Title: National Blue Economy Expert, Kenya

​Requisition ID: 5603
Grade: NOD (SB-5)
Country: Home Based
Duty Station: Home Based
Category: National Consultant
Type of Job Posting: External
Employment Type: NonStaff-When Act. Employed
Application deadline: 8-May-2025, 11:59 PM (Vienna, Austria time)

Vacancy Announcement
TEMPORARY APPOINTMENT OF PROJECT PERSONNEL
Only nationals or permanent residents of the country of the duty station are considered eligible.
Female candidates are encouraged to apply.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is the specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes industrial development for poverty reduction, inclusive globalization and environmental sustainability. The mission of UNIDO, as described in the Lima Declaration adopted at the fifteenth session of the UNIDO General Conference in 2013 as well as the Abu Dhabi Declaration adopted at the eighteenth session of UNIDO General Conference in 2019, is to promote and accelerate inclusive and sustainable industrial development (ISID) in Member States. The relevance of ISID as an integrated approach to all three pillars of sustainable development is recognized by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will frame United Nations and country efforts towards sustainable development. UNIDO’s mandate is fully recognized in SDG-9, which calls to “Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation”. The relevance of ISID, however, applies in greater or lesser extent to all SDGs. Accordingly, the Organization’s programmatic focus is structured in four strategic priorities: Creating shared prosperity; Advancing economic competitiveness; Safeguarding the environment; and Strengthening knowledge and institutions.

Each of these programmatic fields of activity contains a number of individual programmes, which are implemented in a holistic manner to achieve effective outcomes and impacts through UNIDO’s four enabling functions: (i) technical cooperation; (ii) analytical and research functions and policy advisory services; (iii) normative functions and standards and quality-related activities; and (iv) convening and partnerships for knowledge transfer, networking and industrial cooperation. Such core functions are carried out in Divisions/Offices in its Headquarters, Regional Offices and Hubs and Country Offices.

Division of Agribusiness and Infrastructure Development (IET/AGR)

Under the overall guidance of the Director General, the direct supervision of the Managing Director, Directorate of SDG Innovation and Economic Transformation (IET), and in close coordination with other organizational entities within UNIDO, the Division of Agribusiness and Infrastructure Development (IET/AGR) supports Member States in their efforts to pave the way to sustainable rural development and a structurally transformed and modernized agribusiness sector. Capitalizing on the experience gained by UNIDO in this field over decades and on tried-and-tested and to-be-developed service modules, the Division will explore innovative approaches to maximise the potential that exists in agribusiness development, addressing emerging global trends, in particular food security, poverty alleviation and climate change. It will explore new ways to contribute to global efforts to reduce hunger, accelerate food systems transition, and generate income and employment, especially among women and youth.

The Division provides technical cooperation services to assist the modernization of agriculture and agro-industry, especially in less-developed countries, ensuring that enterprises add value to primary agricultural production, substitute the imports of food and other value-added agricultural products, and participate effectively in local, regional and global value chains. Where needed, it will develop infrastructure and agro-industrial parks and capacities for agro-industrialization, value addition, quality assurance and food safety. It will also bring innovative approaches to Member States to fully benefit from carbon-neutral and biodiversity-enhancing agricultural and agro-industrial production and development opportunities in the green and blue bioeconomy.

Food Security and Food Systems Unit (IET/AGR/FSS)

The Food Security and Food Systems Unit (IET/AGR/FSS) promotes the development of food industries and food value chains and the production of local food products in less-developed countries to end hunger and ensure food and nutrition security while generating income and employment adhering to principles of sustainable industrial development. It provides a range of technical assistance services that allow food enterprises – including in the informal sector and especially SMEs – to extend their production, improve their products, comply with quality and other standards, become more competitive and deliver adequate and nutritious food to local populations and for export. Where opportune, it also promotes the development of food safety compliance infrastructure and building related food safety systems capacities.

PROJECT CONTEXT

The UN-Agencies in Kenya comprising UNIDO, FAO and IOM, in collaboration with the national and county Governments of Nyamira and Laikipia, developed a Joint Programme (JP) on circular and sustainable agrifood systems. The JP “Enabling gender responsive blue and circular economy for coastal communities of Kwale and the county aggregation and industrial parks in Nyamira and Laikipia Counties” is intended to scale-up and reinforce the various interventions targeting food security, post-harvest losses, reintegration of waste and linkages of producers to markets, to enhance incomes and sustain livelihoods. It uniquely focuses on creating opportunities in and enabling producers to harness potentials in circular and sustainable farming and business practices, while strengthening their resilience to climate change and capacities to transition to carbon neutral agrifood systems.

Funded by the Government of Norway, through the Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF), the “Circular Economy in the County Industrial and Industrial Parks” Project is a 12-month pilot project that seeks to foster sustainable and circular business practices in agrifood systems contributing to the green transformation of agrifood systems in Kenya. Leveraging the County Aggregation and Industrial Parks (CAIPS), the project uniquely aims to contribute to improved food and nutrition security, climate change mitigation and enterprise competitiveness by creating opportunities in and enabling producers, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and other private sector investors to harness potentials in circular and sustainable production and value addition practices, while strengthening their resilience to climate change and their capacities to transition to carbon neutral agro enterprises.

The JP will achieve this objective by building capacity, offering technical assistance, and aggregating farmers and actors in the agrifood systems towards reducing resource consumption and emissions to the environment by closing the loop of materials and substances, and adopting regenerative and climate smart agricultural practices as entry points for circularity. To ensure sustainability of the interventions, the program seeks to support sustainable and innovative business models and reinforce the policy and regulatory environment to create incentives and drive-up uptake and investment in circular models within the CAIPS in Kenya. The JP will be tested in Laikipia and Nyamira counties and will focus on the beef cattle and banana value chains, integrating green vegetables. The blue economy activities will be in Kwale. This JP will support Leave No One Behind (LNOB) groups by ensuring people who have challenges accessing value chain to be incorporated to the wider market.

As of UN-agencies, coordinating the implementation of the JP, UNIDOs role is to lead the execution of the broad activities on: Create awareness on circularity blue economy business models as an accelerator to food and nutrition security, and food loss and waste in the agriculture sector and support development of a policy framework and guidelines for the CAIPs and its supply chains, mainstreaming circularity, inclusive and decent work, gender -sensitivity and responsible use of resources and inputs in the blue economy.

Transition to Circular and Blue Economy in the Agro-Food Systems under CAIPS

Achieving an environmentally sustainable, climate-safe and low carbon development pathway in agro-food system is not only an imperative to achieve the country’s commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement, but a necessary condition for its long-term growth, competitiveness and a vital means to enable farming communities overcome vulnerabilities arising from climate change related crisis. The emergence of stringent sustainability regulations in key export markets coupled with requirements for integration of circularity in production, is expected to revolutionize global agrifood systems, creating shifts and new demands for eco-products with major implications to food systems in developing countries where compliance capacities may be weak. The Circularity Gap report 2021, reveals the potential of introducing circular economy business models, which is estimated at USD 4.5 trillion as additional economic output by 2030, highlighting immense business growth, jobs and incomes that can be generated through transition from linear to circular economy approaches. The CAIPS model is an emerging initiative in Kenya, and the country lacks a standardizing and harmonizing framework to guide institutions and value chain actors in adopting green practices and promoting circular business approaches in the Parks to enhance the competitive positions while adapting to exiting climate impacts. To encourage the adoption of CE for food security in the agrifood supply chain, and Agro-industrial parks, the county and national governments need to a holistic approach that addresses the opportunities and challenges of CE on food security from both the supply and demand side.

FUNCTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the direct supervision of the Project Manager in HQ and close cooperation project team in the field and HQ, the National Blue Economy Expert will perform the following duties:

MAIN DUTIES

Concrete/

measurable

Outputs to be achieved

Support Inclusive and Gender-sensitive Blue and Green Transition in Agri-food Systems