Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.

The Markets and Trade Division (EST) monitors and analyses developments and trends in international, regional and national agricultural commodity markets and the factors affecting them, collecting and disseminating up-to-date and comprehensive market and policy information for the major traded commodities and those important to food security. It also undertakes forward-looking outlook studies. The Division analyses issues that affect global food and agricultural markets and trade, including analysis of trade policies and agreements, and provides technical support and capacity development to FAO Members in all these areas. Through its Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture (GIEWS), the Division is responsible for FAO’s early warnings on food shortfalls and food security problems. EST is also responsible for the production of FAO flagship publication The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets (SOCO) and the OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook. The Division houses the secretariats of the Committee on Commodity Problems (CCP) and its subsidiary Intergovernmental Groups (IGGs), the G20 Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) and the World Banana Forum (WBF).

The position is located in the Food and Agricultural Market Analysis (FAMA) Team. The call for expression of interest aims at identifying highly qualified and motivated candidates for the EST divisional roster to support the FAMA team and the broader Division in carrying out quantitative analyses on selected issues regarding the agrifood markets.
 

Reporting Lines

The incumbent reports to the responsible Senior Economist in EST.

Technical Focus 

The incumbent will contribute to the analytical work on commodity markets and trade, through quantitative analyses and/or policy support services. Interested candidates should possess a good knowledge and understanding of agricultural commodity markets and be acquainted with relevant macroeconomic and policy developments influencing their global dynamics, such as exchange rates, energy prices, input markets and trade policies. She/he is also expected to be familiar with the main analytical methods and tools used for the analysis of price trends, market drivers, policy developments, and commodity market projections.

Tasks and responsibilities

•    Develop, expand, and/or maintain databases on macroeconomic aggregates, agricultural commodity markets, and trade, including data on production, consumption, trade flows, stocks and prices.
•    Conduct analysis of commodity markets as well as any relevant policy developments, especially those affecting global prices and price volatility.
•    Undertake relevant research work on agricultural commodity markets by using state-of-the-art quantitative methods and tools to analyse trends, drivers, and projections of prices and other market fundamentals.
•    Contribute to the drafting and preparation of studies and technical products (reports, papers, technical notes, and policy briefs) to support the Team/Division in disseminating the results of the analytical work on agricultural commodity markets and trade and related issues.
•    Support the Team in organizing and servicing the meetings of the Intergovernmental Groups (IGGs) for the commodities covered by EST Division.
•    Performs other tasks and duties, as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

•    Advanced university degree (PhD, MS or equivalent) in Economics, Development Economics, Agricultural Economics, International Trade, Data Sciences, or related field.
•    Minimum three years of relevant experience in the areas listed above.
•    Working knowledge (proficient – level C) of English and limited knowledge (intermediate – level B) of another FAO official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish). For PSA, working knowledge of English.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

•    Academic/professional background in economics, with a strong foundation in empirical macroeconomics and quantitative analysis.
•    Extent and relevance of experience in commodity market analysis and economic research, including the use of statistical and econometric methods to perform advanced time series, panel and/or cross-sectional analyses.
•    Experience in programming using R, STATA, Python or other relevant programming languages.
•    Extent and relevance of experience in the development and management of databases using macroeconomic data.
•    Proven excellent communication skills, both verbal and writing.
•    A good publication record would be an asset.