars, and major meetings and the preparation of related information, materials, on-line tools and information kits.

• Promotes knowledge sharing and best practices at international meetings and conferences and influences partners in stakeholder consultations.

• Participates in resource mobilization activities.

Specific Functions

• Supports the Senior Economist FSN-R in planning and managing team’s activities, including the preparation and drafting of the SOFI report, and then revising the report based on the experts’ input.

• Supports the coordination of the SOFI report with the inter-agency SOFI Writing Team (IFAD, WFP, WHO and UNICEF), various FAO technical divisions and external technical experts.

• Contributes to the writing of concept notes, annotated outlines, summaries, and draft chapters and subsections of chapters relating to the themed analysis of the SOFI report.

• Supports the SOFI team in identifying external partners who can contribute to the topic at hand.

• Develops the evidence base that supports the preparation of the SOFI report through the design and contribution to background papers.

• Prepares written technical briefs relating to the themes addressed in the SOFI report and other issues pertaining to food security and nutrition.

• Drafts ESA working papers, articles for international journals, communication and outreach materials, and other written materials based on the SOFI report and underlying analysis.

• Produces a variety of written inputs related to the SOFI report's findings and food security and nutrition for corporate information products, presentations and talking points, webinar content, senior management briefs, FAO Council reports, Regional Conference documents, FAO Regional, Country and Liaison Office materials, Technical Conferences, high-level meetings, and other written communication products and documents.

• Carries out technical reviews of the five regional and ad hoc country Overviews of Food Security and Nutrition reports to ensure they are aligned with the global SOFI report and meet the quality standards.

• Supervises consultants and interns as required.

• Performs other relevant tasks as requested by ESA management.
  

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CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in economics, agricultural economics, food security and nutrition or a related field.

• Five years of relevant experience in economic and quantitative analysis of food and agricultural issues, preferably with a focus on food security and nutrition.

• Working knowledge (proficiency – level C) of English and intermediate knowledge (intermediate proficiency – level B) of another FAO official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish).

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, particularly in field positions, is desirable.

• Extent and relevance of experience in analysing agricultural policy issues, preferably with a focus on food security and nutrition.

• Extent and relevance of experience and knowledge of applied quantitative research of major issues related to agriculture or agrifood systems, preferably with a focus on food security and nutrition.

• Extent and relevance of experience in formulating and implementing analytical and policy studies on food security and nutrition, global food policy, agricultural development, and sustainability issues.

• Quality of both oral and written communication in English, including the ability to write clearly and concisely for publications.

• Extent and relevance of written publication records, including high profile consensus reports, working papers, journal articles and short publications for general audiences.

• Excellent programming skills in specialized software are desirable (e.g. R, SAS, SQL, STATA).

• Demonstrated ability to review, analyse and present quantitative information clearly and effectively.

• Capacity to work effectively in multidisciplinary teams with minimal supervision, while planning workflows to meet tight deadlines.