Project Management Specialist

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) is implementing a 3-year project under the Multi-Donor Action “Circular Economy in the Food Sector” (CIRCULAR) which is jointly implemented with Expertise France (EF) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and funded by the European Union (EU) Delegation (EUD). The FAO project under CIRCULAR seeks to address critical issues such as food loss and waste reduction, circularity applied to agri-food systems, and the transition away from single-use plastics from producers up to wholesalers. By leveraging multi-stakeholder partnerships and socio-technological interventions the project seeks to not only mitigate agri-food system climate impacts but also contribute to economic and social well-being.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Lead and oversee all aspects of the project, ensuring its successful implementation and achievement of its deliverables within the specified timeline and budget
• Develop a detailed project implementation plan, outlining key deliverables, activities, timelines and mapping of resource requirements in coordination with project team.
• Develop the annual workplan and the budget based on the project workplan.
• Build partnerships and collaborations with relevant stakeholders, including government institutions, international organizations, academic institutions, and private sector entities, to leverage resources, expertise, and networks for greater impact.
• Monitor and evaluate project activities to assess the impact and effectiveness of interventions, propose necessary adjustments, and ensure compliance with project budgets and procurement procedures.
• Ensure that a project monitoring system is in place and that key indicators are tracked and analyzed, in collaboration with the relevant internal and the two Implementing Organisations focal points for M&E.
• Manage and monitor the project risks, including social and environmental risks, initially identified and update the status of these risks by maintaining the project risks log.
• Provide guidance on data collection and analysis from field visits, standardizing them across project activities, to feed into project performance monitoring.
• Coordinate with project consultants to ensure project deliverables and targets are achieved.
• Provide technical input towards identified activities, work plans with the SPs, and review/co-draft the methodology for the different instruments of engagement such as Letters of Agreements, commercial contracts and pilots.
• Coordinate reporting processes, including the review and analysis of issues and trends, preparation, of monitoring and evaluation reports with other Implementing Organisations.
• Produce all required reports for the FAO project under CIRCULAR for internal and external circulation.
• Provide strategic guidance on the management and dissemination of knowledge relating to the project outcomes, key achievements, innovative actions and lessons learned through various channels including workshops, conferences and publications.
• Provide guidance on the direction for communication in a coherent manner for FAO, GIZ and EF in relation to the topics of food loss/waste and Single-Use Plastics and the overall CIRCULAR programme in Sri Lanka.
• Lead the FAO coordination and collaboration with GIZ and EF, as Implementing Organizations, and with the EUD in Sri Lanka, as the donor.
• Lead the FAO contribution to the CIRCULAR Project Steering Committee and Working Groups.
• Lead the co-drafting of project knowledge products and implement/deliver capacity development and training.
• Lead identification of learning/training needs and learning/training topics/courses; prepare training programme outlines.
• Lead the production of knowledge products including strategic and policy documents on relevant topics that integrate knowledge from the project.
• Undertake any other tasks as requested by FAOR.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced degree in Development Economics, Development Studies, Agriculture, Nutrition, Management of Natural Resources, or a related field or any other relevant field.
• At least 7 years of experience in multi-stakeholder project management, preferably in the agri-food sector.
• Working knowledge of English and limited knowledge of French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian.

Technical/Functional Skills 

• Experience in working with government, regional and international development agencies preferably in the Asian region.
• Strong technical knowledge of food losses and waste prevention and reduction policies and interventions as well as circular economy strategies for agri-food systems from multiple regions worldwide.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and leadership skills.
• Publications relevant to the topics of the project.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Selection Criteria

• Experience in coordinating and liaising with industry, academia, national authorities, UN agencies, donors, intergovernmental organizations, and non-governmental organizations.
• Familiarity with the UN System and /or development sector will be considered an asset.

Source: https://jobs.fao.org/careersection/fao_external/jobdetail.ftl?job=2402148