ocd circular · page 2 list of acronyms (contd) otfm other task force member. a role in project...

Office for Coordination of Normative, Operational

and Decentralized Activities (OCD)

OCD Circular on

Responsibilities and Relationships

For

FAO Headquarters and Decentralized Offices Version: August 2004

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 3

2 DEFINITIONS................................................................................................................................................... 3

3 RESPONSIBILITIES........................................................................................................................................ 4

3.1 Headquarters ............................................................................................................................................. 4 3.2 Regional and Subregional Offices............................................................................................................. 5 3.3 Liaison Offices ........................................................................................................................................... 8 3.4 FAO Country Representations................................................................................................................... 8 3.5 Project Staff................................................................................................................................................ 9

4 GENERAL RELATIONSHIPS ..................................................................................................................... 10

4.1 Governance Mechanisms......................................................................................................................... 10 4.2 Headquarters ........................................................................................................................................... 10 4.3 Regional and Subregional Offices........................................................................................................... 10 4.4 Liaison Offices ......................................................................................................................................... 12 4.5 FAO Country Representatives ................................................................................................................. 12 4.6 Project Staff.............................................................................................................................................. 13 4.7 Other general relationships..................................................................................................................... 13

5 RELATIONSHIPS UNDER THE REGULAR PROGRAMME AND BUDGET PROCESS .............. 14

5.1 General Context ....................................................................................................................................... 14 5.2 Planning Framework and Process .......................................................................................................... 15

5.2.1 Preparation of MTP and the PWB...................................................................................................... 15 5.2.2 Programme Implementation, Assessment and Evaluation................................................................. 16

6 RELATIONSHIPS UNDER THE PROJECT CYCLE .............................................................................. 18

6.1 Coordination Mechanisms....................................................................................................................... 18 6.2 The central role of Project Task Forces in managing the Project Cycle ............................................... 18 6.3 Establishment of PTFs ............................................................................................................................. 19 6.4 Designation of respective responsibilities within the PTF ..................................................................... 19

6.4.1 Project Formulation............................................................................................................................. 19 6.4.2 Designation of the operational responsibility for project implementation ........................................ 20 6.4.3 Designation of the technical responsibility for project implementation............................................ 21

6.5 What is expected from whom during the project cycle? ......................................................................... 21 6.5.1 Programming of technical support...................................................................................................... 22

7 ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES FOR STAFF MATTERS............................................................. 24

7.1 Recruitment (selection and appointment)................................................................................................ 24 7.2 Transfer, promotion, extension or conversion of appointment............................................................... 25 7.3 Staff training............................................................................................................................................. 25

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7.4 Servicing................................................................................................................................................... 25 7.5 Performance appraisal ............................................................................................................................ 26

8 ANNEX I. Responsibilities in the preparation of submissions on establishment and staff selection matters, for posts in DOs ......................................................................................................................................... 27

9 ANNEX II. Procedures for the clearance of Back-to-Office-Reports (BTORs) of technical officers in ROs and SROs ........................................................................................................................................................... 29

10 ANNEX III. Listing of the main governing mechanisms and their purposes ......................................... 30

LIST OF ACRONYMS ADG Assistant Director-General BH Budget Holder BTOR Back-to-Office Report CCA Common Country Assessment CCC Corporate Communications Committee CSO Civil Society Organization COAIM Consultation on Agricultural Information Management CTA Chief Technical Advisor DD Division Director at headquarters DDG Deputy Director-General DFTC Donor-Funded Technical Cooperation. Technical Cooperation (non-

emergency) projects funded from extra-budgetary resources, TCP or SPFS DO Decentralized Office. RO, SRO, LO or FAOR DRR Deputy Regional Representative ECG Emergency Coordination Group FAOR FAO Representation FLU Funding Liaison Unit. Unit responsible for liaising with a particular

funding source (TCAP, TCOT, TCOS and TCE) FPC Field Programme Committee (or sometimes also Field Programme

Circular) HRC Human Resources Committee IMTC Information Management and Technology Committee LO Liaison Office LTD Lead Technical Division. The headquarters division that has main

responsibility for technical results and backstopping of a project LTU Lead Technical Unit. Unit with main responsibility for technical results

and backstopping of a project LU Lead Unit. Unit responsible for providing the Liaison Office with briefing

and guidance on the positions to take in representing FAO

ICA In-country appraisal MDT Multidisciplinary Team. Officers from technical departments located in a

Subregional Office MSU Management Support Unit in Regional Offices MSS Management Support Service at headquarters MTP Medium Term Plan NC National Correspondent. Civil servant in a country with no resident

FAORep that performs limited liaison functions for FAO NGO Non-governmental Organizations NOO National Operations Officer. At FAO Representations NPD National Project Director

LIST OF ACRONYMS (contd)

OTFM Other Task Force Member. A role in Project Task Forces OTO/FAORep Outposted Technical Officer/FAO Representative OTU Other Technical Unit. A role in Project Task Forces PAB Policy Assistance Branch (located in a Regional Office) PAIA Priority Area for Interdisciplinary Action PAU Policy Assistance Unit (located in a Subregional Office) PF Project Formulator. A role in Project Task Forces PIR Programme Implementation Report PPRC Programme and Project Review Committee PSC Project Servicing Cost PTF Project Task Force QPIR Quarterly Project Implementation Report. Submitted by the Budget Holder

to the ROB RC Regional Conference RIO Regional Information Officer RMT Regional Management Team RO Regional Office ROB Regional Operations Branch RR Regional Representative SC Service Chief SF Strategic Framework SMT Subregional Management Team SRO Subregional Office SRR Subregional Representative TDG Technical Department Group. Officers in a Regional Office belonging to

the same technical department TDGL Technical Department Group Leader UNCT United Nations Country Team UNDAF United Nations Development Assistance Framework UNDG United Nations Development Group WAICENT World Agricultural Information Centre

1 INTRODUCTION 1. The decentralization process implies functional relationships between headquarters and Decentralized Offices (DOs) and among DOs themselves that enhance efficiency (of business processes), effectiveness (of programmes and projects), responsiveness (to member needs) and relevance (of services provided). It may involve changes in tasks, responsibilities, functions, relationships, lines of command, patterns of delegation, procedures, business processes or information systems and may imply redistribution of posts and other resources between headquarters and DOs and between DOs themselves.

2. This Circular on Responsibilities and Relationships is not an authoritative document, but a compilation of decisions taken at various management levels, with a view to it being used as a reference to guide staff, both at headquarters and in the decentralized offices.

2 DEFINITIONS 3. Normative work refers to services provided by the Organization to its members collectively, i.e. (i) collecting and processing statistical data on nutrition, food and agriculture; (ii) serving as a centre of excellence, knowledge and technical expertise on nutrition, food and agriculture through the implementation of technical, economic, policy and outlook studies aimed at defining common concepts and enhancing knowledge and understanding of nutrition, food and agriculture issues in the world community; (iii) providing a forum for policy dialogue as well as preparing, negotiating and concluding international agreements on topics within the Organization’s mandate; (iv) developing international norms, standards and conventions relating to nutrition, food and agriculture; and (v) disseminating information and technical products as defined in the Terms of Reference of the CCC. Normative work may be performed by staff at all locations, although staff at headquarters generally devote more time to it than staff at DOs. Normative activities are funded mainly by the Regular Programme, with some support from extra-budgetary sources.

4. Operational work consists of services provided by the Organization to individual Members Nations and their subregional or regional organizations. Operational activities are performed by staff at all locations, although staff assigned to country subregional and regional offices generally devote more time to it than staff at headquarters. Operational activities are mostly funded from extra-budgetary resources and also by Regular Budget provisions for the Special Programme on Food Security (SPFS) and the Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP).

5. Whether a unit performs normative or operational functions will depend on its mandate and the work assigned to it through its approved programme of work. While, in practice, there may be some separation of normative and operational functions, all units are expected to contribute to normative-operational synergy to ensure that the data/information collected, the experience gained and the lessons learned from operational activities, enhance normative functions, while normative guidelines, methodologies and standards enrich operational work.

3 RESPONSIBILITIES

3.1 Headquarters

6. The Director-General manages the work of the Organization, assisted by the Deputy Director-General (DDG), Assistant Directors-General (ADGs), Division Directors (DDs) and Regional Representatives (RRs).

7. The offices attached to the Office of the Director-General (AUD, LEG, OCD, PBE and SAD) coordinate activities related to World Food Summit follow-up; maintain liaison with the UN system; coordinate the preparation of the Organization’s programming documents; allocate budgetary resources; monitor and report on resource use and programme implementation; act as the central point for evaluation activities; audit, appraise and review the work of the Organization; provide legal services and assistance to the Organization and its members, and coordinate the normative, operational and decentralized activities of the Organization. The services of these offices are provided by officers located at headquarters, with the exception of the four Auditors assigned in Regional Offices (ROs).

8. The technical departments1 at headquarters - AG, ES, FI, FO, SD, GI (for the technical Programme Entities of GIL) and partially also TC (for the technical work of TCA) exercise overall responsibility for formulating and implementing the technical Programme Entities as well as for providing leadership to the Priority Areas for Interdisciplinary Action (PAIAs) in their respective areas of mandate. They are also responsible for the technical content and performance of the Field programme (TCA, TCI, GIL and LEG may have similar technical responsibility for projects within their specific mandate). They have the overall responsibility for ensuring the coherence of their programmes and projects between countries and regions, drawing upon the experience, advice and assistance of Regional and Subregional Representatives (RRs and SRRs) as well as the technical quality of the normative and operational work of their staff at all locations. They are assisted by officers in Technical Department Groups (TDGs) at ROs, Multidisciplinary Teams (MDTs) at Subregional Offices (SROs), Regional Information Management Specialists (in the case of GIL) and, exceptionally, also by technical officers in other locations such as LOGE. These officers participate in the formulation and implementation of programme entities and projects. Technical units at headquarters, ROs and SROs are involved in all phases of the project cycle and ensure that projects are designed and implemented according to the highest technical standards and are appropriate for the beneficiary or recipient countries, institutions or beneficiary groups. During project formulation, they provide technical support and leadership. During project implementation, they technically backstop and supervise projects. During project closure, they ensure that the technical results of projects are consolidated in terminal reports or statements for the information of governments.

9. The DDs in technical departments provide direct, technical guidance and evaluate the work of the staff in their divisions at all locations, subject to the provisions of paragraph 88 and with due regard to the contents of paragraph 13. It is the responsibility of DDs to ensure the technical quality of work programmes and the integration of work programmes of headquarters and DOs, in consultation with the RR or SRR concerned. It is also their responsibility to make sure that: (i) projects are implemented in a cost-effective manner; (ii) a high degree of 1 The term “Department” is used in latu sensu, i.e. including the outposted officers in TDGs and MDTs.

coherence is achieved; and (iii) officers at decentralized locations are kept abreast of technical and scientific developments in their fields.

10. The TC Department has overall responsibility for the operational activities of the Organization, including policy assistance, investment support and the overall management of activities associated with the formulation and implementation of in-country, subregional and regional programmes and projects, including those in response to a natural or man-made disaster. It manages the Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) and mobilizes extra-budgetary resources for normative and operational activities from governmental, private sector and other non-governmental sources, for which it also maintains responsibility for policy development and formal relations. It receives requests for assistance to member countries and obtains approval authority for them. It carries out its activities through its staff located at headquarters and the decentralized offices, and through field project staff.

11. The AF Department has the overall responsibility for formulating, planning, maintaining and monitoring the implementation of administrative, personnel, information systems and technology, procurement, inventory and financial (including accounting and treasury) policies and procedures of the Organization, irrespective of the source of funding. AF provides indirect support to the Field programme, by establishing the administrative and managerial conditions for project functioning while AFS also provides direct project procurement services to the Field programme. AF is assisted by The Management Support Service (MSS) in budgetary, financial, personnel, procurement, administrative and information technology functions, in accordance with applicable policies and procedures.

12. The GI Department has the overall responsibility for coordinating and implementing the Organization's policies and activities regarding governmental relations; ensuring that conferences and meetings are serviced effectively; contributing to a better understanding of global food issues and of FAO's activities through public information and public relations activities. The department promotes sound knowledge management practices; coordinates the development of norms and standards for data base management. It promotes the exchange of agricultural information through international networks; ensures access to, dissemination and conservation of the Organization's technical information resources through WAICENT. GI monitors the implementation of FAO's language policy; arranges for translation, production and distribution of the Organization's publications, documents and other information materials and provides publishing services on request to FAO departments.

3.2 Regional and Subregional Offices

13. RRs and SRRs are senior representatives of the Director-General in the regions and subregions and are responsible for identifying priority areas of action for the Organization in their respective regions/subregions, in accordance with paragraph 58. RRs and SRRs have managerial and administrative responsibility for the timely, cost-effective and orderly execution of agreed annual work plans funded from the technical and economic programmes. Their managerial responsibility includes initiatives, actions and arrangements which are required to ensure formulation of regional priorities, programme formulation and effective programme implementation as well as the creation of an appropriate work environment, which facilitates the conduct of the Organization’s work both within the physical limits of the RO and SRO as well as the region or subregion at large. They monitor and report to the departments concerned at headquarters the major developments and trends in the region or subregion that

are affecting or will affect progress towards regional and subregional objectives in the fields of nutrition, food and agriculture. They seek to ensure that the normative and operational work of the Organization in the region or subregion is in accordance with these priorities and have the overall responsibility for monitoring and assessing the relevance of the Organization’s work in the region or subregion that is undertaken by FAO staff at all locations.

14. The RRs also have overall responsibility for the preparation and conduct of Regional Conferences and several other technical meetings of regional nature. Their responsibility in this context includes preparation of provisional documentation, pre-session documentation and reports. The process of preparation and organization for the Regional Conferences is described in the Regional Conference Preparation Handbook. RRs are assisted by the Conference, Council and Protocol Affairs Division (GIC) in the translation and interpretation services; and by the Office for Coordination of Normative, Operational and Decentralized Activities (OCD) in all organizational aspects of the Regional Conferences, as provided for in the Regional Conference Preparation Handbook.

15. Deputy Regional Representatives (DRRs) perform duties and carry out functions commensurate with their position as second most senior officers in their respective ROs. DRRs have the particular responsibility of assisting the RR in ensuring the quality and timeliness of the work planning process in their region. They consolidate and coordinate the preparation of work plans and assist DDs with the preparation of normative work plans by ROs and SROs. They provide the RR (with copy to the SRR and DDs) with quarterly assessments of the implementation of such plans, indicating follow-up/corrective action, as appropriate. They assist the RR in the management of the regional Management Support Unit (MSU). At the same time, for RAF, RLC and RNE, the DRRs also perform the duties of the FAO Representative (FAORep) in the country where the respective RO is located. In this capacity, they carry out all the functions and responsibilities of a fully fledged FAORep. They are, in this respect, Budget Holders (BHs) of the field programmes and projects assigned to them by the ADG/TC in their countries of assignment.

16. MSUs in the ROs provide a full range of administrative, finance, budget, programming, planning, procurement, human resources management and IT support services in the implementation of FAO’s Regular and Field Programmes carried out in the region. Under the Field programme, they provide financial and human resource services to the project operations work of BHs in collaboration with the ROB.

17. Similarly, Administrative Units in SROs, assist SRRs with budgetary, financial, procurement, administrative and limited information technology functions for the staff in SROs, in accordance with the applicable policies and procedures.

18. Policy Assistance Branches (PABs) and Policy Assistance Units (PAUs) at ROs and SROs, respectively, are the decentralized units of TCA and are responsible for: (i) the provision of policy advice to individual countries and regional groupings; (ii) developing projects and programmes concerning sector analysis and policy/strategy development; (iii) providing improved country knowledge so as to draw the attention of other FAO Units to needs and opportunities for field programme development in their mandated area; and (iii) building capacity for the formulation and implementation of policies, strategies and programmes aimed at sustainable agricultural and rural development and food security. This includes:

• support to countries in reviewing and updating national strategic and policy frameworks, in line with other major development instruments such as the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers;

• policy advice to regional economic organizations, in connection with regional programmes of Food Security;

• enhancing FAO’s country knowledge in order to enable FAO to provide well tailored technical assistance for agricultural development and food security.

19. Regional Operations Branches (ROBs) are the decentralized units of TCO. They operate projects in countries without a resident FAORep, as well as complex and multidisciplinary regional projects and support field programme development in their region in close collaboration with the PABs/PAUs and the FAORs. They coordinate and analyse implementation reports from FAORs, monitor delivery of national and regional projects, follow up with BHs on critical issues, maintain an updated pipeline of national and regional projects and report to TCO. They also perform assistance functions in support of BHs (FAORs and regional technical groups) and, through TCO, keep headquarters abreast of field programme developments in their respective regions.

20. Technical Department Groups (TDGs) and Multidisciplinary Teams (MDTs) are the decentralized units of the technical departments. They are composed of the posts funded from the technical and economic programmes in the RO or SRO, respectively. In addition, a few posts funded from technical and economic programmes have been assigned to some Liaison Offices (LO). Officers in TDGs and MDTs implement those portions of the Organization’s programmes assigned to them by their mother division at headquarters and are the first port of call for the provision of technical support to the Organization’s field projects (see paragraph 70).

21. Technical Department Group Leaders (TDGLs) are senior TDG officers in the RO. Apart from their normal technical work, they are assigned some coordination duties aimed at facilitating the collaboration between their department and the RO. In this connection TDGLs do not have a supervisory role because: (i) officers in the TDG report to their DD or Service Chiefs (SC), as described in paragraph 42; and (ii) depend for administrative, managerial support and guidance on the RR, as described in paragraph 13. TDGLs are designated sometimes on a rotational basis, and their terms of reference are determined by the ADG of the department concerned, in close consultation with the RR. While the exact terms of reference of TDGLs may hence vary between departments or ROs, all TDGLs will, at least, assist their department and their RR by:

• serving as the linking-pin between their department and the RR; • helping with coordinating the inputs of their TDG into the Medium Term Plan (MTP),

Programme of Work and Budget (PWB) and annual work plans; • facilitating multidisciplinary working arrangements between their TDG and other units (at

headquarters, in the RO or SRO, in FAORs and/or projects) as guided by the department and/or the RR;

• participating in the Management Team mentioned in paragraph 37; • assisting, as requested, the department in carrying out its responsibilities described in

paragraph 8.

3.3 Liaison Offices

22. LOs represent the Director-General before governments and/or organizations with which they have liaison responsibilities. They monitor and report on developments affecting nutrition, food and agriculture and, upon request, represent the Organization at meetings organized at their locations by the UN system, other international or intergovernmental bodies or non-governmental associations or organizations which address matters that fall within the mandate of FAO. LOs have been established in New York (LONY), Geneva (LOGE), Washington D.C. (LOWA), Brussels (LOBR) and Yokohama (LOJA).

3.4 FAO Country Representations

23. FAO Country Representations (FAORs) are established in developing member countries. FAORs are headed by FAOReps who are the representatives of the Director-General in their countries of assignment and are accredited to Member Governments. The work of FAORs is concentrated in the following areas:

• coordination of intra-FAO collaboration at county level, i.e. leading the FAO Country Team; ensuring effective collaboration with other FAO units; as well as monitoring and reporting on national developments and events of concern to FAO;

• field security2, ensuring the security, safety, welfare and adherence to UN security rules and regulations of persons employed by the Organization and their eligible dependents and protecting the Organization’s assets and property as well as actively participating in the local UN Security Management Team;

• relations with: (i) the host government as well as the government/s of double/multiple accreditation countries; (ii) the United Nations Country Team (UNCT); (iii) regional development banks; (iv) institutions/organizations; (v) civil society; and (vi) representations of other FAO Member Nations in the country;

• operational responsibility/budgetholdership of national projects entrusted to them by the ADG/TC and support to (emergency, inter-country, regional, interregional or global) projects of other BHs;

• field programme development, including resource mobilization and policy assistance; • monitoring of the agricultural aspects of national emergency relief and rehabilitation efforts

as well as humanitarian issues; • support to country-level Regular Programme activities of other FAO units; • partnerships, outreach and advocacy (e.g. World Food Day, media relations); • office management.

24. Outposted Technical Officers/FAOReps (OTO/FAOReps) are technical officers from headquarters, RO or SRO that are outposted to a country. In addition to their technical duties, which they continue to perform, they are also assigned with most FAORep’s functions excluding project operations. In accordance with the agreement signed by FAO and the host country, all related costs of the representation are borne by the host government. OTOs/FAOReps are accredited to the country and therefore have the status of FAORep, while their responsibilities are more limited than those of a normal FAORep. It is estimated that they 2 Administrative Circular AC 2003/18 of 3 July 2003, Annex “FAO Field Security Policy”(available in FAO Intranet/FAO communications/Administrative Circulars).

will spend 75 percent of their time on technical/Regular Programme tasks, leaving on average 25 percent of their time available for representational activities, including staff supervision, administration, field programme development and project monitoring.

25. Assistant FAO Representatives (Programme) have been appointed in most FAORs. Moreover, some “stand-alone” Assistant FAOReps (Programme) take care of daily business in countries covered under multiple accreditation by an FAORep based in a neighbouring country. Assistant FAOReps (Programme) assist the FAORep by performing normative, operational or programming tasks. Depending on the situation, FAOReps may also be assisted by a National Operations Officer (NOO), one or more National Correspondents (NCs), FAO general service staff and/or government-provided staff.

26. National Correspondents (NCs) are national senior civil servants who devote a part of their time to liaison functions between the government and FAO. The government and FAO designate them jointly. FAO pays them a salary supplement and provides them with a limited budget to cover some operational costs, a computer with software and an e-mail connection. Usually, NCs have an office or a desk in the FAO’s counterpart ministry. They do not represent FAO nor do they have the status of “Representative” as they remain civil servants of the host government.

3.5 Project Staff

27. The responsibilities associated with the day-to-day implementation of FAO’s in-country projects are assigned to national or international experts, sometimes led by a Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) or a National Project Director (NPD). These experts and the CTA or NPD, if any, implement the project’s activities in accordance with approved work plans.

4 GENERAL RELATIONSHIPS

4.1 Governance Mechanisms

28. In certain areas crucial to the Organization’s work, internal relations between departments and between headquarters and DOs are structured by governance mechanisms such as: the Field Programme Committee (FPC)3, the Project and Programme Review Committee (PPRC)3, the Emergency Coordination Group (ECG)3, the Corporate Communications Committee (CCC)4, the Human Resources Committee (HRC)4, the Information Management and Technology Committee (IMTC)4 and the WAICENT Committee4. The purpose of these governance mechanisms is to facilitate the joint formulation of policies, provide advice to senior management, ensure effective follow-up of senior management decisions, facilitate coordination and provide guidance on issues in the mandated area concerned (See Annex III for a more detailed listing of governance mechanisms).

4.2 Headquarters

29. The DDG reports to the Director-General.

30. ADGs-Heads of departments report to the Director-General.

31. Directors of Independent Offices attached to ODG report to the Director-General.

32. DDs report to their respective ADGs.

4.3 Regional and Subregional Offices

33. RRs report to the Director-General. They maintain close relationships with OCD, PBE, the units concerned in AF and GI Departments, and ADGs of headquarters departments.

34. DRRs report to their RRs, and as FAORep, they report to OCD.

35. SRRs report to their RRs and assist them, and report to OCD, in their capacities of FAORep.

36. The collaboration between the RR and SRR should be particularly close in order to achieve an effective coordination in the region. They are encouraged to maintain regular contacts through the most effective and affordable means and regularly exchange meeting minutes and other pertinent documents.

37. Regional and Subregional Management Teams meetings are regularly (once a month is recommended) convened at the initiative and under the authority and chairmanship of the RR for ROs and the SRR for SROs. Members of the Regional Management Team (RMT) are the RR (Chair), the DRR, the Chiefs of the MSU, PAB and ROB as well as the TDGLs (see paragraph 21). The Internal Auditor participates on an ex officio basis. Members of the

3 FPMIS under Procedures Link: https://extranet.fao.org/fpmis/fpmis.htm?PRC TYPE=A&TRX=BuildProcedure. 4 FAO Communications under the FAO Intranet site at http://intranet.fao.org/intranetstatic/root/12586.

Subregional Management Team (SMT) are the administrative officer, the most senior members of the MDT and the most senior officer of PAU. These Management Teams monitor the progress achieved, coordinate the policy, operational and technical work of the staff and guide the implementation of the annual work plans approved by headquarters for the PAB and TDGs. The RR (in his/her absence, the DRR) in the case of RMTs and the SRR (in the case of SMTs) ensures the preparation of a report on the proceedings to be forwarded to the DDG, the ODG, the headquarters department heads, PBE, OCD and to the RO or SRO, as the case may be. RRs/SRRs may establish subcommittees to deal with particular issues such as publications, ICT and/or field programme matters.

38. The Chiefs of the MSUs report to their RR (who is in this regard assisted by the DRR). They receive procedural and functional guidance from AF and/or PBE. Professional staff in the MSU report to the Chief, MSU, and receive functional guidance from their non-technical “mother” division (e.g. the Personnel Officer from AFH, the Programme and Planning Officer from PBE, the Information Technology Officer from AFI, etc.).

39. The Chiefs of the PABs report to the Service Chief of the Policy Coordinating Service (TCAR) at headquarters, through the RR. Officers in PABs collaborate closely with officers in TDGs/MDTs and/or ROBs. They assist the RRs in the performance of their responsibilities (described in paragraph 13).

40. PAUs work under the direct technical supervision of the Chief, PAB, and the administrative and managerial supervision of the SRR. Officers in the PAUs collaborate closely with officers in the MDT and in TDGs or ROBs. They assist the SRRs in the performance of their responsibilities (described in paragraph 13).

41. The Chiefs or Coordinators of the ROBs report to (and receive procedural and functional guidance from) the Director of TCO or the Chief, TCOM, as delegated, through the RR. ROBs collaborate in the performance of their functions with officers in the PABs, PAUs, TDGs, MDTs, MSUs and at headquarters. ROBs maintain a continuous dialogue on operational issues with FAORs as they are their first “port-of-call” on operational issues in the region. They provide assistance to RRs in the performance of their responsibilities (described in paragraph 13).

42. Technical Officers in TDGs and MDTs report to and receive policy and technical guidance from their DD or SC, as delegated, in accordance with paragraph 8. As per paragraph 13, they are under the administrative and managerial supervision of the RR or SRR. They provide assistance to their RR or SRR in the performance of their responsibilities (described in paragraph 13). They collaborate with officers in the ROBs, the PABs, the PAUs or at headquarters. Technical officers in TDGs can be designated by the RR as BHs of regional projects.

43. TDGLs may correspond directly with officers in their department and other units on matters concerning their department’s programmes in the region and keeping their department and the RR informed, but they may not make any commitments on behalf of either of the two.

44. Regional Auditors, while posted to ROs, report to the Inspector-General.

45. Regional Information Officers (RIOs) report to their RR and receive policy and technical guidance from the GI Department.

46. The Administrative Officers in SROs report to the SRR and receive policy and technical guidance from AF and/or PBE.

4.4 Liaison Offices

47. Directors of LOs report to the Director-General on important policy issues. On current affairs, LONY and LOGE report to SAD, while LOWA, LOBR and LOJA report to OCD. Six-monthly reports of the Directors of LOs are submitted to SAD and OCD accordingly. Similarly, support on administrative, personnel and related matters is provided by ODGS, in consultation with SAD, to LONY and LOGE and by OCDX to LOWA, LOBR and LOJA. In performing their functions, LOs maintain external relations with Member Nations, external bodies, associations or organizations represented at their locations, as guided. LOs receive briefing and guidance from focal points and lead units (LUs) at headquarters or sometimes at DOs on the Organization’s policies and the positions to take in representing FAO. The designated LU ensures the preparation and on-forwarding of appropriate briefing materials.

4.5 FAO Country Representatives

48. FAOReps maintain relations with Officers with whom they correspond directly on Regular Programme and Field Programme activities throughout the Organization (headquarters, ROs/SROs and LOs). They prepare Inception, Annual, Special and Terminal Reports in accordance with the applicable guidelines5. Their main relationships are listed below:

• in their capacity of Representative of the Director-General, FAOReps may report directly to him (usually after prior consultation with OCD) on important policy matters requiring his personal attention;

• on issues concerning external relations, coordination of intra-FAO collaboration at country-level and the management of their offices, FAOReps report to the Director, OCD, who in turn keeps the Director-General informed on issues requiring his guidance;

• on matters concerning field programme development and policy assistance they collaborate closely with the PAB, PAU, FLU, ROB or technical unit concerned or any other unit or staff as deemed appropriate;

• on field security issues6, FAOReps report to the Director, OCD, in his/her capacity as FAO Field Security Coordinator;

• on operational matters, they collaborate closely with the ROB, MSU and technical units concerned, as appropriate. In their capacity of project BH, they also lead the Project Task Force during implementation, prepare delivery estimates, and submit Quarterly Project Implementation Reports (QPIRs) to the ROB concerned;

• provide logistical and administrative support, for regional or emergency projects operated by the Regional Office, Technical Divisions and TCE, as required;

5 “Guidelines for FAOR’s Reporting” of May 2003 (available in COIN under links and documents). 6 Administrative Circular AC 2003/18 of 3 July 2003, Annex “FAO Field Security Policy” (available in FAO Intranet/FAO communications/Administrative Circulars).

• they collaborate closely with TCE on the agricultural aspects of emergency relief and rehabilitation matters and, where applicable, guide the TCE-designated Emergency Coordinator, in accordance with the applicable guidelines7;

• they collaborate closely with the FAO units that have Regular Programme activities in their countries of accreditation. These units, in turn, keep FAOReps informed of their activities in these countries;

• they keep the RR/SRR informed of national events and developments that are of regional/subregional concern or that are relevant to the responsibilities of RRs/SRRs, as described in paragraph 13. In particular, they assist the RR/SRR by identifying national priorities in their annual programme framework which, in turn, the RR/SRR uses to identify regional priorities (as per paragraph 55, second bullet);

• they collaborate closely with OCD, GII and GIDN on partnerships, outreach and advocacy matters.

49. FAOReps forward requests8 from governments for technical assistance (see also section 6.4.1) to the ADG, TC or to the Director of OCD, as follows:

• requests that could be accommodated under the approved Regular Programme allotments or that can be considered under extra-budgetary sources are addressed to the ADG, TC, and copied to the RR/SRR concerned;

• requests for experts under the FAO’s Partnership Programmes (TCDC/TCCT Experts, Young Professionals) are addressed to the Director, OCD;

50. Assistant FAOReps (Programme), national operations officers, general service staff and government-provided staff in FAORs report to the FAORep.

51. NCs report to the FAORep accredited in their country. If there is no accredited FAORep, NCs perform their liaison function under the day-to-day supervision of the UNDP Resident Representative and the overall administrative supervision of OCD, while keeping the RR or SRR concerned informed of their work.

4.6 Project Staff

52. CTAs and NPDs or, in their absence, project experts, report to the assigned BH (the FAORep), or otherwise to the ROB in countries without FAORep, to a regional technical officer in the case of regional projects or to a SC at headquarters in the case of normative projects.

4.7 Other general relationships

53. Pending the issuance of final guidelines, Back-to-Office Reports of technical and policy officers in ROs and SROs are submitted, in accordance with the guidelines contained in Annex II.

7 OCD Circular 2002/25 “Joint OCD/TCE Guidelines regarding the respective roles of the FAO Representative and Emergency Coordinator assigned in the same country”. 8 Requests for Small-Scale Facility (which are not requests from governments but requests from the FAOR) are forwarded to OCD.

5 RELATIONSHIPS UNDER THE REGULAR PROGRAMME AND BUDGET PROCESS

5.1 General Context

54. The Organization's work is based on the following programming documents: the Strategic Framework (SF) with its 10-15 year planning horizon, the Medium Term Plan (MTP) looking ahead over a six-year period and the biennial Programme of Work and Budget (PWB). These programming documents describe the Organization's strategies, its programme priorities, the work it will undertake, the resources required and the results and impact to be achieved. The programme and budget cycle ensures that external and internal stakeholders can effectively participate in preparing the Organization’s strategies, work plans and resources and that the Conference can determine the programmes and approve the budget of the Organization. The Programme Implementation Report and the Programme Evaluation Report are the Organization’s accountability documents and ensure that external and internal stakeholders are systematically informed of the Organization’s achievements and the impact of its programmes.

55. The Organization must ensure a unity of purpose among its more than ninety offices worldwide, maintain the coherence of its programmes between countries and regions while, at the same time, responding flexibly and effectively to changing circumstances and members’ needs at country, regional and global levels. These competing requirements are reconciled in the principle that the Organization has only one corporate programme which has a worldwide bearing, but takes into consideration regional priorities. Unity of purpose and coherence of technical programmes has been ensured by giving the heads of technical departments overall responsibility for their major programmes (paragraph 8). The regional focus of the Regular Programme is ensured by several mechanisms, including:

• RCs. They make recommendations to the Director-General on priority areas to be addressed;

• RRs and SRRs. They identify priority areas in their respective region/subregion (as per paragraph 13 and section 5.2). To allow regional priorities to be built on national ones, FAOReps forward to RRs/SRRs copy of the programme framework developed in their inception, annual and terminal reports, as per the applicable guidelines9. RRs/SRRs provide comments on these programme frameworks so that (sub)regional concerns as well as policy (PABs/PAUs), operational (ROBs) and technical (TDGs/MDTs) feedback can be considered at national level. ADGs and DDs of technical departments ensure the integration of the regional dimension into the corporate programme;

• RRs and SRRs may communicate directly with the Director-General and other senior staff through videoconferencing or other means so that they can receive guidance from, and share their concerns and priorities with, senior management;

• RRs and SRRs manage the timely, cost-effective and orderly execution of approved annual work plans (paragraph 13).

9 The “Guidelines for FAOR’s Reporting”of May 2003 (available in COIN under links and documents).

5.2 Planning Framework and Process

56. The work of the Organization is guided by the SF and developed through a planning framework and process that results in four periodic documents: the six-year MTP; a biennial PWB; a biennial Programme Implementation Report (PIR); and, a biennial Programme Evaluation Report (PER). These programming documents set forth the Organization's strategies, the programme priorities, the work it will undertake, the resources required, and the results and impact planned and actually achieved. The programme and budget process ensures that external and internal stakeholders can effectively participate in preparing the Organization's strategies and programmes and benefit from their results.

5.2.1 Preparation of MTP and the PWB

57. The biennial preparation of the rolling MTP and PWB is the key step in the effective integration of headquarters’ and DOs’ priorities and activities at the planning stage. The MTP outlines the main strategies and priorities over a six-year period, while the biennial PWB defines associated biennial outputs and specifies resource allocations.

58. RRs and SRRs identify regional and subregional priorities for their respective geographical area of responsibility for both the medium-term and biennial periods. RRs prepare and submit a summary of these priorities to the Director-General. Detailed submissions for the respective regions/subregions are entered into the Programme Planning, Implementation Reporting and Evaluation Support System (PIRES). In doing this, ROs rely on the advice from the SRRs, reports of their RCs, information from FAOReps and support from their PAB/PAU, TDG/MDT, ROB and MSU.

59. The programme and budget preparation process is the responsibility of headquarters technical departments for the submission of the technical proposals for both headquarters and DOs, while RRs and SRRs have planning authority for relevant parts of Chapters 1, 3 (except for MP 3.1), 5 and 6 in their region/subregion. The headquarters technical units are responsible for planning all resources, organization-wide that contribute to carrying out a technical programme entity, and are, as such, designated as Planning Units for these entities. ROs and SROs are the Executing Units for the technical programmes in their region/subregion; they participate in the attainment of specific outputs and are allocated resources to this purpose. ROs and SROs are both Planning and Executing Units for the relevant parts of Chapters 1, 3 (except for MP 3.1), 5 and 6 in their region/subregion.

60. In preparing medium-term and biennial programme proposals, the headquarters departments and divisions concerned should take into account submissions of the RRs (and through them) of the SRRs. They should ensure, to the extent possible, that regional and subregional priorities and needs are appropriately reflected in the MTP and PWB. The preparation of programme proposals should be based on a constructive and collegial consultative process between headquarter departments and divisions on the one hand and DOs on the other hand. On positions where there is disagreement, both parties should discuss and negotiate with a view to reaching consensus. If consensus cannot be reached, the issue should be referred to the DDG for final decision.

5.2.2 Programme Implementation, Assessment and Evaluation

61. Once the PWB has been approved by the Conference, implementation proceeds through the issuance of annual allotments by PBE and the preparation of work plans and annual assessments by planning and executing units. Preparation of the PIR is coordinated by PBE based on the annual assessments. The responsibilities for programme implementation and assessment are described in Table 1 below.

62. With the introduction of the SF and the improved programme planning approach, the evaluation system has also been updated and strengthened. DG Bulletin No. 2001/33 sets forth the features of the revised evaluation system, supplemented by the PBE memorandum of 21 August 2002 on Guiding Principles for Pre-Evaluation Monitoring and Annual Assessment and Periodic Auto-Evaluations of the Technical and Economic Programmes. The process of auto-evaluation and evaluation is coordinated by PBEE.

Table 1: Responsibilities in MTP and PWB preparation and implementation

MTP and PWB preparation PWB implementation

PBE

Oversees the overall programme and budget preparation process; issues guidelines; develops related information systems; produces corporate analyses and documents.

Communicates Conference-approved biennial outputs to departments for use in work planning. Issues annual allotments. Coordinates preparation of annual assessments and the PIR.

Headquarters Technical Department Responsibilities

Headquarters ADG

Overall responsibility for the formulation of the major programme.

Overall responsibility for the implementation of the major programme.

Headquarters division

Designs programme entities and the related resource allocations for contributing staff at headquarters as well as officers outposted to DOs. Obtains advice from RRs and SRRs on regional programme priorities and reflects, where justified, in programme entity design and resource allocations.

Responsible for overall implementation of programmes as well as for monitoring their performance and preparation of annual assessments. Designated as Allottee for the headquarters part of their programmes.

Headquarters technical officer

Makes proposals for and contributes to design of programme entities and outputs.

Implements or contributes to the implementation of programme entities, major or biennial outputs.

Decentralized Office Responsibilities

RRs/SRRs

Advises headquarters departments about regional programme priorities and desirable resource shifts. Programmes and allocates resources to the non-technical work of the RO/SRO.

Responsible for administrative and managerial coordination and interaction among staff assigned to their offices as well as for the effective implementation of the regional part of the programme. Designated as Allottee for the part of the programme implemented by the RO/SRO. Contributes to annual assessment.

TDG Leaders (ROs only)

Responsible for facilitating the preparation of TDG’s inputs into the PWB and MTP processes.

Coordinates contributions to the annual implementation work plans and assessment, and promotes inter-disciplinarity and coherence with the field programme.

Outposted officers in ROs, SROs, LOs, FAORs

Interacts with and advises their headquarters division about technical aspects of programme entity design and related resource allocations.

Implements the programme entity outputs assigned to them.

6 RELATIONSHIPS UNDER THE PROJECT CYCLE

6.1 Coordination Mechanisms

63. The field programme involves practically all segments of the Organization, both at headquarters and at DOs. During the respective stages of the project cycle, different units of the Organization collaborate to ensure that FAO projects are efficiently and effectively formulated/implemented/executed in compliance with the Organization’s rules and regulations. Detailed responsibilities applicable in the project cycle are covered by the Field Programme Circular 2003/04 “Project Cycle” issued in October 2003. More detailed procedures underlying the general statements made in this Circular are contained in the Field Programme Circulars that can be found in FPMIS under “procedures”.

64. The governance mechanisms (see Annex III) provide general coordination of field programme-related matters: the FPC, the ECG and the PPRC.

6.2 The central role of Project Task Forces in managing the Project Cycle

65. Much of FAO’s operational work is organized in the form of projects. The main instrument to ensure the effective coordination of and support to projects in the respective phases of the project cycle, is the Project Task Force10 (PTF). As responsibilities for supporting projects are often split by functional or disciplinary lines (e.g. one unit responsible for operational and the other responsible for technical support) only functioning PTFs can ensure effective coordination and be accountable for the results achieved. The responsibility of FAO units in the field programme depends on the role assigned to them in the PTF. The following roles can be distinguished:

• Project Formulator (PF): The officer responsible for formulating, with the support of

other PTF members, a project in a technically sound and coherent way in accordance with the Organization’s goals and policies;

• Budget Holder (BH): The officer designated in the Designation Memorandum of the ADG/TC to take responsibility for: (i) operating the project; (ii) establishing, convening and chairing the PTF; (iii) requesting the LTU to designate their representative to the PTF; (iv) procuring inputs within the authority delegated by the relevant Manual Sections; (v) delivering the other inputs foreseen in the project document within the resources allocated to the project; and (vi) reporting on project progress.

• Lead Technical Unit (LTU): unit with lead responsibility for the technical quality and relevance of project results;

• Other Technical Unit (OTU): unit responsible for providing technical inputs into the project within its mandated area;

• Funding Liaison Unit (FLU): unit responsible for liaison with the donor/source of funds; • Other Task Force Members (OTFM): depending on the circumstances, ROBs, FAORs

and PABs/PAUs may also be members of the PTF.

10 Field Programme Circular 2002/02 “Project Task Force Consultations” (FPMIS, under Field Programme Manual/Operations).

The following table gives an indicative overview (see the applicable FPCs for details) of which roles can be assumed by the respective units.

Project

Formulator (PF)

Budget Holder (BH)

Lead Technical

Unit (LTU)

Other Technical

Unit (OTU)

Funding Liaison Unit

(FLU)

Other Task Force

Members (OTFM)

FAORs x x ROBs x x PABs x x x x x ROs TDGs x x x x PAUs x x x SROs MDTs x x x

HQ technical divisions x x x x x

TCA x x x x x x TCE x x x x TCI x x x x x TCO x x x

TC

TCDS x x

6.3 Establishment of PTFs

66. PTFs for project formulation are established upon formal request of the FLU concerned while those for PTFs for project implementation are established, based on the ADG/TC through the Memorandum of Designation of Operational Responsibility.

6.4 Designation of respective responsibilities within the PTF

6.4.1 Project Formulation

67. The ADG, TC, is the central entry-point for requests for technical assistance from governments and regional organizations. The former type of request will generally be channelled through the FAORep. While the exact procedure may vary with the funding source, the following steps generally apply to the processing of requests for assistance:

• a request is received by the ADG, TC, and forwarded to the FLU concerned; • the FLU designates an officer (named “pipeline task manager” in FPMIS) who will take

the initiative for the creation of a formulation PTF; • the FLU forwards the request to the LTU concerned and to TCA; • the LTU designates an officer in an RO or SRO, i.e. the PF who is responsible for

producing a technically sound project proposal only if a request is found eligible by the funding service. If the required expertise is not available at an RO or SRO, the LTU will designate an officer at headquarters;

• the PF prepares initial comments on behalf of the LTU;

• TCA provides comments on whether the request is in accordance with the known priorities and policies of the country/region concerned;

• the FAORep concerned provides, in the case of national projects, an in-country appraisal (ICA);

• based on the inputs from the FAORep and the LTU, the FLU makes an initial appraisal against the funding criteria;

• if the request is found to be in conformity with the funding criteria, the LTU formulates/finalizes the proposal;

• the final proposal is submitted to the PPRC to review its compliance with the orientation and policies of the Organization together with the appropriate review sheet.

68. The distribution of responsibilities within a formulation PTF is ultimately determined by the Director/Chief of the FLU and the Director/Chief of the LTU. They may follow the model below:

• the FLU initiates the work of the formulation PTF and is responsible for reaching a reasoned decision as to whether the request is in conformity with the funding criteria;

• the PF is responsible for the technically sound formulation of the project and will usually liaise with the ministry concerned (through the FAORep) in the case of national projects and with the regional organization concerned in the case of regional projects;

• the FAORep, in the case of national projects, is responsible for: o liaison with the government on all issues concerning the project including: (i)

assessing the priority of the proposal among agreed priorities for FAO-Government cooperation; (ii) advising the government on the assistance available from FAO; (iii) assisting the government, as and when requested, in preparing and formulating the request; (iv) forwarding the request to headquarters;

o coordinating the proposal with other members of the UNCT and ensuring its compliance with the joint programme frameworks of the Common Country Assessment (CCA) or United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF);

o liaising with local donor representatives. The donor-liaison task of FAOReps is particularly important in the case of UTFs (where the government is not only the beneficiary but also the donor) and where donors have decentralized approval authority at the country level.

• TCA/PABs/PAUs may be called upon to advise on the conformity of the request with known national/regional priorities and/or policies and strategies;

• TCOS may be called upon to advise on the complementarity of the proposal with the SPFS; • TCO/ROBs provide operational clearance for interregional and regional/national projects

respectively.

6.4.2 Designation of the operational responsibility for project implementation

69. The responsibility for operationally supporting projects is determined in the ADG/TC’s Memorandum of Designation of Operational Responsibility. The ADG/TC will usually assign operational responsibility of:

• national projects to FAOReps (or to the ROB in countries with no FAORep); • emergency projects to TCE; • regional projects to a technical unit of ROs; • normative (interregional, global) projects to units at headquarters; • projects with particularly complex operating conditions to the ROB.

6.4.3 Designation of the technical responsibility for project implementation

70. All projects must be technically supported by at least one technical division or unit. The responsibility for providing technical support to project implementation is assigned at three different levels:

• it is the responsibility of the ADG/TC to designate the Lead Technical Division or Unit (LTDs/LTUs) for each project. In projects that require the support in more than one technical discipline, the ADG/TC also designates the OTUs. The designation of the LTD/LTU and the OTU is performed in consultation with the relevant technical departments/divisions and based on the content of the project;

• the Directors of the Technical Divisions participating in a project determine, in consultation with the RR concerned, from which location technical support should be provided, based on the principle that it should be provided from the office closest to the location where the inputs are required, where feasible;

• upon receipt of the Memorandum of Designation of Operational and Budget Holder Responsibility transmitted by the ADG/TC (ref TC Procedure 2003/01 Rev.1), the assigned BH establishes the PTF and requests the LTU and OTUs to nominate the officers who will represent them in the PTF.

71. In the case of the designation of an officer at the RO or SRO as the backstopping officer, the LTU makes arrangements to ensure: (i) continued institutional memory and knowledge on project issues at headquarters; (ii) coherence between the technical assistance provided by the designated RO/SRO officer and FAO’s corporate policies and approaches; and (iii) the timely identification and provision of any support (briefing, information, etc.) that the designated RO/SRO officer may require to effectively and efficiently perform his/her backstopping tasks. Conversely, upon designating an officer at headquarters, the LTU ensures: (i) the provision of continued information, institutional memory and knowledge on the project to the officers outposted to the RO/SRO concerned, if any (if necessary, they can also be appointed members of the PTF as OTU or OTFM); (ii) that relevant regional, subregional and national issues and developments are taken into account by the designated headquarters officers in performing their backstopping work; and (iii) the timely identification and provision of any support (briefing, information, etc.) that the designated headquarters officers may require from, inter alia, the RO, SRO or FAOReps to effectively and efficiently perform their backstopping tasks.

6.5 What is expected from whom during the project cycle?

72. Apart from their normal regular programme duties, policy and technical officers at headquarters or DOs can contribute to the field programme by assisting with: (i) the identification of country priorities and programmes; (ii) project formulation; (iii) technical backstopping of project implementation.

73. TCE is usually BH of emergency projects.

74. FLUs (TCAP, TCOT, TCOS and TCE) are always members of the PTFs funded by donors with which they have liaison responsibility.

75. Technical divisions at headquarters assist, as deemed appropriate, in developing the field programme and provide technical support to projects in their mandated area either as PF, LTU or OTU. Officers in headquarters technical divisions may participate in PTFs as PFs or representatives of the LTU or OTU. They may also be designated as BHs, usually for normative projects.

76. The four ROBs and the REU Operations Unit:

• operate certain projects. In this capacity they have the BH responsibility; • support/advise other BHs; • monitor the field programme in the region. Review/analyse the QPIRs submitted by the

BHs, coordinate the preparation of or prepare realistic quarterly delivery estimates, provide operational clearance for technical assistance projects that are proposed for implementation in the region, monitor field programme implementation in the region, identify operational problems and suggest solutions as they arise.;

• prepare analytical reports about field programme development for TCO and the RR.

77. PABs and PAUs are responsible for: (i) providing policy and strategic advice in their specific areas; (ii) undertaking sector reviews and in-depth analysis of opportunities and constraints which can then be the basis for targeting technical assistance; (iii) supporting FAORs in country level processes such as UNDAF and PRSP; (iv) providing FAO’s contribution to national strategies on food security and sustainable agricultural and rural development; and (v) ensuring that countries’ development plans and priorities are properly reflected in FAO’s field programme.

78. TDGs and MDTs assist in developing the field programme and provide technical support to projects in their mandated area either as PF, LTU, OTU or OTFM. Officers in TDGs may, in particular cases, be designated BHs of regional projects in their mandated area.

79. FAOReps are always members of PTFs (either as BH or OTFM) of any project in their host country, including regional projects with activities in the country to discharge the responsibilities described in paragraph 68 (third bullet). For project implementation, FAOReps will usually be designated BHs for national DFTC projects (see paragraph 69).

80. As OTFMs they also provide: (i) administrative/managerial support to projects of other BHs with activities in their country; (ii) general liaison with the government’s and donors’ views on the project during implementation; (iii) coordination of project issues with the UNCT.

6.5.1 Programming of technical support

81. BHs of projects, based on the project work plan, estimate before the end of the year (usually during October/November) their needs in technical assistance services that will be required during the forthcoming year and prepare specific requests for such services on a quarterly basis throughout the year, so that the request is received by the technical officer or unit concerned early enough to ensure that project backstopping activities can be integrated into their work

plan. All these requests are copied to TCOM. Technical backstopping services are to be funded from project budgets or project formulation/supervision facilities to the maximum degree feasible.

7 ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES FOR STAFF MATTERS

7.1 Recruitment (selection and appointment)

82. The establishment and classification of posts and the selection of staff at all locations are the prerogative of the Director-General, who has delegated this authority for certain categories of staff and types of appointment11. The divisions at headquarters are responsible for preparing submissions on establishment matters and proposals for selection of fixed-term professional posts at all locations bearing in mind the provisions of paragraph 83. For posts at ROs, SROs and LOs, including those in MSUs and administrative units, the RR, SRR or head of LO should be consulted prior to modification of a post description (tasks or qualifications), issuance of a vacancy announcement, or submission to the Professional Staff Selection Committee (PSSC) of a short list of candidates.

83. While the responsibility for the selection process of RO/SRO/LO professional staff in a particular discipline rests with the division concerned at headquarters, it is of utmost importance that the views and requirements of the RR or SRR, who provide administrative and managerial guidance and who are most informed about the local needs, are given due consideration throughout the selection process of such staff. To that effect, headquarters divisions will make arrangements for the full participation of RRs/SRRs or staff designated by them in the selection process. Pending the issuance of more comprehensive guidelines by AFH, the following guidelines apply to the selection and recruitment of professional posts in ROs/SROs:

• the job description of the post should be prepared and discussed with the RR/SRR and agreed upon;

• a VA is thereafter issued by the technical division concerned. The RO/SRO is kept informed on the request to issue the VA;

• a review committee is established by the technical division concerned to screen CVs of all candidates received. If the number of candidates meeting the post requirements is over fifteen, a first pre-selection is made to select the best twelve to fifteen candidates;

• interviews of the pre-selected candidates is thereafter organized by the review committee or an established interview panel;

• it is recommended that DOs are closely associated to the interview of candidates; • interviews can be organized physically in HQ or in the DO concerned; whichever is the

closest and more feasible, and/or through video/telephone conferencing; • candidates from, or close to, countries hosting a RO or SRO can be interviewed at the

RO/SRO, with the participation of the other panel members at headquarters through video or telephone conference links. Or vice-versa, if the interview takes place in HQ, DO’s interview members take part through video/telephone conferencing;

• after the interviews, a shortlist of a maximum of six and not less than four candidates, is prepared by the interview panel. The ranking of the candidates is made by consensus between the technical division and the RO or SRO;

11 The Memorandum of the ADG, AF, entitled “Streamlining of Personnel Management” of 21 April 2001.

• a submission is thereafter prepared for the short-listed candidates; • the submission is then sent, together with the list of all the candidates meeting the

requirements of the post and the CVs of the twelve to fifteen pre-selected candidates, to the DO concerned for comments/clearance;

• once cleared, the submission is forwarded to the PSSC for review and recommendation to the Director-General for the final selection of the candidate.

84. Responsibilities regarding the preparation of submissions on establishment and selection matters for posts in DOs are summarized in Annex I. For general service posts at DOs, the initial steps (post description, vacancy announcement, testing, interviews, panels) are performed by the decentralized office concerned and the submission forwarded to OCD (SAD in case of LONY and LOGE) for review and decision, as indicated in Annex I, with the exception of ROs, where the authority for approval has been delegated to the ADG/RR. The administrative tasks associated with post establishment and the selection and recruitment of staff are handled by the relevant MSU in the RO or OCDS.

7.2 Transfer, promotion, extension or conversion of appointment

85. As with recruitment, some transfer, promotion, extension and conversion decisions have been delegated by the Director-General to senior managers12. The transfer of a staff member from headquarters to an RO, SRO or FAO country offices must be mutually agreed to by the ADG of the division concerned, the RR (or the SRR for the SRO concerned) and the Director, OCD, for FAO country offices. Upon approval of the transfer, the necessary action is implemented by the MSS/MSU of the releasing department. In the case of the transfer of a staff member from a RO or SRO to another decentralized office or to headquarters, the related administrative action is initiated by the releasing office, with support from OCD, where appropriate. The authority to approve extension of appointment in an RO is delegated to the RR. The advice of the RR concerned must be sought prior to promotion of professional staff in his/her office. Proposals for promotion or conversion of appointment for general service staff at ROs are submitted to AFH for review and submission to the ADG, AF, for approval. Proposals for promotion, conversion or extension of appointment for general service staff in the SRO, FAORs, LOBR, LOJA and LOWA are submitted to the Director of OCD, for decision.

7.3 Staff training

86. A percentage of staff cost (usually 1.25 percent) is allotted annually to divisions and offices for staff development purposes. These resources are not fungible (i.e. cannot be used for any other purposes). Need-based staff development plans are developed in the framework of the overall work planning process to ensure an optimal contribution of training to improvement of programmes and business processes. AFH provides advice and guidance to divisions, offices and DOs, usually through the personnel officers concerned.

7.4 Servicing

87. Personnel servicing of staff located at ROs (except REU) is performed by the MSU of the RO concerned. For staff located in other DOs (including REU), personnel servicing is carried 12 See the Memorandum of the ADG, AF entitled “Streamlining of Personnel Management – Director-General’s Decisions” dated 21 April 2001 for a complete overview of the delegation.

out by OCDS, with the exception of LONY and LOGE for which servicing is provided by the MSS.

7.5 Performance appraisal

88. The performance appraisal of technical officers at ROs and SROs is a shared responsibility between the backstopping technical division at Headquarters and the RO/SRO to which the officer has been assigned. In undertaking such an appraisal, the backstopping technical division is entrusted with assessing the officer’s technical competency and performance, while the RR or SRR should assess and evaluate their day-to-day performance in terms of their working attitude, team work effort and relationship with others, etc.

89. The procedures to be followed for the preparation of such appraisals are stipulated hereafter:

• the evaluation should be initiated by the personnel officer in the RO/SRO who transmits the appraisal form to the DD or SC (as delegated);

• as a first step, the DD or SC should consult the head of the RO or SRO to which the technical officer has been assigned in order to discuss and agree in principle on a common assessment of the staff member’s overall performance during the period under evaluation;

• the DD/SC should, as first reporting officer, record his/her assessment of the technical officer concerned and send it, together with the appraisal form, to the RR or SRR for completion;

• the RR or the SRR then should, as second reporting officer, formulate his/her assessment; • if there is consensus between the technical division and the RO/SRO on the staff member’s

overall level of performance, then the RR or SRR may sign off the performance appraisal; • if there is no consensus, then the matter should be reviewed in consultation with OCD and

AFH, with a view to determining the overall level of performance to be attributed to the staff member in the light of the evaluations provided by and following discussions with both the backstopping technical division at Headquarters and the RO/SRO.

90. In cases relating to field staff, the BH, as first reporting officer, should initially assess the staff member’s performance taking into consideration the comments of the backstopping technical officer and thereafter submit the appraisal (through the RR or SRR for regional/subregional staff) to the Director, TCO, as the second reporting officer, to sign off the performance appraisal.

8 ANNEX I. Responsibilities in the preparation of submissions on establishment and staff selection matters, for posts in DOs

A. Professional posts Type of post Unit responsible

for preparing submission Unit(s) to be consulted

Regional offices

Technical officer Technical division at headquarters

RR

(International) Operations officer

TCO RR

Policy Assistance Branch TCA RR Chief, MSU AF OCD/PBE/RR Programme and Planning officer

PBE RR

Personnel officer AFH RR Information Technology officer

AFI RR

Budget/Finance officer AFF PBE/RR Subregional offices

Technical officer Technical division at headquarters

SRR

Policy Assistance Unit TCA SRR Administrative officer (SROs only)

AF SRR/AFH/AFF/PBE/OCD

Country offices FAO Representative OCD Administrative officer (country offices)

OCD FAORep

Assistant FAOR OCD (submission by FAOR) Liaison offices

Liaison officer and Executive officer

Director, LO - for submission to OCD for LOWA, LOBR and LOJA - for submission to SAD for LONY and LOGE

Technical posts Technical division at headquarters

Director, LO

B. General Service posts Selection, promotion, transfer

Preparation of submission

Review Decision

Regional office RR RO (AFH on promotion) Subregional office SRR OCD Country office FAOR OCD LOWA, LOBR, LOJA Director, LO OCD LONY, LOGE Director, LO SAD

Establishment matters For establishment matters, decentralized offices should submit their proposals to OCD for review and further processing, except for LONY and LOGE which should submit their proposals to SAD. ROs should submit their establishment proposals for GS posts to AFH.

9 ANNEX II. Procedures for the clearance of Back-to-Office Reports (BTORs) of technical officers in ROs and SROs Following are interim procedures for clearance/approval of BTORs awaiting the issuance of guidelines in this respect:

General procedures: • prior to departing from the country of duty travel, the reporting officer should leave with

the FAORep an “Aide Memoire” reflecting the outcome of the mission and the required follow-up actions, pending the finalization and distribution of the BTOR;

• BTORs should be concise and action-oriented. Detailed technical material should be annexed to the BTOR or reported separately;

• BTORs should be drafted and submitted through the clearance and approval process no later than two weeks from the date of return to the office;

• BTORs should be cleared, approved and distributed within a maximum of six weeks from the date of return to the office;

• it is the responsibility of the reporting officer to follow up on the process and report any unreasonable delay to the respective RR or SRR;

• for administrative purposes, copy of the signed front page of the BTOR should be annexed to the Travel Expense Claim (TEC) which is submitted after the approval of the BTOR.

Procedure for Regular Programme (RP) missions: • the reporting officer first secures the clearance of the BTOR by his/her DD; • comments/changes/adjustments given by the respective DD or his delegate, if any, are

forwarded to the RO for insertion in the report; • the report is finalized by the reporting officer and submitted to the RR (or SRR), copied to

the appropriate TDGL for information, as applicable; • the report is reviewed by the RR (or SRR) for final approval for distribution.

Procedure for Field Programme (FP) missions: • the reporting officer first secures the clearance of the BTOR by his/her DD; • comments/changes/adjustments of the DD or his delegate, if any, are forwarded to the

reporting officer for insertion in the report; • the report is finalized by the reporting officer and submitted to the RR (or SRR), through

the Chief of the ROB for projects operated by ROB, or with the prior clearance of the respective BH for other projects;

• the report is reviewed by the RR (or the SRR) and given final approval for distribution.

10 ANNEX III. Listing of the main governing mechanisms and their purposes

Name Created Abbreviated Purpose

Field Programme Committee DGB 2001/5

Promote, coordinate and monitor the organization-wide activities and initiatives aimed at improving and expanding the Field Programme of the Organization in line with the Strategic Framework 2000-2015.

Project and Programme Review Committee

DGB 2000/17 Review programme and project proposals to ensure their compliance with the general orientation and policies of the Organization.

Emergency Coordination Group

DGB 99/16

Ensure coherent preventive action and systematic response from all the concerned units within FAO to emergencies and maintain a high profile and strong voice for FAO in the various inter-agency emergency-related consultative fora.

Corporate Communications Committee

DGB 99/3 Oversee and monitor implementation of the Organization’s Corporate Communication Policy and Strategy.

Human Resources Committee DGB 2000/51

Advise the Director-General on major strategies, policies and programmes that will enable the Organization to fulfil its strategic goals for human resources management.

Information Management and Technology Committee (IMTC)

DGB 99/19 Advise the Director-General on policy issues relating to information management, information systems and information technology issues.

WAICENT Committee DGB 2002/15

Advise the Director-General on policies concerning: (i) the development of WAICENT in accordance with evolving needs of internal FAO users, FAOR Members and the public at large (ii) production, management and dissemination of information products (iii) information management standards.

ocd circular · page 2 list of acronyms (contd) otfm other task force member. a role in project...

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