Food Security Analysis Officer

Contract

This is a UNV International Specialist contract. This kind of contract is known as International UN Volunteer. It is normally internationally recruited only. More about UNV International Specialist contracts.

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the seventh in the world. According to International Monetary Fund (IMF), there were an estimated 216.75 million people in the country by the beginning of 2022.1 Nigeria’s economy is one of the biggest in Sub-Saharan Africa with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) worth 441 billion USD and a per capita GDP of 2 400 USD in 2021. The northeast region of Nigeria comprises six states, namely: Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe. The region has an approximate population of about 30.6 million people, most of whom live in rural areas. The three states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe have been facing protracted conflict for more than a decade due to the long Boko Haram insurgency, which resulted in massive displacements of people, significant human, social and economic losses and protracted food insecurity particularly in Borno State. There were more than 2.2 million displaced persons across the three states in 2022, majority of whom were in Borno. Despite the volatile security, we have observed relative returns of displaced persons to their communities of origin. However, the fragile security of the northeast context largely remains one issue that continues to threaten food security in the region. The October 2022 findings of Cadre Harmonisé (CH2) analysis of food and nutrition insecurity indicates over 4 million people in BAY states will face acute food insecurity from June through August 2023 – the peak of the lean season.

Nigeria is ranked fifth among the 10 largest food crises in the world, with an estimate 25.3 million people (more than 1 in 10 Nigerians) are projected to experience acute food insecurity across 26 states and the FCT. The underlying causes and vulnerabilities to food insecurity and malnutrition have not been adequately addressed, neither has resilience building been adequately supported. Humanitarian response is at full scale in the BAY states, mainly in Borno, coordinated by the Food Security Sector. The sector and other humanitarian partners require regular monitoring of food security, agricultural livelihoods, market functioning and other related indicators for proper planning and programming. FAO supports the role fo Food Security Analysis coordination led by Government. FAO also supports the coordination role of the food security sector3, led by the FAO’s Northeast Emergency and Resilience office based in Borno.

The request for a UNV aims to strengthen FAO’s capacity in operating across the emergency humanitarian – resilience – development axis in the affected states of Nigeria. The UN volunteer will be based at FAO country office supporting the activities of FAO food security analysis unit and the Food Security Sector.

 Support the FAO food security analysis unit in the planning and execution of food security, agriculture livelihoods vulnerability assessments, data analysis, reporting, information management, and the development of advocacy materials, including the Data In Emergencies (DIEM)-Monitoring;

 Provide technical support to the development of methodology, update of survey tools, and drafting of the monthly Humanitarian Situation Monitoring (HSM) report.

 Proactively propose ideas for funding the food security information analysis unit, and participate in proposal development;

 Contribute to the coordination of Cadre Harmonise processes including the analysis cycles, capacity gap analysis and training of CH analysts, advocacy, communication and resource mobilization;

 Provide overall support to food security sector coordination mechanisms. Specifically, support food security sector information management through regular collation of 5Ws. Support the food security sector coordinator in organising meetings with Government and sector partners;

 Support the resources mobilisation efforts for the Food Security activities

☒Accountability ☒Adaptability and Flexibility ☒Commitment and Motivation ☒Communication ☒Creativity ☒Judgement and Decision-making ☒Planning and Organizing ☒Professionalism ☒Self-Management ☒Technological Awareness ☒Working in Teams

• Post-disaster, crisis and conflict settings;

• an evolving and complex humanitarian context and within multidisciplinary and different cultural background teams;

• formulation, sampling, data collection, coordination, implementation, data analysis, interpretation and reporting for assessment processes in agriculture and food security;

• remote data collection in the area of food security and in emergencies;

• advanced statistics with ability to use statistical software packages (such as SPSS, STATA and/or R);

• using and programming questionnaires in Open data kits (such as Kobo toolbox);

• Knowledge of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing

Abuja is Nigeria’s capital city which houses the seat of power – the Presidency, Parliament and Judiciary. All diplomatic missions accredited to Nigeria are based in the city, plus some 20 UN agencies with nearly 2000 staff. There is an international airport just 25km along a six lane modern road. There are daily flights to domestic and international destinations from the Abuja International Airport. The city has very good weather (generally hot with a rainy season), green spaces, high-end restaurants, luxury hotels, designer shops, large malls, and cinemas. There is also a big expat community, from a variety of different nations. Abuja is relatively safe and secure and there are nice spots around the city to provide the luxuries of a comfortable stay in the city.