Programme Policy Consultant (Resilience and Livelihood) -Jigjiga, Ethiopia

JOB TITLE: Programme Policy Officer (Resilience and Livelihood)

TYPE OF CONTRACT: CST Level II

UNIT/DIVISION: Resilience

DUTY STATION (City, Country): Jig-jiga, Ethiopia

DURATION: 11 Months

REPORTING LINE: Head of Programme

Job Description

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide.  The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes.  Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

This role is found in Jijiga Area Office.

Job holders are likely to report to the relevant Head of Area Office or the designate.

Job holders are likely to manage a moderate portfolio of activities that may include contribution to and/or direct management of programmes in AO of moderate complexity, or contribution to policy formulation and provision of technical advice at CO level for a defined area of expertise. Job holders operate with considerable independence in their specialities and may manage a substantial team of junior professional and support staff
In Ethiopia, WFP is working with the Government and humanitarian partners to strengthen the resilience of people, communities, and systems and to chart a more prosperous and sustainable future for the next generation.

Our interventions are highly contextualized and adapted to the specific needs of our beneficiaries, including smallholder farmers, pastoralists, refugees, and host-communities who are most vulnerable to climate shocks.

WFP-supported resilience-building interventions in the drought-prone lowland areas in Ethiopia are focused on supporting vulnerable beneficiaries with an integrated climate-smart package that includes cash for work, indexed insurance, financial services, nature-based disaster risk reduction, restoration of degraded agricultural and range lands, improved access to water through watershed management, fodder production, and livelihood strengthening activities.

We work with both pastoral and agropastoral beneficiaries, supporting sustainable natural resource management while enabling restoration of degraded rangelands and agriculturally productive riverine areas to increase local productivity and strengthen market systems in support of diversified, nutritious diets. We simultaneously focus on strengthening capacities of national and local institutions for improved early warning systems, gender transformation, and climate resilient diversified food systems.

JOB PURPOSE

The purpose of this assignment is to ensure the availability of adequate in-house capacity and necessary technical expertise on climate change adaptation and resilience, with particular focus on agricultural production using innovative technologies for efficient use of resources public works, disaster risk management, as well as rangeland rehabilitation, to be able to better coordinate on-going initiatives and capacity strengthening actions as well as support the implementation and design of new and ongoing climate change adaptation and resilience building projects and programmes.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

Under the direct supervision of the Head of Programme at the WFP Jig-jiga Area Office, the Programme Policy Officer (Resilience and Livelihoods) will be responsible for providing strategic guidance and operational support for the implementation of interventions aimed at strengthening (agro)pastoralist livelihoods and building resilience in Ethiopia’s drought-prone lowland areas.

Specific tasks and responsibilities will include:
    Provide project management support, apply best practices, standards and innovative technologies that comply with WFP standards and processes to ensure that all resilience and livelihoods activities have acceptable standards and all agribusiness initiatives are of meaningful profitability to the targeted beneficiaries.
    Provide technical guidance in design, development, planning, implementation, and capacity building for agriculture in particular and resilience in general. Including (but not limited to) food security programming; household food access; household and community resilience; poverty reduction; rural economic development, agricultural development, agribusiness, or value chain development.
    Support men, women and youth to increase their knowledge and awareness on gender equality, women economic empowerment and women’s participation in project design, implementation and decision making to advance enterprise development, value addition and agro processing activities.
    Contribute to the collection, documentation and dissemination of relevant data and information related to agriculture, agribusiness, food value chains and systems, including for example, trends and developments, approaches, impacts, lessons and good practices.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES CONT …

    Contribute to preparation of accurate and timely reporting on outputs to facilitate informed decision-making and consistency of information presented to stakeholders including information for a database and website.
    Provide specialized analytical expertise, technical and operational advisory support to partners and stakeholders to enable the highest possible quality in design and effectiveness of activities related to (agro)pastoralist livelihoods ensuring integration of context relevant, evidence-based, climate-smart, environmentally, and socio-economically sustainable options that are more resilient to shocks and stressors.
    Enable synergistic approaches with external partners and other WFP programmes including Refugees, Relief, Nutrition and supply chain interventions to maximize impact.
    Undertake capacity gap needs assessment of the partners and organize capacity building programmes (workshops, training, exchange visits etc.) to address these gaps, especially focusing on resilience and livelihoods
    Support the implementation and scale-up of integrated resilience approaches, including but not limited to livelihoods support, leverage of local food purchases, finance and market access, post-harvest loss handling and climate risk management, as well as support to the government social safety net
    Contribute towards analysis of project proposals from Cooperating partners to enable effective decision making on project technical feasibility.
    Monitor the implementation of the projects through field visits and provide necessary technical support.
    Perform other related duties as required.

TECHNICAL SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

•    Understanding of community based participatory planning approaches
•    Ability to conduct capacity gaps needs assessments and design programmes to fill these gaps.
•    Experience in working in arid and semi-arid parts of Africa, working in Ethiopia will be an added advantage.
•    Familiarity with Irrigation, water harvesting technologies and pastoral livelihood approaches
•    Experience in working with communities, copoperatives and groups on enterprise development, gender and agriculture, agro processing and value addition
•    Excellent communication skills – both written and oral in English
•     Skills in workshop facilitation.
•    Strong organization and planning skills coupled with good interpersonal skills.
•    Good analytical skills; resourcefulness, initiative, maturity of judgment, tact, negotiating skills;
•    Ability to work in a team and establish effective working relations with persons of different national and cultural backgrounds.
•     Ability to deal patiently and tactfully with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education: University degree in Environmental sciences, Natural Resource Management, Agriculture, Climate Change Adaptation, Social sciences, Engineering, or other related subjects. An advanced university degree in related field is an added advantage.
Experience: At least seven years working experience and demonstrated technical expertise in the areas of climate change and capacity building, resilience strengthening, livelihood building, natural resource management, asset creation, and public works. Experience in WFP-related programmes and PSNP is considered an asset.
Languages: Fluency in both oral and written communication in English. Knowledge of the local language is added advantage

4Ps CORE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES

Purpose

• Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives : Utilizes understanding of WFP’s Strategic Objectives to communicate linkages to team objectives and work.
• Be a force for positive change : Proactively identifies and develops new methods or improvements for self and immediate team to address work challenges within own work area.
• Make the mission inspiring to our team : Identifies opportunities to further align individual contributions with WFP’s mission of making an impact on local communities.
• Make our mission visible in everyday actions : Helps colleagues to see the link between their individual tasks and the contributions of their unit’s goals to the broader context of WFP’s mission.

People

• Look for ways to strengthen people’s skills : Is able to identify, support and encourage focused on-the-job learning opportunities to address gaps between current skillsets and needed future skillsets for WFP.
• Create an inclusive culture : Recognizes the contributions of teammates, and encourages contributions from culturally different team mates to recognise the value of diversity above and beyond just including it in programming for beneficiaries.
• Be a coach & provide constructive feedback : Provides and solicits ongoing constructive feedback on strengths and development opportunities to help develop individual skills, whilst also helping others identify areas for improvement.
• Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit : Sets clear targets for self and others to focus team efforts in ambiguous situations (e.g., unprecedented issues and/or scenarios)

Performance

• Encourage innovation & creative solutions : Thinks beyond team’s conventional approaches to formulate creative methods for delivering food aid and assistance to beneficiaries.
• Focus on getting results : Maintains focus on achieving individual results in the face of obstacles such as volatile or fragile environments and/or organizational roadblocks.
• Make commitments and make good on commitments : Takes personal accountability for upholding and delivering upon team’s commitments and provides assurance to stakeholders.
• Be Decisive : Demonstrates ability to adjust to team’s plans and priorities to optimize outcomes in light of evolving directives, while also responding quickly in high-pressure environments, such as in emergency settings.

Partnership

• Connect and share across WFP units : Demonstrates an understanding of when and how to tactfully engage other units in conversations on impact, timing, or planning
• Build strong external partnerships : Networks regularly with key external partners using formal and informal opportunities to understand each partner’s unique value proposition, and to build and strengthen relationships
• Be politically agile & adaptable : Demonstrates ability to adapt engagement approach in the context of evolving partner circumstances and expectations
• Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships : Demonstrates ability to articulate to internal and external audiences the value that individual contributions and immediate teams bring to partnerships.

FUNCTIONAL CAPABILITIES

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

• Has experience working across the Program portfolio including VAM/Nutrition.
• Has led a Sub Office or a small country/area office programme team or a component of a country office programme portfolio.
• Has engaged in policy discussions and provided input into policy decisions.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

31 January 2023

WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability