Young Professional Officer (Resilience to Climate Change and Disasters)

FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device
The length of appointment for internal FAO candidates will be established in accordance with applicable policies pertaining to the extension of appointments.

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• FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture
• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply
• Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAO’s values
• FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination
  
• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality
• FAO staff are subject to the authority of the Director-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the Organization.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.

Organizational Setting

The Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (REU) 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 oversees the network of Country Offices and the Subregional Office for Central Asia. It ensures a multidisciplinary approach to programmes, identifies priority areas of action for the Organization in the region and, in collaboration with offices and divisions at headquarters, develops, promotes and oversees FAO’s strategic response to regional priorities. REU advises the Country Offices in the region on Corporate priorities such as the Strategic Framework and on the incorporation of regional priorities into the Organization’s Programme of Work and Budget. REU formulates, implements approved programmes and monitors the level of programme implementation in the region and draws attention to problems and deficiencies. REU develops and maintains relations with region-wide institutions including the Regional Economic Integration Organizations (REIOs).

The Regional Priorities are translated by the Regional Priority Programmes (RPPs) into a programmatic umbrella for the region supporting the formulation of the Country Programmes and the contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) at country level facilitating the achievement of the national Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and contribution to the Programme Priority Areas of the FAO Strategic Framework and the FAO Strategy on Climate Change amongst others. The RPPs support the regional policy dialogue on food security, agriculture and rural development issues, facilitate the emergence of regional partnerships, and support capacity development and resource mobilization for climate action, food security, agriculture and rural development in the region.

The Young Professional Officer (Resilience to Climate Change and Disasters) maintains regular contacts with professional officers at the Regional Office for functional guidance on matters relating to Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Climate Change, climate actions and resilience to disasters.

Reporting Lines
The Young Professional Officer (Resilience to Climate Change and Disasters) reports to the Field Programme Officer/Regional Resilience Focal Point as primary supervisor and works under the guidance of the Natural Resources Officer (Climate Change).
Technical Focus
Support to planning, delivery and reporting of climate change and disaster resilience initiatives in the agriculture, forestry, fisheries sectors including DRR, Climate Change, climate actions, preparedness for, and response to shocks and crises. Provision of technical assistance and support to research, collection of dada and information, technical analysis for the delivery of regional and country programme/projects and capacity development initiatives related to climate change and disaster resilience in agriculture, including capacity development on preparedness, adaptation/mitigation and response to shocks and crises.
Key Results
Provision of technical assistance and support to research, collection of data and information, technical analysis for the delivery of regional and country programme/projects and capacity development initiatives related to climate change and disasters resilience in agriculture including capacity development on preparedness, adaptation/mitigation and response to shocks and crises.
Key Functions
•Analyses relevant technical social, economic, environmental, and technology information, data and/or statistics for input in various documents;
•Maintains records and updates databases and web pages;
•Provides technical support to various projects;
•Collaborates in the development of training tools and materials and the organization of workshops/seminars etc.;
•Participates in the organization and follow-up of meetings, consultations and conferences, the production of required materials and the provision of information and assistance to partners.
Specific Functions
•Supports with the formulation of DRR, Climate Change, climate action (including climate finance Global Environment Facility, Green Climate Fund, Adaptation Fund), preparedness, response and resilience projects and the identification, validation and scaling up of DRR and Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) good practices and technologies in agriculture;
•Assists the regional and subregional offices in providing technical support and technical backstopping to implementation of country and regional projects on DRR, Climate Change, climate action, resilience to and preparedness for response to shock and crises in agriculture;
•Assists the regional and subregional offices in providing technical support to risks and vulnerability assessments, joint Post Disaster Need Assessment (PDNAs) and sectoral damage and need assessments for agriculture;
•Supports regional and country activities on damage and loss in agriculture, in particular in relation to Sendai Framework Monitor indicator C2 “Direct agricultural loss attributed to disasters” including countries’ capacity development and upgrade information management systems and data collection needed for the reporting against the indicator C2 as well as in relation to the operationalization of he Santiago Network of Loss and Damage and the Fund on Loss and Damage for vulnerable countries under the UNFCCC Paris Agreement;
•Supports with capacity development of national government officers, farmers, youth and vulnerable groups on Climate Change, DRR, preparedness and resilience in the agriculture sector;
•Provides technical support to the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) update, revision, development and implementation process of countries as needed;
•Supports the regional office’s participation in and contribution to UN regional coordination mechanisms (CADRI, UNDRR, OCHA) and coordination with regional bodies and organizations (e.g. Сenter for Emergency Situations and Disaster Risk Reduction (CESDRR)), including participation in joint scoping mission, capacity assessments and UN joint services to countries on DRR;
•Supports the engagement of private sectors into national Climate change adaptation and mitigation processes including development of stakeholder engagement plans.
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CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements
•Advanced university degree in agriculture, agro-climatology, natural resources, natural sciences, biology, climate change, disaster risk management or a related field.
•One year of relevant experience in sustainable agriculture development, climate change and/or climate risk management and/or disaster risk reduction and/or disasters related issues in agriculture.
•Working knowledge (proficient – level C) of English and limited knowledge (intermediate – level B) of another official FAO language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish).
Competencies
•Results Focus
•Teamwork
•Communication
•Building Effective Relationships
•Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
Technical/Functional Skills
•Extent and relevance of experience in disaster risk reduction,climate change and climate smart agriculture.
•Extent and relevance of experience in project implementation is desirable.
•Working knowledge (proficient – level C) of Russian will be considered an asset.
•Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions is desirable.
NB Please note that candidates should be 32 years of age or younger as of 31 December of the year of application.

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FAO staff are expected to adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency.

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GENERAL INFORMATION
  • Extension of fixed term appointments is based on certification of performance and availability of funds
  • FAO reserves the right not to make an appointment.
  • The Young Professionals Programme (YPP) is a recruitment initiative targeted at talented, qualified young professionals who are mainly nationals of non or underrepresented members. Priority consideration will be given to candidates from Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) and developing countries in general, to start a career as an international civil servant with FAO. 

CONDITIONS OF SERVICE

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
Other benefits, subject to eligibility, include:
• Dependency allowances
• Rental subsidy
• Education grant for children
• Home leave travel
• 30 working days of annual leave per year
• Pension fund entitlements under the UN Joint Staff Pension Fund
• International health insurance; optional life insurance
• Disability protection
FAO encourages a positive workplace culture to increase inclusivity and diversity within its workforce. FAO applies measures in which all staff members contribute equally and in full to the work and development of the Organization. This includes:
• elements of family-friendly policies
• flexible working arrangements
• standards of conduct.
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HOW TO APPLY

• To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, and language skills
• Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile
• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application
• Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/
• Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work, character, education, military and police records to ascertain any and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications
• Incomplete applications will not be considered
• Personal information provided on your application may be shared within FAO and with other companies acting on FAO’s behalf to provide employment support services such as pre-screening of applications, assessment tests, background checks and other related services. You will be asked to provide your consent before submitting your application. You may withdraw consent at any time, by withdrawing your application, in such case FAO will no longer be able to consider your application
• Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered
• Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile
• We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.

If you need help or have queries, please create a one-time registration with FAO’s client support team for further assistance: https://fao.service-now.com/csp

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