Organizational Setting

FAO’s Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (REprovides and coordinates policy and technical assistance to Member Countries in the region. It is also responsible for implementing FAO’s global flagship programmes at the regional level, including the Global Action on One Country One Priority Product (OCO. The OCOP is a countryled and countryowned initiative that aims to promote the longterm development of Special Agricultural Products (SAPthat have unique qualities and potential for sustainable economic growth. Through this initiative, countries can enhance the value of these products by improving production methods and value addition; strengthening and greening their value chains; and facilitating market access at local, regional, and global levels, all the while ensuring environmental sustainability and social inclusivity.

As part of the roll out of OCOP in the region, REU is implementing a regional Technical Cooperation Programme (TCtitled “Technical Facilitation and Knowledge Exchange on OCOP in Europe and Central Asia” (TCP/RER/3903) with the objective of providing technical support to the ideation, design and implementation of countrylevel OCOP initiatives while fostering technical exchange between participating countries. Through this TCP, the global Agrifood Systems Transformation Accelerator (ASTprogramme, coled by FAO and UNIDO, is supporting the OCOP to conduct a comprehensive Value Chain Analysis (VCof the wine sector in Georgia, develop an upgrading strategy for the sector, including an export and market diversification vision and plan, as well as to create a concrete project document to mobilize technical and financial resources for implementing these strategies.

The TCP is currently seeking an experienced national consultant to support the implementation of OCOP in Georgia, with a focus on developing the wine value chain. The consultant will be an integral part of the national analytical team within the project implementation unit, ensuring that the project outputs are evidencebased and have strong technical foundation.

Reporting Lines

The National Socioeconomic Specialist will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Georgia, the technical leadership of the Agriculture Economist and ASTA Colead at FAO Headquarters (ES, and the technical guidance and supervision of two International Consultants (Value Chain Specialist and Trade and Marketing Specialisworking on the ASTAOCOP Collaboration. The incumbent will work in close collaboration with two national consultants, i.e. the Commodity Specialist, and the Trade and Marketing Specialist.

Technical Focus

The National Commodity Specialist will support the Agrifood Systems Transformation Accelerator (ASTteam in preparing the Wine Value Chain Analysis and Strategy Design (VCA/Report. This report will include dedicated sections on VCA, the design of an upgrading strategy, the development of an export and market diversification strategy, action and investment plans, and a detailed project proposal to initiate the implementation of these strategies.

Tasks and responsibilities

Specific tasks of the National Socioeconomic Specialist are:
•    Review and analyze secondary data, including existing literature, statistics, reports, and studies related to the Wine industry in Georgia. This includes gathering data from government agencies, industry associations, and trade publications regarding regulations, tariffs, and market trends, as well as analyzing historical production and export data to identify patterns and trends.
•    Based on the ASTA methodology and on the FAO Sustainable Food Value Chain (SFVframework, support the identification and selection of the VC survey sample, i.e. key informants interviews (KII, experts for interviews, as well as participants for surveys and focus group discussions
•    Collect the primary data and contribute to the analysis of those data to gather insights into market analysis, functional analysis; Value chain mapping; financial evaluation of current production practices; and opportunities within the value chain costbenefit analysis and returns to investments for enhanced business models; Risk and vulnerability analysis
•    Support the Sustainability Assessment of the Wine VC, as per SFVC Methodology: 1) Economic Impact Analysis (profitability, employment, value added, effects on the national economy, international competitiveness and value for endconsumers, et. 2) Social Sustainability Analysis (inclusiveness within the Wine value chain, access to decent employment, gender equality, social and cultural capital, food security, safety and nutrition, and institutional strengtand 3) Environmental Sustainability Analysis, and 4) Resilience. This includes to identify the inclusion of women, youth, and other typically marginalized groups in value chain analysis and the development of sector strategies.
•    Identify opportunities for value chain upgrading, including improvements in productivity, quality standards, market access, and rural capital, food security, safety and nutrition, and institutional strength, valueadded processing, and assess the feasibility and potential impact for the proposed business models.
•    Contribute with writing the VCA/D Report, particularly the functional, enabling environment, social and economic sustainability impact assessment, enhanced business models and value chain upgrading sections, with focus on export, trade and marketing upgrading strategy
•    Contribute with the preparation of a concrete project proposal, particularly focusing on the preparation of the theory of change, targets, estimated project budget, modalities of implementation, logframe, and M&E System (impact, outcomes and results’ indicators. Provide inputs to the VCA / D report: Analysis, sustainability assessment, business models, upgrading strategy, including draft investment, export and marketing upgrading strategy and action plan. Contribute to a policy note on greening, resilient and sustainable production of Wines in Georgia.
•    Based on the Wine VCA/D Report and semistructured interviews with key stakeholders, contribute to draft a case study on greening Georgia’s wine value chain.
•    Participate in and cofacilitate the inception, presentation of VCA findings, and validation upgrading strategy multistakeholder workshops to validate findings, gather additional insights, and ensure buyin for proposed interventions; and other meetings related to the implementation of the project.
•    Perform any other duties required

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements    

•    Advanced degree (Master’s or Ph.in Agricultural Economics, Development Studies, Sociology, Rural Development, or a related field.
•    Minimum 5 years of relevant work experience in socioeconomic analysis, and strategy development, particularly within food security and food systems, or rural development sectors.
•    Working knowledge of Georgian, English and Russian languages.
•    National of Georgia or resident in the country with a regular work permit.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills 

•    Knowledge of the wine value chains, and market systems, especially within the Georgian context.
•    Familiarity with smallholder agriculture and SMEs in Georgia including the challenges and opportunities they face, as well as on inclusion of women, youth, and other typically marginalized groups in value chain analysis and the development of sector strategies.
•    Strong skills for the empowerment of women and youth in rural or agricultural settings of the wine sector. Knowledge of vocational training, entrepreneurship development, and leadershipbuilding for marginalized groups.
•    Specialized training or certifications on value chain optimization, market systems development, food security, or climatesmart agriculture and energy efficient technologies, would be a plus.
•    Understanding of climatesmart agricultural practices and technologies aimed at improving sustainability, water and energy efficiency, and reducing food loss and waste. Expertise in analysing returns to investments in climate change adaptation technologies and practices, including waterpreserving technologies, sustainable agriculture practices, and renewable energy use in agribusinesses.
•    Ability to work with national governments, local authorities, international organizations, and civil society to ensure multistakeholder engagement.
•    Proven experience working, particularly in Georgia, with smallholder farmers, agribusiness SMEs, and local communities, women and youth in rural or agricultural settings
•    Prior experience in developing national or regionallevel strategies and investment and actions plans related to agrifood systems, food security, and rural development
•    Relevant experience in applied research in the field of sustainable food value chains and agrifood systems, including experience in preparation of papers and/or reports for publication
•    Relevant experience in socioeconomic analysis, agrifood systems and food security at a national, regional and/or global scale.
•    Relevant experience and knowledge of the main data sources for analysing sustainable food value chains, and of data compilation, validation, visualisation, and analysis.
•    Relevant experience in conducting quantitative economic analysis, costbenefit analysis, and business models modelling,
•    Demonstrated ability to manage, analyse, and present quantitative information clearly and effectively.
•    Demonstrated ability to work in multidisciplinary teams, combining socioeconomic insights with technical agricultural knowledge;
•    Capacity to work independently and meet deadlines in a complex policy environment.
•    Excellent communication skills to present and facilitate Multistakeholder Workshops and build partnerships
•    Quality of both oral and written communication in English, including the ability to write clearly and concisely for publications.
•    Proficiency in using statistical software
•    Proficiency in English, especially for reporting, communication with international partners, and presenting strategies, and excellent command of Russian is essential.
•    Capacity to work effectively in multidisciplinary teams with minimal supervision and to plan workflows so as to meet tight deadlines.