Child Labour Specialist

Organizational Setting

The Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division (ESP) coordinates Programme Priority Areas (PPAs) on gender equality, rural women's empowerment and inclusive rural transformation. The Division works with Members and other partners to achieve resilient and inclusive rural livelihoods for people in conditions of vulnerability, reduce gender inequalities and advance women's economic empowerment and promote people-centred climate action and equitable access to natural resources. The Division also leads efforts to integrate the cross-cutting themes of gender, youth and inclusion throughout the work programmes of the Organization. ESP structures its work around three core objectives: 1) build sustainable and resilient livelihoods for vulnerable people in agrifood systems; 2) achieve gender equality and women's empowerment in agrifood systems; and 3) promote equitable, inclusive and sustainable climate action and natural resource management.

Related assignments are located in the Decent Rural Employment Team (DRET), which leads FAO’s corporate work programme on Decent Rural Employment (DRE). In this role, the team and its members interact with relevant Technical Divisions at Headquarters, and Decentralized Offices. All team members contribute to policy support and specialize in specific topics such as migration, youth employment promotion, child labour prevention in agriculture, green jobs, International Labour Standards, etc.

Call for expression of interest for building a roster

The purpose of this call is to populate a roster, for different sub-thematic areas and levels of expertise, made up of talented individuals with experience and background in child labour prevention and remediation, particularly in agriculture and rural development contexts, and related areas of expertise, including private sector engagement, human rights and environmental due diligence, labour rights and safeguard standards, responsible sourcing, supply chain sustainability, decent youth employment, social protection, climate change adaptation, natural resource management, and territorial development approaches. The assignment may involve full-time or part-time functions supporting FAO work across the Organization’s core functions of knowledge generation, capacity development, policy support, technical assistance, advocacy and partnerships. The assignment can be from 1 month up to 11 months. The possibility of extension is subject to satisfactory performance and the Organization’s operational needs and available resources.

Reporting Lines

The Child Labour Specialist will be under the overall supervision of the Director of ESP, and the direct supervision of the DRE Team Leader and one of the FAO Technical Child Labour Focal Points.

Technical Focus

Support to FAO’s work on child labour at global, regional and/or country level.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Contribute to the provision of policy and technical support to Technical Divisions, Decentralized Offices and Countries for the development and implementation of policies, strategies, programmes and projects related to child labour prevention and elimination, particularly in agriculture and rural development contexts;
• Support the development of evidence, good practices and lessons learned to improve the understanding of policies, approaches and institutional frameworks, as well as sectoral (agrifood systems) solutions related to the drivers, risks and mitigation of child labour, including through private sector engagement, due diligence processes and labour rights safeguards;
• Support the development, dissemination and uptake of knowledge products, technical documents, capacity development materials, advocacy tools and communication materials related to child labour, responsible business conduct, labour rights and sustainable agrifood systems;
• Contribute to the organization of capacity development and awareness-raising events and FAO’s participation in global and regional fora relevant to child labour prevention and elimination, responsible supply chains, labour rights and private sector sustainability initiatives;
• Contribute to initiatives like the Alliance 8.7 and the International Partnership for Cooperation on Child Labour in Agriculture;
• Contribute to country and resource partner requests for the formulation of programmes and projects focusing on, or relevant to, child labour prevention and remediation, private sector engagement, human rights and environmental due diligence, and labour rights safeguards standards;
• Provide support to any other tasks as required.

FAO Standards and guidelines:

• Liaison with OCC will be maintained, either directly or through an agreed focal point/coordinator, to ensure compliance with OCC standards, aligned messaging, and appropriate review and clearance processes.
• All communication materials will follow FAO clearance processes and comply with FAO standards, including:
  FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31: https://www.fao.org/strategic-framework/en    
  FAO social media policy and guidelines: https://www.fao.org/2/socialmedia    
  Social Media Branding Guidelines: https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/cb5044en   
  FAOSTYLE https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/cb8081en    
  FAO terminology http://www.fao.org/faoterm    
  FAO Names of Countries https://www.fao.org/nocs/en       
  Story guidelines, Story template, UN map standards, FAO logo policy and related branding guidelines (available to staff). 
• Further guidance regarding FAO communications, policies and procedures can be found through the FAO intranet, OCC section.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• For Consultants:
  Advanced university degree from an institution recognized by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/UNESCO in human rights, rural development, political or social sciences, climate change, natural resource management, agriculture or other related field. Consultants with a bachelor's degree need two additional years of relevant professional experience.
  For PSAs:
  University degree from an institution recognized by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/UNESCO in human rights, rural development, political or social sciences, climate change, natural resource management, agriculture or other related field.
• At least 1 year for Level C or at least 5 years for Level B of relevant experience in policy assistance and programme development in the field of rural development and/or poverty reduction and/or rural employment, with experience related to child labour.
• Working knowledge (level C) of English, French or Spanish

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Familiarity with child labour from a rural development perspective.
• Extent and relevance of experience in specific child labour topics such as child labour prevention and remediation in agriculture, labour rights and safeguarding standards, responsible business conduct, human rights and environmental due diligence, private sector engagement in sustainable supply chains, youth employment as a means of addressing child labour risks, and data collection, monitoring and empirical analysis related to child labour.
• Strong writing skills.
• Extent and relevance of experience in interdisciplinary work and multistakeholder action.
• Work experience in more than one location or area of work a plus.

Selection Criteria

• Extent of knowledge and experience in policy support and technical assistance as well as programme/project development or knowledge generation of child labour.
• Level of knowledge and experience in concepts and methodologies related to risk-based approaches, labour rights in the context of safeguards and due diligence.
• Extent of experience in advocacy, policy support, capacity development and technical assistance related to child labour.
• Experience in working in multidisciplinary and multi-cultural teams.
• Limited knowledge of a second FAO language (English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Russian) is an asset.