Organizational Setting
The FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific is responsible for leading FAO’s response to regional priorities for food security, agriculture and rural development through the identification, planning and implementation of focused, multi-disciplinary projects and programmes. It identifies priority areas of action for the Organization in the Region, in collaboration with departments and divisions at Headquarters, and promotes the value and deliverables of the FAO’s New Strategic Framework within the context and outputs of work to help our Members achieve Better Production, Better Nutrition, a Better Environment and a Better Life for all – leaving no one behind.
The Asia and Pacific region is home to nearly 60% of the global human population, the largest global poultry & swine populations, millions of farmed wildlife, an increasing regional demand for livestock-based protein, and a hotspot for transboundary diseases and zoonotic disease spill over including the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the Asia and Pacific region hosts a wide diversity of livestock production systems ranging from small holders to intensive commercial production systems, and is connected to local, regional and global food systems and value chains. With the ongoing Triple Planetary Crisis (climate change, biodiversity loss & pollution), more than 70 million small holders in the Southeast Asia region alone who depend on livestock for their livelihood, income, food and nutrition security, and the variable national infrastructure and capacity to support safe livestock-based food production, technical interventions are crucial to support better production, better nutrition, a better environment and better lives.
The Animal Health and Production Module (AHP) At the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific delivers programming that improves & increases efficiency of livestock production, enables sustainable climate smart livestock production, promotes responsible and appropriate use of antimicrobials, increases preparedness, prevention, response & recovery from transboundary animal and zoonotic diseases, and expands One Health to include the wildlife & environment sectors. At the moment, the AHP module supports a large number of project - 60% focused on livestock production, 40% linked to transboundary animal & zoonotic disease, and One Health.
The Pandemic Fund: Launched in November 2022 with strong support from the G20 and beyond, the Pandemic Fund is the first multilateral financing mechanism dedicated to helping low- and middle-income countries become better prepared for future pandemics. Hosted by the World Bank Group, the Pandemic Fund raised US$2 billion in seed capital from 27 sovereign and philanthropic contributors and has launched a resource mobilization campaign seeking another US$2 billion in contributions for its investment case over the next two years. Grants from the Pandemic Fund catalyze co-financing from governments and technical expertise from an array of accredited Implementing Entities. The Pandemic Fund has awarded, through its two funding rounds, grants totaling US$885 million, mobilizing an additional US$6 billion in resources for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPR) investments for 75 countries across six geographical regions. Forty-seven projects have received funding to date. The Pandemic Fund continues to leverage its catalytic financing structure, using its grants to galvanize additional investments for pandemic PPR from countries’ own domestic resources, and through co-financing from multilateral development banks, global health initiatives, United Nations and other development partners, the private sector, and philanthropies.
The post is located in the Regional Office for Asia-Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand.
Reporting Lines
The incumbent will work under supervision of the Senior Animal Health and Production Officer (and APHCA Secretary) in the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP), in close consultation with the Regional PF operations expert/team, the Animal Health and Production Module and ECTAD team members, and the FAO Headquarters Pandemic Fund Team.
Technical Focus
The Animal Health and Production Module is seeking to recruit a Pandemic Fund Coordinator to:
• coordinate and support the development of national, multi-country and regional Pandemic Fund Proposals;
• support and facilitate the operationalisation of new pandemic fund proposals that receive funding;
• manage, coordinate, and monitor implementation of the FAO RAP Pandemic Fund projects endorsed and funded
• provide technical backstopping to FAO RAP Pandemic Fund projects; and
• coordinate and facilitate collection of success stories and relevant information needed for PF project reporting.
Tasks and responsibilities
Pandemic Fund Proposals Preparation
• Lead Regional Coordination of the Pandemic Fund (PF) proposal prioritization and preparation for single country, multi-country and Regional PF proposals;
• Support Pandemic Fund (PF) Coordination among FAO RAP administration, operations, technical, partnerships personnel & management, and with FAO HQ, as needed;;
• Provide RAP regional level briefings for interested RAP countries on the PF proposal process, resource documents available, PF Secretariat guidance, lessons learned from past rounds of proposal preparation, and other relevant proposal information;
• Support FAORs and country teams in development of PF proposals by providing technical guidance, budget advice, and other relevant information & materials, as well as proving guidance regarding access to country resource mobilisation funds;
• Provide guidance to national PF consultants/teams on proposal preparation requirements, technical areas for consideration, budgeting requirements, direct vs pass through Operational Partners Implementation Modality (OPIM) delivery approaches, negotiations with implementing partners and government to ensure resources (human & financial) are available for FAO to implement the projects;
• Coordinate with regional Implementing Entity (IE) counterparts, and support national consultants to ensure that draft Work Plans & Budgets are harmonized with other IEs at national level;
• Coordinate RAP AHP and ECTAD technical team members to support PF proposal development as needed, and sure coordination with the RAP Operations/country programming team to support administrative & finance inputs to PF proposals;
• Ensure that past unsuccessful proposals incorporate PF secretariat guidance and feedback for resubmission;
• Ensure draft Pandemic Fund proposals are reviewed by appropriate personnel (technical, budget, operations, administration) at both RAP and HQ levels;
• Ensure budget clearance inclusive of OPIM costs, indirect support costs, RAP Technical Support Services (TSS) or “fee for service” costs, other standard costs (evaluation, etc.,), as per FAO rules and regulations combined with needs to support country level implementation;
• Review FAO Concept notes once prepared and support uploading to FPMIS and other project cycle related actions necessary including risk certification and delegation of authority, according to necessary timelines;
• Maintain an updated “buffet menu” of activities and cost for potential FAO technical areas to be included in PF proposals;
• Oversee with the RAP PF administrative assistant, the maintenance of the RAP PF Teams folders containing necessary proposal materials, final submitted documents, updated work plans, etc, and an updated list of country focal points (technical, operational and administrative) for each PF proposal and successful project
Facilitate the Operationalisation and Implementation of Pandemic Fund Projects
• Support and coordinate initial PF project implementation steps needed at country, RAP and HQ level;
• Support development of detailed national project work plans/timelines/budget with government counterparts and IEs at country level once PF proposals are endorsed by the PF Secretariat;
• Develop a project implementation timeline that includes submission to FAO and PF Secretariat, the detailed work plan and budget, hiring plan for consultants, Country PF launching workshop, OPIM training dates, & other implementation modalities;
• Provide technical review & clearance of PF LoA’s, TORs, workshop concept notes, draft reports, and procurement requests;
• Provide technical feedback, backstopping and technical implementation support for successful PF proposals;
• Facilitate training to FAO country teams and government counterparts on OPIM mechanisms, and support finalization and clearance of country evaluations related to OPIM mechanisms at national level as needed;
• Identify any bottle-necks or issues that are inhibiting PF program delivery in country and resolve issues as needed;
• Determine if any in-country training for FAO country teams and/or government counterparts on OPIM or other aspects of PF program implementation are needed and arrange for such trainings with relevant experts;
• Support finalization and clearance of country evaluations related to OPIM mechanisms at national level;
• Collate PF country updates & success stories for provision of updates to FAO HQ, FAO RAP management & PF Secretariat;
• Oversee with the RAP PF administrative assistant and RAP operations officer, monthly updates of project activity GAANT charts and associated budget expenditures for each PF proposal and successful project
• Prepare “hot-wash“ notes following each PF proposal cycle to capture lessons learned about proposal preparation and proposal implementation to share with management and HQ
• Perform other duties as required
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements
• Advanced university degree in sustainable livestock production, animal science, veterinary medicine, agriculture development, environmental sciences, public health, One Health, Animal Health, Transboundary Animal or Zoonotic Diseases prevention and control, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), international relations, or a similar specialization
• At least five years of relevant experience (for level B) and at least ten years of relevant experience respectively (for level A)
• Working knowledge of English
FAO Core Competencies
• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
Technical/Functional Skills
• Work experience in more than one location or technical areas of work desirable
• Extent and relevance of experience in a technical area of assignment
• Extent and relevance of experience in providing technical support at local, national, or regional levels.
• Extent and relevance of knowledge in the implementation of international or regional instruments related to pertinent fields of expertise.
• Extent and relevance of professional experience in project and/or programme coordination, formulation and implementation
• Familiarity and/or ability to support national or regional coordination mechanisms, inter-sectoral collaboration, work planning, and implementation
• Familiarity with and understanding the work of international organisations, regional entities, and national governments.
• Ability to support resource mobilization efforts.
• Ability to organize and conduct technical meetings, conferences, and capacity building workshops, when applicable.