JOBS

FAO is recruiting for a Project Design Specialist based in various locations: Apply Now!

0 6 4 minutes read

Closing Date: 25 April 2025

FAO is recruiting for a Project Design Specialist based in various locations: Apply Now!

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.

The Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment (OCB) works to ensure that countries and stakeholders respond to the challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation. OCB provides a cross organizational coordination role on issues related to climate change, biodiversity and the environment, and is the focal point to major multilateral environmental agreements including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conferences (UNFCCC), and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The Office also assists FAO Members in their responses towards the interlinked challenges of food security, climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation, including through facilitating access to climate and environmental financing (such as the Global Environment Fund GEF and the Green Climate Fund GCF).

FAO is a lead implementing partner agency of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The GEF is a multilateral family of funds dedicated to confronting biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution, and supporting land and ocean health. The GEF is a financing mechanism for five international environmental conventions: the Minamata Convention on Mercury, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), the UNCBD, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the UNFCCC that could be financed by the Global Environment Facility Trust Fund, the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF), the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF).

The Office of Climate and Biodiversity (OCB) hosts the FAO-GEF Coordination Unit (OCB-GEF), which serves as the liaison unit in FAO with the GEF Secretariat. OCB-GEF works closely with colleagues from across FAO’s technical divisions and regional and subregional offices to support countries. GEF project design specialists successfully interviewed, approved, and assigned to this roster will work with this FAO-GEF community worldwide to assist countries.

The purpose of this call is to provide FAO-GEF related teams with a list of qualified candidates to support and/or lead GEF project formulation, monitoring and evaluation and/or planning processes. The assignment may be home based with required travel for field missions.

Reporting Lines

The GEF Project Design Specialist will work under the overall technical supervision of the Senior GEF Coordinator of OCB-GEF and the direct supervision of a GEF Regional Lead or the lead GEF Technical Officer, in close collaboration with the FAO Representation in the relevant country of assignment, and in close collaboration with the national GEF Executing Agency.

Technical Focus

Identification, formulation, implementation support and monitoring of FAO-GEF projects and programmes and those of other environmental financing mechanisms. It includes strategic and policy work, with a focus on the nexus between global environmental challenges and sustainable agriculture, including climate change and resilience, land, water, fisheries, forestry, biodiversity, pollution and chemicals and other environmental issues.

Tasks and responsibilities

Provide technical expertise or advice and project design guidance to project proponents in the identification, formulation and implementation of natural resource/environmental project proposals that address country priorities and further FAO and GEF strategic objectives, programme priorities and operational policies and procedures.
Participate in, and/or lead, multidisciplinary teams to assist governments and FAO Decentralized Offices in the identification and formulation of natural resource and environmental projects for financing by the GEF Trust Fund, Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) or other environmental funds.
Ensure quality control of the GEF project concepts and full project proposals in line with GEF eligibility criteria and alignment with GEF-8 Programming Directions and with GEF-9 Programming Directions once approved.
Coordinate and as required take a lead role in formulating project proposals.
Participate in, and/or lead, the design and delivery of capacity development activities to FAO technical staff in headquarters and Decentralized Offices on the strategies, priorities and procedures, trends and issues related to GEF and other environmental funds.
Contribute to and/or advise on strategic and programmatic concepts for consideration under GEF-8 and GEF-9.
Contribute to, and/or advise on FAO GEF implementation support including, conducting mid-term reviews of projects.
As required, support the management of the FAO-GEF portfolio, monitor and supervise implementation strategies of assigned projects, and ensure quality control at all stages of the FAO and GEF project cycles.

Minimum Requirements

University degree in natural resources management, environment, agriculture or environmental economics, or in a field directly related to one or more of the following areas: biodiversity, climate change, energy, sustainable land, forest or water management.
For PSA level C: a minimum of one year of relevant experience in biodiversity, climate change, energy, sustainable land, forest or water management. For Consultants level C: a minimum of two years of relevant experience in biodiversity, climate change, energy, sustainable land, forest or water management.
For Consultants/PSA level B: a minimum of five years of relevant experience in biodiversity, climate change, energy, sustainable land, forest or water management.
For Consultants/PSA level A: a minimum of ten years of experience in biodiversity, climate change, energy, sustainable land, forest or water management.
Working Knowledge of English (proficiency level C)