PAP3235/2021 - Agroecology Consultant - Agroecology Assessment in the UNDP Programmes and Projects Portfolio

Consultant Environment

Overview

Conduct agroecology assessments in UNDP projects.

You have:

• Post-graduate qualification in agriculture, environment or development-related subject.
• 5 years of previous working experience in data and statistical analysis.
• Experience in data models and reporting packages.
• Prior work experience or familiarity with UN work on natural resources management, food and agriculture.
• Fluency in English language is a Must.

Contract

This is a International Consultant contract. More about International Consultant contracts.

Background

IC-PAP3235/2021 - International Consultancy: Agroecology Consultant - Agroecology Assessment in the UNDP Programmes and Projects Portfolio.

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Description of assignment: Consultative Services for International Consultancy: Agroecology Consultant - Agroecology Assessment in the UNDP Programmes and Projects Portfolio.

Type of Consultancy: International Post.

Duty Station: Home Base.

Period of assignment/services: 15 Working Days – over a period of 2 months.

Estimated Starting Date: July 2021

Proposals should be submitted: Not later than 7th of July 2021, 17:00 COB (+03:00GMT/ Istanbul Time)

Important Notices:

• THIS IS A DELIVERABLE-BASED INDIVIDUAL CONTRACT AND NOT A WORKING DAYS-BASED CONTRACT.
• Proposals should be submitted through the UNDP Jobs Portal only no later than COB 7th of July 2021 (Istanbul Time: +3 GMT).

Please note the following:

• Proposers MUST provide the financial offers in their submission as in the format of Annex 1. (DO NOT SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION WITHOUT ANNEX 1 - SUBMITTING CV ONLY IS NOT ACCEPTABLE). The form can be downloaded from

  https://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=80109

• Request for Clarification: Any request for clarification must be sent in writing via e-mail to the procurement officer mentioned in the Procurement Notice [[email protected]].

• The latest day to receive and respond to inquiries is 2 days prior to the closure of the procurement notice; UNDP will provide a written response, via the Procurement Notice website, without identifying the source of inquiry.

Duties and Responsibilities

1.Background

The 46th edition of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) highlighted the need for developing a policy convergence document for transition to sustainable food systems through agroecology and other innovative approaches. FAO is leading multi-agency agroecology upscaling initiative (including IFAD, WFP, UNCBD Secretariat, UNDP, WHO among others). This process was initiated in conjunction with FAO’s “Second International Symposium on Agroecology: Scaling up Agroecology to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals” in April 2018 . The Initiative has identified the following three main areas of work: i) Knowledge and innovation for local problems; ii) Policy processes for transformation of food and agricultural systems; iii) Building connections and partnerships and integrating agroecology into the United Nations (UN) system for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The development of a framework and methodology for assessing agroecology activities based on the Ten Elements of Agroecology, approved by the FAO Council in December 2019 , falls under the i and iii areas of work and focuses on the need to determine to which degree UNDP’s programmes and projects are engaged in promoting agroecology-based practices benefiting smallholder farmers, while also producing knowledge and creating partnerships for scaling-up agroecology. As part of this initiative and joint collaboration, FAO and IFAD have conducted stock-takes on their portfolio to map the investments in agroecology and to identify projects that can be considered as having an agroecological approach or are actively seeking to promote agroecological approaches in their design and implementation. This assessment will inform the design and development of programming principles and tools to better integrate agroecology and other innovations into future programming within UNDP.

2.Objective:

Based on the Ten Elements of Agroecology and the available framework and tools to assess and measure agroecology in a given project (IFAD[1], Biovision[2] and FAO[3]), the objective of the consultancy is to develop a methodology and framework adapted to UNDP’s portfolio. The framework and methodology will serve to conduct a stock-take and assessment of investments in agroecology and other innovation in recent UNDP projects and how well the portfolio is aligned or performs against the FAO 10 elements. The stock-take will be able provide: i) an analysis of UNDP’s investments in agroecology by types of activities, regions and pursued objectives, etc. in a manner that’s presentable through the use of graphs and figures; ii) key findings on UNDP’s current support for agroecology; and iii) identification of key trends and qualitative lessons learned that can inform guidelines on better integration of agroecology into the design and implementation of future UNDP projects and programmes on food, agriculture and commodities to better meet the goals and objectives outlined in UNDP FACS Strategy.

3.Tasks and responsibilities:

1. By liaising with key institutions that have already developed tools to assess and measure agroecology in a given project, including IFAD, FAO and Biovision, and with the UNDP Food, Agriculture and Commodity Systems (FACS) Practice focal points, and Nature, Climate and Energy teams responsible for data analytics and digital innovation, develop a framework and methodology by adjusting the existing ones to the UNDP mandate and portfolio, with particular attention to integrating the FAO Ten Elements of Agroecology;
2. Provide inputs for structuring existing database and data sources to collect and analyse portfolio data using specific key words aligned with the framework and methodology
3. Conduct a rapid review of the data and assess it for usability to extract key findings and lessons;
4. Develop a step-by-step guide on how to use of the methodology and framework for conducting an agroecology assessment of UNDP projects on food, agriculture and commodities.

[1] The study based on IFAD’s stock-take is about to be published soon.

[2] https://www.agroecology-pool.org/methodology/

[3] http://www.fao.org/agroecology/tools-tape/en/

Competencies

Corporate Competencies

• Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values.
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability

Functional Competencies

• Development and operational effectiveness
• Ability to perform a variety of specialized tasks related to results management, including support to design, planning and implementation of programme, managing data, reporting.
• Ability to provide input to business processes re-engineering, implementation of new system, including new IT based systems
• Good knowledge of results based management and performance indicators
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English, with an excellent understanding of structure and form of official UN documentation;
• Excellent organizational skills and proven ability to deliver projects within assigned deadlines;
• Excellent interpersonal skills and objectivity;
• Experience working collaboratively in a team structure in a multicultural environment.

Leadership and Self-Management

• Focuses on result for the client and responds positively to feedback
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude
• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.

Knowledge Management and Learning

• Shares knowledge and experience

Required Skills and Experience

A.Education:

• Post-graduate qualification in agriculture, environment or development-related subject

B.Work Experience:

• 5 years of previous working experience in Experience and background in data and statistical analysis
• Experience in data models and reporting packages
• Prior work experience or familiarity with UN (e.g. FAO, IFAD, UNDP) work on natural resources management, food and agriculture

C.Language:

• Fluency in English language is a Must.

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Potential interview questions

Added 5 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: jobs.undp.org