Dialogue Facilitator-Agriculture Financing

Organizational Setting

FAO Zimbabwe is supporting the Ministry of Lands Agriculture Fisheries Water and Rural Development to organize a round table meeting under the hand-in-Hand Initiative to deepen consultations, enhance partnerships and define priorities and targeted investments for agri-food system transformation in Zimbabwe. The high-level Executive Roundtable Meeting will be held from 23-25 March 2022 under the theme ‘Enhancing Partnerships, Defining Priorities and Targeted Investments for agri-food system transformation in Zimbabwe’. The meeting will share information on priority investment opportunities in the various provinces in Zimbabwe, elicit stakeholder perspectives on the priority investments, identify gaps and agree on steps to fill those gaps. The meeting also creates opportunity to enhance collaboration and partnerships for delivery on the agreed objectives.

Objectives of the roundtable

• The objectives of this roundtable are as follows:
• Present the initial results from the analytical process, including the economic and agronomic potential of the identified micro-regions
• Present the investment opportunities in the identified micro-regions
• Secure stakeholders buy-in regarding the investment priorities
• Foster partnerships for HIH programme implementation

Expected Outcomes

• Increased understanding of pro-poor/SDG aligned investment opportunities in the micro regions by government, private sector, donors, and other stakeholders
• Initial commitments from potential investors
• Partnership opportunities identified

Reporting Lines

FAO is looking for a highly qualified and experienced consultant to facilitate a roundtable dialogue on Agriculture Financing. With overall guidance from the Sub regional Coordinator for Southern Africa (SRC) and under the direct supervision of the Roundtable Lead Organizers, the Consultant will perform the under mentioned duties:

Technical Focus

Agriculture Financing

Tasks and responsibilities

Preparation

• Review relevant and strategic FAO documents and related documents for better understanding of the assignment and effective facilitation.
• Review the draft concept note and programme and make the necessary improvements
• Prepare a concept note informed by the FAO documents and related documents on how you would like to facilitate the hybrid meeting;
• Provide daily inputs in liaison with the Organizing Committee to the preparation of the day’s discussions;
• Facilitate discussions and deliberations during the meeting days.

• Participate in the Organizing Committee meetings to be briefed on the main purpose, agenda and topics related to the meeting, and prepare/design facilitation process of the meeting;

  Facilitation

• Facilitate a virtual and face-to-face roundtable dialogue on Agriculture Financing in Victoria Falls from 23-25 March 2022;

• Leveraging on FAO’s Hand-in-Hand’s analytical work, national policy documents as well as literature from other sources, facilitate a participatory trouble shooting exercise in a dialogue set-up.
• Facilitate discussions and deliberations during the meeting days
• Facilitate a process which generates a clear understanding of the key binding constraints and the corresponding solutions for the particular theme; which can be addressed with the Hand-in-Hand Initiative framework

• Ensure active participation of all stakeholders in the meeting

  Reporting

• With inputs from rapporteurs prepare the final Roundtable Meeting report, including the main issues discussed key priorities and action points from the meeting to inform future design and implementation of the HIHI in Zimbabwe;

• Undertake meeting evaluation and propose recommendations for improvement in future
• Perform any other related tasks as requested

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree in Agriculture Financing or other related areas;
• 10 years of relevant experience in Agriculture Financing and facilitation .
• Working knowledge of English
• Zimbabwe national or resident in the country with a regular work permit.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Skills in analysing, interpreting and synthesizing information;
• Depth of knowledge and understanding of the work of international organizations, national governments and regional economic communities;
• Excellent facilitation meetings for diverse stakeholders group;
• Excellent facilitation of virtual and hybrid meetings
• Excellent oral and written communication skills