The FAO Investment Operations Specialist 2026 opportunity offers qualified professionals the chance to support investment operations in agriculture, food security, rural development, natural resource management and climate change. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is seeking specialists for assignments that may be home-based with travel to field missions, with contracts ranging from short assignments to as long as 11 months.
Background & Job Description
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has opened a Call for Expressions of Interest for Investment Operations Specialist opportunities under its FAO Investment Centre (CFI). The vacancy is intended to establish a pool of qualified candidates with different technical specializations who can contribute to investment and development operations across various locations.
The vacancy was posted on 20 April 2026, with an application closure date of 28 September 2026 at 11:59 PM. The position is classified as a non-staff opportunity under a Consultant/Personal Services Agreement arrangement. Assignments may last from two to six weeks or, where applicable, up to 11 months. The contract can be home-based with required travel for field missions.
The FAO Investment Centre works with governments, financial institutions, private-sector organizations, farmers, research institutions and other partners to improve investment in agrifood systems. Its work covers strategic investment planning, public investment, private investment and innovative finance.
This opportunity may therefore be particularly relevant to experienced professionals working in agricultural development, climate-smart agriculture, rural finance, environmental management, food security, infrastructure, digital agriculture and related fields.
Available Specialist Profiles
FAO has identified a broad range of profiles for the Investment Operations Specialist roster. These include:
- Agribusiness, Agri-processing and Value Chain Specialist
- Agriculture Specialist
- Animal Husbandry, Health, Feed and Processing Specialist
- Capacity Development and Extension Specialist
- Climate Change and Climate Smart Agriculture Specialist
- Climate Finance Specialist
- Credit and Rural Finance Specialist
- Digital Agriculture Specialist
- Agricultural Economist
- Fisheries and Aquaculture Specialist
- Food Safety Specialist
- Food Security and Nutrition Specialist
- Forestry Specialist
- Gender, Youth and Social Inclusion Specialist
- Impact Assessment Specialist
- ICT and MIS Specialist
- Irrigation Engineer
- Livestock Specialist
- Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist
- Natural Resources and Environmental Management Specialist
- Project Management Specialist
- Remote Sensing and GIS Specialist
- Resilience and Emergency Specialist
- Rural Infrastructure/Cold-storage Specialist
- Rural Sociologist and Community-Driven Development Specialist
- Veterinarian/One Health/Zoonotic Disease Specialist
The full list also includes specialists in expenditure review, institutional development, knowledge development, land tenure and information management, on-farm water management, quality labelling and rural water supply.
Tasks and Responsibilities
Successful candidates may work as part of multidisciplinary teams supporting governments and development partners.
Key responsibilities include helping identify, assess and prepare investment operations related to food security, nutrition, agriculture, rural development, natural resource management and climate change adaptation or mitigation. Specialists may also participate in pre-appraisal and appraisal missions.
Depending on the assignment and profile, responsibilities may include:
- Providing technical advice to governments and stakeholders.
- Supporting the preparation of sector studies and investment strategies.
- Helping develop inclusive and sustainable food systems.
- Supporting monitoring and evaluation activities.
- Developing communication and capacity-development strategies.
- Preparing reports for governments and financing partners.
- Supporting investment implementation and final evaluations.
- Working with private-sector actors, civil society organizations and producer organizations.
- Promoting international cooperation and investment opportunities.
- Providing technical expertise at international meetings.
The role is therefore suited to professionals who can combine technical expertise with policy, investment, stakeholder engagement and project implementation skills.
Qualifications
Education
Applicants are expected to hold an advanced university degree from a recognized institution in a relevant field.
Depending on the specific profile, acceptable academic backgrounds include:
- Economics
- Agricultural economics
- Agricultural sciences
- Environmental sciences
- Agribusiness management
- Natural resource management
- Irrigation and drainage engineering
- Rural infrastructure engineering
- Communication
- Social sciences
- International relations
- Other relevant academic or technical qualifications
The specific academic background should correspond to the specialist profile for which the candidate is applying.
Experience
Candidates should have at least one year of professional experience in agricultural or rural-sector analytical studies and/or in planning, designing, supervising or implementing agricultural and rural investment operations.
Experience may include work on feasibility studies, agricultural investment programmes and rural development operations in developing countries or countries in transition.
FAO also assesses the relevance of experience in multidisciplinary teams, investment design and evaluation, capacity development and engagement with government officials, development partners and other stakeholders. Experience across different geographical areas is also considered.
Language Requirements
Candidates require working knowledge at Level C of English, French or Spanish. Knowledge of another FAO official language, including Arabic, Chinese or Russian, is considered an asset.
Core Competencies
FAO expects candidates to demonstrate competencies including:
- Results Focus
- Teamwork
- Communication
- Building Effective Relationships
- Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
Applicants are also expected to uphold FAO’s values, including commitment to FAO, respect for all, integrity and transparency.
Application Process
Interested professionals should apply through the official FAO recruitment portal.
Candidates are advised to create and complete their online profile, ensuring that employment history, academic qualifications and language skills are accurately presented. Applicants must also attach a letter of motivation before submitting their application.
FAO states that only applications submitted through its recruitment portal will be considered. Incomplete applications will not be considered, and candidates are encouraged to submit their applications well before the deadline.
Additional Information
FAO emphasizes that it does not charge fees at any stage of the recruitment process, including applications, interviews or processing. Candidates should therefore be cautious of anyone requesting payment in connection with this opportunity.
Academic credentials must meet FAO’s recognition requirements. The vacancy states that higher educational qualifications should come from institutions accredited or recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED) maintained through the International Association of Universities and UNESCO.
Selected candidates may also be required to satisfy medical fitness, accreditation, residency or visa requirements and security-clearance procedures. Reference and background checks are part of FAO’s selection process.
Application Deadline
The stated deadline for the FAO Investment Operations Specialist Call for Expressions of Interest is:
28 September 2026 at 11:59 PM
FAO notes that the displayed closing time may be affected by the date and time settings on a candidate’s device, so applicants should avoid waiting until the final hours to submit an application.
Final Thoughts
The FAO Investment Operations Specialist 2026 opportunity provides a broad entry point for professionals with expertise across agriculture, food security, rural development, climate change, environmental management, investment planning and related areas.
Because FAO is building a pool of candidates for multiple specialist profiles, applicants should carefully align their CV, motivation letter and professional experience with the specific area of expertise they can demonstrate most strongly.
With assignments potentially ranging from several weeks to up to 11 months, including home-based arrangements with field travel where required, the opportunity could be particularly relevant to professionals seeking international consultancy experience in sustainable agrifood systems and development investment.
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