Call for Interest

ID

32152

Location

ROME

Date of issue

11/18/2025

Close Date (Midnight, Rome Time)

12/01/2025

Organizational Unit

IFAD

Full/Part Time

On Demand

Regular/Temporary

Temporary

Assignment Duration

Grade

C-1

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency dedicated to eradicating rural poverty and hunger. It does so by investing in rural people. IFAD finances programmes and projects that increase agricultural productivity and raise rural incomes, and advocates at the local, national and international level for policies that contribute to rural transformation.

The Office of Technical Delivery is responsible for providing expert technical guidance to IFAD teams engaged in the design and implementation of projects and programmes to deliver the high technical quality investments that facilitate rural transformation, and which comply with IFAD's mandate and operational policies. The Office ensures IFAD applies and disseminates state-of-the-art knowledge in its investments and evidence on strategic themes and encourages the innovative application of global knowledge and evidence in IFAD investments. This helps countries tackle complex development challenges in fostering inclusive and sustainable rural transformation including mainstreaming areas. The Office of Technical Delivery (OTD) is led by a Managing Director and is comprised of two (2) divisions: the Environment, Climate, Gender and Social Inclusion Division (ECG) and the Sustainable Production, Markets and Institutions Division (PMI).

The Environment, Climate, Gender and Social Inclusion Division (ECG) leads the mainstreaming of cross-cutting themes of environment and climate, gender, nutrition, youth, disability and Indigenous peoples into IFAD's portfolio, and the implementation of social, environment and climate safeguards (SECAP), to strengthen the quality of IFAD's operations and programmes. ECG takes the technical lead to strengthen the quality of IFAD's operations and programmes ensuring that IFAD's operations are environmentally sustainable, climate change resilient, nutrition sensitive and inclusive of marginalized groups (particularly women, rural youth, Indigenous Peoples and persons with disabilities.) In addition to strengthening the technical quality of operations, ECG provides its technical expertise in corporate strategies, policy engagement, resource mobilization, knowledge generation, and partnerships.

Consultancies play a critical role in the execution of IFAD¿s mandate and our impact on the ground. Rosters are designed for junior and senior experts whose skills are required for specific project assignments. Given the different technical and time-duration nature of assignments, IFAD is looking for consultants of varying ability and experience.

• Consultants may be contacted for specific assignment throughout the year and the remuneration will be commensurate with candidate's qualifications, experience and skills as well as the nature of the assignment in terms of:
• Responsibilities and complexities of the assignment.
• The degree of specialization required.

Consultants are not considered staff of IFAD. Consultancy assignments do not carry any expectation of employment, extension or conversion to another type of contract with the Fund. Consultants can be recruited for a maximum of 240 days in 1 calendar year and 960 days in 5 calendar years.

Reporting to the Senior Technical Specialist ¿ Indigenous Peoples, or to other senior staff members in the different regions, the consultant will conduct the following activities where and when applicable to the specific assignment:

• Join design, supervision, start-up, implementation support, mid-term review, or completion missions and conduct tasks related to Targeting and Social Inclusion of Indigenous Peoples as indicated in the mission TORs;

At design:

• Review the country context (legal, political, institutional, social, cultural and sector policies) relevant to Indigenous Peoples in relation to the project thematic focus;
• Conduct stakeholder mapping and analysis of Indigenous Peoples¿ institutions and representative organizations in the proposed project area(s), to inform participatory project design. This should build on existing networks established through the Indigenous Peoples¿ Forum at IFAD and the Indigenous Peoples Assistance Facility.
• Conduct a participatory rural poverty and livelihoods analysis in the proposed project area(s) to identify and better understand the needs, priorities and expectations of Indigenous Peoples (including their livelihood strategies and outcomes, vulnerabilities and coping mechanisms, local poverty processes and rural institutions) and prepare a detailed profile of the indigenous peoples¿ communities in the project areas;
• Support the development of a Theory of Change that identifies activities and implementation mechanisms to ensure that the project facilitates Indigenous Peoples¿ participation and responds to their vision, culture and needs;
• As integral part of the SECAP framework, formulate a detailed Indigenous Peoples Plan/Indigenous Peoples Planning Framework, including a Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) plan, with a timetable, responsible parties and estimated budget, in consultation with Indigenous peoples¿ communities in the project areas and in line with IFAD (and partners, if co-financed projects) policies and safeguards procedures, IFAD guidance on FPIC, and any existing community-level FPIC protocols;
• Facilitate the FPIC process through a participatory and iterative approach with Indigenous peoples¿ communities and their governance systems;
• Document the FPIC process and record consent/non-consent outcomes from the consulted Indigenous peoples¿ communities through their governance systems;
• Ensure integration of the Indigenous Peoples Plan into the project¿s implementation manual and provide guidance on incorporating related actions into annual work plans and budgets;
• Develop a stakeholder engagement plan that addresses the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples;
• Strengthen the Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) to ensure it is accessible, transparent, and culturally appropriate to Indigenous Peoples;
• Facilitate participatory workshops and working sessions with departmental technicians and technical teams to co-construct activities aligned with the Indigenous Peoples Plan;
• Provide inputs into the M&E framework, project logframe and learning systems to incorporate Indigenous Peoples issues and perspectives, including the use of participatory approaches and disaggregated data and indicators, and to measure performance of the project strategies;
• Provide technical support, as required, during budget allocation of the relevant targeting, social inclusion, and FPIC activities.
• Provide inputs to the SECAP development, in addition to the IPP/IPPF, FPIC, and GRM. including the assessment of opportunities of enhancing social impacts, potential social risks and ensure that mitigation measures are integrated into the risk matrix and into the Environment, social and management plan.

At start-up, implementation, mid-term and completion:

• Assess poverty outreach and targeting performance of the project, especially the extent to which Indigenous Peoples are benefitting;
• Provide technical advice to enhance the implementation of activities targeting Indigenous Peoples, ensuring inclusion of Indigenous youth and women, and that project strategies address their needs and opportunities;
• Review the targeting strategy, including targeting and implementation mechanisms, to ensure that project accommodates the needs and priorities of Indigenous Peoples and facilitates its participation in project interventions, and advise on areas for improvement;
• Monitoring and follow-up the SECAP framework, including the IPP/IPPF, FPIC, and GRM;
• Assess the implementation status of supervision mission recommendations related to targeting of Indigenous Peoples, reviewing progress, quality, and efficiency of completed actions; identify challenges and propose feasible solutions while ensuring recommendations are funded and comply with budget ceilings;
• Identify and describe factors and constraints that have influenced project implementation, including technical, bureaucratic, managerial, organizational, institutional and socio-economic policy issues, in addition to other external factors unforeseen during design, and how these have affected the project in terms of impact on Indigenous Peoples¿ engagement and empowerment;
• Review targeting sensitivity of the M&E framework, project logframe and learning systems to assess how they incorporate Indigenous Peoples perspectives, including the use of participatory approaches and disaggregated data and indicators, and to measure performance of the strategies;
• Provide training sessions for project teams and relevant stakeholders on engagement with Indigenous Peoples, the FPIC process, and the implementation of the Indigenous Peoples Plan;
• Identify lessons from what worked and what didn¿t work on targeting and social inclusion;
• Contribute to the identification of good practices and any potential for their replication or up-scaling, and stories from the field.

Other Activities

• Contribute to technical written sections of mission reports as required;
• Contribute to start-up workshops and other capacity development activities as required;
• Develop other technical papers or reports in the area of targeting and social inclusion, as required.

Assignments require the provision of authoritative technical expertise in the field of specialization. The Consultant Technical Specialists ¿ Indigenous Peoples design and contribute to the delivery, implementation support and supervision of investment projects and country programmes. The impact on the overall IFAD country and regional programmes is significant in projecting the Fund¿s role/capacity as a reliable, viable partner in development. Work is intricate in that it requires consideration of a wide range of technical factors and related data, national policies relevant for the economic policy concerns of the international organization.

The work is considered moderately complex requiring in-depth technical analysis and reporting. Typically operating as a Technical Specialist at the country or regional levels, the Consultant's work may be reviewed for technical accuracy, but more typically is reviewed for supporting the established work plan.

The Consultant Technical Specialists ¿ Indigenous Peoples works under the direct supervision of the Senior Technical Specialist ¿ Indigenous Peoples, or of other senior staff members in the different regions and also liaises directly with regional specialists to provide support to IFAD programmes.

The work relationships of Technical Specialists at this level are primarily for the exchange of information regarding development projects. Information-gathering and exchange in support of studies and thematic assignments may also include identifying reliable sources and establishing guidelines for obtaining information on national and sub-regional level conditions, and to convey methodological approaches and operational experience for implementation of activities undertaken on behalf of the Fund.

Organizational Competencies:

Level 1:

• Building relationships and partnerships - Builds and maintains effective working relationships
• Communicating and negotiating - Communicates effectively; creates understanding between self and others
• Demonstrating leadership - Personal leadership and attitude to change
• Focusing on clients - Focuses on clients
• Learning, sharing knowledge and innovating - Continuously seeks to learn, shares knowledge & innovates
• Managing performance and developing staff
• Managing time, resources and information - Manages own time, information and resources effectively
• Problem-solving and decision-making - Demonstrates sound problem-solving and decision-making ability
• Strategic thinking and organizational development - Personal influence
• Team working - Contributes effectively to the team

Education:

• Advanced university degree from an accredited institution listed on in a job related field (*):
• Areas - Agriculture, Rural Development, Social Studies, Gender Studies, Development Studies, Economics, Management, International Relations.

Work Experience:

• At least five (5) years of professional experience in the design, implementation, supervision of projects in the field of social inclusion in an agricultural or rural context
• Position-specific experience: Seasoned technical expertise with field experience at the country and regional level on Indigenous Peoples¿ and social inclusion. Experience with design and/or implementation of development programs targeting Indigenous Peoples. Experience with monitoring and evaluation systems / framework. Experience in community work, livelihoods analysis, approaches to poverty reduction and social inclusion strategies in agricultural and rural development projects. Experience with FPIC.
• Experience with the UN or other international development organizations is highly desirable

Languages:

• Required English, and/or French, and/or Spanish (4 ¿ Excellent)

Skills:

• Stakeholder management: Strong alignment capabilities and consultation skills, building on effective interactions and relationships with different stakeholders;
• Strategy implementation: Ability to lead and manage the development and implementation of medium to longer-term strategies;
• Resources management: Know-how in the management of human, financial and material management of resources;
• Adaptability: Adaptability and flexibility when facing new or unexpected situations, and to specific constraints and circumstances and managing complex processes;
• Interpersonal skills: Ability to deal patiently and tactfully with others (e.g. visitors, clients, callers, etc.), including senior individuals (e.g. high-level meeting participants);
• Leadership: Group thought leader, sought out by others and providing mentorship and effective guidance to others; Ability to build trust, inside and outside the organization by acting as a role model for IFAD's core values and competencies, and to provide a clear sense of direction, mentorship and effective guidance to the team, strategizing the IFAD's goals, giving the vision, empowering the team and ensuring a positive environment for all;
• Problem solving: Strong systemic and structured thinking, ability to identify and dissect problems into components and formulate a comprehensive set of creative viable and sustainable solutions and strategies
• Synthesis: Outstanding ability to synthesize and simplify complex technical information for a variety of (non-technical) audiences;
• Verbal communication: Clear, succinct and convincing verbal communication; highly professional, balanced and diplomatic language;
• Written communication: Clear, succinct and convincing written communication in the language needed for specific role; highly professional, balanced and diplomatic language;
• Social & Environmental Safeguards: Know-how in Social & Environmental complianc as specified in the IFAD's Social, Environmental and Climate Assessment Procedures (SECAP)
• Cross-cutting themes - Gender and social inclusion: Expertise specific to gender and social inclusion cross-cutting theme (e.g. youth, targeting strategies);
• Project/Programme mgmt (incl. coordination, design, development): Know-how in Project design and evaluation.

Other Information:

In the interest of making most cost-effective use of funds and resources, we are only able to respond to candidates who's application is considered for the selection process. Candidates may be required to take a written test and participate in interviews.

IFAD is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of ethnic, social or political background, colour, nationality, religion, age, gender, disability, marital status, family size or sexual orientation.

Please be aware of fraudulent job offers. IFAD does not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process. Official communication from IFAD will always come from e-mails ending in

The inclusion in the Consultant Roster does not represent a guarantee or commitment of employment on the part of IFAD. Recruitment depends on the availability of suitable temporary assignments. If you want to be added to our Consultant Roster, please register your profile by using the Apply button above.