Programme Policy Officer - Consultant I (Resilience Building Coordinator) at World Food Programme (WFP)

Organizational Context

• The World Food Programme (WFP) is the world’s largest humanitarian organization with a dual mandate to save lives and change lives. In Nigeria, WFP works with the Government of Nigeria through various interventions aimed at supporting the government to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2-Zero hunger.
• SDG 2 holds a prominent place among national priorities of Nigeria and the Government views food security as a critical national objective, generating employment opportunities, particularly for the youth; promoting education through linkage to safety nets and homegrown school feeding programmes; and supporting women’s empowerment.
• One of WFP interventions in Nigeria is resilience building, which uses a multisectoral approach, integrating different sectors including nutrition and livelihoods to building resilience at household, community and institutional levels.
• To this end, WFP and UNICEF are implementing a multi-year joint project on Building Resilience and Social Cohesion in Northeast Nigeria.
• Hence, the recruitment of a resilience coordinator to oversee the implementation of the joint project and other WFP resilience initiatives.

Job Purpose

• Under the direct supervision of the Head of Programme, Maiduguri Area Office and in close collaboration with livelihoods and nutrition teams in the Country office, Area Office and Sub office, the programme Policy Officer (Resilience building coordinator) will be responsible for coordinating the implementation of WFP/UNICEF joint multi-sectoral interventions in targeted Local Government Areas (LGAs) through joint planning, monitoring and representation while ensuring programme convergence with other integrated resilience programmes within WFP.
• The incumbent will report, document and build on the experience that define WFP’s role in resilience building and social cohesion for integration into all programmes of WFP.
• The incumbent will also serve as the main focal point for coordination with UNICEF at Maiduguri and WFP Technical Leads of the joint project in Abuja.
• She/He will play a key role in donor relations/liaison and partnerships building around scaling up resilience and social cohesion-based programming.

Key Accountabilities (Not All-Inclusive)

• Provide technical guidance and support to the WFP Country Office, with a focus on the Northeast, in the conceptualization, contextualization, strategic planning, and programme implementation with regard to resilience.
• Act as the organizational focal point for multisectoral resilience programmes, with a focus on the northeast.
• Represent WFP on Joint Programme (JP) coordination, with states level governments and other governance systems and networks. 
• Provide support to WFP Country Office to ensure strategic engagement with relevant partners, including key donors, on WFP’s work in resilience.
• Facilitate overall programme implementation through ensuring work plans and activities are formulated, implemented, and monitored. Support in designing and coordinating specific resilience building interventions based on LGA’s specific risk profiles, conflict analysis, partnerships, government capacity and programme priorities.
• Overall coordination towards agreed results, including timely and effective grant and financial management.  
• Provide support and coordinate for programme convergence and resilience integration across the programme cycle (planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation) and work closely with livelihoods and nutrition teams to increase planning and realization of integrated programming.  
• Contribute to strengthen capacity and learning for WFP in programming for resilience, social cohesion and the triple nexus.
• Oversee and support Maiduguri-level baseline/end line development, knowledge management, M&E, and lessons learnt arising from implementation through drafting/finalizing key documents, reports, updates and briefing notes and knowledge/information exchange to ensure continued generation of program evidence.  

Additional Job Responsibilities:

• Supporting programs to strengthen the feedback and response mechanism to ensure WFP’s engagement with users and target groups to generate and receiving reactions, comments and criticism on sector interventions.
• Coordinate the provision of cross-sectoral timely and quality inputs to donor reports and provide inputs to other documentation and presentations of the programme.
• Lead overall coordination with UNICEF at Maiduguri and Yobe levels and WFP Technical Leads in Abuja.
• Coordinate closely with other UN agencies, development partners, and state government counterparts, and targeted communities in the area of responsibility to ensure alignment and complementarity of resilience interventions.
• Manage JP related partnership development, amendments and support overall project documents management.
• Lead Maiduguri-and Yobe levels JP visibility, communication as well as donor visits.
• Maintain relations and work with donor partners in developing proposals and resource mobilization for large scale resilience building and social cohesion programme across programme sectors.  

Standard Minimum Qualifications
Education:

• Advanced University Degree in International Development, Economics, Nutrition / Health, Agriculture, Environmental Science, Social Sciences or other field relevant to international development assistance, with a demonstrated focus/interest on resilience building.

Experience:

• Minimum of five years of relevant work experience in food and nutrition security, Natural Resource Management, International and Rural Development.

Languages:

• Fluency (level C) in English language is required.

Desired Experiences for Entry into The Role & Expected Deliverables:

• Exposure to and experience with food security, nutrition programmes and safety nets desirable.
• Strong coordination and negotiation skills especially in implementing multi-sectoral projects
• Good analytical skills; resourcefulness, initiative, maturity of judgement, tact, negotiating skills; ability to communicate clearly both orally and in writing; ability to work in a team, and establish effective working relations with persons of different national and cultural backgrounds.
• Ability to cope with situations which may threaten health or safety; flexibility in accepting work assignments outside normal desk description. Ability to deal patiently and tactfully with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
• Proficiency in Windows, MS Office (Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook) and experience in using geographic information systems is an advantage.
• Quarterly progress reports on the joint project as agreed with the donor and propose any remedial actions if output indicators are under achieved.
• Regular coordination with sector leads of the joint project during implementation
• Documented lessons and success stories emanating from the project implementation
• Strengthened partnerships around resilience building.