Programme Policy Officer (Social Cohesion) – International Consultant Level II – WFP

WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles.

Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis, and we are committed to promoting diversity and gender balance.

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

Ethiopia has recently been facing a heightened level of conflicts, mainly rooted on power disputes between the regional and the federal levels. The ethnic-based federal system was created around 30 years ago, with the aim to give more space to minor ethical groups. Away from promoting integration, the system has sharpened tribal divisions and resulted in a fractured society along tribal lines, increased competitions among regions and demands of autonomy at times led by liberation armed fronts. The conflict that erupted in Tigray among the TPLF and the ENDF, ASF and ErDF in November 2020 has recently spilled into the Afar and Amhara regions. Other conflicts are affecting the Somali Region, Oromia, and Gambella, among others.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 2417 (2018) reaffirmed the well-evidenced role of conflict as a primary driver of food insecurity – including famine risk and occurrence – economic crisis, and the degradation of resilience in rural and urban contexts. These links demand a heavy analytical emphasis on the interactions of conflict, socio-economic wellbeing, and humanitarian programming, if WFP is to be effective in Ethiopia. Likewise, the role of humanitarian assistance – especially food and cash – in armed conflict and the associated risks of unintended negative consequences and opportunities for positive contributions to peace demands integrated conflict, food security, and programmatic analysis. The World Food Programme requires a dedicated Social Cohesion Officer to ensure conflict-sensitive programming and to further the Triple Nexus agenda in Ethiopia.

JOB PURPOSE

The officer will conduct conflict analysis and integrating conflict sensitivity and contribution to peace in its strategies and throughout the programme cycle – project design, partnerships, implementation, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning. The Officer will also support the integration of conflict sensitivity and contribution to peace into programme operations, including Human Resources and supply chain activities. This position will provide support to all Area Offices (AOs) and Sub Offices (SOs) as a core duty. These efforts will be both reactive – responding to issues and requests as they arise – and proactive – integrating conflict sensitivity to identify, prevent and mitigate conflict sensitivity risks and whenever possible contribute to peace in all regions of Ethiopia.

The Officer will work across all relevant units, collaborating heavily with, Security, Protection, VAM & MEAL. Technical backstopping may be provided to the Officer by the Senior Conflict and Peacebuilding Officer in WFP HQ and RBN staff including a Peace and Conflict Adviser as available. This analyst will also function as a further link between the Country Office and a wide range of stakeholders as relevant to conflict sensitivity and peacebuilding, including organizations engaged in implementation and knowledge production both within and outside of Ethiopia.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

1   Conflict analysis and conflict sensitivity risk assessments

• Source and analyse a wide range of information, including related to politics, conflict, food and nutrition security, protection, and humanitarian access, to analyse federal level conflict, as well as regional and local level (woredas and kebeles) conflicts.
• Conduct conflict sensitivity assessments (in line with corporate guidance) to identify possible / actual conflict sensitivity risks, including designing, leading or supporting assessments in the field, as stand-alone or integrated activities
• Work with management / programme / operations / Cooperating Partners (CPs) to develop feasible mitigation measures to inform strategic planning, all aspects of the programme cycle, and supply chain operations;
• Document the analysis as appropriate, and ensure relevant information reaches appropriate staff in a timely manner
• Contribute analysis to the access team and utilize access cell outputs for conflict sensitivity as applicable;
• Provide integrated conflict and food security analysis for use in Integrated Food Security Phase Classification analyses by VAM as requested.

2   Conflict sensitivity application

• Support and accompany the application of mitigation measures identified, ensuring relevant staff understand and buy-in to the adjustments needed.
• Support CPs to integrate into their operations the analysis and mitigation measures identified, including the mainstreaming of conflict sensitivity and contribution to peace into FLAs, capacity building and accompaniment of implementation.
• Closely work with VAM colleagues to mainstream conflict sensitivity and contribution to peace into M&E tools and processes.
• Closely work with the security, access and civil military colleagues to integrate conflict analysis under the same framework and create formal / informal spaces to discuss evolution of the conflict dynamics periodically jointly.

3   Conflict sensitivity mainstreaming

Conduct a light review of regular planning/implementation processes and capacities/competencies for Conflict Sensitivity (and peace contributions, if relevant) within the CO, identifying where capacities need to be built, and where processes could be enhanced. Identify key blockages to the mainstreaming of Conflict Sensitivity. Develop a Conflict Sensitivity Action Plan, and lead implementation of the plan.

4   Capacity Building

Provide capacity building to ETCO, and CPs teams on Conflict Sensitivity (and if relevant, on contribution to peace) ensuring different capacities for different roles are built. This will include on-the-job accompaniment as well as other training/capacity building events, backstopped by the Social Cohesion Team at HQ. Identify and support a CO champion(s) and build their capacities to sustain progress after consultancy ends.

5   Peace contribution

Support the CO in the design of programming to best utilize opportunities to contribute to peace, ensuring that high quality conflict analysis underpins project design, and that clear, plausible, evidence-based theories of change are articulated, and that outcome measures capture meaningful results.

6   Partnerships

Establish and maintain formal and informal relationships with external stakeholders, including organizations and individuals, involved in humanitarian and other analysis related to the context of Ethiopia as considered relevant for CO needs in conflict sensitivity; ensure the incorporation of key research findings and recommendations; facilitate collaborative and/or applied research, preferably from the beginning of the research cycle, to advance contextual understanding, conflict sensitivity, and peacebuilding for WFP;

7   Knowledge management:  Document and disseminate good practices and lessons learned from the CO experiences. Be an active member of the nascent WFP Social Cohesion Community of Practice, and ensure relevant learnings shared through the community of practice are applied to the CO’s approach.

8   Any other duties as required

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

• Good conflict analysis exists to guide Country programme and Tigray response, with conflict sensitivity risks identified and captured in risk matrix and where relevant integrated in the CO and Tigray risk registers. The risk matrix should clearly articulate risks, mitigation measures, timeframe, and clear risk / mitigation measures owners.
• On-going conflict analysis, and conflict sensitivity risk assessment, with lessons learned captured and shared globally. Formal and informal mechanisms for on-going analysis established.
• Conflict Sensitivity Action Plan developed and under implementation
• Gaps in capacities for conflict sensitivity identified for different roles across the CO, and capacities built

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Advanced academic degree in conflict studies, or another relevant discipline.

Experience :

• At least eight (8) years of professional experience providing technical support to integrate conflict sensitivity in to both humanitarian and development programming;
• Experience in design, field research, and drafting, of conflict analysis;
• Strong and practical knowledge of issues relating to food security, vulnerability, violence, and the humanitarian principles
• Experience in capacity building (training, accompaniment);
• High familiarity with WFP programming and ways of working and armed conflict and food security in Ethiopia and/or demonstrated ability and willingness to rapidly acquire such in-depth knowledge
• Knowledge of peacebuilding programme design, including the articulation of theories of change;

Language: International Professional: Fluency (level C) in English language.

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

• Experience in supporting strategic planning processes to integrate conflict and peace;
• Experience in drafting peacebuilding proposals, including articulating results frameworks;
• Some prior exposure to working with WFP, either directly (as an employee) or indirectly (as a partner).

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

Essential

• Commitment to WFP’s mission and values;
• Proven research and analytical skills;
• Excellent presentation skills (oral and written);
• Strong communication skills and cultural antennae (able to work across cultures);
• Strong advocacy, influencing and networking skills;
• Ability to work independently under minimal supervision;
• Proficiency in Window MS office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook).

Desirable

• Technical training in areas that are directly or indirectly relevant to peacebuilding and/or Conflict Sensitivity

4Ps CORE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES

Purpose

• Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives: Understands WFP’s Strategic Objectives and the link to own work objectives.
• Be a force for positive change: Flexibly adapts individual contributions to accommodate changes in direction from supervisors and internal/external changes (such as evolving needs of beneficiaries, new requirements of partners).
•  Make the mission inspiring to our team: Recognizes and shares with team members the ways in which individual contributions relate to WFP’s mission.
•  Make our mission visible in everyday actions: Sets own goals in alignment with WFP’s overall operations, and is able to communicate this link to others.

People

• Look for ways to strengthen people’s skills: Assesses own strengths and weaknesses to increase self-awareness, and includes these in conversations on own developmental needs.
•  Create an inclusive culture: Participates in open dialogue, and values the diverse opinion of others, regardless of background, culture, experience, or country assignment.
•  Be a coach & provide constructive feedback: Proactively seeks feedback and coaching to build confidence, and develop and improve individual skills.
•  Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit: Participates in accomplishing team activities and goals in the face of challenging circumstances.

Performance

• Encourage innovation & creative solutions: Shows willingness to explore and experiment with new ideas and approaches in own work.
•  Focus on getting results: Consistently delivers results within individual scope of work on time, on budget and without errors.
•  Make commitments and make good on commitments: Commits to upholding individual accountabilities and responsibilities in the face of ever-changing country or functional priorities.
•  Be Decisive: Makes rational decisions about individual activities when faced with uncertain circumstances, including in times of ambiguity regarding information or manager direction.

Partnership

• Connect and share across WFP units: Seeks to understand and adapt to internal or cross-unit teams’ priorities and preferred working styles.
•  Build strong external partnerships: Demonstrates ability to understand and appropriately respond to and/or escalate needs of external partners.
•  Be politically agile & adaptable: Portrays an informed and professional demeanor toward internal and external partners and stakeholders.
•  Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships: Provides operational support on analyses and assessments that quantifies and demonstrates WFP’s unique value as a partner.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

12 NOVEMBER 2021 (Only Open to non-Ethiopian Nationals) 

Female applicants and qualified applicants from developing countries are especially encouraged to apply

WFP has zero tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.

Apply here>>