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International Consultant - Further Development of the Afghanistan Country Programme to the GCF

Kabul

  • Organization: FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
  • Location: Kabul
  • Grade: Consultancy - Consultant - Contractors Agreement
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Environment
    • Climate Change
    • Project and Programme Management
    • FAAFG
    • Natural Resource Management
  • Closing Date: Closed

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device

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FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender and nationality

People with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply

All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality

The incumbent may be re-assigned to different activities and/or duty stations depending on the evolving needs of the Organization

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Organizational Setting

Through its Country Offices, or FAO Representations, FAO assists governments to develop policies, programmes and projects to address hunger, food security and malnutrition, and provides technical support for the sustainable development of their agricultural, livestock, animal health, and irrigation and forestry sectors as well as emergency preparedness and response to conflict and natural affected events. The activities of the FAO Representation include design and implementation of country-tailored field programmes, liaison with local donor representatives and active public awareness raising and outreach activities related to the mandate of FAO.

FAO assistance in Afghanistan achieves its objectives through capacity development and direct project implementation in four specific areas of FAO’s technical expertise:

  • Better governance through improved capacity for policy planning, land reform, decentralization, and management of common natural resources;
  • Fostering expansion of irrigation and field water management;
  • Intensive agriculture for surplus commercialization, value chains development, and job creation; and
  • Supporting vulnerable farmers for improved food & nutrition security, resilience, and emergency response to natural and man-made disasters and climate change.

Project Background:

Afghanistan is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. A high proportion of the population rely on climate-sensitive sectors, particularly agriculture and animal husbandry. Increasingly uncertain and extreme climatic conditions such as droughts, floods and erratic rain fall patterns impact the productivity of these sectors.

Climate change therefore poses a direct threat to marginalized, vulnerable communities and sustainable economic development in the country. In this context, Afghanistan will need to build and manage a fruitful partnership with the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

The Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GoIRA) has been engaged with the GCF to help the country develop and implement durable adaptation and mitigation actions to pursue climate resilient and low emission development pathways. The National Environment Protection Agency (NEPA) – GCF National Designed Authority (NDA) – is implementing an initial Readiness and Preparatory Support project (hereafter referred to as Readiness I) to strengthen the NDA’s capacity and coordination mechanisms, develop No Objection Procedures (NOP) and an initial GCF country programme.

To further strengthen the NDA’s capacity for strategic engagement with GCF, the NDA has requested FAO to develop this second Readiness proposal (hereafter referred to as Readiness II) to:

  • Further strengthen NDA capacity, addressing the gaps identified in Readiness I;
  • Increase stakeholder engagement, particularly at sub-national levels and of civil society and private sector;
  • Strengthen capacity for gender considerations in GCF country programming and projects;
  • Further develop the Country Programme;
  • Develop system and capacity of NEPA for MRV of climate finance;
  • Prepare for DAE accreditation; and
  • Develop climate finance strategy including strategy for the private sector to access GCF and for unblocking private investments in climate actions.
  • Readiness II will support NEPA to put in place necessary arrangements to access and effectively implement GCF resources, responding to the needs to strengthen capacities mentioned above.

Reporting Lines:

The International Consultant – Further Development of the Afghanistan Country Programme will be under the overall guidance of the FAO Representative in Afghanistan, technical guidance of the Lead Technical Officer, direct supervision of National Field Manager, and close consultation with relevant FAO staff/NPP and NDA; the international consultant will perform following duties:

Technical Focus

The main objective of the consultancy is to support NEPA and the project to ensure the achievement of quality deliverables under the project. The International Consultant will provide support for the further development and finalization of the GCF Country Programme.

Tasks and responsibilities

The International Consultant - Further Development of the Afghanistan Country Programme will perform the below key tasks:

  • Review the initial GCF Country Programme developed under the Readiness I/by national consultant and provide comments, guidance and support for improvement
  • Guide/coach the project team and NEPA staff in designing and delivering trainings (preparation of presentations, agenda, and other training materials) and conducting at least 4 practical trainings/coaching sessions for line ministries and other stakeholders to build capacities in preparing GCF programme/project idea notes, concept notes and funding proposals in line with the GCF investment criteria and the initial GCF Country Programme.
  • Training of Trainers for the project team and NEPA staff to deliver the above trainings
  • Facilitate training/workshops for the GCF Steering Committee to use the GCF Programme/Project screening and Prioritization Tools to prioritize/appraise programmes/projects for inclusion in the GCF Country Programme and for NOP.
  • Work on the improvements of NOP as per the feedback from NOP guidelines implementation
  • Guide/support the project team in preparing an action plan for continued development of the GCF Country Programme.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

  • Advance University degree in development planning, development management, political science, social science, public agriculture, environment studies, climate change, economics, or related fields;
  • At least Twelve (12) years of relevant experience in governance and institutions capacity building, knowledge management, as well as developing institution capacity, implementation, and monitoring in the south Asian countries for environment and natural resource management projects;
  • Working knowledge of English, French or Spanish and limited knowledge of one of the other two or Arabic, Chinese, Russian.

FAO Core 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
  • Expertise in management of food security, resilience, climate finance, climate change and rural development projects, or related area;
  • Relevant experience in programme/project formulation, analysis, planning and implementation;
  • Extent of relevant experience with internationally funded projects.
  • Extend working experience in a complex, international, geographically dispersed, with inter-disciplinary team environment.
  • Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions is desirable;
  • Good communication, analytical and writing skills;
  • Understanding of FAO policies and programmes is considered a strong asset;
  • Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions is desirable;
  • Language requirement: Excellent written and oral communication skills in English;
  • General knowledge and skills in the use of standard office software, such as MS Office (Word, Excel, Power Point)
  • Extent and relevance of experience in climate change project/programmes;
  • Extent and relevance of experience of Afghanistan climate/environment related policies and strategies
  • Familiarity with the GCF and other financial mechanisms.

Selection Criteria

  • Expertise in management of food security, resilience, resilience, climate finance, climate change and rural development projects and rural development projects, or related area;
  • Relevant experience in programme/project formulation, analysis, planning and implementation;
  • Extend working experience in a complex, international, geographically dispersed, with inter-disciplinary team environment.
  • Willingness and ability to travel to remote, rural locations, Team player.
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Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency

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This vacancy is now closed.
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