Policy Officer (Environment and Climate Change)

Job Description

Reporting Lines

The Policy Officer (Environment and Climate Change) reports to the Regional Programme Leader, RLC.

Technical Focus

Environment, climate change adaptation and mitigation, climate financing, biodiversity and natural resources management.

Key Results

Development and implementation of coherent, integrated and effective policy assistance and governance work supporting Member Nations at regional, sub-regional and country level: i) in accordance with the FAO Strategic Framework and its delivery mechanisms, and ii) in response to new policy assistance requests.

Key Functions

• Supports the work carried out by technical or policy officers from FAO headquarters or out-posted staff in the Decentralized Offices in relation to policy and governance work under FAO’s strategic framework.
• Advocates strategic partnership, best practices and policy dialogue in support of enhanced governance for food and nutrition security, sustainable agriculture and agrifood systems solutions to environment, climate change and biodiversity challenges.
• Participates in specialized or multi-disciplinary teams, and high-level policy analysis missions or projects, policy networks and/or international policy setting bodies.
• Interacts with UN Regional and Country teams to improve cross-sectorial policies and strategies concerning agrifood systems and sustainable development.
• Supports the analysis by the Regional Office of regional and country-level issues to provide input into the identification of country and regional priorities and requirements.
• Designs, implements and monitors regional and sub-regional policy work programmes and the supporting budgets and/or resourcing strategies.
• Plans, organizes and participates in capacity development activities involving the provision of technical advice and assistance, and oversees the development of related materials, on-line tools and information kits.

Specific Functions

• Provides technical policy advice to FAO regional, sub-regional offices and country offices in Latin America and the Caribbean on sustainable development, climate change, climate financing, natural resources management, bioenergy, environmental management and biodiversity related activities and services.
• Supports country-level actions guided by FAO’s Country Programming Frameworks (CPFs), sub regional and regional priority frameworks, regional initiatives and higher-level strategic frameworks of the Organization in order to transform FAO’s Knowledge products into country-level results and impacts.
• Coordinates the identification, development, mainstreaming and implementation of FAO programme priority areas, FAO Strategies on Climate Change and on Biodiversity Mainstreaming and their Action Plans, regional priorities and programmes/projects on environmental management, sustainable development and climate change, and sustainable bioenergy, drawing on relevant corporate approaches and frameworks in liaison with relevant units in RLC, HQs and decentralized offices.
• Provides advice to Member countries of the Region in relevant strategy formulation (including climate nationally determined contributions/NDCs, Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans/NBSAPs), sector planning, policy innovation, institutional reform, technology dissemination and capacity building.
• Analyses global, regional and national trends, and provides prospective interpretation to identify, test and pilot suitable methodologies, technologies and tools relevant to the agriculture, forestry, fishery, livestock and land and water sectors.
  
  

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in environmental sciences, sustainable development, climate change, natural resource management, sustainable agriculture (including livestock, forestry and fisheries) or related field.
• Seven years of relevant experience in policy formulation, programming, advice and analysis.
• Working knowledge (proficiency - Level C) of Spanish and English.

DEADLINE: NOVEMBER 13, 2025