Organization Mission

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.

Context

The Sri Lanka portfolio requires strengthened generalist project management support to ensure timely implementation, mission follow-up, coordination with Project Management Units (PMUs) and Government, and enhanced delivery of results. The Programme Coordinator will support the Country Director through a mix of generalist functions: coordination, planning, reporting, portfolio monitoring, knowledge management, and innovation. While primarily a generalist, the Programme Coordinator is expected to bring one technical specialization, such as: value chain development; rural finance / financial inclusion; agronomy /climate-smart agriculture; gender, youth, or Indigenous Peoples inclusion; nutrition-sensitive agriculture; monitoring & evaluation/ Knowledge management, or ICT4D (Information and Communication Technologies for Development) and digital solutions for development. The Programme Coordinator will be based in Colombo, with regular travel within Sri Lanka to support supervision, missions, and on-the-ground implementation follow-up.

Key Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the IFAD Country Director for Maldives and Sri Lanka and in close consultation and collaboration with the country team based in New Delhi and Bangkok, and its pool of consultants based in Colombo, the incumbent will undertake the following
tasks:
A. General Project Management Support (Core Function) Provide broad-based support to Sri Lanka portfolio management, supporting the country team with:
• Day-to-day follow-up with Project Management Units (PMUs), Government partners, and the IFAD Sri Lanka country team.
• Lead and coordinate project monitoring: workplans, procurement, disbursement, risk flags, safeguards and results indicators and follow-up on implementation (quantity/quality) of agreed actions from previous missions and track status of all agreed actions, ensuring actions are implemented on time (e.g. send reminder 3 months in advance due date and follow-up after due date and inform Country Director (CD ) on status of agreed action)
• Coordinate preparation of mission dossiers, undertake background research and consolidate project data.
• Draft and finalize mission Terms of Reference (TORs), announcement letters, checklists, PowerPoint presentations, action matrices, follow-up trackers, and any project support documentation guided by the CD.
• Ensure finalization of the mission aide memoire, mission report and management letter in close follow up and coordination with mission team leaders and mission members.
• Provide practical/problem-solving support to project teams for implementation acceleration in consultation with country team.
• Ensure timely consolidation of information for Country Strategic Opportunities Programme (COSOP) updates, Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) reporting, and regional reporting requirements.
• COSOP: support update of COSOP logframe, linked SARP, SAPP and MWSIP 2 and support COSOP annual review.

B. Mission Planning, Coordination, and Follow-Up
• Manage, Organize and coordinate supervision, implementation support, design, Midterm Review (MTR), and Project Completion Report (PCR) missions, as well as high-level visits
• Prepare TORs, logistical arrangements, and briefing files.
• Join field missions to project provinces in Laos and provide generalist analytical support.
• Maintain a mission recommendation tracker to ensure systematic follow-up by PMUs.
• Support with preparation of any high-level visit (travel book, talking points, presentation)

C. Knowledge Management, Documentation & Communications
• Documentation of lessons learned across the Sri Lanka PDR portfolio and develop synthesis notes, briefs, and presentations.
• Produce visibility materials (stories, field updates, project highlights, communications content)
• Strengthen Knowledge Management (KM) and reporting capacity of PMUs, including templates, checklists, and data consolidation. • Coordinate with IFAD HQ technical teams as relevant.

D. Partnership & Coordination Support
• Plan and manage CD coordination and stakeholder engagement, facilitating effective collaboration between the Country Office, Government counterparts, UN agencies, development partners, and thematic working groups to advance programmatic priorities.
• Contribute to partnership development and visibility efforts, including the preparation of high-quality partnership briefs, donor reports, and meeting documentation, ensuring clarity, coherence, and alignment with organizational messaging and standards.

E. Administrative and Office Support (related to Programme Functions)
• Provide support to Country Director with briefing notes, preparation of donor/UN meetings, and short analyses.
• Contribute to effective contract management and oversight, including reviewing deliverables for quality and compliance, and supporting the preparation and certification of payments in line with organizational standards.
• Support the CD in the corporate planning and reporting processes, including coordination and inputs for annual and semi-annual reporting cycles, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities and timelines.
• Provide high-quality documentation and knowledge management support, including the preparation of accurate and comprehensive official minutes and records for key meetings and decision-making processes.

Required Skills and Experience

Technical/Functional:
• Knowledge of rural project management and market development; field experience related to agricultural and rural development is desirable.
• Knowledge of policy oriented, programme based pro-poor approaches, and loan and grant preparation.
• Capacity to communicate fluently with different counterparts (civil society, government authorities, local communities, project staff) to align parties and build networks.
• Writes clearly, succinctly and convincingly listens and communicates effectively to engage others.
• Computer skills: full command of Microsoft applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and common Internet applications.
• Prior UN experience or prior knowledge of the host entity’s internal systems should only be listed as additional assets if necessary.

Experience:
▪ At least seven years’ progressively responsible professional experience in development institutions and/or government service.
▪ Qualifying work experience in country programme analysis or loan/grant administration with International financial institutions, development cooperation agencies, etc., would be an asset.
▪ Fluent spoken and written English.
▪ Good computer skills.
▪ Good interpersonal and communications skills.

Core Competencies

• Accountability
• Adaptability and flexibility
• Creativity
• Judgement and decision-making
• Planning and organising
• Professionalism
• Self-management

Living Conditions

Sri Lanka is an island nation located off the south coast of India. An estimated population of around 21 million people is sheltered in this multi-ethnic, multi- cultural and multi- religious country. Colombo is situated in the Western Province of Sri Lanka and is the commercial capital of the country. The city is located on the west coast of the island, adjacent to the administrative capital, Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte. Bandaranaike International Airport is located 35km from Colombo and is served by the main international airlines. Sri Lanka is a tropical country with moderate temperature and high humidity all throughout the year.

Average temperature in Colombo ranges between 27 and 30 degrees Celsius. The island experiences two main monsoon seasons, where heavy rainfalls occur, from May to August and October to January. Rice and curry comprise the main dishes. Sri Lankan cuisine tends to be quite spicy. There are hotels and other types of accommodation options available in Colombo. Supermarkets, banking, and medical facilities are present within the city.

As this is a national UN Volunteer assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials.
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The complete UN Volunteer Conditions of Service is available at https://explore.unv.org/cos