Programme and Liaison Specialist at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO-UN)

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO-UN) – An intergovernmental organization, FAO has 194 Member Nations, two associate members and one member organization, the European Union. Its employees come from various cultural backgrounds and are experts in the multiple fields of activity FAO engages in. FAO’s staff capacity allows it to support improved governance inter alia, generate, develop and adapt existing tools and guidelines and provide targeted governance support as a resource to country and regional level FAO offices. Headquartered in Rome, Italy, FAO is present in over 130 countries.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Programme and Liaison Specialist

Job ID: 2001884
Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Grade Level: N/A
Duration: Up to 11 months
Organizational Unit: FRNIR
Job Type: Non-staff opportunities
Type of Requisition: Consultant / PSA (Personal Services Agreement)

Organizational Setting

• Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative (FAOR) and direct supervision of the Deputy FAO Representative and in close collaboration with the Head of sub-office in North East, the Consultant will be expected to support the implementation of FAO Nigeria Country Programme Framework with emphasis on food security analysis and resource mobilization.

Reporting Lines:

• The consultant reports to the Deputy FAO Representative in Nigeria.

Technical Focus:

• Identify partners in development, humanitarian and resilience building;
• Liaise with key partners in the UN system, civil society and Government;
• Promote effective integration of development and humanitarian projects into a comprehensive country programme and support a communication and resource mobilization strategy for the country programme and contributes to fund mobilization efforts through liaison with the donor community;

Tasks and Responsibilities

• Build network of collaboration with governmental and organizational counterparts to facilitate programme coordination and promotion;
• Develop and negotiate effective working relationships with international, regional and national stakeholders and promotes FAO positions and capacities in collaborative activities with external counterparts;
• Monitor and identify critical programme issues where FAO inputs/involvement is needed, and organize information flows from external collaborators to programme units;
• Facilitate mobilization of resources by supporting the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of assigned programmes/projects, etc.;
• Identify challenges and issues to be addressed and initiate corrective actions;
• Promote FAO positions and capacities in collaborative activities with external counterparts;
• Lead in preparation of concept notes and related documents/reports (work programme, programme budget, etc.).

Specific Functions

• Develop and lead the implementation of a resource mobilization strategy for FAO Nigeria;
• In cooperation with senior technical colleagues, liaise with Government, UN Agencies, Private sector and humanitarian and development partners to mobilize project and programme resources;
• Liaise with resource partners and communications officer to organize donor field missions, meetings and updates;
• Work with technical units in FAO Nigeria and relevant divisions in HQ, Regional office and sub-regional office for West Africa to lead phases 1-3 of the Project Cycle including: identification, formulation, appraisal and approval;
• Ensure alignment of new projects with the Government humanitarian and development goals, the FAO Nigeria Country Programme Framework, FAO’s Strategic Objectives, and corporate Results-Based Management (RBM) and Project Cycle Management (PCM) guidelines;
• Develop and maintain an overview of the agriculture and food and nutrition security priorities for humanitarian and development, by existing and potentially new resource partners for FAO Nigeria;
• Maintain updated soft and hard pipeline databases, Project tracking and maintain an information database and update monitoring tools;
• Provide periodic oral and written updates at Management meetings, monthly donor and staff meetings and monitor (and provide alerts regarding) programme funding gaps;
• Serve as lead author for the preparation of briefs and leaflets regarding the FAO Nigeria programme;
• Strengthen capacities of national staff in Result Based Management; Project Cycle Management and regular tips on successful Resource mobilization;
• Liaise with FAO Technical units to ensure technical quality in project activities and donor reports;
• Participate in formulating regular progress reports, final reports, briefs and comprehensive reports for ongoing emergency/rehabilitation/development projects as well as correspondence with recipient governments and donors;
• Participate actively in the Food Security Sector as co-lead agency and in line with the principles of the Global Food Security Cluster and provide technical support as required, ensuring the follow up of the food, nutrition and agriculture situation in the country and the identification of priority interventions;
• Ensure the implementation of the IPC/Cadre Harmonize in Nigeria and represent FAO at national food security meetings and conferences and advocate for best practices;
• Perform other related duties as required;

Minimum Requirements
Candidates will be assessed against the following:

• Advanced university degree in international relations, public relations, political science, and international cooperation for development, development economics or a related field;
• 3 years relevant experience in partnership building, fundraising, negotiations, public relations/advocacy, preferably in the areas of food and agriculture;
• Working knowledge of English and limited knowledge of French or of one of the other FAO official languages.

FAO Core Competencies:

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

Technical/Functional Skills:

• Excellent command of written and spoken English;
• Excellent communication, writing and presentation skills;
• Readiness to carry out visits to project sites and duty travel as required;
• Flexibility and adaptability to work in emergency situations with tight deadlines;
• Experience in a liaison function;
• Excellent team-building and cross-cultural skills;
• Thorough knowledge of FAO’s PCM guidelines and requirements;
• Sound knowledge of FAO’s procedures and guidelines; and
• High level of proficiency with ERPs used by FAO.
• Strong overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various MS Office applications (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc.);

Application Closing Date
31st August, 2020; 10:59:00 PM