Stellenbeschreibung

IFAD – International Fund for Agricultural Development

Junior Professional Officer Programme (JPO) Chiffre Nr. 2024-2-59

I. JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title:                                           Junior Professional Officer, Junior Advisor to the Vice-President

Organization:                                    International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

Department:                                      Corporate Services Support Group (CSSG)

Division/ Unit                                     Office of the President and Vice-President

Country and Duty Station:               Rome, Italy

Duration and Type of Assignment: 2 years with possibility of extension for another year. The extension of appointment is subject to yearly review concerning priorities, availability of funds, and satisfactory performance.

Please note that for participants of the JPO-Programme two years work experience are mandatory! Relevant work experience can be counted. In order to assess the eligibility of the candidates, we review the relevant experience acquired after obtaining the first university degree (usually bachelor’s degree).

II.         ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

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 advocates at the local, national, and international level for policies that contribute to rural transformation.

Position specific: The JPO will contribute to the overall functions of the Vice-President in the Office of the President and Vice President and assist in the coordination of the respective workflow and administration. In close collaboration with the Senior Advisor to the Vice President, the JPO plays a key role in providing analytical support and technical backstopping to the Vice-President. In particular, the JPO will provide support to the Vice President in their function as Chair of the Operational Strategy and Policy Guidance Committee. In this role the JPO will be analyzing IFAD-funded project concept notes and country strategies and providing related briefs, support initiatives and proposals on policy matters and corporate initiatives as needed, prepare contextual information materials and analyze and monitor political developments, trends and emerging issues that are relevant for IFAD’s mandate as requested by the Vice-President.

III.        SUPERVISION

Direct supervisor: Vice-President

IV.        PURPOSE OF POSITION

The accountabilities/key results expected are:

• Analytical support and support to the review of IFAD-funded project concept notes.

• Support the coordination, monitoring and reporting of activities for the Vice-President.

• Support outreach activities and knowledge management.

• Agent of Change.

V.        DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1) Analytical support and support to policy analysis

a) Support to the Vice President in their function as Chair of the Operational Strategy and Policy Guidance Committee, analyzing IFAD-funded project concept notes and country strategies and providing related briefs.

b) Support the review and analyze proposals on policy matters and corporate initiatives and prepare summaries and analytical briefs on contextual information materials as needed.

c) Identify, analyze and monitor political developments, trends and emerging issues relevant for IFAD’s mandate, and provide inputs on issues to the Vice-President.

d) Prepares briefs, analyses and short papers on various subjects, as needed for the Vice-President.

e) Assess implications and make recommendations on possible policies, strategies and other measures to address issues of concern and to advance mandated objectives as needed.

2) Support the Coordination, Monitoring and Reporting in the Office of the Vice-President

The JPO supports the Vice-President in coordinating the office workflow and administration, demonstrating good judgment with a sense of priorities and effective sequencing of activities or events. In collaboration with the Vice President’s front office, they will monitor progress on initiatives and agreed outputs for the program of work related to the Vice-President, liaising with divisions to ensure effective and timely action.

3) Support the Outreach Activities and Knowledge Management

a) Support the preparation of official missions, meetings (e.g. governing bodies), conferences, events, and internal forums. Prepare written summaries of meetings/visits and assist with follow-up activities, as appropriate. In particular, assist in the preparation and review of concise info packs of relevant material which includes the coordination of policy papers, reports, speeches, presentations, publications, position papers, guidelines, talking points and other documentation involving the Vice-President in committees, conferences, workshops, media events, meetings with key stakeholders, etc.

b) Share knowledge and experiences generated through activities such as analytical studies and ensure access to the latest sources of knowledge and innovation for the Office of the Vice-President.

4) Agent of Change

The incumbent understands and applies the principles of change management and proactively serves as a role model for transformation and capacity for acceptance of change. At this level, the incumbent manages change through consultations with peers at their level in all IFAD offices to build understanding of and to ensure open and regular communications pertaining to current and planned changes.

VI.        IMPACT OF KEY RESULTS/ KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

Technical analysis and synthesis of information and data creates the foundation for the Vice-President‘s decision-making and quality of programme of work for the Vice-President. The work requires good technical analysis and the capacity to apply conceptual models and policy frameworks. The incumbent supports the Vice-President on the corporate programme, goals and objectives by assisting in the coordination, monitoring and reviewing of all initiatives, policies and papers.

VII.       REPRESENTATION/ WORK RELATIONSHIPS

Under the supervision of the Vice-President, in collaboration with the other professional staff within the Office of the President and Vice-President, the incumbent supports the timely, efficient and consistent political alignment of the activities of the Vice-President.

The work relationships of the incumbent are primarily gathering and analyzing of information and building and maintaining collaborative working relationships with counterparts and other partners to maintain and project the image of IFAD as a credible/reliable partner striving for harmonization of development activities.

VIII.      QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS REQUIRED

Education and experience:

• Master´s degree from an accredited institution in economics, international development, rural development, rural finance, business administration, international affairs, management or any related field.
• Degree must be an accredited institution listed on https://www.whed.net/home.php
• At least 2 years’ of progressively relevant professional experience in a related role providing analytical support within an international financial institution, development cooperation agencies and/or the United Nations system. Relevant experiences acquired after the completion of the first university degree, typically at the bachelor’s degree, are considered in the evaluation of candidate eligibility. Relevant internships that offer remuneration through a regular salary can be included as part of the relevant experiences, with token payments do not meet the criteria for salary in this context.
• Proven track record in reviewing and analyzing financial documents.
• Proven exposure to high-level inter-agency debate is an asset.

Language:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, including the ability to set out a coherent analysis in presentations and ability to craft high-quality written products.
• Working knowledge of another working language (Arabic, French, or Spanish) is desirable.

IV. ORGANIZATIONAL/ TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES

Organizational

• Strategic thinking and organizational development: Personal influence.
• Demonstrating Leadership: Personal leadership and attitude to change.
• Learning, sharing knowledge and innovating: Continuously seeks to learn, shares knowledge and innovates.
• Focusing on clients: Focuses on clients.
• Problem solving and decision making: Demonstrates sound problem solving and decision making ability.
• Managing time, resources and information: Manages own time, information and resources effectively.
• Team Work: Contributes effectively to the team.
• Communicating and negotiating: Communicates effectively: creates understanding between self and others.
• Building relationships and partnerships: Builds and maintains effective working relationships.

 Technical

• Demonstrate competency in analysis and synthesis of information.
• Strong diplomatic and communication skills and the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with diverse stakeholders, internally and externally.
• Ability of maintaining a high level of confidentiality and handling sensitive issues with good judgement and care. Act with diplomacy and tact.
• Ability to work under pressure with tight deadlines and multiple priorities on high level activities. Personal resilience and flexibility are important.
• Ensures that in all matters the Office of the Vice-President upholds IFAD’s core values – Results, Integrity, Professionalism and Respect.

X.        LEARNING ELEMENTS:

Learning Points

• Gain insights into the development, coordination and implementation of medium to longer-term International Financial Institutions (IFIs) investment strategies in agriculture and rural development; intensify collaboration with governments and other national stakeholders for rural poverty reduction.
• Expand knowledge on private sector development from a corporate and country portfolio perspective in order to facilitate replication of practices and scaling up.
• Strengthen competencies to support the design, supervision and implementation of IFI financed programmes with a view to maximizing development effectiveness, impact and sustainable development results.

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