PD Internship Programme 2021 – NGO Partnership Intern

Banjul, The Gambia

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the leading humanitarian organization saving lives and changing lives, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. We are currently seeking motivated and qualified candidates to fill positions of the 2021 Policy and Programme Department (PD) Internship Programme.

The position will either be based in our Programme Unit of the Country Office based in Banjul City, in The Gambia, or home-based, depending on the pandemic-caused restrictions. The internship will be typically for the period of at least 3 months during June to August/September 2021.

Brief description of Country Office focus activities:

WFP Gambia’s Country Strategic Plan (CSP) 2019-2021 aims to support the Government in reaching the goals of the National Development Plan (2017-2021) through investments in sectors relevant to Sustainable Development Goal 2. This CSP positions WFP as an enabler for the Government and combines direct implementation and capacity support in the enhancement of the national transition process. WFP support constitutes direct operational support, knowledge transfer and technical assistance and it contributes to WFP's Strategic Results 1, 2, 3 and 5 in line with the National Development Plan, the National Social Protection Policy and the United Nations development assistance framework for 2017–2021.

The CSP focuses on contingency plans for response to shocks (Strategic outcome 1); building the resilience of vulnerable populations through nutrition-sensitive and gender-responsive social safety nets for children in primary and early childhood education, pregnant and lactating women and girls, children under 5 and smallholder farmers (Strategic outcomes 2, 3 and 4) and capacity strengthening to facilitate the alignment of national policies through an integrated approach to food and nutrition security that includes the school meals programme, nutrition interventions, social protection, disaster risk reduction and early-warning systems (Strategic outcome 5). Critical new focus areas will be support for development of a social protection system focused on mainstreaming the national school meals programme as a national safety net, food fortification, south-south and triangular cooperation, scaling up cash based transfer programming and increase NGO partner engagement. The country office (CO) aims to streamline all planning and implementation processes to ensure alignment with corporate standards and procedures.

Within The Gambia Country Office and in line with WFP corporate requirements and standards, the purpose of the job is to support systematic engagement and management of cooperating partnerships and other strategic partners in order to effectively meet the food assistance needs of beneficiaries.

General Information

• ****Title of Post:**** PD Internship_ NGO Partnership
• Supervisor: Head of Programme
• ****Unit:** Programme**
• Country: The Gambia
• Duty Station: Banjul
• Duration of internship: 3 months
• Expected Start Date: June 2021

Duties and responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of Head of Programme, the candidate will perform the following duties:

• Provide support to other functional units (Cash Based Transfers (CBT), School Feeding, Livelihoods/Social Protection, and Nutrition, Crisis Response) on Cooperating Partners (CP) engagement cycle management. This includes setting timelines of and facilitating partner selection process, building a consensus on outreach process, providing technical support in call for proposals, capacity assessment and evaluation of proposals, organizing Cooperating Partner Committee (CPC), drafting and finalizing Field-Level Agreement (FLA) with CPs, and supporting the process of CP performance evaluation.
• Assist the country office programme team in managing the corporate due diligence process on partner selection processes and evaluation are duly followed.
• Analyze potential risks in CP engagements and recommend risk mitigation measures.
• Contribute to the management of the performance evaluation process for the CPs implementing WFP’s food assistance programme, in coordination with the field office team.
• Identify, develop, and sustain liaison with CPs, potential partners, and strategic partners engaged in the field WFP operates to ensure effective collaboration. This includes organization of meetings and workshops with CPs to convey key messages and trainings to CP staff members with the aim of improving WFP’s programme effectiveness.
• Bring to the attention of Head of Programme and relevant functional units any constraints arising from engagement with CPs and other strategic partners that would require changes in the FLAs or future partner engagement strategy.
• Maintain records on CP and strategic partner engagement activities, from formulation stage through completion, by extracting relevant information from reports, project committees, and other documentation; make information available for reporting and operational purposes to enable informed decision making and consistency of information presented to stakeholders; and remind the functional teams on actions that require follow up to ensure engagement cycle deadlines are met.
• Draft correspondences/memoranda related to partnerships and FLAs.
• Perform other related duties as required, including ad-hoc reporting, meeting minutes, and preparation of notes.

Qualifications and experience

• Currently enrolled with in a graduate programme and have attended classes in the past 12 months, or a recent graduate from a graduate programme (within six months prior to the application to the internship programme) preferably in any of the following areas: Agriculture & and Environmental Science, Business & Public Administration Development Studies, and Social Work
• Proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook) and computer skills and experience of using spreadsheets and database software
• Previous relevant experience in humanitarian or development assistance would be an asset
• Excellent command of English; Working knowledge of a second UN language would be an asset.

Required soft skills/WFP Competencies:

• Excellent writing / reporting / presentation skills
• Good communication and interpersonal skills
• Able to work in multi-cultural environment
• Good analytical skills, initiative and independence
• Willing/able to work in high stress situations

Working Languages

Working knowledge of English (proficiency/level C) is required.

Supervision (Level/Methods of Supervision)

Under the direct supervision of the Head of Programme, the incumbent will be provided with close mentoring, guidance and technical supervision. Performance planning and reviews as well as learning and development discussions will be elemental part of the supervision. The Country Director will be the second-level supervisor. With the support of a comprehensive induction package and assignment of a buddy/mentor, the intern will rapidly become a productive member of the team.

Training components

Throughout their assignment WFP interns have access to an industry leading learning platform, WeLearn. Depending on opportunities and availability of funds, he/she may participate in WFP workshops or seminars, as appropriate.

Learning Elements

At the end of the assignment, the Intern should provide a brief assignment report highlighting the learning achieved during the assignment duration

Information on the Country of Assignment

Since the Gambia is a preferred destination for Europeans tourists, a considerable quantity of hotels of different star rating can be found in the Greater Banjul area. There is a variety of accommodation, from luxury hotels, self-catering apartments, and guesthouses to upcountry lodges.

The most common major health concerns in the Gambia are malaria, giardiasis, amoebic dysentery, and hepatitis. Many illnesses are entirely preventable if proper food and water precautions are taken. These illnesses include food poisoning, parasitic infections, hepatitis A, dysentery, tapeworms, and typhoid fever. Please bring a supply of any prescription drugs you use, since they may not be available here and it may take several months for shipments to arrive. The most important step in preventing malaria, and many other tropical diseases, is to avoid mosquito and other insect bites by sleeping under a mosquito net, wearing long-sleeved tops and long pants whenever possible, using insect repellent, and making sure your windows and doors have screens. The UN Dispensary is available as the first port of call for all consultation. Follow-up laboratory tests and medical examinations and treatments could be available from several private clinics as may be advised by the UN Physician.

In most of the Greater Banjul Area, the water supply system is fed from deep bore holes which is adequately chlorinated and considered safe for drinking. However, bottled mineral water is available from all hotels and supermarkets. Electricity in The Gambia is mostly limited to the area around the capital, Banjul. However, some large towns elsewhere in the country do have electricity for several hours a day.

There are many restaurants in the Gambia. Costs such as business dinner, dinner at a restaurant (non-fast food), hotel rates, take away drinks and snacks (fast food) is equally expensive on average compared to other cities in the region. In these restaurants, you can find variety of foods such as African, European and Continental. Vegetarian foods are also available in these restaurants.

The below link provides details of the living conditions, security, health in the Gambia: https://wellbeing.wfp.org/articles/thegambia-banjul

VA Reference no: 141742

Closing Date: 2 May 2021

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

Terms and Conditions:

• Interns receive a monthly stipend from WFP up to the maximum amount of US$1000 per month depending on the duty station of assignment.
• WFP is not responsible for living expenses, arrangements for accommodation, necessary visas and related costs.
• WFP will reimburse travel ticket for candidates who are nationals of developing countries and are pursuing their studies in their home country.
• WFP will recognize candidates’ educational credentials from recognised institutions that have been certified by competent international or national authorities such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) or Ministries of Education.
• Candidates who bear any of the following relations to WFP staff members are not eligible to apply: sons, daughters, brothers or sisters.

Female applicants and qualified applicants from developing countries are especially encouraged to apply. WFP has zero tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.

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