Country Director - Panama City, Panama P-4

at  International Fund For Agricultural Development

KEY FUNCTIONS AND RESULTS

1. COUNTRY STRATEGY MANAGEMENT: The Country Director leads strategic positioning and country strategy development. The incumbent is accountable for leading and managing the development and implementation of medium to longer-term strategies (COSOP) for IFAD’s collaboration with governments and other national stakeholders for agricultural development and rural poverty reduction following the principle of ownership, alignment and harmonization. This entails analysis of the dynamics of agricultural development and rural poverty reduction, the development of relevant country-specific strategies, and the definition of IFAD’s value added in this context.
2. COUNTRY PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT: The Country Director manages IFAD programme and related IFAD-funded projects within the portfolio assigned by the Division Director. The incumbent leads the design and supervision of the projects as well as loan and grant negotiations, all in accordance with IFAD’s applicable policies. The Country Director is accountable for analysing relevant information, assisting in the periodic monitoring and evaluation of results achieved and reporting on and disseminating findings. The incumbent contributes effectively to the IFAD organizational change agenda, with reference to issues related to IFAD’s direct supervision and implementation support modalities.
3. INSTITUTIONAL REPRESENTATION AND PARTNERSHIP MANAGEMENT: The Country Director ensures IFAD presence at country-level. The incumbent contributes to catalysing effective partnerships with a broad range of stakeholders in agricultural development and rural poverty reduction, including government and non-governmental institutions, bilateral and multilateral financing institutions, civil society organizations, research centres and the private sector. Additionally, they enhance IFAD’s relationships and collaboration with in-country partners focusing on synergies and coordinated strategies with multilateral/bilateral donors and civil-society organizations involved in agricultural development and rural poverty reduction. The incumbent represents IFAD on the UN Country Team, acting as the primary point of contact for transmitting IFAD’s decisions, provides support in the coordination of operational activities for development, and contributes to all international and national/thematic groups meetings.
4. CONTRIBUTION TO POLICY LEADERSHIP: The Country Director contributes to corporate level strategy on core IFAD policy positions within the assigned portfolio, led by Division Directors. They maintain and promote constructive dialogue on the development of pro-poor agricultural development and rural poverty reduction policies and in enabling the rural poor to advocate for institutional transformation. The incumbent regularly participates in relevant policy meetings and events of interest to IFAD’s target groups and which involve the government, donors, and civil society, including NGOs, to render the policy dialogue agenda both credible and sustainable. The incumbent contributes to IFAD’s policy intelligence with regular updates and information exchange on relevant policy discussions and ensure proper knowledge management is in place. Policy dialogue focuses on seeking to link the realities on the ground and the voices of the poor with national policies and programmes.
5. OFFICE MANAGEMENT: The Country Director supports the relevant CD/Head of MCO in managing the utilization of allocated resources. As such, the incumbent supports the management of human resources, contracting goods and services, and financial management. The Country Director also supports budget preparation, management, and monitoring of expenditures.

EDUCATION:

Education includes Advanced university degree from an accredited institution listed on https://whed.net/home.php in rural development, agriculture, rural finance, development policy or related field is required ():
() Note: For internal candidates, this requirement will be assessed in line with the provisions set forth in IFAD’s Human Resources Implementing Procedures.

EXPERIENCE:

• At least eight (8) years of progressively responsible professional experience in rural development, agriculture, rural finance, development policy or other job related fields, with a preference for economics.
• Two (2) years in an international organizations, rural development/financial institutions or government services providing support on a global scope.
• Experience may include project design, development, implementation and evaluation preferably in area of implementation and supervision of rural development programmes.

SKILLS:

• IFAD governance & mandate: In depth knowledge of IFAD`s governance structure, mandate, strategic priorities and technical work
• IFAD partners: Knowledge of IFAD’s partners’ functioning and mandate , such as the public sector (e.g. governments and policy, institutions and system), non-state actors (NGOs, CSOs, Foundations, etc.) and private sector actors
• Performance management: Know-how in managing performance, learning management, establishing learning plans and ensuring staff supervised meet their development needs while meeting the needs of IFAD
• Risk management (e.g. reputational): Identification and assessment of potential liabilities and risks in IFAD’s activities, particularly vis-à-vis third parties; ability to handle risks via contingency and mitigation strategies
• 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)
• Evidence-based policy: Know-how in the formulation of concrete and actionable policy recommendations based on hard evidence (going beyond simple data interpretation)
• Loans & grants: Know-how in designing loan and grant operations and managing loan and grant preparation process
• Policy dialogue: Know-how in the representation of IFAD as a trusted and strategic partner, advocating and promoting IFAD’s mandate and vision; effective consultations with IFAD counterparts - like ministries and governmental bodies at all administrative levels, donors, civil society
• Topical expertise - Programme management for Agricultural Development: Expertise relevant to the specific role (e.g. For ethics office assistant, procedures outlined in the Code of Conduct, Discipline and Anti-harassment provisions of applicable rules and guidelines)
• Project/Programme management (incl. coordination, design, development): Know-how in Project design and evaluation

The Country Director is accountable for the IFAD core values of integrity, transparency, and equity in the management of the assigned portfolio. Accountabilities/key results also include advocating for and enhancing national government programmes that improve poor rural people’s access to natural resources, agricultural technologies, financial services, markets, employment opportunities and enterprise development.
The Country Director additionally promotes capacity building of key government counterparts and the rural poor in terms of the skills required for their participation in national and local policy and programming processes.
The Country Director plays an active role in engaging with the private sector and other local stakeholders.