GEF Programming Specialist - Food and Agriculture Organization

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 conserving the environment. FAO has been an implementing agency of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) since 2006. As a GEF Agency, FAO works with Member Nations and partners to access GEF financing for strategic projects that help countries to address global environmental challenges while improving agriculture production, accessing value chains, reducing hunger and improving nutrition.

The FAO-GEF portfolio in Africa comprises 28 percent of the total global FAO-GEF portfolio (2018/22), with more than 70 projects valued at USD $350 million. The portfolio includes projects from all five GEF Trust Fund focal areas, as well as the LDCF and the SCCF, which is valued at USD 134 million, or 38 percent, of the entire FAO-GEF regional portfolio.

The portfolio is growing steadily as countries demand more of what FAO has to offer, even more so as the GEF-8 Programme is aligned more than ever with FAO’s core competencies and strategic priorities in the areas of sustainable agriculture, fisheries, forestry and land and water management. The GEF-8 Programme will emphasize funding for LDCs and SIDS, and there is a strong likelihood that Africa will receive more GEF grant financing opportunities in GEF-8 than in any previous GEF replenishment period.

Reporting Lines

The FAO-GEF Programming Specialist (GPS) will report to the RAF Deputy Regional representative for Africa on a day-to-day basis in technical coordination with the Forestry Officer, Subregional Office for Southern Africa, and under the general guidance of the FAO-GEF Regional Lead for RAF-RNE in the OCB-GEF Coordination Unit.

Technical Focus

The FAO-GEF Programming Specialist (GPS) will be supporting the Regional Office in building its technical and operational capacity to serve the RAF FAO-GEF portfolio. Dedicated exclusively to FAO-GEF programming and project cycle management, the GPS will be supporting regional management and technical officers, providing day-to-day GEF technical and/or operational guidance and support. In doing so, she/he will liaise closely with the HQ-based FAO-GEF Coordination Unit and FAO-GEF focal points at the region and sub-regional level (SFW, SFE, SFC and SFS).

Tasks and responsibilities

• Facilitating the coordination of support with FAO-GEF CU and Sub-regions to country offices, in order to develop the GEF8 pipeline and strategy, including the participation in Programmatic Areas of Work (PAWs);
• Supporting Country Offices in identifying and formulating project ideas and entry-points for GEF 8 funding as requested by governments, and assessing coherence with FAO’s priorities and strategic framework, and Country Programme Framework (CPF) and donor guidelines;
• In consultation with FAO-GEF focal points at the sub-regional level, LTOs and GEF CU (and possibly GCF/AF units in FAO), screening project ideas for GEF and LDCF/SCCF financing, securing project proponents understand FAO and donor standards, rules and procedures, before pipeline entry;
• Supporting country offices in establishing effective communications and collaboration with GEF operational focal points and key national and international institutions for GEF projects development and implementation.
• Supporting design teams of project concepts in the pipeline, by providing substantive guidance, securing alignment with national priorities of recipient countries, FAO´s Strategic Objectives, and programme priorities and operational procedures of GEF and LDCF/SCCF;
• Participating in scoping and project formulation missions;
• Supporting country offices in the liaison with potential co-financing agencies and institutions, and assisting formulation teams with the identification of relevant project institutional and management arrangements, including in particular the identification and screening/evaluation of potential project execution partners;
• Identifying and sourcing of technical expertise, i.e., preparation of TORs, identification of consultants, evaluation of experts, and review of consultants’/ experts’ reports;
• Assisting project formulation teams in meeting stringent submission deadlines, by mapping progress against agreed upon calendars;
• Supporting the identification of synergies and complementarity with other environmental and climate change funding (i.e., GCF, Adaptation Fund, etc) including identifying relevant initiatives and possibilities for replication and scale-up.
• Participating in regional and sub-regional events including MDT meetings.
• Assisting in processes related to inception, contracting and start-up of projects including establishment of indicators, benchmarks, work plans and inception workshops;
• Assist LTOs in providing technical oversight and guidance on activities carried out by projects, ensuring coherence with FAO’s CPF and strategic framework and if requested coordinate technical inputs from LTOs;
• Assist LTOs and country offices in completing the annual Project Implementation Review (PIR) reports, based on the six monthly project progress reports (PPR) and findings from supervision and technical backstopping missions;
• Supporting the preparation of management responses ensuing from evaluations and providing BH and LTOs oversight to their implementation;
• Supporting the preparation and delivery of relevant FAO-GEF programme and policy knowledge and learning events and products, targeted to FAO internal audiences and possibly externa stakeholders;
• Supporting the regional office lead in preparing Africa based regional and sub-regional GEF meetings;
• Responding to queries on project progress, impacts and lessons; and
• Supporting the preparation of regional reports and communication materials with respect to the FAO-GEF portfolio in RAF.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree in natural resources management, climate change, biodiversity, geography, agronomy, forestry, or a related field
• Five years of relevant experience in designing and implementing GEF or LDCF/SCCF programmes and projects, in particular in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Working knowledge (proficient – level C) of English. Working Knowledge of French (proficient – level C) would be an asset

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 in Africa is desirable
• Working experience in FAO, a highly valued asset.
• Excellent communication skills (written and spoken)
• Demonstrated coordination and management experience of a project or project portfolio.
   

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