International Specialist for Post Event Review

Organizational Setting

The Food And Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO) Subregional Office for the Pacific (SAP) covers Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. FAO SAP is responsible for developing, promoting, overseeing and implementing agreed strategies for addressing subregional agriculture, food, nutrition and rural development priorities. FAO SAP develops and maintains relations with subregion-wide institutions including the Council of Regional Organizations in the Pacific (CROP). The Subregional Office is a subsidiary of FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) in Bangkok.

On 30 and 31 August 2021, FAO SAP in partnership with the Government of Fiji and the International Telecommunications Union organized a very important gathering – Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Solutions Forum – hosted virtually and physically (in Apia, Samoa). As a newly created biennial knowledge exchange forum, the event was inaugural, with the theme “COVID-19 impacts on the economy and the potential of digitalization and innovation to accelerate progress on resilient agri-food systems; improved nutrition and health; and strengthened climate resilience adaptation within the context of achieving the SDGs”. About 1,600 people from various countries attended the Forum either virtually or physically.

Nine Heads of States/governments and twenty Ministers from SIDS; President of the UN General Assembly; Agriculture Ministers from China and Ireland; the Chair of the Alliance of Small Islands States; the Secretary General of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States; heads of nine UN and regional agencies; and senior representatives of International Financing Institutions were notable among the attendees. Attending also were eleven SIDS Solutions Innovators, women and youth leaders, parliamentarians, policy makers, UN and development partner officials, academics, researchers, farmers and fishers.

The event was unique because it was the first time that FAO SAP has ever organized such an event by scale (bringing world leaders together) and modality (virtual and physical). For this reason, there is a lot that needs to be learned and documented. The need to learn is particularly important because the event was launched as a biennial Forum, with the next gathering scheduled for 2023.

Purpose of this Call

FAO SAP is recruiting a short-term Senior International Consultant for Post Event Review, who will develop a quick post event review and evaluation methodology (preferably reflection, desk review, participant interviews, etc…) and produce the associated report with lessons learned and recommendations for future event organization. The recommendations would inform FAO’s future engagement with CSOs and private sector in the Pacific.

Reporting Lines

The International Consultant for Post Event Review will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Subregional Coordinator, and direct supervision of the Nutrition and Food Systems Officer for the Subregional Office for the Pacific Islands.

Technical Focus

• Post event review and evaluation • Event planning and execution • Design and execution of a qualitative review methodology • Analytic reporting

Tasks and responsibilities

• Design, prepare and execute a successful post event qualitative evaluation methodology for the completed SIDS Solutions Forum. • Identify as part of the methodology the key variables/indicators of success/failures that will be measured as the basis of the review. • Specifically, and as guidance to the preceding point, analytically consider the suitability and bearing of the following factors - event timing, duration, audience, modality, objective, speakers, geographic and social coverage, etc…. - over the results of the completed forum. • Analytically review the methodology, communications, outreach, actual execution (the two days), logistics, identification and profiling of solutions, speakers, panellists, partnerships, human and financial resources, documentation, technical papers, and so forth of the forum and how they influenced the results. • Analytically consider the planning in place for next steps. • Identify other relevant indicators to inform corporate learning.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in a field related to planning, evaluation, business/public administration, communications, public relations, economics, political science, Development studies or other related fields, etc • At least 10 years of relevant experience in high-level event planning and evaluation. • Working knowledge of English and limited knowledge of one of the other FAO languages (French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Russian). For PSA.SBS working knowledge of English will be sufficient.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Knowledge of the cultural, economic and geopolitical context of the Pacific