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 UN that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. FAO's goal is to achieve food security for all and ensure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. With 195 Members (194 countries and the European Union), FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide.
FAO India has the mandate to support the Government of India through its representation to improve livelihoods of farmers, promote agrifood systems transformation, and respond to the challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation, through developing resilient and sustainable agrifood systems
All FAO interventions in India focus on promoting sustainable agriculture and enhancing capacities of stakeholders, especially small and marginalized farmers. In addition, some of the projects also work with farmers collectives. Along the course of project implementation, a number of targeted training and capacity building programs and events are organised, from training of trainers on sustainable agriculture to awareness generation and training on climate resilience and climate smart agriculture. Some of the key projects implemented by FAO in India are as follows
GCF Readiness Project: The Green Climate Fund has approved the Government of India's GCF Readiness Proposal for Agriculture Sector Readiness for enhanced climate finance in India. The goal of the GCF Readiness Proposal is to enhance India's capacity to develop subnational climate finance investment programs and projects linked to adaptation and resilience priorities for the agriculture sector.
The Readiness Support Project will help address the following three barriers -
• Fragmentation in planning and monitoring climate action in agriculture sector.
• Limited experience in accessing climate finance.
• Limited private sector engagement for climate action in the agriculture sector
The proposed activities and outputs under this Readiness Proposal will contribute to achieve Outcomes 2.2, 2.4 and 4.1 – of the 2019-2021 Readiness Programme Strategy. Specifically,
• Outcome 2.2 - GCF recipient countries have developed or enhanced strategic frameworks to address policy gaps,
improve sectoral expertise and enhance enabling environments for GCF programming in low-emission investment.
• Outcome 2.4 - Strategies for transforming and attracting private sector investment for low emissions and resilience
developed and being used
• Outcome 4.1- An increase in the number of quality project state plans developed and submitted.
The Outputs supporting this Outcome are -
• Sub-national agriculture and climate investment plans (Output 2.2.1);
• Strategies to engage with private sector on building climate resilient agriculture sector (Output 2.4.1)
• GCF Project State plans supporting implementation of sub-national agriculture climate investment plans (Output 4.1.1)
The project will be implemented in close coordination with the National Designated Authority (NOA) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. The proposed states for the activities under the GCF Readiness Proposal are Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Odisha.
FAO India is recruiting National Specialist-Climate Resilient Agriculture Value Chains. The position is based in Bhopal Madhya Pradesh.
Reporting Lines
The candidate will be under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative and Assistant FAOR (Programmes) in India. She/he will work with the National expert Value chain and markets, relevant Project Managers and other GCF team members.
Technical Focus
Content development on various topics within the broad framework of climate resilience and adaptation, value chains, including climate resilient sustainable agriculture and agroforestry. The candidate will be primarily responsible for developing Climate Resilient Agriculture Investment Plans (CRAIPs) at the sub national level based on an analysis of priority value chains spanning crops, horticulture, allied sector – dairy, poultry, etc., non-timber forest produce, agroforestry, fishery, etc. Document and contribute to specific sections/chapters of the Climate Resilient Agriculture Investment Plans. Work on compiling the CRAIP reports, collating findings from all the Working Papers and other support documents.
Tasks and responsibilities
Specifically, the incumbent will undertake the following tasks:
• Contribute to drafting the Punjab CRAIP section on rolling out CSA investment recommendations in coordination between the federal government and provincial governments, including outlining institutional arrangements, coordination mechanisms, and steps for operationalizing CSA investments at scale.
• Support the preparation of the Punjab CRAIP section on conclusions and ways forward for scaling up CSAIP, summarizing key findings, proposing strategies for scaling interventions, and identifying opportunities for leveraging private sector and international finance.
• Assist in shaping the Odisha CRAIP section on rolling out CSA investment recommendations in coordination between the federal government and state government, detailing implementation pathways, roles of key agencies, and monitoring systems.
• Collaborate on finalizing the Odisha CRAIP section on conclusions and ways forward for scaling up CSAIP, consolidating lessons learned and providing a roadmap for replication and sustainability.
• Provide support in conducting district-level consultations in high-risk districts to identify and prioritize investment options for climate-resilient agriculture. These consultations should engage local stakeholders, farmer groups, and district officials to ensure context-specific recommendations.
• Assist in facilitating district-level validation workshops to review and confirm CRAIP recommendations with local stakeholders, ensuring alignment with ground realities and stakeholder consensus.
Miscellaneous
• Support FAOR/AFAOR for meetings and representations when requested by the FAOIN leadership.
• Collaborate with the FAO Country Office, FAO Lead Technical Officers (LTOs), other National Experts as required
• Any other duties assigned by the FAOIN leadership.
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements
• Advanced degree in agriculture, rural development, ecology, social sciences, or related subjects
• At least 10 years of working experience in sustainable agriculture, climate change adaptation, capacity building and material development
• Working knowledge (level C) of spoken and written English is essential and working proficiency in Hindi is desirable.
• National of India or resident with a valid work permit.
FAO Core Competencies
• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
Technical/Functional Skills
• Experience working with government agencies on development projects.
• Extensive experience managing developing capacity building resources and delivering training events
• Knowledge and experience in sustainable agriculture, climate change, carbon markets and/or communities.
• Strong technical knowledge and management skills, including the ability to provide strategic guidance, technical oversight, mentor staff, build strong teams, develop work plans, and manage budgets and project expenditures.
• Excellent multicultural and interpersonal skills, with experience networking with partners at all levels (ministries, donors, private sector, NGOs, and local community-based organizations).
• Experience working with international and donor organizations (e.g., World Bank, IFAD, Asian Development Bank) on the implementation of participatory projects.
• Proven written, analytical, computing, presentation, and reporting skills.
