Emergency and Rehabilitation Officer - Food and Agriculture Organization

The Regional Office for Africa (RAF) is responsible for leading FAO's response to regional priorities for food security, agriculture and rural development through the identification, planning and implementation of FAO's priority activities in the region. It ensures a multidisciplinary approach to programmes, identifies priority areas of action for the Organization in the Region and, in collaboration with departments and divisions at Headquarters, develops, promotes and oversees FAO's strategic response to regional priorities.

RAF also advises on the incorporation of regional priorities into the Organization's Programme of Work and Budget and implements approved programmes and projects in the region, monitors the level of programme implementation and draws attention to problems and deficiencies. RAF develops and maintains relations with region-wide institutions including the Regional Economic Integration Organizations (REIOs). The Regional Office supports regional policy dialogue on food security, agriculture and rural development issues, facilitates the emergence of regional partnerships, and supports capacity development and resource mobilization for food security, agriculture and rural development in the region.

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The post is located in Accra, Ghana.

Reporting Lines

The Emergency and Rehabilitation Officer reports to the Senior Emergency and Rehabilitation Officer, Delivery Manager of the Regional Initiative on Building Resilience in Africa's Drylands (RI 3), under the overall guidance of the Regional Representative for Africa and the Regional Programme Leader, and the functional guidance of the Emergency and Resilience Division, PSE as well as the Strategic Programme Resilience team in consultation with the relevant technical officers at the regional level.

Technical Focus

Lead and coordinate FAO's resilience work and contribute to improved preparedness for, and effective response to, food and agricultural threats and emergencies.

Key Results

Effective and efficient coordination and provision of resilience field programme and project activities to scale and fit for purpose.

Key Functions

• Plans and leads components of multidisciplinary teams, coordinates, and/or participates in Organization-wide committees, and provides technical expertise on international committees and working groups;
• Develops and updates the supporting approach, methodology, tools, systems/databases, policies and/or standards to support programme delivery and specific objectives, services and outputs of Division teams focusing on (i) humanitarian policy, inter-agency collaboration and mobilization of emergency resources; (ii) response, food chain crisis, special operations, level 3 emergency preparedness, early warning and support to transition; (iii) and/or programming to integrate resilience into FAO planning at all levels;
• Develops position papers, proposals and/or policy briefs to support humanitarian policy development, coordination and liaison with international partners such as the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other humanitarian groups involved in emergency and recovery activities;
• Undertakes FAO emergency needs assessment activities and missions, conducts food and nutrition security assessments and analysis, coordinates in-country early warning alerts and further coordination with all partners;

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• Provides technical support to ongoing operational emergency and recovery projects and programmes and related capacity development in countries, and Regional and Subregional Offices supported with Standard Operating Procedures, surge mechanisms and Level-3 capable response systems;
• Promotes best practices and provides technical support/services to Decentralized Offices, in collaboration with Regional Offices, to facilitate emergency programming, resource mobilization and integration of emergency and development work in countries, as well as to provide capacity during critical phases of emergencies;
• Monitors, promotes and coordinates resource mobilization activities including corporate appeals, donor macro grants, CERF/SFERA submissions, annual appeals and midyear reviews, as well as collaborates with countries and Regional Offices to facilitate resource mobilization through project and programme formulation;
• Maintains and updates FAO emergency information systems, crisis communications, information and advocacy, as well as providing up-to-date information for reporting, audits, evaluations and inputs to FAO governing body documents.

Specific Functions

• Supports the planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting of the regional initiative on Resilience (e.g. Sahel and Horn of Africa multiyear programme, collaboration between African Union Commission, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Permanent Interstate Committee for drought control in the Sahel (CILSS) and FAO);
• Identifies strategic priorities for FAO's role in emergency contexts and contributes to improved preparedness for, and effective management of disasters and crises responses in the region;
• Promotes programmes enhancing resilience and creates partnerships with Governments, UN agencies, regional and inter-regional institutions;
• Contributes to, and prepare project profiles, full-fledged project documents and ad-hoc reports/articles related to FAO's resilience strategy in Africa;
• Encourages and expands resource mobilization efforts at regional, subregional and country levels;
• Prepares briefs and comprehensive reports and ensures timely dissemination of information on FAO resilience programme; promotes learning through the documentation and analysis of information and experience on enhancing resilience; facilitates the compilation of good practices in SO5 related topics for FAO and interested partners;
• Supervises preparation of various written outputs, e.g. background papers, analysis, substantial sections of reports and studies, inputs to publications;
• Develops training material for resilience-related initiatives and provides direct technical support and capacity development to countries, regional bodies, FAO representations and partners in the field of resilience analysis and programming.

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree in agriculture, economics, business administration and management, international relations or other field related to the work of the Organization
• Seven years of relevant experience in public and/or private sectors related to programming, planning and technical cooperation in food and agriculture, including experience in developing countries, especially in countries that are vulnerable to disaster or other emergency risks.
• Working knowledge of English and limited knowledge of another FAO official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) 

Competencies

• Results Focus
• Team Work
• 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;
• Demonstrated experience in needs assessments, cluster coordination, UN consolidated appeal process and/or  emergency operations for Level 3 emergencies;
• Demonstrated experience in rehabilitation and humanitarian policies development, programme formulation and implementation;
• Depth of experience in identifying and preparing programme strategies and policy position on humanitarian and transition contexts, at both global and country levels;
• Extent of knowledge of international humanitarian architecture, including agencies, NGOs, and other partners;
• Experience in response management and surge support coordination.