Back Senior Programme Officer

Organizational Setting

FAO's commitment to environmental sustainability is integral to our strategic objectives and operations.

The Office of Youth and Women (OYW) ensures that youth and women act as conduits both (i) internally in FAO, supporting women and youth career enrichment and mainstreaming important topics of youth and women across the Organization, and (ii) externally, by gathering and realizing innovative ideas and approaches related to youth and women within the FAO mandate. The Office takes forward and further institutionalizes the work of the FAO Youth Committee and the FAO Women's Committee, as well as the World Food Forum (WFF) Global Youth Action, designed by FAO as a global network of partners to build an effective platform to share transformative initiatives and encourage actions for agrifood systems transformation.

It promotes transformational leadership for gender equality and women and youth empowerment in the workplace and in FAO's initiatives, strengthening accountability of managers for gender equality and youth and women's empowerment. OYW further engages with relevant global initiatives, the United Nations (UN) and other partners and relevant stakeholders, enhancing the advocacy for, and engagement of, youth and women in agrifood systems. The Office works closely with the FAO technical units that coordinate the implementation of the FAO Policy on Gender Equality, the Rural Youth Action Plan and related programmes and initiatives.

The position is located in the Office of Youth and Women (OYW) at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy.

Reporting Lines

The Senior Programme Officer reports to the Director, OYW.

Technical Focus

Promotion and advancement of the role and empowerment of youth and women in agrifood systems and rural development through enabling policies worldwide, in line with the cross-organizational fields of 'youth' and 'women' in the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31 and related policies, guidelines and action plans; collaboration and creation of partnerships with UN system entities and other relevant partners related to youth and women in agrifood systems and rural development; FAO-wide coordination of career development measures and other fields of concern to young and/or female employees; and overall office management, including human, financial and other resources of OYW.

As WFF Youth Forum Coordinator, provides technical support, outreach and coordination of the Global Youth Action Initiative, focusing on continuous growth, increased visibility and tangible impact of the Youth Forum and its flagship initiatives, partnerships and events, including youth policy; youth-led innovation; food and agriculture education for youth; youth culture and local capacity development for youth-related stakeholders and youth groups worldwide.

Key Results

Leadership and technical expertise for the planning, development and implementation of programmes of work, projects, related products and services in accordance with the FAO Strategic Framework.

Key Functions

• Plans, manages or leads highly specialized or multidisciplinary teams, and/or participates in Organization-wide, cross-Divisional committees, project teams and working groups, and/or provides technical leadership/secretariat services on technical networks and/or international technical policy and standard setting bodies.
• Leads the development, implementation and evaluation of assigned programmes/projects; directs review of relevant documents and reports; identifies priorities, problems and issues to be addressed and proposes corrective actions; liaises with relevant parties; identifies and initiates follow-up actions.
• Coordinates programmes and reviews the assessments of issues and trends for the implementation of programmes and projects and the preparation of impact evaluation or equivalent studies.
• Supervises preparation of various written outputs, e.g. background papers, analyses, substantial sections of reports and studies, inputs to publications.
• Directs substantive support to consultative and other meetings/conferences, to include proposing agenda topics, identifying participants, preparation of documents and presentations.
• Manages outreach activities; designs and conducts training workshops and seminars, and makes presentations on assigned topics/activities.
• Leads field missions, including provision of guidance to external consultants, government officials and other parties.
• Represents the Organization at international meetings and conferences, identifies and implements strategic partnerships, advocates best practices and increased dialogue and develops and negotiates effective working relationships/consensus and agreements with international and national stakeholders.

  Specific Functions

  • Builds and facilitates FAO's positioning/role in key international, regional and national governance and policy debates and processes of strategic relevance to the Organization related to youth and women in food security, nutrition and agricultural/rural development.
  • Strengthens networks and develops working relationships on issues related to youth and women with other UN multilateral/bilateral organizations, academia, civil society and private sector.
  • Reinforces existing and/or develops new corporate mechanisms and institutional relationships to maintain dynamic multi-directional linkages between the Organization's internal analysis, policy and governance support functions related to youth and women.
  • Facilitates targeted, innovative engagements at the country and regional level to promote outreach and uptake of FAO's youth and women-related governance, policy and data resources, products and services available to relevant stakeholders.
  • Develops mechanisms to support, manage, coordinate and/or track initiatives, services and projects related to career development and other concerns of young and/or female FAO employees, in close collaboration with the Human Resources Division (CSH) and the Youth and Women's Committees.
  • Leads and/or participates in resource mobilization activities in accordance with the cross-cutting fields on youth and women in the FAO corporate strategies and policies, in close collaboration and coordination with relevant technical Divisions/Offices/Centres.
  • Promotes and coordinates the mainstreaming of the cross-cutting issues of youth and women within the programme cycle in line with the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31, including in thematically related contexts in inter-governmental or interagency settings, in close collaboration and coordination with relevant technical divisions
  • Oversees and provides conceptual, managerial and technical leadership to the WFF and its coordination team, with a particular focus on the related WFF Global Youth Action Initiative.
  • In the context of the WFF Youth Forum, manages a wide network of youth-related stakeholders and partners, provides youth-specific global outreach and engagement services, and facilitates and implements technical initiatives and programmes in the fields of youth policy; youth-led innovation; food and agriculture education for youth; youth culture and local capacity development for youth-related stakeholders and youth groups worldwide.
  • In close collaboration with all relevant teams at headquarters and Decentralized Offices, in particular the Office of Communications (OCC), the  Partnerships and UN Collaboration Division (PSU), the Office of Innovation (OIN) and the FAO Youth Committee and related youth focal points across the Organization, provides conceptual and technical inputs to FAO's engagement with youth at global, regional and local levels, and supports related processes in the wider UN system.
  • Strengthens networks and develops working relationships on youth-related issues with other UN organizations, multilateral and bilateral organizations, academia, civil society and private sector.
  • Plans, organizes and participates in capacity development activities to support youth engagement and empowerment in agrifood systems transformation through provision of advice, technical assistance projects, training workshops, seminars and meetings as well as oversees the development of related materials, on-line tools and information kits.
  • Performs other duties as required by the Director, OYW.
             
    
    

    CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

     

    Minimum Requirements

    • Advanced university degree in economics, agricultural economics, international development, public management, political sciences, social sciences or a business administration related field.
    • Ten years of relevant experience in strategic planning, programme coordination and management, partnership building and outreach, communications and resource mobilization, and policy analysis and advice, with demonstrated capacity for leading significant policy programmes and initiatives in a multilateral or UN context.
    • Working knowledge (proficiency - level C) of English and intermediate knowledge (intermediate proficiency - level B) of another official FAO language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish).

       

      Competencies

      • Results Focus
      • Leading, Engaging and Empowering
      • Communication
      • Partnering and Advocating
      • Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
      • Strategic Thinking
        
        

        Technical/Functional Skills

        • Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions, is essential.
        • Extent and relevance of experience in strategic planning, programme coordination and management, partnership building and outreach, including on global issues, institutions and governance processes in a development context.
        • Demonstrated ability to plan, develop and manage programmes, including intergenerational and multistakeholder initiatives in fields related to policy, innovation, education or capacity development in the context of sustainable development, food and agriculture.
        • Extent and relevance of experience in organizing and facilitating international meetings, seminars and training courses, particularly in a multilateral or UN context, if possible related to youth engagement and empowerment.
        • Level of knowledge of results-based management methods and experience in their application.