Organizational Setting
The Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment (OCB) works to ensure that countries and stakeholders respond to
the challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation. OCB provides a cross organizational coordination role on these issues and is the focal point to major multilateral environmental agreements including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conferences (UNFCCC), and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
The Office also assists FAO Members in their responses towards the interlinked challenges of food security, climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation including through facilitating access to climate and environmental financing such as the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF). In addition, OCB hosts the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) Programme, the Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture as well as FAO's work on environmental safeguards and leads the Programme Priority Areas on Climate Change (PPA BE1) and Bioeconomy for Sustainable Food and Agriculture (PPA BE2).
FAO is a specialized technical UN Agency, bringing unique technical knowledge, information and capacity to bear on one of the world's great challenges: feeding 9 billion people while maintaining and restoring the environment. The FAO-GEF portfolio - currently comprised of over 400 projects worth over USD 1.9 billion in GEF investments - is growing steadily as countries demand more of what FAO has to offer. As a GEF Agency, FAO works with Member Nations and partners to access GEF financing for strategic projects that help countries achieve sustainable food systems transformation ' to improve agriculture production, access value chains, reduce hunger and improve nutrition all while sustainably utilizing and conserving biodiversity, improving land and water management, reducing pollution, and mitigating and adapting to climate change.
The GEF Program is aligned with FAO's core competencies and strategic priority areas, including sustainable agriculture, fisheries, forestry and land and water management. FAO's GEF portfolio extends across all five of GEF's focal areas (Biodiversity, Climate Change, Land Degradation, International Waters, and Chemicals and Waste) as well as the Least Developed Countries Fund, the Special Climate Change Fund (LDCF/SCCF) and the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF).' The Asia Pacific region is a critically important part of FAO's GEF program, comprising 28% of the total FAO-GEF portfolio.
The OCB-GEF Unit provides thematic advice and guidance to FAO in the key priority programming areas of the GEF and works closely with colleagues from across FAO to help Member Nations in developing projects for GEF financing and their implementation. This position will serve as a key member of the FAO-GEF team in the Asia-Pacific region while providing high quality thematic guidance and specific technical knowledge to OCB-GEF team, FAO-GEF teams in other regions, countries, and partners to support project development and implementation.
The post is part of the OCB-GEF Unit and will be outposted to the FAO Regional Office for Asia and Pacific (FAO-RAP) in Bangkok, Thailand.
Reporting Lines
The Technical Officer reports to the Senior Coordinator, OCB-GEF Unit, under the guidance of FAO RAP Senior Resilience Officer/Module Leader of Land, Water, Climate and Resilience, and works in close coordination with RAP-GEF Regional Lead for Asia Pacific and the OCB-GEF team.
Technical Focus
Identification, design, implementation support and monitoring of FAO-GEF projects and programmes and those of other environmental and climate financing mechanisms. It includes strategic and policy work, with a focus on the nexus between global environmental challenges and sustainable agriculture, including climate change and resilience, land, water, fisheries, forestry, biodiversity and other environmental topics.
Key Results
Research, technical analysis and project related services to support the delivery of programme projects, products and services.
Key Functions
Researches and analyses technical, social, economic, environmental, institutional and technology related information, data and statistics and/or related policy issues to support the delivery of programme projects, products and services.
Produces a variety of technical information, data, statistics and reports as well as input for technical documents and web pages.
Provides technical support/analysis to various assessments, studies and initiatives; provides technical backstopping to field projects.
Collaborates in the development of improved/updated tools, systems, processes and databases.
Participates in multidisciplinary teams and/or leads working groups/teams; collaborates with other Divisions/Offices/Centres and promotes best practices.
Collaborates in, provides technical backstopping to and ensures the quality/effectiveness of capacity development activities within Member Nations such as policy support, organizational development and individual learning events, including preparation of related information, learning materials and on-line tools.
Promotes knowledge sharing and best practices at international meetings and conferences and influences partners in stakeholder consultations.
Supports resource mobilization activities in accordance with the FAO Strategic Framework.
Specific Functions
Serves as a FAO-GEF Technical Officer (GTO) for selected programmes and projects in the Asia-Pacific region and serves as a member of the FAO Project Task Force (PTF) for each of the projects under her/his responsibility.
Supports the formulation and implementation of complex GEF programmes and projects within the regional portfolio, ensuring operational viability and due compliance with the FAO policy standards and best practices, as well as convergence with GEF policies and priorities.
Collaborates with OCB-GEF Unit colleagues to ensure programmes and projects in the region are prepared effectively and efficiently within the specified project preparation phase from concept approval to project document submission/approval and are managed efficiently to achieve milestones and results throughout the cycle in a timely manner, including start up, first disbursement and closure.
Provides critical technical inputs to robust GEF regional portfolio management including improvements of FAO project operation implementation modality and risk management and the maintenance of programme/project and portfolio information and FAO project information/knowledge management systems.
Provides high quality products, inputs and support to meet the standards of the Project Implementation Reviews, Midterm Reviews and Terminal Evaluations.
Works with Executive Coordinator and OCB-GEF team to strengthen the efficiency of GEF team operations.
Supports the OCB-GEF Unit and FAO-GEF community in the development of a robust portfolio of projects and programmes targeting one of the global priorities in the emerging GEF-9 program and subsequent GEF programmes.
Identifies and pursues opportunities for synergies with other vertical funds and to strengthen a programmatic approach at country level in the fields of climate change, biodiversity and environment.
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements
Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in agriculture, forestry, fisheries, environment, natural resources management or related biological sciences.
Five years of relevant experience in vertical fund programming at the nexus between agrifood systems and the environment.
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