Address
Salary- 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 staff are subject to the authority of the Director-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the Organization.
Organizational Setting
FAO had secured funding from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Readiness programme, for implementing the project GCP/SRL/079/GCR “Capacity enhancement of the National Designated Authority (NDA) and other relevant stakeholders in Sri Lanka to re-evaluate technical needs for climate change adaptation and mitigation and assess climate finance priorities for agriculture by developing innovative Climate Smart investment mechanisms through increased partnerships between public and private sectors”. The Project Goal is to enhance the capacity of the Climate Change Secretariat of the Ministry of Environment and other relevant stakeholders, including the private sector, to jointly identify and implement technical needs for addressing Sri Lanka’s climate challenges in its priority sectors, and leverage public and private investment for climate-Smart Agriculture through scientific knowledge-based planning.
- Sectoral and national Technology Needs Assessments (TNAs) and Technology Action Plans (TAPs) updated for mitigation and adaptation with clear strategies to implement the Nationally Determined Contributions and the National Adaptation Plan.
- Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) investment plan developed based on updated Agro-ecological maps and other relevant information.
- Capacity of the NDA and relevant stakeholders strengthened to facilitate a dialogue and forge partnerships between the public and private sectors for increased private sector engagement and investment in CSA.
- Concrete strategies and actions developed for improving private sector engagement and investment in CSA in the plantation and non-plantation sub-sectors identified through a public-private forum.
- Capacities of relevant stakeholders enhanced to prepare quality concept notes for developing bankable projects for implementing the CSA investment plan.
- GCF concept notes developed for in the plantation and non-plantation sub-sectors to advance the CSA investment plan through potential AEs, including FAO.
- NDA’s data and information portal/web platform established to FAO’s Climate and Agriculture risk Visualization and Assessment (CAVA) platform to improve Sri Lanka's capacity to analyse, manage and disseminate information concerning climate vulnerabilities and risks.
- Awareness and capacity of NDA enhanced with clear ways forward to improve knowledge management related to climate finance.
For this purpose, FAO Sri Lanka is recruiting a Climate Smart Agriculture Specialist, to support the activities carried out by the International Climate Smart Agriculture Investment Specialist to develop an Agriculture Investment Plan for plantation and non-plantation sectors. The specialist is expected to support to conduct climate-smart options assessments, map financial needs, identify the gaps and prioritize areas for climate financing with stakeholder consultations to develop the investment plan. The Climate Smart Intervention specialist, the Climate Impact Assessment Specialist and the Agriculture Economist will support the International Climate Smart Agriculture Investment Specialist in completing the above-mentioned tasks.
Reporting Lines
Climate Smart Agriculture Specialist will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative for Sri Lanka and the Maldives and the direct supervision of the Assistant FAO Representative (Programmes). He/she will work in close coordination with the International Climate Smart Agriculture Investment Specialist and the Project Management Unit (PMU) of the GCF Readiness Project, Climate Impact Assessment Specialist, Agriculture Economist and under the overall technical supervision of the Environment and Climate Change Specialist and the Lead Technical Officer.
Technical Focus
- Climate-smart options assessments
- Climate risks and opportunities
- Climate finance needs gaps challengers and priority areas for climate finance
- Climate-smart Agriculture Investment plan with climate scenario analysis
Tasks and responsibilities
- Review existing CSA investment plans developed by FAO, CGIAR, the World Bank and other entities.
- Support the International Climate Smart Agriculture Investment Specialist and the Climate Impact Assessment Specialist to identify and elaborate CSA measures and investment packages to be prioritized under the CSA investment plan via stakeholder consultations and available literature, models, and information.
- Support the agriculture economist to prepare data to support economic analysis for the priority CSA measures/investment packages.
- Assist FAO to 0rganize consultations with relevant counterparts to prioritize and validate CSA measures and investment packages to be prioritized under the CSA investment plan.
- Provide necessary support in mapping climate financial needs, identify gaps, challenges and prioritize areas for climate financing in Sri Lanka.
- Identify gaps, challenges, and needs for the financing and implementation of the CSA measures and investment packages identified.
- Work with the International and National Private Sector Climate Financing Specialists to integrate inputs on barriers and recommendations to engage the private sector in financing CSA measures/investment packages.
- Support a process to help prioritize areas for climate financing into specific CSA measures / investment packages.
- Support the preparation of a draft CSA investment plan that summarizes climate scenario analysis exercises with an assessment of climate-smart measures.
- Facilitate the validation workshop to validate the draft CSA Investment Plan and prepare a validation workshop report.
- Effectively contribute to the development and finalization of the CSA Investment Plan.
- Work closely with the International Climate Smart Agriculture Investment Specialist, Agriculture Economist, and Impact Assessment Specialist to implement all activities under 2.2.2
- Provide possible inputs to other national and international consultants of the project for producing their deliverables.
- Undertake any other tasks as requested by the FAOR / AFAOR (Programme).
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements
- Advanced university degree in Agriculture, Economics, Climate Change, or any other relevant subject. (For COF.REG-s only)
- A minimum of 5 years of experience in the field of Climate Smart Agriculture and in climate change adaptation and/or mitigation with experience working on international donor-funded projects such as the GEF, Adaptation Fund or the GCF, preferably in the Asian region, and experience in working with government, regional and international development agencies.
- Working knowledge of English and Sinhala and/or Tamil.
- National of Sri Lanka.
FAO Core Competencies
- Results Focus
- Teamwork
- Communication
- Building Effective Relationships
- Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
Technical/Functional Skills
- Familiarity with effective use of standard office software, such as MS Office (Windows, Word, Outlook, Excel, Power Point).
- Good interpersonal skills, ability to work collaboratively with diverse stakeholder groups.
- Strong analytical skills and experience in developing technical reports - undertaking research, primary and secondary data collection, analysis and report writing.
- Ability to work/deliver independently with minimal supervision.
Selection Criteria
- Extent and relevance of experience in agriculture investment and Climate change.
- Extent of experience in technical report writing.
- Experience in coordinating and liaising with industry, academia, national authorities, UN agencies, donors, intergovernmental organizations, and non-governmental organizations.
- Familiarity with the UN System and /or development sector will be considered an asset.
Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency.
- FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing).
- Incomplete applications will not be considered. If you need help or have queries, please contact: Careers@fao.org
- Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted.
- Only language proficiency certificates from UN accredited external providers and/or FAO language official examinations (LPE, ILE, LRT) will be accepted as proof of the level of knowledge of languages indicated in the online applications.
- For other issues, visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/
- Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.
- 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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