Organizational Setting

The main aim of FAO Country Offices is to assist governments in developing policies, programmes and projects to achieve food security, reduce hunger and malnutrition, develop the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors and use environmental and natural resources sustainably.

Specific activities of the Country Offices include:

•    Implementing FAO’s field projects and participating in the development of the Field Programme by identifying and formulating new projects and liaising with local donor representations.
•    Helping governments to prevent and assess disaster damage and assisting them in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the agricultural sector.
•    Carrying out public awareness activities and supporting important FAO campaigns, such as the World Food Day.
•    Providing assistance to technical and investment missions from FAO headquarters and Regional or Subregional Offices to the country.
•    Serving as a channel for FAO’s services to governments and other partners, including donors, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society organizations (CSOs) and research institutions.
•    Keeping FAO informed of major social and economic developments in the country and monitoring the situation in the agricultural sector.
•    Acting as the FAO Representative to host governments and all partners involved in FAO activities.

Mozambique is one of the top three countries in Africa that is most susceptible to climate shocks such as cyclical droughts, floods and cyclones. Production is characterized by rainfed agriculture with low technology application and vulnerable to external shocks as floods and droughts, pests and diseases. The frequency and intensity of these extreme weather events has increased as a result of climate change, contributing further to high levels of poverty and increasing vulnerability across most of the country. Increase in food insecurity over last three years has also been underpinned by the effects of Covid-19 and global economic downturn. A large proportion of food insecure population is located in the northern provinces of Mozambique, where conflict remains the main driver of food insecurity and displacement has disrupted the lives and livelihoods of millions of people.

FAO participates in the development and implementation of field projects in the sectors of food security, agriculture and rural development. This requires integration within the broader framework of sustainable food and agriculture that aims at increasing production and productivity, addressing climate change, managing natural resources and enhancing rural livelihoods, and bridging the nexus between humanitarian and development interventions.

The position is located in the FAO Representation in Maputo, Mozambique.

Reporting Lines

The Programme Coordinator (Head of Programme) reports to the FAO Representative and will work in close coordination with the Programme, Administration, Operations, Procurement and Communications teams and units in FAO Mozambique.

Technical Focus

The Programme Coordinator (Head of Programme) supports the implementation of the FAO Medium/Long-term, Emergency and Resilience Programme, as well as of FAO’s resilience agenda at the country level and its alignment at subregional, regional and global levels. He/she provides leadership and technical expertise in the planning, development, implementation and evaluation of assigned programmes/projects and their alignment with the Country Programming Framework (CPF).

Key Results

Develops, implements and evaluates effective leadership and management of major projects and teams in accordance with the Office’s objectives and the FAO Strategic Framework.

Key Functions

•    Develops, implements and evaluates assigned programmes/projects, etc.; monitors and analyses programme/project development and implementation; reviews relevant documents and reports; identifies problems and issues to be addressed and initiates corrective actions; liaises with relevant parties; ensures follow-up actions.
•    Coordinates activities related to budget funding (programme/project preparation and submissions, progress reports, financial statements) and prepares related documents/reports (pledging, work programme, programme budget).
•    Researches, analyses and presents information gathered from diverse sources.
•    Coordinates policy development, including the review and analysis of issues and trends, preparation of impact evaluation or equivalent studies.
•    Generates survey initiatives; reviews, analyses and interprets responses, identifies problems/issues and prepares conclusions.
•    Organizes and prepares written outputs, e.g. background papers, analyses, sections of reports and studies, inputs to publications.
•    Provides substantive backstopping to consultative and other meetings and conferences, to include proposing agenda topics, identifying participants, preparation of documents and presentations.
•    Initiates and coordinates outreach activities; conducts training workshops, seminars, etc.; makes presentations on assigned topics/activities.

Specific Functions

•    Provides leadership in emergency and resilience, including anticipatory action, preparedness, needs assessment, emergency response, programming, implementation and resource mobilization, in liaison and collaboration with the relevant FAO units, UN Agencies, regional organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and donors.
•    Supports sectoral coordination and leadership through the FAO-WFP co-led Food Security Cluster/Sector in the country; contributes to the development of FAO’s component of the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) and other relevant humanitarian appeals, ensuring their alignment with FAO’s Strategic Framework.
•    Oversees the Food Security and Risk Analysis Team; monitors food security and agriculture trends for effective institutional learning and informed decision making, monitors the relevant national policy environment; identifies implications for FAO programming and advocacy work, updates FAO emergency information systems, crisis communications, information and advocacy.
•    Ensures FAO’s active participation in development and nexus coordination mechanisms (UN Country Team, Protection against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) network, Durable Solutions Working Group, etc.) as well as adherence to accountability to affected population principles.
•    Supports the Country Office’s resource mobilization through donor liaison, engagement during project implementation, quality review of timely reporting to resource partners and participation in country appeals, donor macro-grants and other funding opportunities through project and programme formulation.
•    Supports the implementation of FAO Country Office communication and visibility strategy for the programme and projects; promotes and supports field missions with specific communication objectives.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

•    Advanced university degree in agriculture, food security, veterinarian medicine, economics, natural resources, rural development, business administration and management, international relations or other field related to the work of the Organization.
•    Seven years of relevant experience in technical cooperation related activities, policy advice and analysis relating to food and nutrition security, humanitarian operations, rural development, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes.
•    Working knowledge (full proficiency – level C) of English and limited knowledge (intermediate proficiency- 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

•    Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions, is desirable.
•    Experience in emergencies and developing countries, vulnerable to disaster or other emergency risks, is highly desirable.
•    Extent and relevance of experience in developing and managing country field programmes from design to delivery (programme/project identification, formulation, analysis, planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation).
•    Extent and relevance of experience in the coordination and/or management of technical cooperation projects and programmes, including emergency, recovery and rehabilitation related programmes.
•    Demonstrated results-based management capabilities with an ability to manage programmes, budgets and human resources efficiently under shifting priorities.
•    Demonstrated experience in resource mobilization.
•    Extent and relevance of experience in negotiating and cooperating with national governments, inter-governmental organizations and other institutions and in designing collaborative networks and joint programmes.
•    Working knowledge (full proficiency – level C) of Portuguese is a strong asset.