Project Designer Specialist

Organizational Setting

As the custodian organization for 21 SDG indicators and a contributing agency to another five indicators, one of the FAO’s top priorities is to improve the capacity of Member countries to measure the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and monitor the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Measuring the SDG indicators under FAO custodianship not only consists in measuring countries’ progress in the achievement of the SDGs and preparing credible voluntary national reviews, but is also key to support evidence-based decision-making for sustainable investments and the needed transformation of the food and agricultural sector. Measuring SDG indicators is also essential to raise awareness on the challenges faced in the food and agriculture sector and inform flagship publications, including the “State of the World” collection. Finally, it is vital to monitor progress in the implementation of regional and international agendas, including the Malabo Declaration, the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Agenda and Agenda 2063.

Recent analysis suggests that related challenges faced by countries hampering the achievement of SDGs are:

• Non-alignment of national/regional indicators with the global indicator framework;
• Low investments in SDG data production and use both from national governments and custodian agencies;
• Lack of proper SDG coordination at country level, particularly across government organizations/ministries;
• Capacity gaps to collect, compile, report and use SDG indicators;
• Insufficient coordination on SDG data in the UN system across agencies (e.g. in planning and supporting integrated data collection and capacity development activities);
• Financial resource constraints at country level;
• Persistent confusion among countries between the politics and statistics of the 2030 Agenda;
• Insufficient investment funds from the custodian agencies dedicated to monitoring, follow-up and support projects in support to SDG monitoring; and,
• Uncertain criteria for the applicability of SDG indicators in countries leading to low adoption or cherry picking of indicators.

FAO is scaling up support to countries to ensure that high quality and comparable data for the SDGs are produced and used in support to decision-making and national, regional and global SDG monitoring.

Reporting Lines

The incumbent is responsible for Training of Government Officials and SDG mapping as well as design projects for resource mobilization. He will work under the direct supervision of the Head of programme and the technical supervision of the Office of Chief Statistician (OCS) in Rome.

Technical Focus

FAO is implementing a project to support SDG monitoring and resource mobilization for the implementation of data collection and capacity development activities related to statistics and the SDGs. In particular, promote the production of the indicators at national level, identify capacity development needs, as well as raise awareness and advocate for capacity development initiatives, opportunities for resource mobilization and partnership for supporting SDG monitoring.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Raise awareness on the Global indicator framework for the Sustainable Development Goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
• Explain the role of custodian agencies in general and of FAO in particular
• Adapt and disseminate the generic presentations on each SDG indicator already available
• Promote and raise awareness on the FAO’s SDG-indicators Portal
• Help national governments navigate through the latest SDG progress report
• Train Government Officials in some specific indicator methodologies, data collection procedures, analysis and reporting
• Prepare a mapping of national SDG indicators with the official global SDG indicators completed, including suggestions for further alignment
• Prepare a roadmap for the collection and implementation of the missing SDG indicators under FAO custodianship
• Design at least one project related to SDG monitoring and submit, if funding opportunities are available
• Consult and promote the portfolio of four-pagers designed to support project formulation and resources mobilization
• Contact the relevant regional and sub-regional statisticians and FAO’s SDG indicator focal points to receive support to develop country-level projects

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree/ University degree/technical diploma/high school diploma in Agronomy, Agricultural Economics and relevant social or natural sciences, or other related discipline relevant to the mandate of the organization
• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience on project design on SDGs or related topic
• National of Mozambique or a resident in the country with a valid work permit
• Working knowledge of Portuguese and English

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Strong analytical skills and knowledge of agriculture, food security, livelihoods, food systems and value chains in the context of Mozambique
• Experience in project design
• Experience in SDGs monitoring
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written
• Coordination skills with strong individual planning capacity
• Knowledge of humanitarian principles
• Proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel, Access, Outlook)
• Ability to perform in multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary environment
• Previous work on SDGs monitoring or related topic
• Previous experience in formulation of technical assistance projects
• Previous experience in providing capacity building to government officials

Selection Criteria

• Extent and relevance of experience in SDG monitoring
• Extent and relevance of experience in the formulation of technical assistance projects, provision of technical support and preparation/implementation of training programmes in the field of agriculture and SDGs