National Project Coordinator – Climate Finances at Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the 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. FAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and malnutrition. The main aim of the FAO country office in Zambia, which is headed by the FAO Representative, is to assist the Government to develop policies, programmes and projects to achieve food security and to reduce hunger and malnutrition, to help develop the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors, and to use their environmental and natural resources in a sustainable manner.

The project “Scaling-up Public Private co-investments for climate action in agrifood systems”, funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) aims to contribute to the creation of an enabling environment that channels capital towards sustainable practices in agrifood systems, by involving the private sector in the co-creation of sectoral investment plans and project idea and concept notes.

Reporting lines

The National Project Coordinator will work under the overall supervision of FAO Representative and the direct supervision of the Assistant FAO Representative (programmes) and technical guidance of the Lead Technical Officer (LTO) in the FAO Office of Climate Change, Environment and Biodiversity (OCB), and in close collaboration with the relevant staff in FAO Zambia and counterpart entities such as NDA. The incumbent will carry out the following tasks:

Technical Focus

The incumbent will support and manage the day-to-day implementation of the readiness project. He/she will closely liaise with other environmental and sustainability related project  to ensure a coherent front and approach in contributing to targets of the nationally determined contributions to climate change mitigation.

Tasks and responsibilities

•    Lead, monitor, and coordinate project activities, track progress, and identify risks, ensuring alignment with FAO guidelines and GCF requirements.
•    Manage project task and administer the budget to deliver project activities as planned.
•    Facilitate fluid communication between all stakeholders of the project, including the Project Steering Committee, the Project Management Unit, and the Readiness Project Task Force.
•    Ensure high-quality delivery of project outputs, meeting FAO and GCF standards.
•    Organize a national project inception workshop with FAO country office and government stakeholders.
•    Oversee consultant work, provide technical support, and ensure quality deliverables.
•    Collaborate with external expertise, private sector stakeholders, and national institutes to leverage knowledge and resources.
•    Prepare workshop, training, and project progress reports using standard formats for GCF, FAOR, and global teams.
•    Support the NDA and other national key public and private stakeholders in strengthening public/private collaboration, including identifying capacity building needs and develop training plans, lead workshops, and monitor online and in-person presentations.
•    Integrate gender, youth, communication, human rights, monitoring, and evaluation into project activities.
•    Contribute to the project reporting needs, supporting the global team in the submission of donor reporting requirements.
•    Perform any other relevant tasks as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

Candidates should meet the following:
•    Advanced Degree in the field of Finance, Economics, Environmental or Social Sciences, Natural Resource Management, Climate change, Rural Development, or closely related fields.
•    More than five years of experience in project management and/or coordination of environmental projects, or related disciplines with an international NGO, Government of Zambia, or UN Organization in a multi-cultural office environment is required.
•    Working knowledge of the English language [i.e. spoken and written]
•    Zambian National

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills 

•    Experience in Climate change and agriculture
•    Ability to lead, manage and coordinate projects, including stakeholder assessments and coordination
•    Experience in organisation and delivery of training
•    Capacity to coordinate studies and assessments
•    Expertise in engaging with the private sector
•    Expertise in climate finance
•    Experience in managing development programmes/projects, results-based management and M&E.
•    Excellent interpersonal communication and coordination skills, and a proven ability to work constructively with a variety of stakeholders to achieve common goals.
•    Ability to deal with political, technical, and people management challenges, administer budgets and work effectively with all groups involved in the project.
•    Excellent writing skills.
•    Strong familiarity with environment and climate change management issues in Zambia, including the political, institutional and socio-economic contexts.
•    Strong computer skills with extensive experience in word processing, spreadsheets, and other basic software applications.

Selection Criteria

Please note that all candidates should possess computer/word-processing skills and should be capable of working with people of different national and cultural backgrounds. Candidates will be assessed against the following:
•    Extent and relevance of experience in project management, planning and implementation of projects.
•    Extent and relevance of experience working with private sector, NGOs, academic and government institutions on youth-inclusive and employment-centred agrifood-system development policies, strategies and programmes.
•    Level of communication skills, good writing skills including ability to write concise technical reports in English is a strong asset.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION