The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. We are the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability, and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters, and the impact of climate change.

Our response to emergencies - saving lives and livelihoods either through direct assistance or by strengthening country capacities – remains at the heart of our operations, especially as humanitarian needs become increasingly complex and protracted.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

Today’s world is characterized by unprecedented development, but also by increasing risk and fragility. The risks include political instability, conflict, natural hazards, disease, and volatile prices. Humanitarian responses to crises have saved lives and restored livelihoods but have not always addressed underlying vulnerabilities. Early evidence shows that adopting a resilience-building approach to programming increases cost-effectiveness by reducing the financial, administrative and resource burdens of responding to recurrent crises and of missed opportunities in development.

WFP Liberia Country Office is providing livelihood and capacity strengthening support through its Food Assistance for Assets projects, and the provision of trainings and agricultural equipment, stimulating local food production and support the Government in enhancing the efficiency of food value chains in Liberia.

The school feeding programme is the cornerstone of WFP’s activities in Liberia and, in line with the Government of Liberia’s development plan, and in collaboration with the Ministry of Education provides nutritious meals for school children through four types of modalities – on-site school meals, home-grown school feeding and take-home rations. The take-home rations is provided in the form of in-kind rations and cash-based transfers using mobile money and value voucher.

WFP is leveraging school feeding with a solid HGSF component to deliver climate-smart livelihood support activities that provide smallholder farmers, particularly rural women, with reliable and sustainable markets. This includes strengthening vulnerable smallholder farmers’ resilience to climate-related and other recurrent shocks through the creation or regeneration of productive community assets. WFP is also continuing to gradually shift its focus from the direct delivery of relief assistance towards the provision of capacity strengthening to support government agencies in managing sustainable food security and nutrition programmes, social protection and resilience interventions and emergency preparedness and response systems in an equitable, inclusive, and empowering manner.

As part of the implementation of the Country Strategic Plan 2019-2023, the World Food Programme in Liberia seeks to achieve Strategic Outcome 1(SO1), namely: "Food-insecure populations, including school-aged children in targeted areas, have access to adequate and nutritious food, including food produced locally, by 2030».

ACCOUNTABILITIES/DELIVERABLES/ RESPONSIBILITIES:

Programme Leadership, Technical Support & Capacity Strengthening

Support WFP Programming with a particular view to sustainable food security and nutrition programmes, social protection and resilience interventions, natural resource management and emergency preparedness and response systems.
Support project coordination in COs in implementation of integrated resilience projects; Institutional development support to strengthen CO structures to sustain scale-up dynamics.
Support roll-out of 3PA tools; Act as Trainer for 3PA Tools, specifically the Community-Based Participatory Planning (CBPP).
Organize and participate in FFA/Asset Creation training and boot camps, ensuring a high-quality implementation of climate-smart low land agriculture, flood control and drainage management technologies.
Provide advice and oversight support to the development of livelihood and resilience building projects, plans, and processes, ensuring alignment with wider programme policies and guidelines.
Take the lead on drafting proposals and support initiatives that strengthen linkages with gender, nutrition, value chains (P4P), home-grown school feeding (HGSF) etc.; Capacity to support these processes on technical aspects, activity selection and planning, timelines, budgets, etc.
Support adoption of climate-smart lowland crop farming, conservation agriculture, vegetable gardens, drainage management, flood control measures (DRR infrastructure in general), land rehabilitation/soil and water conservation.
Support the local purchase programme, including analyses of the costs and trade-offs of the arrangements, food quality, smallholder farmer capacity and possible risks associated with local purchase, along with strategies for mitigating those risks.
Support community food reserve construction and related machinery (drying floors, threshing machines,) and train community food reserve members in business development skills and group management.
Introduce school gardens, fuel-efficient stoves, tree seedling planting, nursery management and climate mitigation projects in school feeding programmes.
Provide guidance and support to SOs staff for the design and implementation of home-grown school feeding, with a focus on the economic empowerment of women and the integration of Homegrown School Feeding (HGSF) into national food system frameworks.
Support the country’s capacity strengthening agenda with a focus on Homegrown School Feeding by national and regional governments.
Support Sub Offices to include Homegrown School Feeding (HGSF) relevant indicators in their Monitoring & Evaluation frameworks and/or to design the tools necessary to measure results.
Work with relevant units at the CO level to support the development of guidance on quality control solutions for fresh products

Reporting and M&E, Advocacy and Partnerships

Assist in advocacy and fundraising efforts to scale up the resilience and livelihoods activities in LBCO.
In liaison with the WFP Monitoring Unit, ensure the establishment and maintenance of a sound database and performance management system.
Support partnerships with other agencies (UN, NGOs, Private Sector and Government) to improve project synergy and impact.
Attend and represent WFP in meetings and conferences at national, regional and local levels
Liaise with Government and CPs to undertake field visits and review the implementation of project activities to ensure progress towards objectives and results.
Support LBCO in developing a manageable country-level information profile (Country Fiche), descriptive of progress in the use of programming tools (3PA and 3A/FFA), coverage of institutional strengthening efforts, the capacity of partners (Governments, NGOs), type, nature and level of partnerships (including RBA), monitoring and evaluation systems, and others of relevance;
Provide solid managerial leadership to specific and defined programmes and projects, ensuring a coordinated approach with wider programmes that complies with WFP standards and procedures as well as donors’ requirements.
Enhance WFP’s leadership status in different forums on subjects related to livelihoods, resilience, food security, nutrition, value chains, engagement in humanitarian, transition and development contexts and other related issues affecting refugee and host communities, through direct participation and/or through briefings, information products and other materials.

Operational Support & Reporting

Participate in the review of strategies and project design, planning, and implementation.
Support Government and WFP Cooperating Partners (CPs) planning and formulation of quality projects that enhance livelihoods and resilience at household, community and system levels.
Appraise project proposals and advise WFP Partners.
Ensure that Head of Programme, Country Director, Deputy Country Director, Head of Sub-offices and relevant WFP colleagues are well informed of ongoing project activities.
Review progress reports and provides feedback to the management.
Work with the service units (Procurement, Supply Chain, Administration and Finance) to ensure that quality food and non-food items are purchased and supplied to the communities for effective project implementation.

Experience Required

Minimum of six (6) years of relevant professional work experience in livelihood-centre approaches to poverty and vulnerability reduction, and at least five (5) years of experience working in supporting countries to implement resilience-building activities and School Feeding Programmes with cash-based or local procurement components. Experience working with WFP and working in the West African region is an asset
Excellent organizational skills and ability to follow establish and manage work plans and budgets.
Ability to train, lead and manage the design and implement community-based projects with communities and partners.
Relevant technical experience in resilience and/or Zero Hunger. This may include experience in food security, food systems, agriculture, social protection, value chains, cash-based transfer, nutrition programmes and food systems.
Skills and experience in training and staff capacity building. E.g., developing training plans, developing training materials and conducting training, including remotely.
Prior experience in effectively chairing or coordinating working groups. E.g., setting agendas (based on bilateral consultation and negotiation), encouraging active engagement, ensuring effective use of time, and documenting meetings
Ability to form strong working relationships and a collaborative work culture while working remotely with colleagues.
Experience working in development or humanitarian contexts and working across cultures.
Good analytical skills; resourcefulness, initiative, maturity of judgment, tact, negotiating skills.
Strong report writing and communication skills.
Be a force for positive change: Proactively identifies and develops new methods or improvements for self and immediate team to address work challenges within own work area.
Encourage innovation & creative solutions: Thinks beyond team’s conventional approaches to formulate creative methods for delivering food aid and assistance to beneficiaries.
Be Decisive: Demonstrates ability to adjust to team’s plans and priorities to optimize outcomes considering evolving directives, while also responding quickly in high-pressure environments.
Build strong with external partnerships: Networks regularly with key external partners using formal and informal opportunities to understand each partner’s unique value proposition, and to build and strengthen relationships.
Be politically agile & adaptable: Demonstrates ability to adapt engagement approach in the context of evolving partner circumstances and expectations.
Ensure compliance with WFP’s policies, criteria, and procedures.

Education:

Advanced university degree and training/courses in one or more of the following disciplines: Development economics, agriculture, rural development, development studies, international relations, international development, political or social sciences, or other relevant fields from a recognized university.

Language:

Excellent communication skills in English (level C), both written and oral. Knowledge of a second UN language (French) is a plus.

Liberian Nationals are not eligible to apply for this position.

All employment decisions are made based on organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Female Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

Thursday, 05 August 2022

Apply now

Added 2 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: wfp.org