GHG Accounting Specialist
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GHG Accounting Specialist
Job title
GHG Accounting Specialist
Organisation
FAO
City
Remote Work
Duration
11 months
Sector
Climate Change
Language of description
English
Job description
Tasks and responsibilities
The GHG Accounting Specialist will be responsible for the following:
Technical Advisory and Methodological Guidance
- Provide systematic technical guidance to OED staff and external evaluation consultants on the appropriate selection, application, and interpretation of GHG accounting tools (EX-ACT, IPCC Inventory Software, NEXT) across different project phases (design, mid-term, final/ex-post).
- Conduct a comparative analysis of results when using different approaches to measuring GHG emissions or reductions in emissions, specifically the IPCC Inventory Software, IPCC, and EX-ACT.
- Advise on the harmonization of inputs, emission factors, tier levels, and scenario assumptions when cross-validating GHG estimates produced by different tools or different evaluators across the portfolio.
- Assist in identifying methodological divergences, calculation errors, or data gaps in project-level GHG assessments submitted to OED, and advise on corrective actions.
- Stay current with updates to GHG accounting tools, IPCC Guideline revisions, and evolving donor expectations for GHG reporting under the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF), and communicate relevant changes to OED staff.
Quality Review of GHG Estimates in OED Evaluations
- Review and validate GHG estimates (ex-ante, mid-term and ex-post) included in FAO projects evaluated by OED, particularly GCF- and GEF-funded projects, ensuring consistency with IPCC Guidelines.
- Verify the completeness, accuracy, transparency, and comparability of GHG accounting applied in evaluated projects, covering all relevant AFOLU categories (land-use change, forestry, livestock, soils) and carbon pools (above-ground biomass, below-ground biomass, soil organic carbon, dead organic matter, harvested wood products).
- Assess whether the tier level (Tier 1, 2, or 3) and the land representation (Approach 1, 2 or 3) applied are appropriate given available data, project scale, and reporting requirements, and flag cases where a simplified approach may materially affect results.
- Apply cross-validation practices by re-running or spot-checking GHG estimates using a second tool where feasible, and by cross-checking data sources against national statistics, default IPCC values, or field measurements, in line with Recommendation 5 of the Comparative Study.
- Identify non-AFOLU components of a project (e.g. Energy, Waste, Industrial Processes and Product Use (IPPU)) and advise on how these should be addressed in the GHG accounting. (recognizing that AFOLU source/sink categories and carbon pools are unlikely to cover the entire set of emission sources associated with a project in agriculture or forestry);
Transparency and Documentation
- Support the development and roll-out of OED’s standardized guidance document for methodological choices, capturing: assumptions and emission factors used; data sources and their justification; tiers and approaches applied; parameters and units; and comparison notes where multiple tools or sources are used.
- Maintain or contribute to a decision log for methodological choices made in OED evaluations, improving auditability and consistency across the portfolio.
- Ensure that any differences between OED’s re-estimated GHG figures and original project estimates are clearly documented, explained, and reflected in evaluation reports.
Capacity Development and Helpdesk Support
- Provide targeted technical training to OED staff and external consultants to build familiarity with EX-ACT, the IPCC Inventory Software, and NEXT, and with OED’s methodological standards for GHG-related evaluation findings.
- Serve as an internal helpdesk resource, responding to technical queries from OED evaluators and consultants during active evaluations involving GHG accounting.
- Contribute to the development of training materials, methodological annexes, and guidance notes that facilitate consistent tool selection and application across OED’s evaluation portfolio.
- Collaborate with the evaluation team integrating GHG-related indicators and data into baseline, midterm, and final evaluation survey instruments, ensuring that data collected are suitable for ex-ante and ex-post GHG quantification.
- Liaise as needed with FAO technical divisions (ESA, OCB), tool developers (IPCC TFI, ESA, OCB), and external institutions (GCF, GEF) to ensure OED’s guidance remains aligned with current best practice.
Strategic Support to OED Climate and Environment Evaluations
- Advise OED management on the criteria for identifying projects that require use of the IPCC Inventory Software for alignment with National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (NGHGIs) and the ETF, including the NDCs and thresholds related to project scale, duration, sectoral contribution, and budget (Recommendation 4 of the Comparative Study).
- Support OED’s engagement with national partners, ministries, and NGHGI teams to facilitate earlier alignment of project data with national reporting needs, where relevant to ongoing evaluations.
- Contribute, as requested, to OED’s participation in system-wide evaluation initiatives and to the development of methodological guidance for climate-related evaluations across the UN system.
Application deadline
2026/09/02
URL
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