Programme Officer(Rice Fortification)-Vientiane

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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 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.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

These jobs are found in Headquarters (HQ), Regional Bureaux (RBs) or Country Offices (COs) and job holders report to a more senior Programme Policy Officer. Job holders operate with a high degree of independence, manage more junior staff to ensure that programme and policy objectives are achieved in full. They are usually involved in a wide variety of programme and policy activities and analytical work, some of which may be of a considerable complexity. At this level job holders are expected to contribute to performance improvement.

JOB PURPOSE

In 2017, WFP conducted a rice landscape analysis in Lao PDR indicating that Laos has sufficient rice for consumption. Rice is the most important staple food in Lao PDR, and it is also the country’s main agricultural product. As rice is a good source of energy, but a poor source of micronutrients, it is a suitable vehicle for increasing micronutrient intake. To support this, the Ministry of Health endorsed the Food Fortification Strategy 2018, with rice being one possible vehicle for fortification.

Given the above, WFP will work closely with the relevant Government Departments of Lao PDR, in particular, the Ministry of Health, in designing an efficient, scalable, sustainable and financially feasible production and distribution model for fortified rice production and distribution to address malnutrition in Lao PDR.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

The overall objective of this assignment is to provide support to the Government of Lao PDR to develop a national roadmap, which includes a technical guideline for rice fortification in Lao PDR. The key activities proposed during this assignment are divided into three phases. The consultant will lead phase 1 and phase 3 of this assignment. The consultant will act as a support to WFP technical officer/s for the activities that are part of phase 2.

Phase 1

1. Identify, document, and recommend suitable supply chain and operational models to introduce fortified rice to the WFP school feeding programme/social protection programmes through a desk review and consultation meetings.

Phase 2

1. Support the technical assessment of different types of rice mills (small, medium, large as referenced in the Laos rice landscape analysis report) to determine their capacity and interest to blend fortified rice kernels at the required specifications (typically 1%). This assessment includes an on-site assessment;
2. Conduct at least one blending trial in each of the three main types of rice mills;
3. Produce a detailed report of the results which should include costed recommendations on additional blending equipment requirements, if any, and the associated installation and commissioning plan.

4Ps CORE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES

Purpose

• Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives: Understands WFP’s Strategic Objectives and the link to own work objectives.
• Be a force for positive change: Flexibly adapts individual contributions to accommodate changes in direction from supervisors and internal/external changes (such as evolving needs of beneficiaries, new requirements of partners).
• Make the mission inspiring to our team: Recognizes and shares with team members the ways in which individual contributions relate to WFP’s mission.
• Make our mission visible in everyday actions: Sets own goals in alignment with WFP’s overall operations, and is able to communicate this link to others.

People

• Look for ways to strengthen people's skills: Assesses own strengths and weaknesses to increase self-awareness, and includes these in conversations on own developmental needs.
• Create an inclusive culture: Participates in open dialogue, and values the diverse opinion of others, regardless of background, culture, experience, or country assignment.
• Be a coach & provide constructive feedback: Proactively seeks feedback and coaching to build confidence, and develop and improve individual skills.
• Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit: Participates in accomplishing team activities and goals in the face of challenging circumstances.

Performance

• Encourage innovation & creative solutions: Shows willingness to explore and experiment with new ideas and approaches in own work.
• Focus on getting results: Consistently delivers results within individual scope of work on time, on budget and without errors.
• Make commitments and make good on commitments: Commits to upholding individual accountabilities and responsibilities in the face of ever-changing country or functional priorities.
• Be Decisive: Makes rational decisions about individual activities when faced with uncertain circumstances, including in times of ambiguity regarding information or manager direction.

Partnership

• Connect and share across WFP units: Seeks to understand and adapt to internal or cross-unit teams’ priorities and preferred working styles.
• Build strong external partnerships: Demonstrates ability to understand and appropriately respond to and/or escalate needs of external partners.
• Be politically agile & adaptable: Portrays an informed and professional demeanor toward internal and external partners and stakeholders.
• Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships: Provides operational support on analyses and assessments that quantifies and demonstrates WFP’s unique value as a partner.

FUNCTIONAL CAPABILITIES

Capability Name Description of the behaviour expected for the proficiency level Programme Lifecycle & Food Assistance Displays ability to identify the main hunger problem at the national or subnational level to design and implement context-specific programmes that integrate complex analysis and the full range of food assistance tools. Transfer Modalities (Food, Cash, Voucher) Demonstrates ability to analyse and consolidate quantitative and qualitative information from different sources (e.g., market studies) to inform transfer modality selection and programme development. Broad Knowledge of Specialized areas (i.e. Nutrition, VAM, etc.) Demonstrates the ability to interpret basic data in the context of WFP specialised fields to contribute to technical programme design, implementation and monitoring. Emergency Programming Displays ability to translate understanding of programme principles in emergencies and protracted conflict situations into relevant, effective, and context specific approaches. Strategic Policy Engagement w/ Government Develops thorough recommendations using multiple inputs (e.g., government counsel, research, own experience) to strengthen national or subnational entities and government owned food and nutrition security programmes.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Advanced University degree in International Affairs, Economics, Nutrition/Health, Agriculture, Environmental Science, Social Sciences or other fields relevant to international development assistance, or First University Degree with additional years of related work experience and/or trainings/courses.

Language: Fluency (level C) in English language and Lao

OTHER SPECIFIC JOB REQUIREMENTS

• Knowledge of the Lao PDR National Plan of Action for Nutrition, micronutrient intervention strategies and food fortification initiatives.
• Hands-on experience working in rice milling sector, food industry or relevant field. Especially in the areas of scale up and process validation.
• Demonstrated understanding of rice supply chains and food processing.
• Knowledge of social protection with in-kind food assistance.
• Proven experience in working with micronutrient interventions projects and more specifically with food fortification initiatives.

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

• 8 years or more of relevant work experience in above mentioned education fields
• Experience engaging with private sector, specifically the food and beverage industry, working with government agencies and/or working in the development sector.
• Knowledge of and experience on projects focused on supply chain of agriculture inputs and commodities.
• Excellent organizational and project management skills and ability to work with a high degree of autonomy (self-starter).
• Strong communication and information-gathering skills; ability to engage with various stakeholders with maturity and tact, proven diplomacy and cultural sensitivity.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Contract Type: Special Service Agreement (SSA) - National staff only

Duration: 6 months

Grade: SSA9

Duty station: Vientiane

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

Opening date: 20 August 2021

Closing date: 2 September 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.