Senior Climate Smart Agriculture Advisor (Home based Retainer)

Job Description

Role: Senior Climate Smart Agriculture Advisor (Home based Retainer) – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia / Home based

Job Highlight

The Senior Climate-Smart Agriculture Advisor will provide strategic and technical support to help the Ministry of Agriculture mobilize climate finance, develop high-quality investment pipelines and project concept notes, strengthen institutional capacity, and support implementation of agriculture-related climate priorities under Ethiopia’s Nationally Determined Contribution and related plans.

The Consultant will report to UNOPS, while day-to-day oversight of the assignment will be provided by the department within the Ministry of Agriculture in which he or she is embedded. The Advisor will also work in close coordination with the Ministry of Planning and Development, the NDC Partnership In-Country Facilitator, and other relevant partners to ensure alignment and effective delivery of the assignment. More specifically, the incumbent will perform the following functions:

Climate Finance Mobilization

• Identify, screen, and prioritize climate-smart agriculture investment opportunities related to crops, livestock, soil and water management, agroforestry, irrigation, digital advisory services, and resilient value chains.
• Prepare and refine high-quality concept notes, project proposals, and investment packages for submission to climate funds, development banks, bilateral partners, philanthropic institutions, and relevant private investors.
• Coordinate bankable project proposal development, including problem analysis, theory of change, results frameworks, budgets, financing plans, implementation arrangements, safeguards inputs, gender considerations, risk assessments, and monitoring frameworks.

Capacity Building and Strategic and Technical Support

• Strengthen the Ministry’s capacity to prepare investment plans, project pipelines, concept notes, full project proposals, and financing strategies aligned with agriculture priorities, the Nationally Determined Contribution, and national development plans.
• Provide strategic advice on implementation of agriculture-related climate priorities and climate-smart agriculture commitments, and support refinement of sector strategies, investment priorities, and implementation approaches.
• Design and deliver practical in-house training, coaching, and mentoring for Ministry staff, regional bureaus, extension systems, and other relevant institutions on climate finance, proposal development, donor engagement, and investment planning.
• Improve institutional systems for project development, coordination, monitoring, reporting, verification, and knowledge management within the agriculture sector.

Stakeholder engagement and Coordination

• Support stronger collaboration among the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Planning and Development, the Ministry of Finance, Regional Bureaus of Agriculture and the Private Sector actors on Climate Resilient Agriculture, markets and value chains development.
• Promote stronger engagement with private sector actors, financial institutions, agribusinesses, service providers, and cooperatives to strengthen climate-smart agriculture value chains and financing opportunities.
• Regularly update the relevant teams and sector coordinators within the Netherlands Embassy on assignment progress, opportunities for alignment with ongoing Netherlands-supported initiatives, key financing opportunities, and policy or strategic developments affecting the sector.

Other Related Tasks

• Undertake field missions, consultations, reviews, and technical backstopping tasks needed to accelerate implementation of priority climate-smart agriculture interventions.
• Support preparation of briefs, presentations, and decision notes for Ministry leadership and key stakeholders.

Skills

Capacity Building, Climate, Finance, Fundraising, Policy Analysis, Project Planning, Stakeholder Engagement, Strategic Planning

Education Requirements

Required

• Master’s degree or equivalent, preferably in Conservation Agriculture, Land and Water Resource Management, Irrigation water management, Agronomy, Livestock, Climate Change Agriculture, Project Planning, Public Policy, or another closely related field.
• Bachelor’s degree in related discipline with an additional 2 years of relevant work experience (7 total) may be accepted instead of an advanced university degree.

Desired

• PhD in Agriculture, Agronomy, Integrated watershed management, soil and water Conservation, agroforestry, development, climate-smart integrated watershed/catchment management, and rangeland development and management

Experience Requirements

Required

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible professional experience in climate-smart agriculture, climate risk management, nature-based solutions (NbS), climate finance, agricultural investment planning, project preparation, fundraising, or closely related areas
• Proven experience developing agricultural investment plans and project proposals contributing to national CSA strategies (including the NDC), and climate risk management.
• Good knowledge of climate-smart agriculture approaches, value chains, irrigation, soil and water management and participatory rangelands improvements and livestock related resilient development initiatives in developing-country contexts
• Strong understanding of climate finance architecture and donor requirements, with practical experience engaging multilateral climate funds, development banks, bilateral partners, philanthropic organizations, or private investors.

Desired

• Expertise in promoting climate-smart agriculture technologies and experience engaging private-sector actors to scale technologies, partnerships, and Agri-value chains and market development.
• Strong analytical, writing, coordination, negotiation, facilitation, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Practical experience working within Government Organizations and/or Federal Ministries

Language Requirements

Language Proficiency

• English Fluent Required
• Amharic Fluent Required

Additional Information

• UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.
• UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the selection process, which may include various assessments.
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of a wide range of nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. We strive to sustain and strengthen this diversity, fostering an inclusive working environment where all personnel are treated with respect and have equal access to opportunities.
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to a fair and transparent selection process and welcome diverse perspectives, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and persons with disabilities.
• We are committed to enabling all candidates to perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require support or reasonable accommodation to complete any assessment, please inform our human resources team upon receiving your invitation.
• UNOPS has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment, and other forms of abusive conduct, including discrimination, abuse of authority, and harassment. To uphold these standards, background checks are conducted for all final candidates to help ensure that individuals with a history of such conduct are not hired. By applying for a position with UNOPS, candidates acknowledge and consent to these verification processes.

Terms and Conditions

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post.
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here.
• For more details about the contract types, please click here.
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.