Role Description

This Call for Interest is for a Temporary Professional Officer (TPO) position, which is a short-term contract. The appointment of a short-term staff member carries no expectation of continuous employment or conversion to any other type of appointment with IFAD.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency dedicated to eradicating rural poverty and hunger. It does so by investing in rural people. IFAD finances programmes and projects that increase agricultural productivity and raise rural incomes and resilience, and advocates at the local, national and international level for policies that contribute to rural and food systems transformation.

The Strategy and Knowledge Department (SKD) provides expert guidance on IFAD's strategic direction, thematic priorities and technical quality of IFAD’s operations. It plays a critical role in providing technical expertise to operational teams to enhance development effectiveness, by generating  and  disseminating IFAD’s development knowledge and evidence on strategic themes, and encouraging innovative application of cutting-edge global knowledge and evidence in IFAD investments to support countries tackle their most complex development challenges in fostering inclusive and sustainable rural transformation. SKD is composed of the (i) Environment, Climate, Gender and Social Inclusion Division (ECG); the (ii) Sustainable Production, Markets and Institutions Division (PMI); and the (iii) Research and Impact Assessment Division (RIA).

The Sustainable Production, Markets and Institutions Division (PMI) provides technical support to IFAD Country Programs to ensure the proper application of corporate quality standards required for achieving development results and impact in key thematic areas, including sustainable food production systems (i.e. fisheries, livestock, and agronomy), land governance and tenure, natural resources management, water and rural infrastructure, financial services, rural markets and value chains, rural institutions, and ICT for Development (ICT4D). It contributes to the generation of evidence and knowledge on these themes, and facilitates their use in IFAD’s projects and policy engagement.

The Food and Agriculture Resilience Mission (FARM) Initiative: In May 2022 France as the EU Presidency launched a new umbrella initiative, the Food and Agriculture Resilience Mission (FARM) to address short and medium term food security and nutrition and promote longer term sustainable and resilient food systems. This initiative is part of the overall global response to the food crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine. The has three distinct pillars:

• Pillar 1: Fighting speculation around commodity prices and stocks
• Pillar 2: Solidarity to support Ukraine’s agricultural capabilities
• Pillar 3: Contribute to strengthening local agricultural production in vulnerable countries in Africa and elsewhere to alleviate shortages

IFAD is leading pillar 3, in collaboration with other international financial institutions (IFIs), regional partners and stakeholders. and hosting its secretariat.

The Secretariat of the Food and Agriculture Resilience Mission (FARM) Pillar 3 is housed in IFAD in PMI, within the SKD Department. Its mandate is to support and manage the daily activities of FARM Pillar 3  and deliver on the pillar objectives– ‘strengthening local production systems and productivity, meeting local and regional demand for nutritious food, building markets and reducing food loss to support the development of sustainable and resilient food systems, in line with country priorities and strategies’. During the first phase of the secretariat work, focus will be to identify three country cases where the Europe Team and IFAD are already investing, and which could benefit from additional investment from other bilateral and multilateral partners. This would focus on specific country/value chain or system-wide approach to agriculture sector transformation. These initial country cases will constitute "demonstrators" of the acceleration provided by FARM Pillar 3.

The Senior Global Technical Specialist (markets and value chains) plays a key role managing the and coordinating the secretariat and supervising the work of a small team of experts in the successful delivery of FARM Pillar 3 strategic objectives and work programme. The incumbent also coordinates with key relevant external stakeholders as well as internal experts in IFAD.

The Senior Technical Specialist – FARM Secretariat works under the overall guidance of the Director PMI as well as the FARM Pillar 3 Advisory Committee, and supervision of the Lead Global Technical Specialist for Rural Finance, Markets and Value Chains in PMI.  The incumbent works collaboratively with other staff in PMI and with other Divisions in IFAD.

LEADING THE SECRETARIAT: The incumbent will be responsible for:

• Setting the work plan for the FARM Pillar 3 Secretariat to be reviewed and agreed by the FARM Pillar 3 Advisory Committee (AC) and overseeing its implementation and responding to evolving priorities and opportunities
• Overseeing the use of the FARM Pillar 3 budget and the preparation of budget reports.
• Acting as Secretary to the FARM Pillar 3 AC and reporting to the Advisory Committee on progress in the implementation of annual work plans,
• Reporting on progress on FARM Pillar 3 to IFAD Senior Management
• Staff management through recruitment, capacity building, coaching and mentoring of FARM Pillar 3 Secretariat staff, supervision and evaluation of performance of consultants, short-term staff and interns.

TECHNICAL ADVICE: The incumbent will provide technical support to development and implementation of FARM value chain country studies focussing on:

Leading the preparation of terms of references and recruitment of consultants to implement the country case studies;

Reviewing submissions for the country case studies, ensure high quality standards to submit to the AC for review and approval;

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• Ensure the case studies identify effective approaches, practices and technologies opportunities that allow:

1. Small-scale producers and rural communities to improve their access to markets and benefit from more inclusive and sustainable value chains, gender equality, climate adaptation and mitigation, social inclusion and opportunities for youth, as well as the use of ICT4D solutions.

2. Strengthening institutional, business and financial capacities of small farmers and their organizations to access markets, negotiate better prices and conditions with other market players, and improve their returns from market/value chain participation

3. Brokering partnerships with private sector actors (including public-private producer partnerships (4Ps) and attracting private investments along the value chain

4. Collaborate with other experts in PMI to identify and support the development of appropriate instruments and technologies related to markets and value chains such as value chain finance instruments, ICT4D applications, non-sovereign private sector operations; etc.; and use and apply IFAD’s pro-poor value chain development guidelines and other IFAD related technical tools and guides to support design and implementation of value chain projects.

• Participating in in-country and virtual missions in support of FARM Pillar 3 activities as relevant.

PARTNERSHIP BUILDING AND OUTREACH ACTIVITIES: The incumbent develops and maintains a network of strategic partnerships that can help advance FARM Pillar 3 mandate and messages around rural and food system transformation in the global debate focusing on:

• Developing peer contacts inside and outside IFAD to keep up-to-date on activities at the country and regional levels
• Building partnerships with centers of excellence, complementary technical organizations and specialized departments of other development institutions (including United Nations agencies, International Financial Institutions, bilateral cooperation agencies, non-governmental organizations, and others) as strategic partners
• Strengthening FARM Pillar 3  representation and communication in policy processes (including representing FARM Pillar 3  at international, regional, inter-agency meetings, seminars and conferences)
• Developing and cultivating alliances in key global policy forums to strengthen FARM Pillar 3  influence over time, with a strategic focus on specific themes.   

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT: Systematizing and disseminating knowledge and good practices through:

• Developing specific knowledge products, toolkits, guidelines and learning events.
• Maintaining a global network of peer contacts and partners inside and outside IFAD to facilitate brokering of information and knowledge exchanges.
• Representing FARM Pillar 3 in global events on technical matters relevant to FARM Pillar 3.
• Preparation of FARM Pillar 3 core strategy and knowledge documents (narratives, concept notes, governance documents, policy briefs, publications)
• Directing FARM Pillar 3 events (conferences, workshops, side events) to influence and inform policy and strategy decisions at the regional and global levels.
• Contributing to ensure that IFAD senior management and FARM Pillar 3 AC and donors are regularly and adequately briefed to engage effectively in high level fora with policy implications for rural transformation.

Organizational Competencies - Level 2

• Strategic thinking and organizational development: Strategic leadership
• Demonstrating Leadership: Leads by example; initiates and supports change
• Learning, sharing knowledge and innovating: Challenges, innovates and contributes to a learning culture
• Focusing on clients: Contributes to a client-focused culture
• Problem solving and decision making: Solves complex problems and makes decisions that have wider corporate impact
• Managing time, resources and information: Coordinates wider use of time, information and/or resources
• Team Work: Fosters a cohesive team environment
• Communicating and negotiating: Acquires and uses a wide range of communication styles and skills
• Building relationships and partnerships: Builds and maintains strategic partnerships internally and externally
• Managing performance and developing staff: Manages staff and teams effectively

Education:

Level - Advanced university degree from an accredited institution in a technically relevant area.

Areas - Agriculture/rural development; economics (agricultural/natural resource/environmental economics, behavioural economics, development economics, trade, etc.); finance, business management, marketing or commerce, and other agriculture specializations

Degree must be from an accredited institution listed on https://www.whed.net/home.php

Work experience:

• At least eight (8) years of progressively responsible professional experience in and demonstrated understanding of, development investment projects and interventions in the field of markets and value chains development, of which at least 3 of the 8 years of experience should be at the international level.
• Proven exprience in the design and coordination of pro-poor value chain development projects leveraging on innovative solutions to emerging issues, including the use of digital/ICT solutions, working with the private sector and developing value chain financing instruments/initiatives and other forms of collaborations with the private sector. 
• Two (2) years in a multi-cultural organization or national organization providing support on a global scope.
• Field experience in fragility-affected countries would be an asset.

Languages:

• Required English (4 – Excellent)
• Desirable: French, Spanish, or Arabic (3 – Good)

A Temporary Professional Officer (TPO) is a short-term staff member. The appointment of a short-term staff member carries no expectation of continuous employment or conversion to any other type of appointment with IFAD.

In general, an appointment of a short-term staff member may be renewed upon mutual agreement and satisfactory performance, provided however that short-term appointments granted by the same Division/unit shall not exceed 18 cumulative months (including extensions). In no case the total duration of short-term appointments shall exceed 36 cumulative months (including extensions). Once the short-term staff member has completed the cumulative 36-month limit, that staff member may not be re-employed by the Fund on a short-term appointment. 

IFAD is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of ethnic, social or political background, colour, nationality, religion, age, gender, disability, marital status, family size or sexual orientation. 

Please be aware of fraudulent job offers. IFAD does not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process. Official communication from IFAD will always come from e-mails ending in @ifad.org

Candidates may be required to participate in interviews.

In the interest of making most cost-effective use of funds and resources, we are only able to respond to applicants who are short-listed for interview. Candidates who do not receive any feedback within three months should consider their application unsuccessful.