LEAD TECHNICAL ADVISOR

Organizational Setting

FAO's Subregional Office for Southern Africa (SFS) is responsible for developing, promoting, overseeing and implementing the agreed strategies for addressing subregional food, agriculture and rural development priorities. It develops and maintains relations with subregion-wide institutions including Regional Economic Integration Organizations (REIOs). The Subregional Office is a subsidiary of FAO's Regional Office for Africa (RAF). The office provides technical assistance and support to governments and 15 country offices (including in Zambia) in the sub-region developing policies, programmes and projects to achieve food security and to reduce hunger and malnutrition while using their environmental and natural resources in a sustainable manner.

Through its Country Offices, FAO provides policy advice, technical assistance and investment support to its members in ending hunger, addressing malnutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture and rural development. The FAO Representation in Zambia implements field programmes and projects under the FAO Country Programming Framework, with climate change mitigation and adaptation, sustainable agriculture, forestry and natural resources management among its core priorities.
The Facility for Action for Climate Empowerment to achieve Nationally Determined Contributions (FACE-NDC) is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) through the International Climate Initiative (IKI) and runs from March 2023 to February 2030. The project supports Zambia’s NDC commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 47 percent by 2030 by building the country’s human and institutional capacity for climate action through education, training and public awareness. It is implemented by a consortium led by FAO together with United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and national academic and technical partners, including the Copperbelt University and University of Zambia, in close cooperation with the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Forestry Department, Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training Authority (TEVETA) and other Government counterparts.
The project is structured around four Outputs: (I) behavioural science evidence and monitoring, (II) formal education, (III) non-formal and peer-to-peer education and (IV) skills development for professionals. Those are delivered through nine Work Packages (WP1–WP9) spanning curriculum development, teacher training, community-based learning, media and outreach, competitive grants, and skills development for agriculture and forestry professionals. By project end, FACE-NDC commits to three headline IKI impacts: 453,584 tCO2eq of emissions reduced or carbon stocks enhanced; 67,250 hectares under improved conservation and/or sustainable use; and 72,341 people directly supported through training and networking.
Delivering these results requires tight coordination across a large consortium, multiple ministries, nine interdependent Work Packages and several provinces. FAO Zambia, through the FAO Subregional Office for Southern Africa is recruiting an international Lead Technical Adviser (LTA) to lead the project, strengthen consortium coordination, and ensure coherent, evidence-driven planning and delivery across all Work Packages, consistent with the project document, IKI and FAO requirements.

Reporting Lines

The Lead Technical Advisor will work under the direct administrative supervision of the FAO Representative in Zambia, the overall technical guidance of the FACE-NDC Lead Technical Officer (LTO) –the Forestry Officer based at the Subregional Office for Southern Africa, Harare, Zimbabwe. The LTA will work in close cooperation with the FAO Zambia programme and operations units, the National Coordinator of the project, the FACE-NDC Project Management Unit (PMU), the consortium partners and work package leads, the Behavioural Science (BeSci) Advisory Group, the Project Steering Committee and Project Advisory Committee, government counterparts, and the donor (BMWK/IKI).

Technical Focus

Overall leadership, coordination and technical quality assurance of the FACE-NDC project (100 percent of assignment time): planning, organizing, monitoring and controlling delivery across the nine Work Packages; coordinating the consortium and its governance bodies; and ensuring that all activities remain aligned with the project document, Zambia’s NDC priorities and IKI requirements.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Lead the overall implementation of the FACE-NDC project, provide strategic direction, technical advice and quality assurance to the Project Management Unit PMU, consortium partners and implementing partners.
• Establish and maintain an effective consortium coordination framework: agreed governance calendar, clear division of roles and accountabilities across FAO, UNITAR, UNESCO, academic partners and government counterparts, regular coordination meetings with minutes and tracked actions, and a functioning escalation path for bottlenecks.
• Coordinate planning and delivery across the nine Work Packages: lead the formulation and periodic updating of a harmonized project-wide Annual Work Plan and Budget, ensuring inter-WP dependencies are explicitly sequenced, and oversee its implementation and reporting.
• Ensure the project’s core methodological disciplines are applied across all Work Packages: activities preceded by structured gap and needs diagnostics, behavioural science integrated at design stage, gender-responsive delivery, and non-duplication with partner initiatives.
• Oversee the project-wide monitoring, evaluation and learning system with the M&E specialist: consolidate WP-level data into project indicators and milestones; ensure the IKI impact data chain is operational, credible and reported on schedule; and prepare the project for mid-term and final evaluations.
• Lead the preparation and timely submission of high-quality progress and financial reports to BMWK/IKI and FAO, including annual IKI reports, and respond to donor queries and monitoring missions.
• Service the project governance bodies: organize and facilitate Project Steering Committee and Project Advisory Committee meetings, prepare decision-ready documentation, record decisions and track follow-up.
• Support operational processing for project implementation, including Letters of Agreement, Memorandum of Understandings and other sub-contracts with consortium and implementing partners, and monitor their execution.
• Establish and maintain strong collaboration with government departments (Ministry of Green Economy and Environment, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry Department, TEVETA and others), donors, academia, civil society and the private sector.
• Coordinate and supervise the PMU team with the national PMU coordinator: facilitate formulation of annual work and performance plans, monitor implementation, provide timely feedback, and contribute to performance evaluations, in support of the FAO Representative.
• Advise on and oversee implementation of the project communication and visibility plan in line with IKI visibility requirements, raising the profile of project interventions and results.
• Identify implementation risks (including safeguards, fiduciary and reputational risks) early; maintain and update the project risk register; and propose and follow through on mitigation measures.
• Promote knowledge management and cross-WP learning: capture lessons, ensure they feed back into planning cycles, and position FACE-NDC results in national and international ACE/NDC fora.
• Carry out any other relevant tasks as may be assigned by the FAO Representative or the LTO.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree from an institution recognized by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/UNESCO in agriculture, forestry, natural resources management, environmental or climate sciences, education, development studies or a closely related field. Consultants with a bachelor's degree need two additional years of relevant professional experience.
• At least 5 years of relevant professional experience in the management and coordination of complex, multi-partner development or climate programmes, including field-level leadership responsibilities.
• Working knowledge (Level C) of English.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Proven experience with climate-finance-funded projects (IKI, Green Climate Fund, Global Environment Facility or similar), including donor reporting, results-based management and evaluation processes; direct experience with BMWK/IKI and FAO procedures is a strong asset.
• Sound technical knowledge of climate change mitigation in the energy, agriculture and land-use/forestry sectors, NDC implementation processes, and familiarity with GHG accounting approaches (Example: EX-ACT/NEXT) is an asset.
• Familiarity with behavioural science approaches in development programming is an asset.
• Excellent planning, budgeting, M&E and report-writing skills; strong facilitation, negotiation and stakeholder-management skills at senior government and donor level.

Selection Criteria

• Experience with capacity development and education programmes (formal education, TVET, extension systems and/or non-formal learning) is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated experience leading or coordinating multi-agency consortia or joint programmes
• Work experience in Southern Africa, and in Zambia in particular, is an asset.
• Knowledge of German is an asset.