Chair of the Global Agenda for Sustainable Livestock (GASL)

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• FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture.
• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply;
• Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAO's values
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• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality

Organizational Setting

The Animal Production and Health Division (NSA) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) promotes and facilitates the sustainable development of the livestock sector, integrating scientific, technical expertise and policy advice. It hosts the Global Agenda for Sustainable Livestock (GASL) partnership whose vision is to become one of the key implementation mechanisms in the livestock sector of the UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Livestock Innovation, Climate and Post-harvesting Solutions Branch (NSAL) in the NSA Division hosts the GASL Secretariat, known as the Agenda Support Team (AST). In order to achieve this goal some of the main challenges ahead include\:

(1) enhance governance and facilitation for an effective and strong global multi-stakeholder dialogue on sustainable livestock;
(2) boost resource mobilization to strengthen the capacity of the GASL to fully operationalize through its Action Networks (AN) and stakeholder clusters its objectives in promoting the analysis, development, transfer and dissemination of policy recommendations, and good practices and technologies used to improve livestock sustainability;
(3) provide stakeholders with the necessary support to adequately participate in the multi-stakeholder partnership (MSP) process;
(4) promote regional and international cooperation on access and sharing knowledge;
(5) improve the interactions and coordination with similar existing mechanisms and strategic bodies related to sustainable food systems, agriculture and livestock, in particular at the international level;
(6) Insure and facilitate monitoring of the progress of GASL in fulfilling the objectives and activities of the 2025-2027 GASL Action Plan
The assignment is home-based with international travel as needed for up to 120 consultant days over a period of 11 months subject to renewal.

Reporting Lines

The NSA Director, in consultation with the GASL Guiding Group, and with the direct supervision of the NSAL Chief, will provide the overall guidance.

Technical Focus

The incumbent will lead and implement the overall strategic orientation of GASL according to its 2025-2027 Action Plan and to its Theory of Change. The vision of GASL is by 2030, sustainable, inclusive, resilient and diverse livestock systems across the world contribute significantly to the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN Agenda 2030 and are integral to sustainable food systems. Its mission is to enhance livestock stakeholders’ commitment, investments and adoption of good practices and policies in support of the UN Agenda 2030 through a multi-stakeholder partnership process. In the process, GASL enhances the positive and reduces the negative impacts of sustainable livestock and generates substantial, measurable and lasting impacts by facilitating dialogue, generating and communicating evidence, and advocating the adoption of good practices and policies in favour of sustainable livestock sector development. With its actions GASL should ensure the livestock sector globally, regionally, nationally and locally responds simultaneously to increased demand, contributes to development and mitigates potential harms. It is important to note that the strategic framework of GASL focuses on elements that require multi-stakeholder action. These elements can be characterized as follows\: A common issue that has public and private good features; issues that look different for different parts of the sector, or different stakeholders; issues where there is a need to build consensus within the sector and outside of the sector; and issues that cannot be addressed by any single stakeholder group alone.

The 8th multi-stakeholder global meeting of the Global Agenda in Mongolia in June 2018 confirmed that GASL needed to sharpen its work focus and enhance impact by concentrating on a limited number of well-defined sustainability domains and the ways in which they would be delivered. Therefore, the 2019-2021 GASL Action Plan also included four domains that address sustainability priorities, derived from the ones used in the 10th Global Forum for Food and Agriculture in Berlin (January 2018) , which oriented the content dimension of GASL. The Global Agenda for Sustainable Livestock, together with its Action Networks and Clusters, is called to support and facilitate progress in all domains and in all the ways of required action. The four domains are mapped to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), nine of which have been identified by GASL as being particularly relevant for the livestock sector . GASL activities within the four domains focus on topics where multi-stakeholder action is a key mechanism for achieving sustainable livestock development.

Tasks and responsibilities

The incumbent will work with the Agenda Support Team (AST) and the partners of GASL to support the implementation of the Global Agenda Action Plan and to its Theory of Change through GASL’s operating structure. The implementation of the 2025-2027 GASL Action Plan requires a variety of skills and responsibilities and mainly is about enabling stakeholders and partners to use the multi-stakeholder partnership and platform of GASL in a balanced way to enhance dialogue, generate evidence and tools and influence practice and policy change in favour of livestock sustainable development around the world. Some of the tasks and responsibilities include (but are not limited to)\:

• Lead the GASL Guiding Group and facilitate its provision of overall strategic direction and guidance to GASL;
• Lead the preparation and facilitation of national, regional and global annual Multi-stakeholder Partnership (MSP) meetings;
• Convene at least two Guiding Group meetings per year to advance implementation of recommendations from the MSP;
• Guide GASL’s engagement with existing inter-governmental and other policy-related processes;
• Facilitate the continued effective and broad participation and commitment of sector stakeholders;
• Represent GASL in different fora and promote GASL and its objectives among sector actors;
• Assist in the development of a Global Agenda ‘brand’ and global profile, with concomitant quality control and clearing procedures;
• Contribute to the preparation of GASL publicity and advocacy including material for regular web site updates;
• Plan and support fundraising strategies and activities with the Guiding Group and the Global Agenda Technical Support Team (AST);
• Review and edit GASL documents and research papers according to GASL standards;
• Enhance collaboration and coordination between GASL and other relevant existing mechanisms, in particular at the international level;
• Put a strong emphasis on communication of GASLs’ work.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree in veterinary, agricultural, environmental or biological science, economics, law, geography with specialization in sustainable development or related fields
• At least twelve years of relevant experience in livestock sustainability policy and practice change
• Working knowledge of English, French or Spanish and limited knowledge of one of the other two or Arabic, Chinese, Russian

FAO Core 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 is desirable
• Good understanding of institutional issues related to livestock sustainability in developed and developing countries
• Familiarity with multi-stakeholder partnerships, their dynamics and their theory of change

Selection Criteria

• Familiarity (and recognition) with\:
- Sustainability issues related to livestock
- Livestock sector globally, including\:
o Roles and contribution of diverse stakeholders
o Demonstrated ability to lead diverse stakeholder engagement and manage collaborative dialogue on sustainable development issues, including SDGs

• Excellent communication ability, written and spoken in all kinds of fora as well as outstanding networking skills
• Ability to engage with a range of national, regional and global organizations within and beyond the livestock sector
• Ability and experience to mobilize resources to strengthen the capacity of GASL to implement its objectives through its Clusters and Action Networks
• Political independence of any government and no conflict of interests between the GASL Chair position and her/his other professional and personal activities

¹Food and Nutrition Security, Livelihoods and Economic Growth, Animal Health and Animal Welfare, and Climate and Natural Resource Use. For more, see page 19 of the 2019-2021 GASL Action Plan.
²SDG 1 (no poverty), SDG 2 (zero hunger), SDG 3 (good health and well-being), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth), SDG 12 (responsible consumption and productions), SDG 13 (climate action), SDG 15 (life on land) and SDG 17 (partnerships for the goals). For more, see page 21 of the 2019-2021 GASL Action Plan.

Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency

HOW TO APPLY

• To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, and language skills
• Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile
• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application
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• Incomplete applications will not be considered
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• Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered
• Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile
• We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.

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