National Project Personnel – National Value Chain and Finance Specialist (GCP/MON/018/GEF)

Organizational Setting:

Achieving food security for all is at the heart of FAO efforts – to make sure people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. The FAO-GEF partnership addresses critical challenges at the nexus between agriculture and the environment. FAO has a history of partnership with the Government of Mongolia (GoM), to eradicate poverty and malnutrition through the development of the agriculture sector. It has also been an active partner of the government in protecting the environment,promoting sustainable development and the disaster risk management strategies of the country.

The project “Promoting Dryland Sustainable Landscapes and Biodiversity Conservation in the Eastern Steppe of Mongolia” is part of a global program led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN-FAO), the Global Environment Facility 7th replenishment (GEF-7) Sustainable Forest Management Impact Program on Dryland Sustainable Landscapes (SFM/Drylands IP). In Mongolia, the project is led by FAO in partnership with World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and will be executed by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) in collaboration with the Ministry of Food agriculture and light industry (MoFALI) and other partners.

WWF works to sustain the natural world for the benefit of people and wildlife. Working with many others – from individuals and communities to business and government – WWF urgently seeks to protect and restore natural habitats, stop the mass extinction of wildlife, and make the way we produce and consume sustainable. As a part of WWF Network, WWF-Mongolia embraces the concept of being international and at the same time national. WWF-Mongolia focuses its efforts on critical conservation issues in 2 of the world’s outstanding places for biodiversity conservation, the Altai-Sayan Ecoregion in Western Mongolia and Amur-Heilong Ecoregion Complex in Eastern Mongolia.

Reporting Lines:

Under the direct supervision of National project manager (NPM) and technical guidance by FAO-Lead Technical Officer (LTO) and WWF concerned experts in close collaboration with the MOFALI and MET the Value Chain and Finance Specialist will work closely with the other project specialists and local stakeholders, to support the implementation of project outcomes related with sustainable value chain and community based conservation and sustainable financing of Nature Reserves.

Technical Focus:

The objective of the project is to reverse and prevent dryland ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss through an inclusive, integrated landscape and value chain approach securing multiple environment benefits and sustainable, resilient livelihoods in the Eastern Steppe of Mongolia.

Tasks and responsibilities:

Specific duties will include: the implementation of activities on the establishment or strengthening of risk funds or other financing mechanisms (such as user fees or local tax) to promote sustainable value chain activities (co-financed by local government, herder groups or other partners including donor projects and NGO).

• Lead the implementation of activities related to building partnerships and development of sustainable value chains by providing technical and business development support to herder groups/cooperatives to enhance capacity for processing, marketing and sale of agricultural products for domestic and international market; • Coordinate with the Sustainable Fibre Alliance on sustainable cashmere activities by assisting herder cooperatives in meeting sustainable codes of practice and obtain certifications from existing certification bodies; • Ensure that technical assistance for establishing/strengthening sustainable value chains for agriculture products (packaging, marketing, finance management, traceability and other initiatives; • Ensure value chain related interventions are implemented in coordination with other projects and local initiatives but not limited to SECIM, IFAD, Green gold, SFA, LCP, Agriculture commodity exchange, agriculture traceability systems, e-agriculture related activities and in parallel with market-based incentives and other measures that support a reduction in the stocking density; • Ensure coordination of all value chain activities with co-financing partners (in particular, wool, cashmere and meat processing companies, SFA, FUGs or others with local investments by government, private sector, as well as other initiatives) • Develop standard guideline for conservation-based income-generating grant proposals in NRs and responsible for all processes related to screening and selection of proposals, contracting, reporting templates, documentation and monitoring; • Develop and provide technical and safety instructions when handing over the any equipment and tool; • Support activities on sustainable financing mechanisms for the implementation of the Nature Reserve management plans; • Develop partnerships with financing institutions to enable access to affordable financing for herders and local residents in support of sustainable agriculture production (soft loans, establishment of credit saving cooperatives, credit and savings unions); • Cooperate with National livestock, National Agriculture specialists and National Biodiversity specialist for development and implementation of consolidated training program for herder groups and cooperatives (in particular, women-led cooperatives) in governance, business and legal skills based on the training needs and investment assessment; • Organize annual community fairs or festivals, workshop or cross-site visits (at aimag, national levels) to demonstrate and share best practices on sustainable value chain development, transfer knowledge and exchange lessons learned; • Develop specific monitoring indicators to be incorporated in the integrated monitoring sheet to support implementation of ESMF measures related sustainable value chain and monitor progress of the activities; • Ensure that all activities are screened against the Environment Social Management Framework, support the targets of the gender action plan, as well as guidelines/handbooks and training programs are integrated social and gender issues; • Prepare knowledge products on the entire process of development of sustainable value chain activities including the lessons learned on co-financing practices; • Develop guidelines, lessons learned and policy recommendations on the activities conducted, and provide inputs for project progress reports and a consultant’s final report at the end of the project. This will include assisting Knowledge management and M&E specialist to prepare a scale-up strategy and investment plan for after project completion including specific options for MOFALI, aimag authorities for follow-up and scale-up after the project. • Any other tasks relevant to the positions.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Degree in business administration and management, economy or related fields; • A minimum of 5 years directly applicable experience working in finance, economy on grant management, value chain and small business planning and monitoring; • Excellent command of language in English and Mongolian including ability to write clearly and concisely at technical level; • Nationality of Mongolia.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Proven experience in an extensive conceptual and practical knowledge of community business planning, value chain and grant proposal assessment and monitoring; • Familiarity with relevant national laws and regulations and international policies and methods for sustainable livestock and value chain development; • Strong participatory and facilitation skills, in leading stakeholder consultations and participatory planning; • Previous experience with similar donor-funded project(s) is an advantage; • Proven experience with statistical and data analysis; familiarity with both qualitative and quantitative information analysis tools; • Excellent capacity to manage project planning, implementation and evaluation; • Excellent inter-personal skills, including the ability to develop and maintain strong relationships at all levels; • Teamwork and strong soft skills including interpersonal, ethical, listening and communication skills, proactive, problem solving, self-organizing, planning, organizing, setting priorities and efficient use of time; • Computer literacy in MS office, familiarity with agricultural commodity exchange online system and animal identification and traceability systems; • In-depth knowledge of programme and project implementation is considered a strong asset; • Experience in international programme and project implementing organization is an asset; • Willingness to travel regularly in the field.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing)
• Incomplete applications will not be considered. If you need help please contact: [email protected]
• Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted
• Only language proficiency certificates from UN accredited external providers and/or FAO language official examinations (LPE, ILE, LRT) will be accepted as proof of the level of knowledge of languages indicated in the online applications
• For additional employment opportunities visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/