Thailand: Investment Support Officer P-4

Organization: Food and Agriculture Organization
Country: Thailand
Closing date: 08 Mar 2016

Organizational Setting

The Investment Centre Division (TCI) promotes investment in food security, nutrition, agriculture and rural development (FSNARD), sustainable natural resource management (NRM) and climate change mitigation and/or adaptation (CCM/A) in developing countries and countries in transition, assisting governments and country stakeholders, main development partners, in particular international financing institutions with the strategic planning and implementation of their investments to achieve growth, poverty alleviation, food security and nutrition goals.

TCI is a multidisciplinary division composed of three regionally focused services, namely Africa Service, Asia and the Pacific Service, and Europe, Central Asia, Near East, North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean Service, as well as FAO’s coordination unit for the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

The post is located in TCIB.

Reporting lines

The Investment Support Officer reports to the Chief, Asia and the Pacific Service and works in collaboration with the Head of the Decentralized Office (DO) of assignment.

Key Results

Provision of technical expertise and capacity development for (i) the design of investment operations, in collaboration with country stakeholders and cooperating partners, to mobilize resources for FSNARD, NRM and CCM/A; and (ii) implementation support and evaluation of investment operations, in accordance with the FAO Strategic Framework.

Key Functions

· Participates in, and eventually leads multidisciplinary teams to assist governments in the identification and preparation of investment operations in the fields of FSNARD, NRM and CCM/A, and participates in pre-appraisal and appraisal missions.

· Participates in, and eventually leads multidisciplinary teams for the implementation support and the preparation of final evaluation of investment operations.

· Provides technical expertise for the preparation of FSNARD, NRM and CCM/A studies and strategies, in the formulation of national sector and/or sub-sector investment plans and programmes.

· Supports the development of inclusive and sustainable food systems involving producers, their organizations, other private sector actors, and civil society organizations and government.

· Formulates and delivers capacity development strategies and activities in the areas of FSNARD, NRM and CCM/A investment support to government staff, and non-state actors and private sector organizations.

· Prepares reports in accordance with governments and financing partners’ requirements.

· Provides support in task organization, selection of consultants, preparation of terms of reference and in ensuring the quality of outputs.

· Promotes international cooperation and collaboration leading to new investment opportunities and cooperative agreements, advocates best practices and effective policy dialogue o and provides technical expertise at international meetings.

· Participates in the development and updating of FAO’s Country Programming Framework (CPF) and the formulation of related projects and programmes.

· Provide technical inputs in the area of expertise and ensure quality outputs to the DO team.

· Participates in resource mobilization activities in accordance with the FAO Corporate strategy.

· Provides guidance and advice to junior staff.

· Perform other related duties as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

· Advanced university degree in economics, agricultural economics, agricultural sciences, environmental sciences, agribusiness management, natural resource management, irrigation and drainage engineering, rural infrastructure engineering, social sciences or a related field

· Seven years of relevant experience in conducting agricultural/rural sector/subsector analytical studies, and/or in planning, design, supervision of agricultural and rural investment operations, including elaboration of feasibility studies and implementation of agricultural and rural investment operations in developing countries and/or countries in transition

· Working knowledge of English and limited knowledge of either French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese or Russian

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, particularly in field positions is desirable

· Extent and relevance of experience in participating in multidisciplinary teams for the preparation of strategies and sector studies as well as formulation, implementation support or evaluation of FSNARD, NRM and CCM/A investment operations

· Extent and relevance of experience in FSNARD, NRM and/or CCM/A analytical studies and programme evaluation

· Extent and relevance of experience in investment design, implementation support and evaluation procedures of FAO’s main development partners, in particular the World Bank, the International Fund for Agriculture and Development (IFAD) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the GEF

· Extent and relevance of experience in developing, implementing or evaluating investment projects and programmes in support of implementing sustainable food and agriculture policies and strategies

· Relevance of experience in capacity development for the design and implementation of FSNARD, NRM and/or CCM/A investments

· Demonstrated experience in dealing with senior government officials, development partners and other country level stakeholders

· Demonstrated capacity to write technical reports in English

· Relevance of experience in different geographical areas and familiarity with the region or sub-regions covered by the specific vacancy

· Ability to work under pressure and willingness to travel frequently to developing or transition countries

· Working knowledge of another language relevant to the region of assignment would be an asset

N.B. Willingness to travel frequently to developing countries and/or countries in transitionand for geographic mobility reassignments. In line with FAO’s Decentralization Policy, a number of TCI professional staff positions have been assigned to Decentralized Offices (DOs), including Regional, Subregional and Country Offices. Locations are based on the needs and priorities identified in the respective regions, and can be modified to respond to changing priorities. Incumbents are expected to remain at least three years at a given duty station; and may rotate with Rome headquarters or another DO. The purpose of this Vacancy Announcement is to build a roster of candidates meeting a wide range of expertise such as economics, agriculture, natural resource management, irrigation and water management, rural sociology, etc. First assignment to a DO of newly recruited officers may be preceded by an initial period at headquarters for on-the-job training and familiarization with TCI’s operations. For more information of FAO regional coverage in Africa please consult the following link: http://www.fao.org/asiapacific/en/

Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

· All candidates should possess computer/word processing skills.

· As part of the evaluation of your application for this position, you may be requested to undergo written assessment, which may be followed by a competency-based interview.

· Your application will be screened based on the information you have entered in your iRecruitment profile (see below under the How to Apply section). Before applying for a vacancy, we strongly recommend that the information you have provided in all sections of your profile are accurate and complete, including employment record, academic qualifications and skills.

· Please note that FAO will only consider academic credentials or degrees obtained from an educational institution that is recognised in the IAU/UNESCO list.

· Other similar positions at the same level may be filled from this vacancy notice and the endorsed candidates will be considered for the Employment Roster for a period of 2 years.

· Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments.

REMUNERATION

A competitive compensation and benefits package is offered. For information on UN salaries, allowances and benefits, click on the following link: http://www.un.org/Depts/OHRM/salaries_allowances/salary.htm