Climate Resilience Specialist (03 Positions)

Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life, leaving no one behind.
FAO is a specialized agency of the UN that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. FAO's goal is to achieve food security for all and ensure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. With 195 Members (194 countries and the European Union), FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide.
 
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is part of consortium funded by FCDO to implement Climate Resilience and Humanitarian Response (Central, and Southern Pakistan) Component on Building Resilience and Addressing Vulnerability to Emergencies (BRAVE) in Pakistan. The consortium that includes three UN agencies-IOM, FAO, UNICEF, and three international NGOs -Acted, IRW, and CARE, offers a robust multi-sectoral and cross-thematic vehicle that brings proven expertise in resilience building, disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation, and inclusive social protection. BRAVE is a 3-years programme, from 2025 to 2028, covering 14 districts within Sindh, Punjab, and Balochistan Provinces. It consists of three outcomes including Outcome 1 | HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE: Humanitarian response capacities of national and sub-national actors are improved through available and integrated multi-sectoral emergency response mechanisms; Outcome 2 | CLIMATE RESILIENCE MODELS: Climate-vulnerable communities in South Pakistan become more resilient to climate-related shocks and have improved social protection outcomes; and Outcome 3| PATHWAYS TO SCALE: National and sub-national actors have improved capacity on Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Resilience through accessing and utilizing improved frameworks, policies and learnings to scale up climate resilience and disaster responses. BRAVE initiatives under FAO will be implemented in 3 targeted districts, that is Sujawal in Sindh, Sohbatpur in Balochistan, and Muzafargarh in Punjab.

FAO Pakistan plans to recruit 3 Climate Resilience Specialists, each covering one district, we ho will be supported by field facilitators to strengthen district committees for disaster risks preparedness and response and mobilize smallholder agriculture producers to pilot climate-resilience nature-based solutions for securing fragile ecosystems and vulnerable communities to climate-related shocks.

This position is at the SBIV-SC8 level.

The positions are located at Sujawal (Sindh); Sohbatpur (Balochistan); & Muzaffargarh (Punjab).

Reporting Lines

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative of Pakistan, the incumbent directly reports to the Lead Project Implementation Specialist and works in collaboration with the concerned FAO Head of Provinces in Pakistan and Units and colleagues.

Technical Focus

The main responsibilities and tasks planning, coordinating, and facilitating (a) strategic studies to inform the design and implementing of BRAVE, (b) strengthening institutional arrangements for improved effective preparedness for humanitarian responses and implementation for climate resilience pilots; c) screening priority scalable climate resilience pilots on integrated climate-resilient village models, and (d) establishing knowledge management systems for providing products and services for supporting upscaling of most promising integrated climate resilient village models.

Tasks and responsibilities

The incumbents will ensure timely, effective, and efficiency implementation of project activities within the province

•    Prepare spatial climate-resilience models that ensure food security and livelihood that scalable, sustainable, replicable, inclusive, equitable, and high return from investment; determine spatial data sources, types, and formats; establish and apply quality control and quality assurance protocols; collect and validate spatial datasets; determine and undertake critical analytics to determine plausible food security pathways; build and maintain robust geodatabase; design and develop spatial data visualization layouts; and develop, validate, and promote data and information sharing protocols among relevant stakeholders    .
•    Support the identification of target union council, villages and beneficiaries; coordination, formation, and capacity building of committees, teams, panels, and common interest group, forums, network, forums, working groups, and partnership for the coordination, planning, assessment, implementation, monitoring, and reporting on progress in project delivery based on validated guidelines
•    Facilitating preparation of participatory preparation of and integrated farm management plans, and village-level and district-level climate-resilience scenarios, and integrated contingency, anticipatory, adaptive, and transformative plans for agrifoods systems development of district and village-level 
•    Provide technical guidance on the various studies including but not limited to Project baselines, Multi-hazard Climate Vulnerability, and Risk Assessment (MCHVRA), Hydro-Meteorological System Assessments, Land-use and Land Cover Assessment and Mapping; Agro-ecological zonation, Institutional and Organization Capacity Assessment, Screening of community-driven priority climate-resilience innovations, technologies, approaches, and practices; Stakeholder Training Needs Assessment, and Climate-Resilience Agriculture Technology Adoption and Impacts Assessment; 
•    Facilitate the preparation of curriculum, training sessions, knowledge management platforms; co-creation of communication and knowledge products; and training of Master Trainers; knowledge management platforms on Climate-resilience food security innovations, technologies, approaches, and practices. 

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

•    Advanced university degree in climatology, meteorology or agro-hydrology and University degree in Agriculture Engineering or Environmental Sciences domains.
•    Minimum 8 years of relevant work experience in farmer-led adaptative research and track record of working on similar assignments
•    Working knowledge of English while familiarity with local languages of the district will be desirable.
•    National of Pakistan

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

•    Relevance of experience in United Nations and International Organizations’ administrative policies and procedures
•    Advanced university degree in climatology, meteorology, and agro-hydrology is an added advantage
•    Experience in working with multiple and diverse stakeholders and institutional arrangements including government, international development agency, private, civil society, and end-users
•    Experience in participatory planning, organizing, coordination, administration, and facilitating implementation of evidence-based projects and programmes
•    Demonstratable hands-on experience in Geographic Information System and Remote Sensing

Selection Criteria 

•    Familiarity with local languages will be desirable.
•    Demonstrated experience in ecosystem-wide governance and management
•    Proven knowledge and skills in remote-sensing and Geographic Information System will be an address opportunity
•    Proven track record of working on similar assignments 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION