Farid Yaker led the work of UNEP in the area of Sustainable Public Procurement from 2008 to March 2023. He has directed the publication of numerous UNEP publications on SPP including the periodical Global SPP Reviews and the SPP Guidelines. He has also led the design and roll-out of the SDG 12.7.1 indicator which measures the performance of countries on sustainable public procurement.

Farid taught Agricultural economics at the University of Blida, Algeria from 1988 to 1990 before joining the international NGO Enda (Environmental Development Action) after the Rio summit that he attended in 1992. After managing an international programme on the promotion of participatory approaches in the field of urban environment from 1994 to 1999, Farid took the direction of the European office of Enda before joining UNEP.

He holds a BS in Agricultural Economics from Laval University and a MS degree in Agricultural economics from the University of California at Davis, USA