Programme Assistant SC5

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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.

ABOUT WFP

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. As the international community has committed to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition by 2030, one in nine people worldwide still do not have enough to eat. Food and food-related assistance lie at the heart of the struggle to break the cycle of hunger and poverty. For its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict, WFP was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020.

Malawi is a small landlocked country in Southern Africa. With a population expanding rapidly at 3 percent per year and the majority of livelihoods dependent on agriculture, the population is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate-related disasters. Poverty is experienced by most rural families, with those headed by women suffering the most. Relying on small parcels of densely cultivated land for their livelihoods, rural Malawians are highly affected by climate change. Episodes of drought as well as severe flooding are increasing in frequency, intensity and unpredictability, giving the most vulnerable households inadequate time to recover.

Malawi’s challenges are also compounded by high rates of HIV infection (at 9.6 percent), low primary school completion rate (at 51 percent) and chronic under-nutrition (at 37 percent for children under 5). WFP continues to partner with the government, other UN agencies, NGOs, civil society and the private sector to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, with a particular emphasis on reaching Zero Hunger (SDG 2), addressing structural drivers of hunger wherever possible.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Completion of secondary school education. A post-secondary certificate in the related functional area is desirable. Language: Fluency in both oral and written communication in English. Knowledge of the local language or any UN language will be an added advantage.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

This job is found in WFP Malawi Country office based in Blantyre. Jobholders typically report to the Programme Officer at Blantyre Sub Office, or the designate. At this level, job holders are responsible for the completion of a range of specialized and/or standardized processes and activities requiring some interpretation of standard guidelines and practices. Job holders are able to recommend a course of action to staff at various levels and may allocate tasks to other support staff. They work under minimum supervision, perform basic analyses and compile reports to support information consistency and smooth implementation of programmes/projects.

JOB PURPOSE

To perform specialized and/or standardized policy and programme-related processes and activities to support the effective delivery of assistance packages.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

• Provide administrative, logistical and communication support to key sections within the Programme Team (Resilience, Nutrition and School Meals), including timely processing of cash requests, cash forecasting, working advance returns, and verification of codes.
• Support contracting and procurement processes by collaborating closely with relevant WFP units.
• Assist in the preparation and coordination of activity plans for programmes (e.g. leave and travel plans, meeting support including sending invitations, preparing minutes and ensuring their timely dissemination, establishing bi-weekly calls and other internal and external meeting arrangements).
• Assist in inventory/record keeping and distribution of programme NFIs including NFI database management, registers and ration cards, FFA tools, counseling cards and report books, commodity disposal certificates, approved distribution plans etc.
• Support in SCOPE registration of FFA, IFA and VSL participants and issuance of SCOPE identity cards.
• Follow up with partners in liaison with the field offices and Country Office to ensure timely submission of FACE forms and invoice claims/payment requests. introduce and manage a tracking system that includes receipt and filing of partner fuel receipts , invoice claims and payment request submission, including partners monthly reports, e.g. from District School Meals Coordinators, Resilience partners.
• Produce partners' payments weekly and monthly status reports;
• Facilitate vendor creation request process with the Country Office Administration Team;
• Provide support in the preparation of food and/cash transfer distribution plans and updates when required.
• Provide support in cash reconciliation processes for all ‘cash based transfer to beneficiaries’ activities for the Programme Unit with the relevant partners.
• Assist in organizing monthly and quarterly field staff coordination meetings. This will include support in the travel arrangements, snacks and other administrative arrangements required for the meeting

4Ps CORE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES

Purpose

• Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives: Helps teammates articulate WFP’s Strategic Objectives.
• Be a force for positive change: Suggests potential improvements to team’s work processes to supervisor.
• Make the mission inspiring to our team: Explains the impact of WFP activities in beneficiary communities to teammates.
• Make our mission visible in everyday actions: Articulates how own unit’s responsibilities will serve WFP’s mission.

People

• Look for ways to strengthen people's skills: Trains junior teammates on new skills and capabilities.
• Create an inclusive culture: Seeks opportunities to work with people from different backgrounds.
• Be a coach & provide constructive feedback: Serves as a peer coach for colleagues in same area of work.
• Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit: Tracks progress toward goals and shares this information on a regular basis with supervisor.

Performance

• Encourage innovation & creative solutions: Explores ways to consistently be more efficient and accurate in own areas of work and shares new methods of work with colleagues.
• Focus on getting results: Focuses on getting results and tracks trends in completion rates for own tasks to identify opportunities for efficiency.
• Make commitments and make good on commitments: Takes responsibility for own tasks and notifies supervisor as soon as possible of potential delays in meeting deadlines or commitments.
• Be Decisive: Independently decides what action to take when faced with critical choices in the workplace or in dangerous situations in the field.

Partnership

• Connect and share across WFP units: Suggests opportunities for partnering with other units to supervisor.
• Build strong external partnerships: Identifies opportunities to work with colleagues and partners in the field towards common goals.
• Be politically agile & adaptable: Develops an understanding of the value of WFP’s teams and external partners in fulfilling team’s goals and objectives.
• Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships: Aligns own activities with supervisor’s priorities to fulfill internal and external partner needs.

FUNCTIONAL CAPABILITIES

Capability Name Description of the behaviour expected for the proficiency level Programme Lifecycle & Food Assistance Can facilitate implementation of food assistance programmes under guidance using basic understanding of principles and good practices of programme design, implementation and monitoring. Transfer Modalities (Food, Cash, Vouchers) Demonstrates ability to facilitate, under guidance, food assistance programme implementation that deploys full range of transfer modalities with an understanding of basic principles guiding modality selection and implementation. Knowledge of Specialized Areas Understands basic technical concepts and data andtheir relevance to food assistance programmes. Emergency Programming Displays capacity to provide inputs into the development, implementation and realignment of high quality emergency programmes. Strategic Policy Engagement w/Govt Understands and applies basic principles of engagement with government counterparts at the national or local level.

OTHER SPECIFIC JOB REQUIREMENTS

• Coordinate weekly transport requirements for the sub-Office Programme Unit and submit consolidated travel requests to the Admin unit.
• Coordinate selection or files for archiving and assist in maintaining proper filling and archiving (both electronic and physical) of Programme documents to enable prompt retrieval.
• Support the organization of field visits, missions and other travel.

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

• Has facilitated communication with technical teams (i.e. nutrition, VAM, etc.). • Has contributed to implementation of programmes. • Has observed or assisted with policy discussions.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

26 April 2021

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Female applicants 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.