Legal Consultant, Zimbabwe at FAO Zimbabwe

job Description

LEGN has recently launched a new Programme entitled “Governing for Sustainable Agrifood Systems: Strengthening Legislation and Building Capacity to Support Implementation, Compliance and Enforcement” (FVC/GLO/223/MUL), hereafter “ACE Programme”. This Programme aims at strengthening FAO Members' regulatory instruments and institutional capacity to promote accountable governance for sustainable agrifood systems, towards food security and nutrition through effective implementation, compliance with, and enforcement, of relevant agrifood systems legal frameworks. The ACE Programme will adopt a One Health approach and address climate change as cross-cutting issues. The Programme will focus on the Southern African region, including Zimbabwe.

This call is aimed at a Legal Consultant with a high level of experience. The Legal Consultant would be located in Zimbabwe. The assignments will cover specific activities related to the legal aspects of areas under the mandate of FAO, in support of the ACE Programme.

Reporting Lines

The incumbent reports to the Chief, LEGN, while day-to-day supervision is provided by the Programme's Coordinator and/or designated LEGN Legal Officer(s), and an International Legal Consultant, in close coordination with the relevant FAO technical divisions, and FAO Subregional Office for Southern Africa.

Technical Focus

Legal research and advisory services to the Government of Zimbabwe in relation to implementation of legislation relating to food and agriculture and related to compliance and enforcement.

LEGN seeks to identify candidates who may cover one or more of the technical areas under the Development Law Service per FAO's mandate: - Agricultural law, including agricultural health (food safety, phytosanitary and veterinary legislation; antimicrobial resistance), sustainable agricultural production (seeds, pesticides, organic farming and other marketing systems) and other areas of agricultural law (supply chain regulation mechanisms, contract farming, agricultural finance, cooperatives and other farmers' organisations, agricultural insurance schemes); - Food and nutrition security, right to adequate food, school meals and nutrition; - Climate change laws in relation to agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture and forests; - Enabling environment for responsible investments in agriculture and food systems; - Fisheries and aquaculture; - Food systems transformation; - Forests, wildlife, grazing; - Gender mainstreaming within legal frameworks; - Social protection in rural areas and decent rural employment; - Sustainable land management, sustainable water management, sustainable wildlife production;

Duties and Responsibilities

It is anticipated that the incumbent will be undertaking the following tasks and responsibilities under the ACE Programme:
Support the preparation, review and update of work plans, project documents, and the drafting of regulations, Memorandum of Understanding, agreements and other legal instruments;
Collection of policy documents, legislation and regulations in support of the legislative review to be undertaken under the ACE Programme and provide on the ground support during missions of the international legal consultant and other ACE Programme experts;
support the preparation, and provide technical inputs to the establishment of the Working Group in charge of assisting the development of the key outcomes of the inception workshop;
facilitate liaison with the judiciary, prosecutors, inspection services, among other relevant national authorities;
support the development of an assessment report, based on desk review of Zimbabwe's legal framework related to agrifood systems to identify gaps and challenges in the implementation, compliance and enforcement of the assessed legislation, with a view to propose recommendations and/or legislative options to address such gaps and challenges;
support and provide technical inputs to the development, review and finalization of assessment tools, guidance material, and curricula for training courses and eLearning courses;

Qualifications and Experience

Bachelor's degree in Law.
Master's degree in Law would be considered an asset.
At least 10 years of experience in food and agriculture law, with particular emphasis on implementation, compliance, enforcement, sustainable management and development of agrifood systems and natural resources.
Proven track record of working on similar projects, especially concerning implementation, compliance and enforcement of legislation, and relating to agricultural practices for climate resilience.
Expertise in either regulatory impact assessment, behavioural science, or capacity analysis is an asset. eOA7fIv D0LPS3
Working knowledge of English is required and limited knowledge of one of the other FAO languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish).