Programme & Policy

Overview

Provide effective technical support for food assistance projects

You have:

• A university degree or high-level Diploma supplemented by courses in General Agriculture, Crop Science, Irrigation Engineering, Rural Development, Development Economics.
• A minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in implementing projects.
• Fluency in both oral and written communication in the UN language at the duty station and the local language if different.
• Proven capability to work under pressure and multi-task effectively.
• Ability to drive a motorbike with a full driving license.

.

WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.

Department: Programme Unit

Duty Stations: Potoru, Barri chiefdom, Pujehun District

Gbangbatoke, Lower and Upper Banta chiefdoms, Moyamba District (overseeing implementation in Moriba Town, Imperri chiefdom, Bonthe District)

Position Title: Programme Associate

Contract Type: Fixed term contract

Post Grade: G6

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes. Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need.

JOB PURPOSE

To provide effective specialized support and technical analyses to policy and programme activities that effectively meet food assistance needs.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

Under activity 5: Provide integrated resilience building support to smallholder farmers, including farmers’ organizations and women’s groups of Sierra Leone’s 2020-24 Country Strategic Plan, WFP is working with the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) to build the capacities of Farmer Based Organisations (FBOs). Specific support includes:

1. Technical supervision to the development and rehabilitation of small-scale irrigation systems in Inland Valley Swamps (IVS) and provision of tools and machinery
2. Training in the Technical Package on Rice Production using the Farmer Field School approach, and timely provision of quality inputs (seed rice and fertilizer)
3. Training in nutrition-sensitive agriculture and timely provision of Improved Planting Materials support to compost preparation
4. Training in Post-Harvest Management and provision of processing machinery
5. Building marketing capacities of FBOs and linking them to WFP programmes – particularly through Home Grown School Feeding - and other markets
6. Developing organizational governance and financial management capacities of FBOs
7. Restoring degraded ecosystems through reforestation and improved soil management practices
8. Increasing financial inclusion through effective management of Village Savings and Loans Associations
9. Supporting Mother Support Groups to diversify their Income Generating Activities through poultry management and vegetable, legume and tuber cultivation and transformation

Through its close working relationship with MOA, WFP is also strengthening the capacities of extension workers to build food security in their operational areas

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

Under the direct supervision of the Activity Manager for Asset Creation and Livelihood and in close consultation with the WFP Kenema Head of Sub-Office, the Programme Associate will be responsible for monitoring and supervising implementation of project activities and collecting data for accurate reports. Specifically, the Programme Associate will perform the following tasks:

1. Field- Coordination

• Support coordination with district-level government partners and local stakeholders to ensure timely and quality implementation of the project at field level.
• Work in close coordination with the MOA at district level to ensure timely and quality implementation of planned agricultural livelihood activities in alignment with the seasonal calendar.
• Ensure effective coordination between FBOs and primary schools targeted under WFP’s Home-Grown School Feeding programme.
• Coordinate district-level market linkage group that brings together MOA, FBOs, agribusinesses and other private-sector buyers.
• Perform other related activities as requested.

2. Programme Implementation

• Work in close collaboration with MOA Agricultural Engineering Division to ensure timely rehabilitation and enhancement of irrigation systems.
• Closely supervise the activities of the Block Extension Supervisors (BES) and Field Extension Workers (FEWs) to ensure that they are completing activities in line with the approve partnership agreements and cropping calendar.
• Monitor the implementation of FFS for TPRP and nutrition-sensitive agriculture and the field adoption of improved practices disseminated.
• Work in close collaboration with the Forestry division to ensure timely restoration and maintenance of water catchment areas.

• Work in close collaboration with the Livestock division to ensure that timely and quality technical assistance is given to Mother Support Groups managing poultry enterprises.

• In collaboration with MOA, provide oversight to VSLA activities and on-the-job support to the groups to enhance record keeping practices and identify viable Income Generating Activities.

• Work closely with FBOs to improve their organizational governance and financial management, and promote a culture of autonomy, accountability and transparency.
• Provide technical oversight to aggregator processing, storage, and record-keeping activities.
• In collaboration with MOA, provide oversight and on-the-job training to Community Youth Contractors.
• Monitor and review any food and Non-Food-Item deliveries, storage, transportation and distribution at the designated sites and verifying if the amounts received have been properly recorded, damaged or suspected to be damaged.
• Supervise the efficient distribution of food/cash and non-food items at the site and ensure proper distribution of entitlements, verifying that appropriate entitlements are distributed.
• Oversee the delivery of trainings to beneficiaries, ensuring quality implementation.

3. Monitoring and Reporting

• In collaboration with WFP Research, Assessment and Monitoring (RAM) unit, undertake weekly monitoring of project activities and ensure that these are effectively documented, and lessons learned incorporated into the project cycle.
• Compile monthly monitoring data into a monthly report to be shared with the Programme Policy Officer to track project progress (Japan International Organisation grant)
• Support compilation of quarterly and annual project narrative reports to the Government of Japan.
• Closely monitor project expenditure to ensure that it is aligned with the approved project budget.
• Collect case studies, to showcase the impact of the project to the Government of Japan and the public.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education

A university degree or high-level Diploma supplemented by courses in; General Agriculture, Crop Science, Irrigation Engineering, Rural Development, Development Economics; etc. If the candidate lacks a formal qualification in agriculture, they must be able to demonstrate knowledge acquired through agricultural project management.

Experience

A minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience, with proven success in effectively implementing projects in challenging rural contexts.

Language: Fluency in both oral and written communication in the UN language in use at the duty station and in the duty station’s language, if different.

Expected Results:

Must be team-oriented, with good interpersonal skills and have an ability to communicate effectively, both written and orally, including towards community people particularly women. Demonstrate ability to plan, organize, prioritize, follow-through and evaluate assigned functions and duties. A thorough knowledge of UN rules, regulations and procedures will be an advantage.

Critical Success factors

Excellent communication and inter-personal skills. Proven capability to work under pressure and multi-task in a professional manner. Ability to perform detailed and high volumes of work quickly and accurately under time constraints. Excellent math and quantitative analysis skills. Strong MS Word and Excel skills. Sound judgment, ability to work independently with minimum supervision and effectively with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.

Special Requirements

- Ability to drive motorbike with full driving license is essential.

4Ps CORE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES

Purpose

• Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives: Coaches team in the most effective ways to communicate WFP’s Strategic Objectives to WFP team and partners in the field.
• Be a force for positive change: Implements new methods or tools to improve team’s work processes and productivity.
• Make the mission inspiring to our team: Maps team’s activities and tasks to specific successes in beneficiary communities to showcase positive impact.
• Make our mission visible in everyday actions: Explains to teammates how each unit contributes to the overall WFP mission.

People

• Look for ways to strengthen people's skills: Identifies skill development opportunities such as training modules or on-the-job experiences for self, colleagues and direct reports.
• Create an inclusive culture: Facilitates team building activities to build rapport in own unit.
• Be a coach & provide constructive feedback: Facilitates the pairing of junior colleagues with coaches within own team.
• Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit: Proactively anticipates potential challenges and develops mitigation plans to ensure that team meets goals and targets.

Performance

• Encourage innovation & creative solutions: Identifies opportunities to be creative in own work and to help team be more innovative and accurate in their respective tasks and areas of work.
• Focus on getting results: Monitors team’s deliverables and provides feedback to ensure outcomes are delivered consistently and accurately.
• Make commitments and make good on commitments: Provides accurate guidance to team on expected responsibilities and tasks, whilst also upholding own commitment to the team.
• Be Decisive: Sets an example and provides guidance to junior team members on when to escalate issues when faced with challenging issues in the workplace or in the field.

Partnership

• Connect and share across WFP units: Facilitates partnerships with other WFP units to accomplish missions in the field.
• Build strong external partnerships: Sets an example and provides guidance to team on how to build relationships with external partners.
• Be politically agile & adaptable: Articulates to colleagues or direct reports the value of contributing to other WFP teams and agency partnerships in fulfilling WFP’s goals and objectives.
• Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships: Organizes, monitors, and prioritizes own and team’s efforts to ensure that they will fulfil the needs of internal and external partners.

FUNCTIONAL CAPABILITIES

Capability Name Description of the behaviour expected for the proficiency level Programme Lifecycle & Food Assistance Demonstrates ability to identify key variables and contextual factors that affect food assistance problems and programmes throughout the lifecycle to inform quality programme design or re-design. Transfer Modalities (Food, Cash, Vouchers) Demonstrates ability to implement, under guidance, food assistance programmes deploying the full range of transfer modalities with an understanding of basic principles guiding modality selection and implementation. Broad Knowledge of Specialized Areas Understands basic technical concepts and data and their 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/Government Understands and applies basic principles of engagement with government counterparts at the national or local level.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Position open to Sierra Leone Nationals only

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

WFP offers a competitive compensation package which will be determined by the contract type and selected candidate’s qualifications and experience.

The contract duration is 12 months for Fixed Term Contract holders.

Please visit the following websites for detailed information on working with WFP.

http://www.wfp.org Click on: “Our work” and “Countries” to learn more about WFP’s operations.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

5 August 2022

.

All employment decisions are made on the basis of 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.

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.

Apply now

Potential interview questions

Added 3 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: wfp.org