Job Openings at the United Nations World Food Programme

Type of Contract: TDY/CST (maternity cover)
Unit/Division: Capacity Strengthening and Policy Coherence Unit, Nigeria Country Office
Duration: 4 - 6 months initially (August 2020 – January 2021)

Country Context

• Since 2009, an insurgency led by non-state armed groups and military operations conducted by the Government of Nigeria have had a devastating impact on northeast Nigeria, especially in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY states) which led WFP to respond with a large-scale L3 operation in this part of the country.
• However, food insecurity and malnutrition are not just of concern in the northeast. In fact, Nigeria is experiencing high levels of chronic food insecurity and malnutrition across the country and achieving SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) by 2030 would require countrywide efforts. The need for support has only increased as a result of the additional strain that COVID-19 has put on people’s food securty and nutrition situation.

WFP Nigeria Country Strategic Plan (2019 - 2022)
In line with WFP’s broader goal to support the achievement of SDG2 in a manner that contributes to wider peace and development, WFP’s Nigeria Country Strategic Plan (2019 – 2022) focuses on three support modalities:

• Direct support (Strategic Outcomes 1, 2, 3 & 6) to address the food and nutrition needs of vulnerable populations and building their resilience to shocks over time and provide common services to the humanitarian and development community;
• Technical support (Strategic Outcome 4) to strengthen government capacity to implement high-quality food security and nutrition programmes including social protection mechanisms and programmes; and
• Enabling support (Strategic Outcome 5) to contribute to policy coherence in the area of food security and nutrition through effective coordination among relevant stakeholders:
  • In response to COVID-19, WFP Nigeria intensified its support efforts, including in the area of technical and enabling support. One example of this is WFP’s technical support to the government-led National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) whereby WFP worked closely together with the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development to successfully implement the modified programme to reach vulnerable families with take-home rations in lieu of on-site school meals.
  • Based on this collaboration, the government has now reached out to WFP to provide technical support to further improve the programme for the post-COVID-19 period. Technical support areas may include: targeting and programme design; beneficiary information and management; logistics, procurement, food safety and quality; monitoring and evaluation and; communications and advocacy.
  • Alongside this, WFP is exploring broader areas of engagement in support of the government’s wider social protection mechanism. This includes looking into ways, together with relevant stakeholders, on how to make the existing social protection mechanism more shock-responsive to future shocks. In addition, as part of WFP’s enabling support efforts, COVID-19 and recovery phase will provide challenges as well as opportunities to raise greater awareness on this issue of Zero Hunger.
  • To take forward WFP’s technical support and enabling support activities WFP is looking for a TDY (WFP internal) or international consultant who will manage and lead on these efforts.

Accountabilities/Responsibilities
Under the direct supervision of the WFP Country Director, provide strategic guidance and ensure day-to-day management of the unit with a focus on:

• Coordinating WFP’s technical support efforts in support of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development (FMHADMSD) and other relevant government entities by:
  • Ensuring overall WFP internal (CO, RB and HQ) and external coordination between WFP and FMHADMSD in the area of technical support to identify needs and opportunities for WFP technical support to the government;
  • Coordinating and providing guidance on the development of a capacity strengthening needs assessment together with relevant units in the CO, RB and HQ and arrange for remote and/or in-country technical support as required;
  • Leading and organizing the technical support provided including by identifying technical support teams, organizing workshops and trainings as well as arrange for field support, as necessary and appropriate;
  • Ensuring monitoring and evaluation of the technical support provided in close collaboration with the VAM/M&E unit to measure results and impact of the technical support efforts undertaken by WFP and identify challenges and opportunities for follow-up support;
  • Exploring opportunities for broader WFP engagement in the area of social protection, in partnership with the government, UN agencies, World Bank and other relevant stakeholders.
• Coordinating WFP’s enabling support efforts in support of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development (FMHADMSD) and other relevant government entities by:
• Exploring and taking forward strategic opportunities for WFP enabling support including through high-level national as well as international engagements with relevant stakeholders such as the Rome-based Agencies (RBAs) and private sector in close collaboration with relevant technical units (e.g. CAM) to ensure that Zero
• Hunger is seen as a development priority of the country including through the organization of Zero Hunger Roundtables and other WFP-led initiatives.

Deliverables
The following deliverables are expected:

• The government benefited from a comprehensive high-quality and measurable technical support package for the further improvement of the NHGSFP;
• Additional opportunities for technical support in the area of social protection have been explored together with relevant internal and external stakeholders and;
• WFP has leveraged strategic opportunities to provide enabling support and explore future opportunities. The achievements on the deliverables and challenges and opportunities are outlined in a report at the end of the contract period.

Qualifications & Experience Required
Education:

• Advanced University Degree in International Affairs, Economics, Nutrition / Health, Agriculture, Environmental Science, Social Science or any other field relevant to international development assistance, or First University Degree with additional years of working experience and/or training/courses.

Desired experience, knowledge and skills:

• Six (6) years of experience in the area of humanitarian and development policy development and/or programme design and implementation;
• Experience in engaging with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders both at the high-level strategy as well as technical level;
• Experience working together with or for governments and/or the private sector;
• Experience working across the WFP programme portfolio including social protection and/or school feeding;
• Ability to operate in a challenging and fast-paced environment and effectively manage workload and competing priorities;
• Strong written and spoken English and the ability to communicate effectively at all levels.

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Requisition: 123378
Location: Maiduguri, Borno
Job type: Fixed term

Mainstreaming Protection into Country Office Programs and Interventions

• Assist the Protection Advisor in providing technical guidance in how to integrate protection into programming to ensure safe and meaningful access to WFP and implementing partner assistance;
• Undertake and contribute to research if necessary;
• Assist in drafting briefs and reports on protection and accountability to affected populations in WFP.

Organizational Context:

• The United Nations World Food Programme is one of the largest humanitarian agencies fighting hunger worldwide. Due to its global commitment to its policies on Protection and Accountability to Affected Population (AAP), WFP mainstreams protection and AAP in its food assistance response in Nigeria.
• The Protection Officer will be based in the Area Office in Maiduguri with frequent travel and overnight stays in WFP field sites across Borno State (including Monguno, Dikwa, Bama, Pulka, Damasak, Ngala, Damboa).
• The selected candidate will report to the Protection Advisor and will be responsible for supporting the integration of protection and accountability to affected populations (AAP) within the context of all of WFP’s operations in Borno State.
• The Protection Officer will work closely with Programme Units as well as Logistics, Supply Chain and in close coordination with the Gender Focal Point.
• When required to the Protection Officer might also be asked to support missions to Yobe and/or Adamawa state and provide feedback on technical guidance to Program Units to undertake conflict-sensitive programming.

Job Purpose
Training and related activities:

• Develop and implement training sessions for WFP and Cooperating Partner staff on protection, accountability to affected population (APP) and gender;
• Undertake field travels to WFP Field locations to conduct on the job mentoring of implementing partners and ad-hoc training when required;
• Support training on humanitarian principles and other themes as required for security and other humanitarian actors.

Representation:

• Assist in strengthening inter-agency understanding of WFPs protection policy and referral pathways between Protection Actors and Food Security Actors specifically at the field level;
• When required attend protection sector, GBV sub-sector, child protection and respective working group meeting on behalf of the Protection and AAP unit.

Key Accountabilities (not all-inclusive)
Specific Tasks related to Protection Mainstreaming:

• Work with the respective Units, HUB Teams in coordination with Protection Advisor to conduct rapid and comprehensive protection risk and gender analysis assessment;
• Conduct regular field visits to implement protection monitoring missions in close collaboration with partners’ protection personnel as required;
• Follow-up on the implementation of protection and gender-related. recommendations/outcome of protection risk, gender analysis and protection monitoring missions;
• Provide regular information on protection concerns and trends as identified through protection monitoring and protection risk assessments;
• Contribute in developing tools and guidelines for specific Program Units to mainstream protection based on WFPs policy;
• Alternate focal point for implementing partner designated protection officers and assistants;
• Coordinate with the Protection Advisor to support the implementation of the WFP Complaints and Feedback Mechanism (CFM) Standard Operating Procedures.

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.

Functional Capabilities
Capability Name  - Description of the behaviour expected for the proficiency level:

• Programme Lifecycle & Food Assistance - Demonstrates ability to identify key variables and contextual factors that affect food assistance problems and programmes throughout the lifecycle to inform quality programme design or re-design.
• Transfer Modalities (Food, Cash, Voucher) - Demonstrates ability to analyse and consolidate quantitative and qualitative information from different sources (e.g., market studies) to inform transfer modality selection and programme development.
• Broad Knowledge of Specialized areas (i.e. Nutrition, VAM, etc.) - Demonstrates the ability to interpret basic data in the context of WFP specialised fields to contribute to technical programme design, implementation and monitoring.
• Emergency Programming - Displays capacity to provide inputs into the development, implementation and realignment of high quality emergency programmes.
• Strategic Policy Engagement w/ Government - Develops thorough recommendations using multiple inputs (e.g., government counsel, research, own experience) to strengthen national or subnational entities and government-owned food and nutrition security programmes.

Standard Minimum Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's Degree in Social Science, International Affairs, International Relations, Law, Gender Studies or other fields relevant to International Development / Humanitarian Assistance. A Master’s degree is an asset.
• Language: Fluency (level C) in English language. Knowledge of one out of the two local languages Hansa and Kanuri/ Shuwa Arabic is required.

Other Specific Job Requirements
Technical expertise:

• Practical understanding of protection and protection mainstreaming tools
• Knowledge about international humanitarian/SPHERE standards and policies, especially those centered around food-insecurity
• Familiar with tools to conduct protection monitoring, safety audits, rapid gender analysis and protection risk assessments at the community level
• Knowledge of Child Protection & Safeguarding and mainstreaming Gender-based Violence in Emergencies is desirable

Competencies:

• Motivated to work on protection mainstreaming in WFP operations (nutrition, General Food distribution, livelihood activities and support services)
• Team player keen to take initiatives and collaborate with other WFP technical teams and implementing partners
• Ability to multi-task while working under pressure
• Ability to maintain and establish professional working relationships with a variety of actors

Desired Experiences for Entry into the Role
Experience:

• At least 3-5 years of professional experience relevant to the position in integrating or mainstreaming protection issues in humanitarian responses in Borno
• Demonstrated experience working with community-based structures conducting focus group discussions, key informant interviews, awareness-raising and training initiatives at the field level
• Experience in developing and delivering training sessions on protection-related thematic for men and women from the affected population, implementing partner and WFP personnel
• Knowledge of protection mainstreaming in food security  
• Experience in drafting protection risk and gender analysis
• Understanding of how to map, identify and communicate information on protection (including GBV and Child Protection referral pathways