Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is currently implementing a 3-year project under the Multi-Donor Action “Circular Economy in the Food Sector” (GCP SRL 085 EC | CIRCULAR) which is jointly implemented with Expertise France (EF) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and funded by the European Union (EU). The FAO project under CIRCULAR seeks to address critical issues such as food loss and waste reduction, circularity applied to agri-food systems, and the transition away from single-use plastics from producers up to wholesalers. By leveraging multi-stakeholder partnerships and socio-technological interventions the project seeks to not only mitigate agri-food system climate impacts but also contribute to economic and social well-being.

Reporting Lines

The Grants Implementation Specialist will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Sri Lanka, the direct supervision of the Assistant FAO Representative (Programme) and the Lead Technical Officer (LTO), and the technical guidance of the CIRCULAR Technical Manager, in close coordination with FAO Operations, Procurement, Finance, Monitoring and Evaluation personnel and relevant technical specialists.

Technical Focus

Technically sound, timely, transparent and fully documented implementation of the CIRCULAR Beneficiary Grants Programme, from launch and application management through implementation, verification, completion and results reporting.
The Specialist will establish and maintain the operational link between the requirements of the GOM, FAO technical and operational procedures, the work of technical experts and Service Providers, and implementation by grant beneficiaries and suppliers.
The Specialist will support the FAO-established governance arrangements for the grants programme, including the Technical and Selection Committees, without assuming decision-making authority assigned to those bodies

Tasks and responsibilities

Under FAO supervision, the Grants Implementation Specialist will undertake the following tasks:

Grants implementation planning and coordination
• Develop and maintain the detailed implementation plan, workflow, timelines, responsibilities and tracking system for the grants programme in accordance with the approved GOM.
• Coordinate implementation across FAO programme, technical, operations, procurement, finance and M&E functions.
• Maintain a consolidated grants pipeline covering applications, eligibility review, technical assessment, committee consideration, approval, contracting/procurement actions, delivery, installation, verification and completion.
• Identify implementation bottlenecks, delays and compliance risks and propose corrective actions for FAO management consideration.
• Coordinate the inputs of technical specialists and contracted Service Providers while maintaining clear institutional responsibilities and segregation of functions.

Call and application process
• Support preparation and operationalization of the call for beneficiaries and associated guidance, templates, application forms, FAQs and communication materials.
• Coordinate information sessions and applicant-support activities in Colombo, Galle and Nuwara Eliya and other Districts, as required.
• Ensure that applications are registered, numbered, acknowledged and maintained through an auditable application-management system.
• Support completeness and eligibility screening against the requirements established in the GOM and prepare the relevant documentation for review by the designated FAO structures.
• Ensure consistent application of approved criteria and maintain records supporting each stage of the process.

- The Specialist will not independently modify eligibility criteria or make final decisions on applicant eligibility or selection.

Technical assessment and committee support
• Coordinate technical assessments of proposed investments, including engagement of relevant specialists in agriculture, fisheries, food processing, packaging, bioenergy, waste management, engineering and other fields as required.
• Review assessment documentation for completeness, consistency and traceability against approved criteria.
• Prepare consolidated technical documentation, assessment matrices and supporting information for consideration by the FAO Technical Committee and Selection Committee.
• Organize committee documentation and maintain complete records of recommendations, decisions, recusals and required follow-up actions.
• Track implementation of committee decisions and conditions.

- Final grading, ranking, validation and selection remain the responsibility of the formally designated FAO committees.

Grant implementation and beneficiary support
• Coordinate the transition of approved grants from selection to implementation.
• Develop grant-specific implementation and monitoring files incorporating approved investment specifications, beneficiary co-contribution, delivery requirements, implementation milestones, indicators and applicable environmental and social requirements.
• Coordinate beneficiary orientation on implementation requirements, responsibilities, documentation, use and maintenance of equipment and reporting obligations.
• Monitor implementation schedules and follow up on outstanding actions with beneficiaries, suppliers, technical specialists and Service Providers.
• Coordinate resolution of technical implementation issues and escalate material deviations, delays or compliance concerns to FAO management.
• Ensure that proposed changes to approved investments are technically justified, documented and submitted to the appropriate FAO authority before implementation.

Delivery, installation and verification
• Coordinate technical verification of equipment and solutions delivered under the grants programme.
• Ensure verification against approved technical specifications, quantities, installation requirements and other conditions established in the grant documentation.
• Coordinate site visits and ensure that delivery, installation, commissioning, beneficiary acceptance and operational status are appropriately documented.
• Ensure that warranties, manuals, training, after-sales requirements and other supplier obligations are documented where applicable.
• Prepare or consolidate technical verification documentation required to support FAO's administrative and financial processing.

- The Specialist will not certify expenditure or authorize payments unless explicitly delegated under applicable FAO rules.

Monitoring, results and investment performance – in coordination with FAO Service Providers
• Establish and maintain grant-level monitoring records aligned with the CIRCULAR results framework.
• Track implementation and initial utilization of supported investments and relevant technical, economic and environmental indicators.
• Coordinate collection and verification of evidence on results, including equipment utilization, operational performance and relevant circular-economy outcomes such as food loss/waste avoided or valorized, improved product quality or shelf life, resource efficiency, replacement of single-use plastics, or other investment-specific indicators.
• Support assessment of implementation constraints, sustainability, replication and potential for scale-up.
• Provide structured evidence and lessons to inform subsequent grant rounds and the project's wider work on business and investment development.

Compliance, records and risk management
• Ensure that grant files contain the documentation required under the GOM and applicable FAO procedures.
• Maintain an auditable trail from application through assessment, approval, implementation, verification and closure.
• Monitor compliance with beneficiary obligations, co-contribution requirements and agreed implementation conditions.
• Flag actual or potential conflicts of interest, deviations, suspected irregularities, non-performance or other material risks immediately through the appropriate FAO channels.
• Support implementation of corrective actions decided by FAO.
• Ensure appropriate segregation of duties among applicant support, technical assessment, selection, implementation monitoring and verification functions.

Reporting and knowledge management
• Prepare regular implementation dashboards and progress reports covering the grants pipeline, commitments, implementation status, risks, results and actions requiring management attention.
• Maintain consolidated quantitative and qualitative information for project and donor reporting.
• Document implementation lessons and recommendations for improving the grants mechanism.
• Contribute technical inputs to CIRCULAR progress reports, annual reports, donor briefings and other project documentation related to grants and investments.
• Prepare a final implementation report consolidating grants delivered, implementation status, results achieved, outstanding issues and recommendations.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree or University degree in Agricultural Economics, economics, business administration, development studies, agriculture, food systems, engineering, project management, finance or another field relevant to the assignment.
• At least 5 years of relevant professional experience in grants management, investment programmes, private-sector development, MSME support, agricultural/food-sector projects, development-finance programmes or comparable assignments.
• Working knowledge (level C) of English and Sinhala.
• National of Sri Lanka or resident of the country with a valid work permit.

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

• strong understanding of grant-cycle and investment implementation;
• ability to translate procedural requirements into operational workflows and controls;
• capacity to assess and coordinate technically diverse investments;
• strong analytical and documentation skills;
• understanding of internal controls, segregation of duties and conflict-of-interest management;
• results-based monitoring and reporting capacity;
• ability to coordinate government, private-sector, technical and development-partner stakeholders; and
• strong written and spoken English.

Selection criteria

• Demonstrated experience in management or implementation of competitive grants or investment-support mechanisms;
• Demonstrated experience in management of multi-stage application, assessment and implementation processes;
• Demonstrated experience in coordination of technical specialists and multiple institutional functions;
• Demonstrated experience in monitoring of investments, equipment or enterprise-support interventions;
• Demonstrated experience in development of auditable project documentation and management information systems;
• Demonstrated experience in results monitoring and donor/project reporting.
• Experience with UN, EU-funded or other international development programmes and knowledge of Sri Lanka's agriculture, fisheries, food processing, MSME or circular-economy sectors would be an asset.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION