The World Food Programme (WFP) is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. We are currently seeking a Junior Professional Officer to fill the position of a Junior School Feeding Programme Policy Officer with our School Based Programmes Service based in Rome, Italy.

CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND

With over 60 years' experience in School Feeding, WFP has a trajectory of working with more than 100 countries to set up sustainable national school feeding programmes. Today, millions of children living in poor and vulnerable communities don’t have regular access to the nutritious food they need to stay healthy and thrive. This affects their physical and mental development and can keep them from finishing school and building the strong future they deserve.

WFP advocates for the universal adoption of school feeding programmes as a safety net that helps increase children’s access to education and learning opportunities and strengthens their health and nutrition status. WFP focuses increasingly on helping countries to establish and maintain high quality nationally owned programmes. In countries still requiring WFP’s operational support, it implements high quality school feeding programmes with clear hand over strategies.

WFP launched a 10-year strategy to work with governments and partners to ensure that the 73 million primary school children living in extreme poverty have access to meals in school, accompanied by a broader package of health and nutrition services. The strategy envisions a transition from WFP-funded and operated programmes in certain countries, to national ownership of these efforts. WFP has identified about 30 lower-middle income countries which currently rely on WFP support where this transition needs to happen to guarantee the sustainability of the programmes.

A group of member states have formed an international School Meals Coalition to bring together governments, United Nations agencies, intergovernmental organizations, civil society, the private sector and academia to drive actions that can urgently re-establish, improve and scale up school meals programmes in low, lower middle, upper middle- and high-income countries around the world.

Some of WFP's efforts to improve programme quality include providing programmatic advice to countries which declared support the goals of the School Meals Coalition; Support the regional and country roll out of the School Feeding Strategy through providing technical advice and support to Country Strategic Plan (CSP) design; Fill gaps in corporate guidance materials on supporting the transition to National School Feeding Programmes; Ensure that WFP has access to a roster of expertise required for Country Capacity Strengthening.

As a Junior Professional Officer in the school-based programmes team, the incumbent will gain experience in the humanitarian and development sector by working and contributing to a multidisciplinary team. He/she will support improving the overall support to the roll out of the school feeding strategy.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Title of Post: Programme Policy Officer School Based Programmes (JPO)
Grade: P2
Supervisor: Programme and Policy Officer for Country Capacity Strengthening
Unit: Programme Support
Division/Country Office: School Based Programmes
Duty Station: Rome, Italy
Duration of assignment: Two years
Note: The position is advertised through WFP’s Junior Professional Officer (JPO) programme sponsored by the Government of Finland and is for FINNISH NATIONALS ONLY.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the direct supervision of the Programme Policy Officer for Country Capacity Strengthening, the JPO will have the following responsibilities:

Support countries and country offices in the development of domestic and international commitments to the School Meals Coalition.
Support the School Meals Coalitions Community of Practise lead by the government of Germany.
Support in the formulation of a roster of technical, advocacy and governance/public finance management expertise that WFP can draw on as needed for country capacity strengthening and transition.
Ensure the alignment of Country Strategic Plans with the School Feeding Strategy and United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks.
Research and Analyse experiences from different Regional Bureaus and other UN agencies in country capacity strengthening and supporting the school feeding transition processes.
Contribute to the identification of gaps in corporate guidance and tools for engaging with governments.
Keep abreast of corporate guidance related to country capacity strengthening and south-south triangular cooperation and update SBP guidance as appropriate.
Contribute to the preparation of accurate and timely reporting on school feeding in transition settings that enables informed decision making and consistency of information presented to stakeholders.
Participate and document meetings and engage with other functional units, RBs and COs, to develop content and talking points on the School Meals Coalition and School Feeding in Transition.
Any other duties in support of the Programme Support Team and other teams in the division.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

Countries in the School Meals Coalition receive the needed support to develop domestic and international commitments.
WFP guidance on country capacity strengthening is informed by a proper review of existing evidence
Country Strategic Plan design process receive needed support on country capacity strengthening for school feeding programmes.
Roster of technical country capacity strengthening expertise developed based on government, country office and regional office needs and priorities.

ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

Advanced University degree in Public Policy, Public Administration, Public Finance, International Affairs, Economics, Nutrition/Health, Agriculture, Environmental Science, Social Sciences or other field relevant to international development assistance, or First University Degree with additional years of related work experience and/or trainings/courses;
Two years of relevant working experience in the subject matter;
Fluency in English;
Minimum basic knowledge of Finnish or Swedish languages;
Proficiency in Windows MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook);
Behavioural competencies such as Action Management, Client Orientation, Cognitive Capacity, Innovation, Partnering and Teamwork;
Be maximum 32 years old before 31 December 2022;
Be a Finnish national.

DESIRABLE REQUIREMENTS

To perform the wide range of tasks and excel in this position, the ideal candidate would also possess:

Exposure to the international arena either by direct work for an international institution/organization; or, if working for a national entity, by way of interacting with international stakeholders;
Intermediate level of one, or more, of the following official languages: French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Portuguese;
WFP’s international professionals are required to serve in different locations around the world during the course of their career (including in hardship duty stations); willingness to be mobile would maximise opportunities for long-term retention into the Organization.

SUPERVISION

The Junior Professional Officer reports directly to the Programme and Policy Officer for Country Capacity Strengthening under the overall supervision of the Head of Programme Support within the School Based Programme Service. She / he works closely with other members of the School Based Programme Service and with staff at headquarters, regional offices, and country offices.

The Programme Policy Officer for Country Capacity Strengthening supervises the Junior Professional Officer and assists in carrying out the tasks entrusted to her/him, so that she/he can gain experience in the functions and gradually assume increasing responsibilities.

Specific responsibilities will also be defined based on the team’s annual performance plan, the academic qualifications and previous work experience of the successful candidate, as well as operational requirements. A detailed work and training plan will be established and updated at regular intervals. A formal and documented evaluation of professional performance will be conducted against this work plan every six months.

TRAINING COMPONENTS

The Junior Program Officer will benefit from specific career opportunities through the experience and skills that she/he will have gained during the assignment, as well as the increasing responsibilities that she/he will carry out. She/he will work in tandem with several members of the School Based Programme Service and other WFP Divisions throughout the assignment period and will thus gain directly valuable cross-sectoral expertise in WFP's areas of work. She/he will follow various compulsory training at the beginning of the assignment period and will then be able to benefit from a training program based on her/his functions and individual qualifications. At an appropriate time, the Program Policy Officer will be able to join the Comprehensive Learning Journey for New Program Managers. The modules of this training include the design and implementation of emergency programs, collaboration with governments on policy and policy issues, and fundamental aspects of food security and nutrition.

LEARNING ELEMENTS

At the end of the two-year assignment, the JPO should have obtained:

Very good knowledge of WFP’s activities and programmes with a particular focus on school-based programmes
Good skills in the planning process for political advocacy, strategies, policies and programs at the level of a large global and multicultural organization such as WFP and at the country level
In-depth knowledge of the issues related to access to education, quality of education, food and nutrition for children, country capacity strengthening in the different countries/regional bureaus she / he will have supported during the assignment period;
Familiarity with the main principles of work in transition to national ownership;
Good general understanding of WFP’s overall operations and activities in the region of assignment.

VA Reference no: 156050

Closing Date: 16 February 2022

Please note that the deadline is at 11:59 pm Rome time (GMT + 1)

INFORMATION ON THE COUNTRY OF ASSIGNMENT

Living conditions in Rome, Italy

The security situation in Italy remains in line with other European Countries. There are no specific threats against the UN in Italy. Considering the ongoing defeat of Daesh in the war territories, the trend in the short and mid-term will most likely continue to see the return of the militants to the countries of origins, including Italy. Insurrectional anarchism remains sufficiently organized on the Italian territory, as it has been present for many years. This movement could target the UN in the context of its anti-capitalism/anti-western narrative. 2) Whilst UN staff continue to be victims of minor crime such as street robbery and apartment break-ins, the infrequency of attacks and random nature of locations do not indicate that UN staff are at an elevated risk in comparison to residents or tourists in Italy. 3) Italy’s national territory is exposed to a broader range of natural hazards than any other European country. The vulnerability of its population and built environment is often severe and has in some cases been exacerbated by human activities.

WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles.

Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis, and we are committed to promoting diversity and gender balance. WFP has zero tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status.

Female applicants and individuals with disabilities

are especially encouraged to apply.

Apply now

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