Livestock and Environment Specialist

Organizational Setting

FAO’s Animal Production and Health Division (NSA) supports member countries to strengthen the contribution of the livestock sector towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). One area of work is the assessment of interactions of livestock systems with the environment. The division has developed a number of tools, such as the Global Livestock Environmental Assessment Model (GLEAM), which applies a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach to quantify greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts of livestock systems. 
To increase the relevance of the model for designing mitigation interventions and policies, the division plans to expand the scope of the model calculations, update underlying data and methods and develop a new generation of the model (GLEAM-X) as a web application. Moreover, the division implements various projects on fostering methane mitigation and scaling up climate action in the livestock sector in several countries.

Reporting Lines

The Livestock and Environment Specialist reports to the Livestock Policy Officer under the overall guidance of the Chief of Livestock Innovation, Climate and Post-Harvesting Solutions Branch (NSAL).

Technical Focus

The incumbent will support the team in expanding and updating the approaches that are used to quantify emission baselines and the impact of mitigation interventions for livestock systems and recommend and implement new state-of-the art approaches for additional species and emission sources, a systematic collection and harmonization of relevant data sets globally, and adequate documentation following international standards, online visualization and advanced data management and analysis, technical guideline developments, e-learning course preparation, as well as the organization of sustainable livestock transformation conferences and livestock multistakeholder partnership events and activities.

Tasks and responsibilities

•     Review the current implementation of livestock/environment assessments and recommend updates, ensuring alignment with international guidelines, peer-reviewed literature, and emerging best practices;
•     Develop and implement methods to quantify the impact of selected mitigation strategies on GHG emissions in selected countries;
•     Design and deliver livestock technical capacity development products, including webinars, technical guidance, and online and in-person training workshops to strengthen national and regional stakeholders' ability to apply livestock environmental assessment and mitigation analysis;
•     Support the production of scientific publications and technical reports, as well as communication materials for internal use and for public distribution on the environmental performance and opportunity that carbon markets offer to enhance the sustainability of the livestock sector;
•     Contribute to the formulation of project proposals supporting countries to reduce environmental impacts of livestock systems, integrating climate change mitigation, biodiversity, nitrogen use efficiency, water use efficiency, soil carbon stock dynamics, and ecosystem resilience;
•     Contribute to the harmonization, maintenance, and quality control of spatial and non-spatial livestock and environmental datasets within the division;
•     Support the development of tools and methods to analyse and visualize data;
•     Support the organization of the livestock related global conferences and events;
•     Contribute to the organization of the livestock multistakeholder partnership activities;
•     Attend and contribute to internal and external technical meetings, workshops, and conferences, presenting project updates, model developments, and mitigation analysis results;
•     Perform other duties as required.

FAO Standards and guidelines:

•     Liaison with OCC will be maintained, either directly or through an agreed focal point/coordinator, to ensure compliance with OCC standards, aligned messaging, and appropriate review and clearance processes. 
•     All communication materials will follow FAO clearance processes and comply with FAO standards, including: 
FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31: https://www.fao.org/strategic-framework/en    
FAO social media policy and guidelines: https://www.fao.org/2/socialmedia    
Social Media Branding Guidelines: https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/cb5044en   
FAOSTYLE https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/cb8081en    
FAO terminology http://www.fao.org/faoterm    
FAO Names of Countries https://www.fao.org/nocs/en       
Story guidelines, Story template, UN map standards, FAO logo policy and related branding guidelines (available to staff). 
•     Further guidance regarding FAO communications, policies and procedures can be found through the FAO intranet, OCC section.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

•     Advanced University degree in Animal Science, Veterinary Medicine, Environmental or Livestock Engineering, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Environmental Science, Biology, Geospatial Data Management, Data or Computer Science, International Policy or Relation, Management, Economics or in a discipline relevant to the tasks listed or otherwise related to FAO’s Programme of Work, including technical field disciplines; Consultants with a bachelor's degree need two additional years of relevant professional experience.
•     At least 1 year (Category C), 5 years (Category B) or 10 years (Category A) of relevant experience in analyzing and visualizing data related to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and environmental impact assessment of livestock production systems using life cycle assessment (LCA) approach; livestock social and economic analysis; livestock multistakeholder and partnership; sustainable livestock transformation conference and events; 
•     Working knowledge (Level C) of English.

FAO Core Competencies

•     Results Focus
•     Teamwork
•     Communication
•     Building Effective Relationships
•     Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement