Job Vacancy at C40 Cities

Job description

Position Description

The C40 Food Systems Network is part of C40’s Food, Water and Waste Programme. Food production accounts for 11% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, rising to 30% when distribution and land use are included. Cities have strong authority over many aspects of urban food systems. The network, in partnership with the EAT Foundation, supports cities efforts to create and implement integrated food policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase resilience and deliver health outcomes. The network helps cities advance and accelerate action by transferring existing knowledge, creating an environment of positive encouragement and friendly competition, and using the power of the collective to develop high impact joint projects which have a multiplier effect. The Food Systems network focuses on issues such as food procurement and sustainable diets; food production; food distribution; food waste; and governance.

The Food Systems City Adviser will be the C40 focal point in developing Nairobi’s Food Systems Strategy, bringing together the integration/linkage with the existing policies and plans (e.g. Climate Action Plan) and the implementation mechanism (Food Action Plan). They will draw from substantial work on Nairobi’s Food System Status completed through the NADHALI project, a project developed by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) which is coming to an end (http://www.fao.org/in-action/nadhali/en/).

Additionally, the City Adviser will work within Nairobi City County to further the importance of sound urban food system. He/She will help facilitate regular discussions with other cites of the C40 Food Systems Network. The City Adviser will also support the development of a resource mobilization strategy, and connect the city to resources across the C40 Food Systems Network, FAO, and other technical partners. Furthermore, the City Adviser will support the city’s staff in organizing and facilitating meetings of the food systems multi-stakeholder platform when needed.

The C40 City Adviser’s relationship with the Nairobi City County Government and other key stakeholders is critical for efficient and effective delivery. The City Adviser will be based at the Nairobi City County offices in Nairobi, Kenya, and will report to the C40 Regional Director, Africa in support of the C40 Food Systems Network. The position is a C40 role, funded by FAO financial support to C40. The Nairobi City Adviser will be the first food focused C40 City Adviser, but they will join a cohort of C40 City Advisers across several cities in Africa.

As an ‘on the ground’ ambassador in Nairobi, the City Adviser will also help to support the partnership between the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and the Nairobi City County Government, and with FAO. This will include identifying and facilitating opportunities for collaboration, learning, innovation, action and advocacy, building local capacity, and building connections with other C40 cities and initiatives.

The ideal candidate will have a strong technical background in integrated urban food systems; substantial experience working with cities on food systems; and excellent problem solving, project management and communication skills.

Responsibilities:

• Working closely with the political and operational leadership within Nairobi City County Government, C40’s Food Systems Network Manager and Regional Director for Africa, and in collaboration with FAO, the Nairobi City Adviser will develop and deliver a varied technical assistance programme to support the Nairobi Government in:
• Developing the Nairobi Food Systems Strategy.
• Synthesizing and analyzing consultancy reports, baseline data and tools generated through the NADHALI project to come up with scenarios and recommendations for further development of the food system in Nairobi, including the convening of stakeholders for validation through multi-stakeholder validation workshops.
• Supporting Nairobi City County staff fill gaps in the food system data through further research/baseline data collection, particularly:
  • Production component of food system
  • Processing component of food system
  • Suitability of air, water, soils for food production in Nairobi City County
• Facilitating multi-stakeholders engagement.
• Supporting the integration/linkage of the food systems strategy in/with the existing municipal plans and strategies (e.g. Climate Action Plan).
• Supporting the organization of a “Mayoral visit” for the Governor of Nairobi and the County Executive Committee Member for Food, Agriculture and Forestry Sector to a city that is well advanced on urban Food Systems.
• Contributing to the identification of opportunities for involving the Governor of Nairobi in a mayoral side-event on food systems during a big event like UN Habitat events or Africities or C40 Mayoral Summit.
• Supporting and facilitating Nairobi’s engagement with other cities of the C40 Food System Network through regular discussions, webinars and/or workshops.
• Providing advice and staff support to the city government on food security, nutrition and food systems and sharing of best practices from other cities, including exposing staff to operational food systems in other cities in C40 Network.
• Supporting the development of an action plan and resource mobilization strategy to deliver the Food System Strategy.
• Ensuring consistency between the food systems strategy and national policies, including but not limited to agriculture, livestock, fisheries and aquaculture strategies, food security and nutrition strategies, rural development etc. The
• Adviser will consult and collaborate with the FAO officer seconded to the national Ministry of Agriculture through the EU-FAO FIRST program (http://www.fao.org/europeanunion/eu-projects/first/fr/)
• Developing trust and strong relationships with the city government, international agencies and other key stakeholders and partners.
• Providing an interim and final detailed technical report highlighting the key activities and the achievements, and including suggestions for implementing similar activities (e.g. food system planning adviser model) in the future.

Person Specification:

• A relevant post-graduate degree;
• Substantial experience in government, business or NGO sectors with a focus on sustainability and/or climate change and food, and substantive experience working with or within municipal governments;
• Experience in working with climate change adaptation-focused plans;
• Excellent project-management, strategic thinking and analytical capabilities;
• Demonstrable problem-solving, budget and people management experience, including working with UN agencies, and ability to manage multiple parallel tasks;
• Strong interpersonal, relationship building and written and verbal communication skills, combined with English fluency;
• Strong stakeholder engagement experience, as well as experience in developing or facilitating webinars and workshops;
• International experience, working across different cultures, languages and time zones.

Contract Term:

Fixed Term Contract – 12 months

Other Requirements:

Applicants must already have the right to work in Kenya.

Limited travel may be required as part of the role.