Climate Resilience and Food Sovereignty Advisor – Trócaire

December 21, 2024
Application ends: January 25, 2025
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Job Description

About Trócaire
Trócaire is an International NGO. We work with local partners in the world’s most at-risk communities and with people in
Ireland to tackle the underlying causes of poverty and injustice and respond to the crises they create. Together we bring
about positive and lasting change for a just world. Trócaire works in up to 20 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and
the Middle East. We work towards five goals:

  • Promote Access to Justice;
  • Achieve Climate & Environmental Justice;
  • Ensure Women & Girls’ Protection, Voice & Influence;
  • Save Lives and Protect Human Dignity and
  • Mobilise the Public on the island of Ireland to achieve Global Justice.
    Our work is rooted in Catholic Social Teaching and in our values of Solidarity, Courage, Participation, Perseverance and
    Accountability.
    A key commitment in Trócaire’s Strategic Plan 2021–2026: Local Power, Global Justice is to support communities in
    securing their food supply and livelihoods in the face of climate change. This includes ensuring access to opportunities,
    technology, and markets while supporting local solutions to tackling climate change challenges.
    Climate and environmental justice is a growing priority for Trócaire, with programming in countries facing severe environmental
    and food system challenges, including protracted crises and conflict (e.g., Ethiopia, DRC, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia,
    Rwanda, Malawi, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe). Our focus is on ensuring sustainable lives for marginalized communities,
    particularly women and youth, through resilience-building initiatives in climate justice, food sovereignty, and sustainable
    futures.
    Key Points:
  • The Climate Resilience and Food Sovereignty Advisor will provide technical expertise to design and implement
    innovative solutions like agroecology, natural resource management, renewable energy, and alternative livelihoods.
  • They will lead strategic business development, collaborating with country teams and partners to scale up initiatives
    and enhance programme impact.
  • The role will focus on securing climate funding and integrating inclusive market systems, natural resource
    management and agroecology into programming to foster recovery and resilience for vulnerable communities.
  • Collaboration with policy and funding teams will ensure scalable, impactful solutions aligned with advocacy goals.
    For the candidate with the required experience and passion for the role, Trócaire offers a competitive salary and benefits
    package
    The role will report to the Climate Justice Manager. Working alongside Goal 2 colleagues (a Sustainable Agriculture Advisor
    and a Market Systems Development and Engagement Advisor), this position is part of the global Programmes Team of
    Advisors, which also includes portfolios focused on human rights and access to justice (Goal 1) and women’s and girls’
    protection, voice, and leadership (Goal 3). The role will also involve working collaboratively with the global Humanitarian
    Team and the Policy & Advocacy Team.
    This is a fixed term contract for an initial 2 year period. The role is based in any Trócaire office in Ireland, Kenya, Malawi,
    Rwanda or Zimbabwe or the UK. The candidate must have an existing right to live and work in the chosen location.
    Key responsibilities
    Leadership in Innovation for Climate, Food Sovereignty, and Sustainable Futures
  • Facilitate the development of pioneering solutions to address challenges in Climate, Food Sovereignty,
    and Sustainable Futures. This includes designing and implementing climate adaptation and mitigation
    interventions aligned with Trócaire’s Organisational Strategy and Climate and Environmental Justice
    Strategy, empowering communities to achieve food sustainability, sovereignty, and resilience.
  • Champion the piloting of cutting-edge, evidence-based methodologies to address food sovereignty and
    build resilience at all levels in difficult contexts with vulnerable communities (e.g. displacement camps,
    remote & marginalised communities, conflict affected areas) while adapting approaches to diverse
    target groups and contexts
    Technical Support and Capacity Strengthening:
  • Provide proactive technical guidance and stewardship to Trócaire and local partner staff on the design and delivery
    of innovative Climate, Food Sovereignty, and Sustainable Futures programming in line with principles and standards
    of best practice
  • Establish strong working relationships with country colleagues, particularly those involved in Goal 2, as
    well as with the wider Programmes and Humanitarian Teams, by providing supportive, high-quality
    technical advice and mentoring.
  • Lead on and/or contribute to research initiatives/ learning pieces and contribute to the development of data-driven
    insights to inform programming and policy.
  • Ensure high quality tools, resources, and methodologies are available for country office and partner staff that
    support climate and environmental justice-aligned programming
  • Establish a Community of Practice on Climate, Food Sovereignty, and Sustainable Futures innovation, share
    learning, and best practices across teams
  • Actively participate in existing knowledge-sharing structures to strengthen collaboration and integration across the
    organisation
  • Collaborate closely with technical advisors and policy advisors in Sustainable Agriculture, Natural Resource
    Management, Inclusive Market Systems, Disaster Risk Reduction and Womens Empowerment to ensure integrated
    programme designs that increase impact.
  • Work with teams to integrate Gender, Disability and Conflict Sensitivity into new interventions, ensuring inclusivity of
    the most vulnerable
  • Feed into the development of policy briefs and advocacy messages as required, reflecting global Climate &
    Environmental Justice priorities as well as the perspectives of the partners and communities we support.
  • Support the co-creation of knowledge from programmes and teams through innovative, participatory and interactive
    communications methodologies.
  • Help design and then strengthen the use of Monitoring & Evaluation tools specific to Climate, Food Sovereignty, and
    Sustainable Futures, ensuring robust measurement of outcomes and impacts.
    Funding and Partnership Development:
  • Identify, support and lead on strategic climate funding opportunities to secure resources that expand Trócaire’s
    reach and enhance the impact of its Climate and Environmental Justice work.
  • Stay informed on donor policies and guidelines related to climate and environmental justice to ensure compliance
    and strategic alignment.
  • Share funding insights and maintain professional networks with the Global Funding Unit and Country Business
    Development teams to identify suitable opportunities and partners for consortium bids.
  • Represent Trócaire in global partnerships, networks, and with key stakeholders (e.g., UN agencies, donors, NGOs)
    to advance policy, advocacy, and collaboration efforts on Climate, Food Sovereignty, and Sustainable Futures
  • Utilise systems and tools, such as Salesforce and Box, to ensure efficient operations, data management, and
    support for funding and partnership activities.
    Other Duties
  • Travel to project locations worldwide, sometimes to insecure areas and at short notice.
  • Perform any other reasonable duties as assigned by line management.
    Essential Requirements
  • Skills
  • In-depth understanding of climate and environmental justice issues, policy and innovative practices
  • Innovative thinker and solutions focussed
  • Strong expertise in food systems and sustainable economic livelihoods approaches with demonstrated experience in
    at least two of the following: Agroecology, Natural Resource Management, Inclusive Market Systems, Climate
    adaptation and resilience
  • Understanding of programming in a partnership model and ability to work effectively with local, national and
    international partner organisations and networks
  • Excellent English writing, report-writing, research, editing and oral presentation skills
  • Excellent capacity strengthening skills, including training/ facilitation skills and techniques for accompaniment and
    mentoring
  • Ability to think strategically and programmatically
  • Excellent communication skills
  • Fluency in written and spoken English
    Experience
  • Minimum 5 years’ experience in diverse, global contexts with a proven track record in developing innovative
    approaches that build resilience.
  • Comprehensive experience of managing field-based Food Systems and/or Climate & Environmental programmes,
    including the integration of gender, disability, conflict sensitive and safe programming approaches, particularly in
    Africa
  • Experience with participatory, community-led programming approaches, including strategies for supporting the
    participation of women, girls and potentially marginalised / at-risk groups
  • Experience supporting skills building and capacity strengthening, including developing training materials, providing
    training to a range of audiences and providing accompaniment/mentoring
  • Experience in IT, AI, and digital technologies, with experience in spatial mapping, digital communications, and media
    tools to enhance data analysis, visual storytelling, and strategic outreach
  • Experience of proposal and report writing for major donors including Irish Aid, FCDO, the European Union and USAID.
  • Experience of networking and profiling within national, regional, and global networks
    Qualifications
  • Relevant third level or higher qualification in Food systems, Agroecology, Natural Resource Management, Inclusive
    Market systems, Climate & Environmental Justice, International development or related fields required.
    Behavioural competencies:
  • Leading: Reflecting our values of Participation & Accountability, acts to inspire and lead others to achieve their
    potential, demonstrating Trócaire’s values with integrity in order to achieve our organisation’s objectives.
  • Driving Innovation: Reflecting our values of Courage & Participation, fostering an environment that encourages
    creative thinking, new ideas, and novel approaches to improve programmes and achieve impactful results. Embraces
    experimentation and leads efforts to integrate innovative solutions across projects and initiatives.
  • Communicating: Reflecting our value of Participation, being one organisation, communicating clearly and
    transparently across, teams, units, divisions, locations and other external organisations. Getting our message across
    with impact.
  • Collaborating: Reflecting our values of Participation & Solidarity, partnering effectively as One Trócaire organisation
    and, in solidarity, maintains positive relationships built on trust and respect.
  • Stewardship of Resources: Reflecting our value of Accountability and decision-making around the best use of
    resources. Using our resources transparently, sustainably, ethically, fairly & with integrity; acknowledging Trócaire’s
    reputation in the use of resources.
  • Delivering Results: Reflecting our values of Accountability & Perseverance, getting a quality job done through
    effective performance, planning and decision making.
  • Continual Improvement & Learning: Reflecting our values of Participation & Courage, constantly looking to learn
    and develop self, employees, and partners to better fulfil Trócaire’s’ mission.
  • Flexibility & Change: Reflecting our values of Participation & Courage, adapts positively to change and to different
    ways of doing things; manages or takes part in change processes in a way that is appropriate to role in the
    organisation.
    Qualities
  • Strong commitment to Climate and environmental justice, agroecological and safe programming principles aligned
    with human rights and sustainable development.
  • Believes in the values of localisation and working in partnership
  • Is committed to equality and women’s voice and leadership
  • Shows drive, initiative, courage, integrity and accountability
  • Works effectively on a team and cross-organisationally
  • Manages time and resources efficiently
  • Shows flexibility, adapts easily to change
  • Dynamic and willing to take initiative.
  • Ability to work under pressure and to deadlines.
  • Willingness to keep abreast of new developments in the Climate and Environmental Justice and Food Systems &
    Sovereignty and inclusive market system fields;
  • Understanding of, and empathy with, the role of the Catholic Church in development
    Safeguarding Programme Participants-Children & Adults
    Trócaire is committed to safeguarding people within our programmes from exploitation and abuse and has specific policies on
    this commitment (including a Global Code of Conduct) which outlines the expected behaviour and the responsibility of all staff,
    consultants and other organisational representatives. More information on Trócaire’s safeguarding policies available here.
    Diversity and inclusion
    We welcome diverse applicants to join our inclusive workforce.
    Trócaire is an equal opportunities employer. We are an organisation that embraces diversity and inclusion. We welcome
    applicants from diverse backgrounds to bring their experiences and perspectives to Trócaire.
    Diversity and Inclusion statement available