The Regional Office for Africa (FAORAF) 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. FAORAF’s Decent Employment in agri-food systems contributes to FAO’s strategic objective on reducing rural poverty and its new Strategic Framework (2022-2031) primarily through its ‘Better Life” aspiration and in particular BL2: Inclusive Rural Transformation.

FAORAF is implementing the Opportunities for Youth in Africa: Accelerating Jobs Creation in Agriculture and Agribusiness (OYA) programme. The OYA programme was developed jointly with the United Nations Industrial Development Organizations (UNIDO), and in collaboration with the African Union Commission, in order to respond to the need for accelerated efforts in job creation and empowerment of African youth. The programme was launched in August 2019 at the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7) in Yokohama, Japan with support from the Government of Japan. It serves as an example of UN inter-agency collaboration in striving for Delivering as One. OYA is a 5-year programme targeting the pilot countries of Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Ghana, Tunisia and Zambia. The development objective of the OYA programme is to increase decent employment and self-employment opportunities in agriculture (on- and off-farm) and agribusiness for young women and men.

To ensure the successful implementation the OYA, the Consultant will lead and coordinate all project activities, provide overall guidance and coordination to project teams at national level, liaise with FAORAF and HQ teams, and collaborate with the UNIDO project counterparts.

Reporting Lines

The International Youth Employment Specialist will perform his/her duties under the overall supervision of the RAF ‘Decent Employment in agri-food systems’ Programme Leader and alternate, in close collaboration with the wider OYA project task force, FAORAF Programme teams and FAO focal points in the target countries.

Technical Focus

The International Youth Employment Specialist will provide overall technical, operational, managerial and coordination leadership to the OYA project (GCP/INT/920/MUL) to ensure that the activities are effectively implemented within the required timelines. In particular, the Specialist will undertake the below tasks.

Tasks And Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership and oversight for the OYA project, including in FAO systems, ensuring the implementation of project activities at regional and national level, in collaboration and coordination with national project focal points and project teams at regional and national levels;
• Ensure coordination and collaboration with UNIDO in the implementation of project activities at regional and national level, as well for potential global-level events;
• Support the Country Offices in the implementation of the project activities and provide technical backstopping, including for knowledge generation, identification of target beneficiaries, value chain assessments, capacity building, policy support, etc. and liaising with other FAO divisions, country teams, UNIDO and other stakeholders as needed;
• Be responsible for gender mainstreaming into project activities and products, for ensuring achievement of gender-related targets and objectives, and for gender-sensitive monitoring and evaluation.
• Supervise, and contribute to the development and dissemination of publications, case studies, advocacy materials and other communication materials to enhance the visibility of the project’s activities;
• Prepare and deliver presentations on the project activities, outcomes and impact on behalf of FAO;
• Promote knowledge sharing and best practices at international meetings and conferences and influence partners in stakeholder consultations.
• Identify, develop and strengthen relations with NGOs, CBOs, Government Ministries, United Nations agencies and International Organizations in selected countries.
• Coordinate the monitoring and evaluation of project activities and the dissemination of results and lessons learnt, including preparation of various written outputs such as project progress reports, briefs, etc.;
• Contribute to partnerships development and resource mobilization activities at regional and national levels;
• Perform other related duties as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in rural development, political or social sciences, law, agriculture or other related field.
• At least 5 years of relevant experience in policy assistance and/or programme development and management in the field of rural development and/or poverty reduction and/or rural employment and/or agribusiness, with experience related to promoting youth employment in agriculture and agribusiness, and entrepreneurship.
• Working knowledge of English is required and limited knowledge of one of the other FAO languages, preferably French, for Consultants. For PSA.SBS working knowledge of English.

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Selection Criteria

• Extent of knowledge and experience in policy support and technical assistance as well as programme/project development in the fields of agriculture and/or poverty reduction and/or rural development and/or agribusiness with relevance for promoting decent youth employment in agriculture in developing countries.
• Extent of knowledge of decent employment and youth employment in agriculture, and demonstrated experience in promoting solutions to typical challenges facing different groups of young men and women.
• Extent of experience in developing and delivering capacity development approaches as well as producing capacity development materials and guidance documents on decent employment for agricultural stakeholders. Experience in more than one location, particularly in field position in Africa is desirable.
• Demonstrated capacity to write technical reports in English, as well as quality of both oral and written communication.
• Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain partnerships and to mobilize resources.
• Experience in working in multidisciplinary and multi-cultural teams.
• Ability to successfully negotiate on sensitive subjects with governments and stakeholders, and experience working in the UN and/or other international organizations, including inter-agency collaboration, is considered an asset.