Result of ServiceThe objective of this consultancy is to support the preparations for upcoming meetings aimed at advancing water and food security in the Arab region. Specifically, the consultant would be tasked with developing the below documents: • An outcome document on food systems transformation in the Arab region that includes the key messages and regional priorities resulting from the 2025 regional food systems preparatory meeting and feeding into the Joint Ministerial Council session and UNFSS+4; • A regional road map and statement of regional priorities and proposed actions to support regional preparations for the 2026 UN Water Conference that involves regional stakeholders and supports the Arab Ministerial Water Council; • A report on advancing policy coherence and coordination for water and food security in the Arab region for consideration by the Joint Ministerial Council for Water and Agriculture. Work LocationRemote Expected duration7 months Duties and ResponsibilitiesBackground The \"Climate Resilience through Regional Cooperation for Inclusive Sustainable Development\" project funded by the Government of Sweden and implemented by ESCWA. The project supports countries to advance evidence-based policymaking, institutionalize inclusive engagements, and adopt integrated solutions. This consultancy supports planned activities conducted under three pillars of work being implemented under the project. Duties and responsibilities The following tasks are to be performed with respect to the three below work pillars and sets of deliverables: A. Food systems transformation outcome document • Review documents related to food systems processes at the global and regional levels. • Draft an outcome document (2-5 pages delivered in English and Arabic versions) that provide insights and suggested key messages for informing the Regional Preparatory Meeting on Food Systems in April 2025. • Finalize the outcome document based on the preparatory meeting discussions. B. 2026 UN Water Conference regional road map and statement • Prepare a Water Action Decade background brief (5-6 pages) that: (a) reviews and updates, as appropriate, the outcome document of Arab Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Midterm Comprehensive Review of the Water Action Decade convened by ESCWA in May 2022, and particularly the key messages, thematic priorities and accelerators; (b) reviews and proposes updates to list of members the Regional Expert Group previously established by ESCWA to support preparations for the 2023 midterm review conference; and (c) reviews and assesses progress achieved by Arab States and institutions on the commitments they submitted to the Water Action Agenda in 2023, and provide recommendations for advancing progress, with the task including interviews with relevant actors. • Drawing upon the brief, draft a regional road map (10 pages in English and Arabic versions) that outlines and proposes activities leading to the 2026 UN Water Conference; the road map should include the relevant regional and global events and suggestions on how to engage the Arab region in the process leading to the 2026 UN Water Conference and closing conference for the Decade in 2028. • Support and contribute to at least one virtual meeting of the Regional Expert Group. • Support preparations for the regional preparatory events convened by ESCWA on the sidelines of water conferences being held in the region such as Baghdad International Water Week, Cairo Water Week, the XIX World Water Congress in Marrakech and others, as needed, by providing input into concept notes, engaging in the sessions and extracting key recommendations that would to inform the drafting of the statement of regional priorities and proposed actions. • Draft a statement of regional priorities and proposed actions (2-4 pages delivered in the English and Arabic languages) that summarizes the outcomes, insights and recommendations drawn from the preparatory activities and consultations undertaken with the Regional Expert Group and at regional preparatory events held in 2025, and references the proposed next steps for accelerating regional action on water under the Decade detailed in the regional road map, for consideration at the next session of the Technical, Scientific and Advisory Committee of the Arab Ministerial Water Council. C. Report on advancing policy coherence and coordination for water and food security in the Arab region • Conduct a stocktaking exercise on the efforts undertaken to advance policy coherence and coordination for water and food security in the Arab region since 2019 with tasks defined as follows: a. Review and analyze technical meeting and ministerial meeting reports, including recommendations and resolutions, and related policy documents against the Cairo Declaration Action Plan. b. Consult with relevant stakeholders, including the Joint Technical Secretariat (comprised of LAS, AOAD, with the support of ESCWA and FAO), officials from national relevant institutions, as well as leading international, regional and national experts, to be incorporated in the report, and coordinate those consultations with the FAO designated coutnerpart contributing to the report. c. Identify institutional/organizational challenges and gaps. d. Highlight case studies and best practices to inform policy development. e. Evaluate progress in addressing key issues and translating recommendations into national and regional joint actions. • Provide actionable recommendations for enhancing institutional coordination mechanisms and governance structures to: a. Strengthen engagement of member States in the work of the joint bodies; b. Mainstream resolutions adopted by joint ministerial meetings into national strategies and actions with measurable outcomes; c. Strengthen multi-stakeholder partnerships to bridge gaps between policy formulation and implementation and support long-term institutional sustainability; d. Encourage dissemination of the work of the joint bodies in global processes such as reporting on the SDGs, the Food Systems Summit, the Water Action Decade, the Climate COPs, among others. • Coordinate with the FAO designated counterpart to prepare the final report (30-40 pages) in English and its executive summary (5 pages, in Arabic and English language versions), • Prepare elements of a draft ministerial statement for the third meeting of the Joint Ministerial Council for Arab Ministers of Agriculture and Water in Arabic. Qualifications/special skillsMasters in the field of political science, public policy, economics or related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying years of experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. All candidates must submit a copy of the required educational degree. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. At least 10 years of demonstrated professional experience facilitating intergovernmental regional processes in the context of water management and sustainable development is required. Proven experience working in the area of cross-sectoral policy coordination in the fields of water and food security in the Arab region is required. At least 5 years of experience working in an international organization, government institution or regional institution is required. LanguagesEnglish and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat; and Arabic is a working language of ESCWA. For this position, fluency in English and Arabic is required. Note: \"Fluency\" equals a rating of 'fluent' in all four areas (speak, read, write, and understand) and \"Knowledge of\" equals a rating of 'confident' in two of the four areas. Additional InformationNot available. No FeeTHE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.