Facilitator

Job Posting Organization:
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Established in 1945, FAO has over 194 member countries and works in more than 130 countries worldwide. The organization aims to achieve security" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #007bff !important;">security" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #007bff !important;">food security for all and ensure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. FAO's mission is to help eliminate hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition, make agriculture, forestry, and fisheries more productive and sustainable, reduce rural poverty, and enable inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems. The FAO Forestry Division (NFO) specifically focuses on sustainable forest management, forest governance, legality, and forest-based climate solutions, contributing to the 2030 Agenda through its Strategic Framework.

Job Overview:
The Facilitator will play a crucial role in the transition from the EU–Liberia Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) to a broader Forest Partnership. This position involves facilitating structured dialogue among various stakeholders, including the Government of Liberia, the EU Delegation, and national stakeholders, to ensure a smooth transition that aligns with Liberia's climate, forest, and biodiversity policies. The Facilitator will be responsible for supporting the transformation of existing VPA structures into effective governance mechanisms for the Forest Partnership, promoting inclusive participation from civil society, women, youth, and private sector actors. The role requires a strong focus on technical and policy support, including conducting joint diagnostic assessments, drafting key documents, and identifying capacity-building needs. Additionally, the Facilitator will be tasked with monitoring progress, documenting lessons learned, and preparing reports to track the effectiveness of the transition process.

Duties and Responsibilities:
The Facilitator's duties and responsibilities include: facilitating structured dialogue between the Government of Liberia and the EU Delegation, supporting the transformation of VPA structures into Forest Partnership governance mechanisms, organizing and following up on meetings of the Forest Partnership Steering Committee and Thematic Working Groups, promoting inclusive participation from various stakeholders, maintaining liaison with the FLEGT-ALA Facility, supporting joint diagnostic assessments on forest governance and institutional gaps, contributing to the drafting of the Forest Partnership Roadmap and results framework, identifying capacity-building needs, documenting lessons learned from the VPA process, preparing quarterly progress briefs and reports, tracking progress against milestones, and supporting the design of a Communication and Learning Plan.

Required Qualifications:
Candidates must meet the following minimum requirements: for consultants, an advanced university degree in law, public administration, forestry, natural resource governance, accounting, economics, or related fields is required. Those with a bachelor's degree must have two additional years of relevant professional experience. For Personal Services Agreements (PSAs), a technical degree in the aforementioned fields is necessary. Additionally, candidates should have at least five years of experience in forest governance, public-sector reform, natural resource management, or related fields, including experience with multi-stakeholder engagement and international organizations. Full proficiency in English is mandatory, and familiarity with FAO policies and programs is considered a strong asset.

Educational Background:
The educational background required for this position includes an advanced university degree from an institution recognized by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/UNESCO in relevant fields such as law, public administration, forestry, natural resource governance, accounting, or economics. For those applying as consultants, a bachelor's degree is acceptable if accompanied by two additional years of relevant professional experience. For PSAs, a technical degree in the same fields is required.

Experience:
Candidates should possess at least five years of relevant experience in areas such as forest governance, public-sector reform, natural resource management, and trade facilitation. Experience working with international organizations or development partners is essential, as is experience in multi-stakeholder engagement. Work experience in multiple locations, particularly in West Africa, is desirable, as is familiarity with Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) and relevant EU policy frameworks.

Languages:
Full proficiency in English is mandatory for this position. Knowledge of additional languages may be considered an asset, particularly if they are relevant to the stakeholders involved in the Forest Partnership.

Additional Notes:
This position is expected to be full-time and may involve working with various stakeholders, including government bodies, civil society, and private sector actors. The role may require travel within Liberia and potentially to other locations as necessary to facilitate stakeholder engagement and meetings. Compensation and benefits will be aligned with FAO's policies and the specific terms of the contract.