Subregional Coordinator for Eastern Africa and FAO Representative to the African Union and UN Economic Commission for Africa

Organizational Setting

The Regional Office for Africa (RAF) leads FAO’s response to regional priorities for food security, agriculture and rural development through the identification, planning and implementation of FAO’s priority activities in the region. It ensures a multidisciplinary approach to programmes, identifies priority areas of action for the Organization in the region and, in collaboration with sub-regional Offices as well as Centres and Divisions at Headquarters, develops, promotes and oversees FAO's strategic response to regional priorities.

The Subregional Offices (SROs) mainly consist of Multidisciplinary Teams (MDTs) and are led by Subregional Coordinators (SRCs). The SROs represent a critically important component of the FAO decentralized office structure and are responsible for the planning and delivery of FAO’s strategies, initiatives and programmes at the sub-regional and country levels. They bring cutting-edge technical expertise to the countries of the subregion and serve as the first port of call for technical support.

The position is located in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) at the FAO Subregional Office for Eastern Africa (SFE), which covers the following countries: Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, and Uganda.

The Subregional Coordinator also serves as FAO Representative to the African Union (AU) and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

Reporting Lines

The Subregional Coordinator reports to the Assistant Director-General/Regional Representative for Africa, FAO Regional Office for Africa (RAF) in Accra, Ghana. He/she supervises the members of the multidisciplinary technical teams in SFE and provides general supervision to the staff of the Subregional Office.

The Subregional Coordinator leads the multidisciplinary technical teams in the Subregional Office for Eastern Africa (SFE). He/she leads FAO’s response to subregional priorities in line with FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31, Regional Priorities from the FAO Africa Regional Conference, and is accountable for FAO activities in the subregion. He/she represents FAO to the African Union (AU) and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). The SRC supports the FAO Regional Representative in his/her capacity as an accountable member of the regional UNDG team as defined in the “Management and Accountability System of the UN Development and the Resident Coordinator System”. The SRC is part of the RAF Core Leadership Team (CLT) and he/she contributes to addressing strategic issues e.g. work planning, programming, budgeting and other strategic issues at RAF.

Summary of Duties and Functions:

The Subregional Coordinator is FAO’s focal point for addressing subregional food security, nutrition, agriculture, fisheries, forestry, sustainable management of natural resources, climate change and rural development issues. He/she heads a Subregional Multidisciplinary Team (MDT), of which the Resilience Team for East Africa is an integral part, in the framework of FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31, and supports the effective delivery of RAF Programme Areas of Work and Regional Priorities. He/she contributes to the preparation of the Country Programming Frameworks (CPFs) agreed between FAO and the member countries of the subregion, and ensures effective collaboration with the African Union, subregional economic integration organizations, UN-system entities at the subregional and national levels, and other subregional institutions and media. He/she provides functional guidance to FAO Representatives (FAORs) in the subregion, in their capacity as MDT members. In his/her function as FAO Representative to the African Union and the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the Subregional Coordinator will liaise with the leadership and management of these institutions to promote and support development and roll out of FAO and agreed upon regional flagship initiatives and priorities in Africa, using regional and subregional platforms. In delivering his/her functions, the SRC consults with and coordinates with the Regional Office for Africa (RAF) and receives functional guidance from relevant Divisions/Centres/Offices at FAO Headquarters for planning, development, implementation, monitoring and reporting for subregional activities, initiatives, priorities as well as for the FAO Strategic Framework.

In particular, he/she will:

• Lead the analysis and dialogue on subregional priorities and the development of subregional strategies;
• Lead the MDT in the Subregional Office (SRO) in serving as the first port of call for the countries in the subregion in providing technical support, relevant policy advice and necessary guidance;
• Advise and collaborate with internal partners to raise awareness of subregional priorities and needs, and ensure that they are reflected in corporate and regional policies;
• Ensure the provision of timely technical support to the FAO components of the UN common planning and programming frameworks (e.g. The United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework/UNSDCFs, Common Agricultural Policy/CAP, Flash Appeals, etc), the Country Programming Framework (CPF) for all countries in the subregion and related FAO programmes, projects and/or other activities;
• Support member countries in the subregion to address food insecurity, malnutrition, hunger and inequalities by working together with institutional partners in the subregion, in accordance with agreed priorities, approved programme/workplans/budgets, strategic objectives and corporate policies;
• Coordinate and ensure timely and appropriate technical backstopping to FAO programmes and projects in the subregion in close collaboration with FAO technical Divisions/Centres/Offices and in line with corporate norms, standards and procedures;
• Support and where relevant lead the subregional policy dialogues on areas of FAO’s mandate;
• Facilitate timely access by subregional stakeholders to FAO’s knowledge resources and global public goods, and knowledge sharing within and beyond the subregion;
• Lead the implementation of FAO’s communication strategy in the subregion and act as the spokesperson of FAO in the subregion;
• Advocate FAO’s policy positions in the relevant subregional fora, represent FAO in the media, and implement a pro-active communications strategy to raise FAO awareness with the general public;
• Lead and manage the Subregional Office and ensure effective and efficient use of human and financial resources in line with corporate policies and administrative procedures;
• Manage all matters related to the security and safety of FAO personnel and their eligible dependants and ensure full adherence to the UN Security Policy, rules and regulations as well as to security-related instructions issued by FAO;
• Contribute to strategic leadership and management decisions on FAO’s work in Africa as a member of RAF’s Core Leadership Team;
• Support the effective establishment and nurturing of partnerships and collaborations with the African Union, governments, technical and donor partners, civil society, NGOs and UN and other inter-governmental and international organizations;
• Lead subregional mobilization of extra-budgetary resources, making optimum use of the expertise available in the decentralized offices;
• Serve as FAO focal point for the UN and other regional/international entities’ based in Ethiopia and support the Regional Representative on UN coordination and transformation matters as required;
• Undertake regular reporting and monitoring on subregional programmes.
• Perform other duties as required

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced University degree and post-graduate qualifications in the field of agriculture, fishery, forestry or international relations.
• Minimum of fifteen years of relevant professional experience in development issues and management, resource mobilization especially familiarity with international financial institutions (IFIs), global funding envelopes for agriculture and environment e.g. Global Environment Facility (GEF), Adaptation Fund, etc., and private sector or blended financial modalities, development or humanitarian related issues, preferably with some years of experience in Africa.
• Extensive managerial and professional experience in fields related to the mandate of FAO. Previous leadership roles in a multicultural setting would be an advantage.
• Demonstrated professional competence, proven leadership capability, effective management skills, intellectual, and strategic leadership of a high order in relevant subject areas.
• Extensive experience and competence in partnership with inter-governmental and international organizations, national governments, technical and donor partners, private sector, civil society organizations, youth and women organizations, farmer associations, etc.
• Working knowledge (proficient - level C) of English and limited knowledge (intermediate- level B) of one of the other FAO languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish).