Call for nominations for the external chair of the Consultation on the Twelfth Replenishment of IFAD's Resources

IFAD's operations reach over 100 million poor rural people around the world, addressing some of the most pressing global challenges and contributing directly to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. With poverty and hunger increasingly concentrated in rural areas – particularly those affected by fragility – and agriculture and food systems recognized as central to addressing climate change, gender inequality, malnutrition and youth unemployment, IFAD's mandate has never been more relevant, and its accumulated experience, partnerships and capacities have never more held more potential to contribute to the achievement of global development goals.

Every three years, IFAD's Member States come together to review the Fund's performance, agree on future directions and priorities, and replenish its resources in a process known as the replenishment consultation. The Consultation on the Twelfth Replenishment of IFAD's Resources (IFAD12) is expected to begin in February 2020 and end by February 2021. With exactly 10 years left to achieve the SDGs, the IFAD12 Consultation has the potential to be a pivotal moment for the international community to mobilize the political and financial support required to deliver on those goals, particularly on SDG 2. The IFAD12 Consultation will also entail consideration of important changes to IFAD's financial architecture.

IFAD is seeking an external chair to oversee the IFAD12 Consultation and support the achievement of a positive outcome for IFAD, its Member States and – above all – the
2.5 billion people in developing countries whose livelihoods directly or indirectly depend on farming. The role of the chair, plus the criteria, timeline and process for selection are described below.

Role of the external chair of the IFAD12 Consultation

The responsibilities of the IFAD12 chair would include:

• Chair formal consultation meetings;
• Oversee all aspects of Consultation meetings, discussions and deliberations, providing guidance and support to the Secretariat;
• Critically review and comment on draft documentation and reports prepared for each session, ensuring quality control and strategic coherence;
• With support from the Secretariat, synthesize discussions and prepare the chair’s summary of each meeting concisely and accurately, reflecting the status of negotiations;
• Lead and facilitate discussions and negotiations among Member States, as well as between IFAD’s leadership and Member States, to build consensus in order to achieve successful outcomes for reviewing the adequacy of the Fund’s resources;
• Mobilize external support for IFAD, including at the political level within Member States in collaboration with delegates and IFAD Management;
• Ensure that the final report and recommendations of the Consultation respond to the terms of reference of the Consultation and conform to the Agreement Establishing IFAD and other documents adopted by the Governing Council; and
• Work with the President and staff to prepare for meetings and negotiations in order to ensure that issues are presented effectively.

Selection criteria

The following selection criteria will be applied:

• Strong knowledge of multilateral development banks and their processes, including:
  1. Knowledge of the replenishment process; and
  2. Ability to understand the technical and development issues discussed during the meeting, including familiarity with development financing institutions’ funding methodologies and capital markets.
• Experience in chairing high-level international meetings, including the ability to:
  1. Reconcile varying points of view on complex issues;
  2. Assist in ensuring clarity in the discussion; and
  3. Remain impartial.
• Effective liaison skills;
• Familiarity with IFAD and a strong belief in IFAD’s mandate and the importance of agricultural development and rural poverty reduction; and
• A high level of personal integrity, absence of any national or international mandate or commitments or conflicts of interest, and capability of demonstrating that any ongoing commitment will not hinder the fulfilment of the role of the chair.

Timeline and process

Candidates should be nominated either by an authorized official of an IFAD Member State, or by the President of IFAD.

All nominations should be submitted by e-mail to [email protected]. The deadline for receipt of nominations is 31 May 2019, 11.59 p.m. (Central European Time).

Nominations should include a brief summary of the candidate’s experience and suitability for the role of IFAD12 external chair.

All nominations will be reviewed by a Committee composed of IFAD Management and Member States representatives. The President will select one candidate to be proposed to the IFAD Executive Board session in September 2019, for formal approval by the Governing Council in February 2020.

The candidate is expected to be available part-time (approximately 100 days) from September/October 2019 until February 2021. In general, Consultation sessions consist of four 2-day meetings. For the IFAD12 Consultation, these will most likely be held in February, June, October and December 2020, with formal conclusion of the replenishment process at the IFAD Governing Council session in February 2021. During this period the chair will be expected engage regularly with IFAD Management and Member States, including travel to IFAD headquarters in Rome and to Member State capitals. The external chair will be supported by the Replenishment Secretariat based in IFAD headquarters.

Remuneration will be competitive, and will take into consideration the level of responsibility of the position and the experience of the candidate.

Contact

For further information, please contact Leon Williams, Senior Partnership and Resource Mobilization Officer (Replenishment), Partnership and Resource Mobilization Office, IFAD at [email protected] or +39 06 5459 2809.