Food Security Sector Resilience Adviser and Coordinator

Organizational Setting

Launched at the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit by the European Union, FAO and WFP, the Global Network Against Food Crises is an alliance of humanitarian and development actors united by the commitment to tackle the root causes of food crises and promote sustainable solutions through shared analysis and knowledge, strengthened coordination in evidence-based responses and collective efforts across the Humanitarian, Development and Peace (HDP) nexus.

HDP nexus means strengthening the coherence between humanitarian, development and peace efforts to effectively reduce the humanitarian caseload. This is critical in context where funding for humanitarian action is outstripped by growing needs, such as in Palestine.

For countries to exit from food crises, humanitarian, development and peace actors must work across the nexus to effectively reduce people’s needs, risks and vulnerabilities, supporting prevention efforts and thus, shifting from delivering humanitarian assistance to ending need, while ensuring that humanitarian assistance per se be defined and delivered in accordance with the principle of aid effectiveness.

As such, the GN’s country-level support envisages the deployment of technical and analytical capacities to support humanitarian and development partners in the design and implementation of a coherent set of actions, combining sustainable and resilient food systems and economic inclusion approaches.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Head of Office and WFP Country Director or officers delegated by them, with technical guidance from relevant FAO/WFP HQ teams. At country level, s/he will work in close collaboration with the FIRST Policy Officer and key development partners and humanitarian actors.

Technical Focus

Among the key development partners and humanitarian actors, Food Security Sector (FSS) of Palestine, established in 2013, is to build stronger partnerships to support sustainable, comprehensive, locally-owned food security interventions (food, agriculture livelihood support and cash for work) in Palestine, drawing on both humanitarian and development funding streams, local expertise and leveraging the comparative advantages of a wide range of NGOs, civil society and international organizations.

The FSS coordination structure is articulated in a Food Security Analysis Unit (FSAU) and a Thematic Platform (TP). The FSAU coordinates and guides the analysis of risks, needs, gaps and response related to food security, livelihoods and resilience of Palestinians in close collaboration with relevant Palestinian Government’s technical departments. The TP is articulated in Technical Working Groups (TWGs), vetting panels, and general meetings to promote inclusive engagement of all partners. It supports the elaboration of minimum standards and guidelines and best practices, suggests interventions for developing technical capacities of FSS partners and facilitates communication.

The Food Security Sector Resilience Adviser and Coordinator ensures functionality and inclusiveness of the coordination structure working closely with all FSS members and coordinating with other humanitarian partners, national/local authorities and other relevant actors. S/He works impartially with all members of the Food Security Sector and serves and represents the group as a whole within the humanitarian coordination system. S/he promotes the adoption of participatory and community-based approaches ensuring adequate attention to cross-cutting and cross-sectoral issues (e.g. gender, age, AAP, human rights, and environment), also contributing to generating a shared understanding of what sustainable and resilient food systems entail in the national and local context.

The FSS attends or support the role of agency heads in interagency fora, including the HCT, the ICCG and related matters. For these meetings, the Coordinator will seek to ensure food security issues receive appropriate visibility and focus by inputting for the agenda, preparing comprehensive points for the sector, and provide follow up to the meetings. The FSS Coordinator is assisted by two Operations Coordinators based in Gaza and West Bank.

Through his/her work, the Adviser will adopt the Global Network approach by ensuring that synergies are created between relevant areas of work as well as facilitating coordination with stakeholders at regional and global level.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Coordinate the joint implementation of the Socio-Economic Food Security survey (SEFSec) and contribution of the sector to any other need assessment and survey of relevance;
• Ensure that information related to activities carried out by FSS partners are regularly collected and shared using appropriate tools, including updating and sharing of the 4Ws (Who-is-doing-What-Where-When);
• Coordinate sector-wide analysis, needs assessments, and emergency preparedness activities, including engagement in the on-going debate on HDP Nexus in Palestine, also facilitating the inclusion of the contributions of relevant;
• Facilitate inclusive, evidence-based dialogues to generate a shared understanding of what sustainable and resilient food systems entail in national and local contexts, and identify agreed priority interventions;
• Represent and/or ensure proper representation of the FSS in inter-cluster meetings, HCT Advocacy Working Group meetings, HCT Gender Working Group meetings, Humanitarian Program Cycle coordination meetings and others relevant platforms – this includes working to ensure food security issues are part of the agenda, that contributions of stakeholders be heard at country-level, that a comprehensive and coherent viewpoint is offered including agriculture livelihood, cash and food assistance issues, and that issues are followed up on after the meetings (for Consultants only);
• Assist the FSS lead agencies in effectively contributing to the Humanitarian Country Team by supporting the development of the agenda and providing comprehensive points to the Heads of Agencies of FAO and WFP in advance of the meetings;
• Supervise and coordinate monitoring of Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) implementation in accordance with timeline and deliverables identified by the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) and tracking shortfalls and articulating their urgency;
• Assure support to the allocation of funds from the Humanitarian Pooled Funds (HPF);
• Coordinate FSS partners’ efforts in ensuring continuous risk monitoring (political, environmental, economic and natural) through the FSS Dashboard;
• Ensure adequate documentation and exchange of information within and outside the humanitarian coordination systems, by maintaining updated the FSS website, responding to inter-cluster requests for information, providing monthly summary of activities for the donor and quarterly summary reports for FSS partners and other relevant activities;
• Advance global knowledge on food systems transformation in fragile contexts and HDP nexus implementation through the contribution to joint global learning events organized by the Global Network against Food Crises, FIRST and other relevant partners.
• Supervise the work of two Operations Coordinators including their support to the organization, facilitation, documentation of and follow up to the TP’s activities (for Consultants only);
• During emergencies, supporting the rapid collection of 4Ws and situational awareness of agriculture livelihoos, cash and food assistance projects as well as funding opportunities;
• Perform related duties as needed to ensure effective functioning and representation of the FSS.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree or equivalent/higher level in economics, development, agronomy, food security, disaster management, social sciences or other related field.
• At least five years of professional experience in humanitarian sector at a mid- or senior-level with emphasis on coordination with external partners.
• Working knowledge of English Language and limited knowledge of one of the other languages of the organization (French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian). For PSA.SBS the working knowledge of only one language is required.

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

• Well versed with Excel, Word, PowerPoint, email applications and ability to conduct Internet-based research.
• Ability to travel across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Selection Criteria

• Experience in conducting and managing food security analysis;
• Excellent communications and management skills including excellent command of English, both verbal and written;
• Ability to work and plan at strategic as well as operational levels;
• Experience in coordination and c ability to work with a diverse group of stakeholders and develop consensus and joint working;
• Understanding of the international humanitarian and development response architecture, including co-ordination mechanisms, humanitarian reform and action, and funding mechanisms (e.g. HPC and UNDAF);
• Ability to work productively under pressure in difficult contexts;
• Work experiences in the Palestine and in the region is an advantage.