Programme Development Officer (Innovation partnership and knowledge management)

Organizational Setting The Global Forum on Agricultural Research and Innovation (GFAR) is a voluntary network and movement for change, uniquely bringing together all sectors relevant to innovation in Agriculture and food. GFAR is made up of over 580 Partner networks and institutions, working together through collective advocacy and action, to shape the future of agriculture and food and their role in achieving sustainable development. The Partners in GFAR come from all around the world and across many sectors, including farmers, consumers and civil society organizations, women and youth organization, the private sector, public national and international research systems, advisory services, education, donor bodies and three UN Organizations. GFAR’s reach is achieved through these organizations and the many millions of people they involve.

GFAR mobilizes dialogue and collective actions between the many Partners who make up the Forum and who share GFAR’s common vision of making agri-food research and innovation more effective, responsive and equitable towards achieving Sustainable Development outcomes. The GFAR Secretariat helps trigger these collective actions among GFAR Partner institutions, who are themselves the agents of change and deliver and helps the partners establish the strategy and programme of work of their forum, working from development demands back to required innovations. GFAR’s key areas of focus align to FAO’s Strategic Objectives and contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

GFAR i) helps inspire and enable the transformation and strengthening of agri-food research and innovation for development systems and processes to become more inclusive and equitable, more effective and impactful and ii) catalyzes changes, fostering dialogue and new forms of multi stakeholder collaboration at different levels, through its extensive networks, South- South, North South and between sectors.

GFAR is seeking to recruit a highly experienced and motivated Innovation, Partnership and Knowledge Management Officer who is passionate about transforming and strengthening the international research and development architecture and building networked actions for impact towards the Sustainable Development Goals. The officer will work within the Secretariat to mobilize and support Partner organizations of the Forum as they address specific key areas of focus of GFAR, providing the necessary support and administrative functions and representing the Forum in advocacy and sharing of experiences and lessons learned.

The position is located in the GFAR Secretariat at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy.

Reporting Lines The Programme Development Officer (Innovation Partnership and Knowledge Management) reports to GFAR Executive Secretary.

Technical Focus Facilitation of partnerships and collective actions, and related Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning.

Key Results Technical expertise to support the planning, implementation and learning from GFAR Programme of Work and facilitate GFAR activities especially Collective Actions.

Key Functions • Supports dialogue and collective actions between the Partners who make up the Forum. • Communicates and monitors GFAR’s vision of making agrifood research and innovation more effective, responsive and equitable towards achieving Sustainable Development outcomes. • Promotes and monitors the use of methodologies, tools and systems to support the planning, delivery and learning from programmes of work, collective actions and other GFAR initiatives. • Produces reports, assessments and analyses, and participates in multidisciplinary teams, technical networks and cross-sector studies. • Supports the coordination of knowledge capture from capacity development and knowledge sharing activities including learning events. • Participates in international meetings aimed at advancing GFAR’s mission by supporting members’ and partners’ engagement. • Liaises as appropriate with FAO’s relevant units and corporate activities (development and adoption of approaches and tools, contribution to Science and Innovation international meetings, technical events related to topics at the heart of GFAR’s mission/collective actions).

Specific Functions • Supports the GFAR Executive Secretary in setting up and implementing GFAR plan of action, mobilizing technical, human and financial resources, with particular reference to members’ engagement, partnership facilitation and Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning. • Contributes to the development of corporate documents (Theory of Change, Engagement Principles, Partnership Principles) that provide strategic guidance and deliver awareness of GFAR roles and values. • Engages GFAR’s members and partners and support processes initiating and establishing GFAR-enabled multi-stakeholder Collective Actions, ensuring complementarity between actors, equitable participation and integration of resource poor producers placed at the centre of these dynamics in accordance with GFAR Partnership Principles. • Contributes to the Collective Action (CA) on Inclusive Digital Agriculture, and the preliminary steps of the CA on land tenure and climate change. • Updates, refines and monitors the application of the GFAR Monitoring Evaluation & Learning (MEL) strategy. • Coordinates the use of the MEL platform by staff and members to document and learn from all activities, in particular Collective Actions, including the collection of stories. • Monitors the currency and application of the members’ engagement principles and coordinates with the membership manager, the communications specialist and the webmaster to ensure consistent implementation of the members’ database and the learning and knowledge hubs. • Organizes and provides input to relevant meetings (Executive Committee, Steering Committee, Members/Partners Assembly).

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements • Advanced university degree in agriculture, economics, social sciences, development studies, international relations or related fields. • Five years of relevant experience in facilitating projects and partnerships involving agrifood Research &Innovation systems actors, including experience in project management, Monitoring & Evaluation and knowledge management. • Working knowledge (proficient - level C) of English and limited knowledge (intermediate - level B) of another FAO official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish).

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

Technical/Functional Skills • Knowledge of support tools for MEL and knowledge management. • Ability to facilitate and work effectively with a diverse team of people and organizations. • Extent and relevance of knowledge and experience in facilitating partnerships/collective actions with agrifood actors including farmers’ organizations. • Extent and relevance of experience in knowledge and information management in multistakeholder projects and building participatory knowledge bases. • Knowledge of suitable M&E methods and platforms for monitoring and learning from participatory projects. • Ability to analyse information as the basis for technical advice for GFAR members and partners and input to international meetings. • Extent and relevance of knowledge of the linkages between different topics relevant to small-scale farmers in the Global South.