Advertiser's description (via the FAO):
Organizational Setting
The UN Food Systems Summit (hereinafter UNFSS), held in September 2021 during the UN General Assembly, set the stage for global food systems transformation to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. The UNFSS made it clear that transformative action in food systems is fundamental to achieving the SDGs. As a follow up to the Summit, the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub (hereinafter the Hub) established to support countries implementing food system transformation pathways towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. The hub is hosted by FAO in Rome on behalf of the UN System and operates under the management of the FAO Office of Sustainable Development Goals (OSG).
The Hub has a coordinating and connector role drawing on the capacities of the UN system and leveraging on the advice and expertise from a wider ecosystem of support, serving countries, by incentivizing existing institutions to deliver on their mandates in a systemic way. In this context, the Hub works around the following coordinate clusters as emerged after the first UNFSS Stocktaking Moment held in July 2023 in Rome (hereinafter UNFSS 2):
- Landing the Vision
- Policy and Governance
- Science and Knowledge
- Strategic Partnerships and Collaboration
- Finance and Investments
Additional cross-cutting areas such as knowledge management and communication are supporting the work under these clusters.
In the Latin America and Caribbean Region, a UN Task Force has been established to support the follow up of the UNFSS. The Regional Task Force and the Hub are in a direct coordination and communication and work together with join activities for the region.
Technical Focus
The assignment will provide state-of-the-art advisory services and technical support to the Hub Management and to the Head of the Regional Food Systems Task Force in the FAORLC in relation to food systems transformation challenges and opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean region, under the overall objective of supporting countries to operationalize and implement their Food Systems Transformation Pathways.
The specialist will develop a plan that will support the implementation of the Hub’s work plan in Latin America and the Caribbean region in direct coordination with the regional offices of the Agencies supporting the Hub (FAO, WFP, IFAD, UNDP, WHO, DCO) and the wider regional ecosystem of support on food systems transformation.
Tasks and responsibilities
Policy and Technical input
- Provide advice to inform all the work under the coordination clusters of the Hub.
- Ensure appropriate follow-up to requests for coordination support coming from countries and partners in the region.
- Produce comprehensive written outputs on regional policy issues e.g., draft background papers, briefing notes, analysis, sections of reports and studies, inputs to publications, concept notes, etc. as well as background notes, talking points and relevant material for the Director and Deputy Director of the Hub’s participation in meetings and events.
- Support the Hub’s engagement in global policy discussions to ensure regional dimensions are duly covered.
- Facilitate and support alignment and coherence of the work of the Hub with a) regional emerging trends and priorities in the area of food systems transformation; and b) the relation of the six transitions and four engine rooms for SDGs acceleration (as emerged from the 2023 SDGs Summit) to regional processes.
