Liaison Officer (Resource Mobilization)

Organizational Setting The FAO Liaison Office for North America, located in Washington, D.C., plays a key role in advancing FAO's mandate to end hunger, malnutrition and poverty worldwide, while achieving the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. Toward this end, the Liaison Office engages in partnership-building, policy dialogue, information sharing, and raising the visibility of the Organization in the region. FAO is committed to delivering agricultural and livelihood assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve their food security and build resilience. In 2021, FAO reached more than 30 million people globally with emergency and resilience building activities and corporately commits to double these assistance levels by 2023. The post is located in the Liaison Office for North America in Washington, D.C., United States.

Reporting Lines The Liaison Officer (Resource Mobilization) reports to the Director of the Liaison Office and will work under the overall functional supervision of the Senior Emergency and Rehabilitation Officer, Office of Emergencies and Resilience (OER) at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy.

Technical Focus To strengthen FAO's positioning, partnership and resource mobilization with the United States Government (USG) in support of FAO's emergency and resilience work worldwide.

Key Results Strengthen FAO's donor engagement, advocacy and resource mobilization at capital level. Contribute to substantial income growth to achieve FAO's corporate target of reaching 60 million people with emergency and resilience assistance annually by 2023. Provide strategic policy and political analytical support to LOW and OER.

Key Functions • Drive FAO's positioning to attract policy support, resources, partnerships and innovative solutions to advance the Organization's emergencies and resilience work with partners to achieve Zero Hunger; • Advocate, and facilitate the mobilization of resources, for agriculture as a frontline humanitarian response and for longer-term efforts to build resilience against threats and crises; • Build upon LOW's existing network of collaboration with governmental and organizational counterparts on emergencies and resilience to facilitate programme promotion; • Identify opportunities for FAO to influence the agendas and activities on emergencies and resilience in the Washington and Ottawa legislative and executive contexts; • Contribute to represent FAO in various government and private and/or civil society emergency and resilience fora. • Perform other duties as required.

Specific Functions • Identify, develop and strengthen partnerships with USG entities in support of FAO's global emergency and resilience work; • Deepen FAO’s interaction and dialogue with USG government and civil society partners, including day-to-day relations and participation in strategic meetings and/or /roundtables workshops; • Implement OER's Donor Engagement Plan closely with FAO headquarters, Liaison, Regional and Country Offices; • Advocate and raise awareness on the need for a greater prioritization of agriculture in frontline humanitarian response; • Advocate and raise awareness on the humanitarian-development nexus, and cross-cutting issues such as youth, gender, climate change and persons in situations of vulnerability; • Work within LOW's existing communication and advocacy avenues to amplify FAO's comparative advantage and work, especially those that are in line with U.S. and Canadian foreign policy objectives; • Share intelligence and identify funding opportunities on new and traditional USG funding agencies/initiatives, with a special attention to U.S. and Canadian governments and foundations; • Serve as daily interlocutors with U.S. and Canadian government partners on FAO’s work in the emergency and resilience arena; • Provide regular guidance and support on award-related issues to maximize resources raised, from advocacy to award negotiation and management; • Support the timely processing of USAID awards and grants to FAO's emergency and resilience programme, in line with donor and internal policies; • Lead negotiations relating to funding applications and proposals on behalf of Country/Regional Offices with relevant USG counterparts, when needed; • Provide advice and makes recommendations to FAO/OER and LOW management to resolve challenging issues; • Engage with FAO headquarters, Country and Regional Offices to provide regular updates to the donor and support regular partner engagement; • Prepare and provide inputs for briefing documents for senior level management meetings with donors and other stakeholders, and contribute to strategic information/visibility products as needed; • Participate in strategic meetings to deepen engagement with Canada on FAO's emergency and resilience work. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWINGC

Minimum Requirements • Advanced university degree in agriculture, social or political sciences, economics, public administration, international relations or a related field relevant to the work of the Organization. • Seven years of relevant experience in development work related to resource mobilization and/or partner relations. • Working knowledge (proficient – level C) of English and limited knowledge (intermediate – level B) of one of the other official FAO languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish).

Competencies • Results Focus • Team Work • Communication • Building effective relationships • Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills • Experience in award processing and grant management; • Excellent communication and relationship management skills; • In-depth/inside knowledge of USAID approaches, partnerships, funding policies and processes; • Past work experience with USAID, or other relevant USG entity, is preferred; • Expertise or experience in working on emergency and resilience issues, particularly those funded by the U.S. or Canadian governments; • Knowledge of FAO's programmes and priorities; • Experience in conducting negotiations for contributions and partnership agreements in line with internal established policies and procedures and external regulations; • Experience in designing and managing resource mobilization processes and strategies, negotiating contract terms and providing related advice to senior management; • Strong writing, communication and analytical skills; • Ability to work well under pressure, negotiate diplomatically, and work independently and collaboratively to meet deadlines; • Excellent people skills and ability to work well in a multicultural and multidisciplinary work environment; • Extent and relevance of experience in policy development, coordination and project planning; • Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________