Private Sector Engagement Specialist

Organizational Setting

For about six decades, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has been working with the Government and people of Grenada to address challenges in the agriculture, fisheries, and forestry sector. Joint efforts have included increasing sustainability in agricultural production, promoting value-adding practices, improving post-harvest management, enhancing productivity, and increasing the resilience of agriculture-based livelihoods to climate change and other hazards.

Reporting Lines

The Consultant will report to the Lead Technical Officer, who is based in the FAO Subregional Office for the Caribbean in Barbados

Technical Focus

The FAO Sub-Regional Office for the Caribbean (SLC) in collaboration with the Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment (OCB) and other FAO divisions assists member countries in policy development, planning and response regarding challenge of climate change. One of the key areas of work is providing support and accelerating countries’ capacities to access climate finance and share best practices among the countries. Climate financing mechanisms such as the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Green Climate Fund (GCF), Adaptation Fund (AF) and other bilateral and multilateral climate funds have been established specifically to assist countries to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change. FAO is an accredited agency for GEF, GCF and AF.

There is growing international recognition that the agricultural sectors will play a central role in responding to climate change, as these sectors are among the foremost priorities in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted by countries under the UNFCCC. FAO in the Sub-Regional Office for the Caribbean has an important role to play in supporting its Member States to access and utilize climate finance, as evidenced by the growing number of requests from government counterparts. The Government of Grenada is undertaking its readiness activities for accessing Green Climate Fund (GCF) resources to address climate change. The readiness project, “National Adaptation Planning for Improved Food Security in Grenada”, will seek to reduce the impact of climate change on food security in Grenada by strengthening the generation, management, dissemination and building capacities for the use of critical information to accelerate adaptation action in Grenada’s agriculture and fisheries sector. The activities under this Readiness will: • Improve the knowledge base of national and local stakeholders on the impacts of climate change on the fisheries and agriculture sector • Determine the risks and vulnerability of priority crops and species • Improve weather data and information systems including creation of a precipitation index • Build capacity of key stakeholders to identify and implement climate change related interventions

Tasks and responsibilities

• Evaluate financial sector of Grenada for financing agriculture and fisheries investments inclusive of research on available resources to meet needs of persons in the farming and fishing industries. • Asees and Identify sector level gaps in access to climate finance and its by farmers, fisher, agro-processors and other sector participants. • Based on the findings, recommend financing instruments to primary actors in the agriculture and fishing industries • Support the NDA Office in conducting one (1) workshop for the presentation of the investment framework for investment on the improvement of the enabling environment for the adoption and scaling-up of climate resilient agriculture and fisheries technologies and practices to policy makers for consideration. • Identifying opportunities for Leveraging Private Sector Financing for investments in climate resilient agriculture and agribusiness in Grenada targeting financing institutions, potential investors and donor agencies • Develop content for forum on private sector financing for investments in climate resilient agriculture and agribusiness in Grenada targeting financing institutions, potential investors and donor agencies • Support the NDA Office in conducting the organization of one (1) Private Sector Forum/Conference on Opportunities for Leveraging Private Sector Financing for investments in climate resilient agriculture and agribusiness in Grenada targeting financing institutions, potential investors and donor agencies • Development of a concept note for submission to the GCF or another multilateral donor for a ‘Climate Resilient Agriculture/Fisheries Value Chain for Food Security Project. • Validate outputs and deliverables through the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry, Fisheries and Cooperatives and the National Designated Authority (NDA) of Grenada.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree or equivalent in Business Administration, Economics, Finance or a related field. • Minimum five (5) years’ experience working with the private and public sector financing in Grenada. • Proven experience in developing full concept notes and projects proposals; GCF concept notes will be considered an asset. • Working knowledge (Proficient – level C) of English, and limited knowledge (Intermediate - level B) of French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese or Russian. For PSA, working knowledge of English is sufficient.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Work experience in more than one location or area of work. • Experience in working directly with GCF projects. • Significant knowledge on financing agriculture and fisheries investments in the context of Grenada’s Private Sector. • Extensive experience working in Grenada on business, trade, investment or sustainable development issues. • Experience organizing large international/national private sector-focused events. • Strong understanding of public sector and government institutions’ role in private sector development and partnerships. • Extent and relevance of experience in working with key public and private agricultural stakeholders in Grenada, including financing institutions. • Extent and relevance of experience in working as part of a multidisciplinary team of remotely working experts. • Familiarity with standard office software, such as MS Office (Word, Excel, Power Point). • Solid documentation, record keeping and reporting writing skills.