Tasks and responsibilities:

Background

Sub-Saharan Africa has the youngest population in the world with over 60% of the total population of 960 million below the age of 24. To maximize its demographic dividend, the region will have to create more than 10 million jobs per year in the next two decades to absorb the new entrants in the labor force.

Youth employment features high in the agenda of African countries with the launch of the following theme by the African Union for 2017: Harnessing the development dividend through investments in the youth. The promotion of decent agriculture and agribusiness jobs for youth is a key priority in the FAO regional programme of work for Africa, as well as a corporate outcome under FAO’s Strategic Objective 3 to reduce rural poverty.

 

Terms of Reference: 

In order to promote decent agriculture and agribusiness jobs for youth in Africa and boost the FAO contribution to the youth employment targets of the 2014 Malabo Declaration and the CAADP Results Framework (2015-25), FAO/RAF will recruit a youth employment expert. Under the direct supervision of the Regional Strategic Programme Coordinator and in close collaboration with the Regional SP3 Focal Point in RAF and members of the Decent Rural Employment Team (ESP/DRET) in FAO headquarters, the consultant will undertake the following tasks:

• Acts as focal point for decent youth employment in RAF and technically lead and coordinate FAO’s work in this area, including by liaising/consulting with other team members working on youth employment issues or projects.
• Provide policy and technical support to FAO member countries in Africa for the development and implementation of policies, strategies, programmes and projects to promote decent youth employment in agriculture and agribusiness.
• Seek opportunities to integrate subjects of high relevance for decent youth employment in the main programmes and initiatives carried out by FAO in the Region, such as the Regional Initiative on Sustainable Production Intensification and Value Chain Development in Africa.
• Carry out resource mobilization efforts on the topic of decent agriculture and agribusiness jobs for youth, especially to fund and implement the regional programme on Youth employment for sustainable development and rural poverty reduction in Africa (YES Africa), while setting the scene for conducting the inception phase of the programme.
• Identify, develop, actively participate in and monitor strategic partnerships with multiple stakeholders to promote decent employment and entrepreneurship for young women and men at regional level, in particular within the frame of the AU First Five Year Priority Programme (5YPP) on Employment, Poverty Eradication and Inclusive Development (for which FAO is a contributing partner) and in collaboration other regional initiatives such as the AfDB Enable Youth Programme, the NEPAD Rural Futures Programme and the African Agribusiness Incubator Network (AAIN) with whom RAF has an ongoing collaboration.
• Contribute to building evidence, good practices and lessons learnt to improve the understanding of the policies, approaches and institutional contexts as well as of sectoral (agricultural) solutions that support decent youth employment and entrepreneurship for young women and men of different age groups.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Candidates should meet the following requirements:

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree in rural development, social science, agriculture or other related field.
• Seven years of relevant experience in policy assistance and programme development and management in the field of rural development and/or poverty reduction and/or agribusiness with experience in promoting youth employment in agriculture. Management and/or policy assistance in the field of youth employment.
• Working knowledge of English and French.

Competencies  o                Results Focus o                 Teamwork o                 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.
• Extent of knowledge and experience in providing policy support and technical assistance as well as programme/project development and management in the fields of agriculture and/or poverty reduction and/or rural development and/or agribusiness with relevance for promoting decent youth employment in agriculture in developing countries.
• Level of knowledge of decent employment and youth employment in agriculture and demonstrated experience in promoting solutions to challenges that different groups of youth in agriculture typically face.
• Extent of experience in developing and delivering capacity development approaches as well as producing capacity development materials and guidance documents on decent employment for agricultural stakeholders.
• Ability to successfully negotiate on sensitive subjects with governments and stakeholders and experience working in the UN and/or other international organizations, including inter-agency collaboration, considered an asset.
• Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain partnerships and to fundraise.

Additional Information

FAO seeks gender, geographical and linguistic diversity in its staff and international consultants in order to best serve FAO Members in all regions.

All candidates should adhere to FAO values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency.

How to apply

All applications are to be made through FAO’s iRecruitment system. Click on the link below to access iRecruitment, complete your online profile and apply for this Call for Expression of Interest.  http://www.fao.org/employment/irecruitment–access/en/  

In order for your application to be properly evaluated, please ensure that all sections of your iRecruitment account are completed. Incomplete applications will not be evaluated.

If you need help, or have queries, please contact: [email protected]