Programme Policy Officer (CBT), Service Contract (SC9), Duty Station: Harare, 1 year contract duration

Programme & Policy

Overview

Lead and manage cash-based transfer operations for emergency response.

You have:

• Advanced University Degree in Economics, Business, Social Studies or Development Studies.
• At least three years of postgraduate experience working with cash and/or voucher-based programming in an emergency/post-emergency environment.
• Familiarity with digital CBT systems, operational arrangements, and beneficiary database management (e.g. WFP’s SCOPE).
• Experience in project implementation, coordination across functional teams, and managing CBT team.
• Fluency (level C) in English language and the duty station’s language.
• Strong oral and written communication skills to clearly articulate insights to different audiences.
• Excellent skills in word processing, PowerPoint, Excel, and data analysis.
• Ability to coordinate with different humanitarian stakeholders.
• Willingness to travel to the field when required.

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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

Zimbabwe is a low-income country with a population of 15.6 million, of which almost 63 percent living below the poverty line. The country is currently facing the worst humanitarian crisis in a decade, as a result of climatic, economic, and political factors. The situation is exacerbated by COVID-19 affecting livelihoods of both rural and urban communities pushing them further towards food insecurity.

Urban food insecurity and poverty has seen a sharp increase across Zimbabwe. The 2019 Vulnerability Assessment (ZimVac) highlighted that over 2.2 million people in urban areas are cereal food insecure and at least 1.7 million in urban areas are facing food crisis (IPC Phase 3). Due to COVID-19, the number of food insecure has been estimated to increase to 3.3 million in urban areas alone. Almost one-third of Zimbabwe’s population resides in urban areas with the significant majority being classified as poor with the number likely to increase further due to COVID-19. Thirty percent (30%) of urban households are failing to cope in the face of a combination of rapid-onset and slow-onset economic and climate shocks. WFP is responding to the needs of the urban populations with a programme that includes both cash transfers and vouchers. The Urban Social Assistance Programme currently serves 326,000 beneficiaries across the country.

In rural areas, WFP implements an emergency Lean Season Assistance (LSA) programme to provide in-kind monthly food rations. However, WFP continues to conduct market functionality assessments to determine the effectiveness of modalities. The modality decision is informed by the prevailing macro-economic situation in Zimbabwe, characterized by unstable prices, spiraling inflation, and increased prices for basic commodities. However, given the unpredictability of the market and availability of food, WFP needs to ensure a flexible approach, which could include a switch to cash and vouchers in certain areas.

JOB PURPOSE

WFP Zimbabwe seeks a qualified candidate for the CBT Programme Policy Officer position. The CBT Programme Policy Officer will provide strategic leadership to WFP’s work in the cash and voucher sector, providing advisory support in the choice between different implementation modalities and representing WFP in conversations with partners and with the government. The CBT Programme Policy Officer would be the cash operations focal point for the country office and manage the CBT portfolio providing effective support to Activity Leads to ensure programme delivery. The CO also has adopted a strategy to provide all assistance through WFP’s corporate beneficiary management and transfer system called SCOPE. The latter is also used to partner with the GoZ and UNICEF to work towards a national single registry for social protection programmes and to test its use for shock-responsive social protection.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

The CBT Policy Officer would report to the Urban Lead, performing the following tasks:

• Lead Cash Based Transfers operations under the Programme Unit functional areas and manage the CBT team.
• Develop and update, on a quarterly basis, the CBT workplan;
• Operations lead coordinating and implementing different cash disbursement mechanisms at the CO level including mobile money, cash in transit, remittance exchange and e-voucher.
• Supporting reconciliation of cash disbursements, payment of service fees, and beneficiary database;
• Support planning and coordination of CBT multi-sectoral assessments for different districts and domains to guide modality selection;
• Overall day-to-day oversight and management of CBT operations and support SCOPE to facilitate the implementation and monitoring of CBT-based programmes at the Field Office-level;
• Liaise closely with other WFP CO units who have direct responsibilities for elements of the operational management of CBT delivery, including Finance, Supply Chain, Procurement, Budget and Programming;
• Coordinating CBT risk identification and development of mitigation strategies;

Key Accountabilities Continued

• Conduct quarterly review and update of CBT SOPs based on corporate guidelines defining roles and responsibilities of all units and field offices involved;
• Under the authority of the Head of Programmes, coordinate the internal CBT Working Group to ensure the application of common standards across the CO.
• In coordination with the activity managers, liaise closely with the relevant government authorities, development partners, and NGOs engaged in CBT activities;
• Closely coordinate with the CO’s M&E unit to ensure that the output and outcome indicators relevant to the CBT are regularly and timely captured, analysed and reported;
• Undertake visits to projects sites to meet with partners, beneficiaries, and stakeholders in order to review programme progress;
• Contribute to the preparation of project proposals and other fund-raising material related to interventions that include CBT components;
• Provide timely operations input to WFP internal and external reports, and other regular and ad-hoc reporting requirements;
• Build CBT staff capacity in CBT and SCOPE-related business processes

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

Education: Advanced University Degree in : Economics, business, Social Studies or Development Studies, or First University Degree with additional years of related work experience and/or trainings/courses.

Experience:

• At least three years of postgraduate experience working with cash and/or voucher-based programming in an emergency/post-emergency environment;
• Familiarity with digital CBT systems, operational arrangements, and beneficiary database management (e.g. WFP’s SCOPE).
• Experience in project implementation, coordination across functional teams, and managing CBT team.
• Experience in collaborating with public and private sector actors.

Language: Fluency (level C) in English language and the duty station’s language.

Knowledge & Skills:

• Excellent work planning and project management skills; ideally demonstrated in a humanitarian and development context.
• Excellent skills in word processing, power point, excel and data analysis.
• At this level, job holders are expected to demonstrate responsibility and initiative to respond independently to various queries with only general guidance. There is a requirement to use judgment in dealing with unforeseen operational problems daily.
• Strong oral and written communications skills to clearly articulate insights to different audiences. Excellent ability to coordinate across multiple units and organizations.
• Experience of conducting staff capacity building on cash-based transfers programming;
• Excellent leadership and interpersonal skills to coordinate with different humanitarian stakeholders;
• Willingness to travel to the field, when required;
• Solid organizational skills including attention to detail and multitasking skills.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Qualified candidates are requested to submit their application via E- Recruitment attaching a signed application letter and a signed Personal History Form (P11) available at http://www.unon.org/docs/P11.doc Applicants are also requested to submit a Curriculum Vitae.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for the recruitment processes.

Only nationals of Zimbabwe can be considered for this vacancy.

WFP DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING)

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

The deadline date for applications is 21 July 2021.

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Female applicants who are qualified and experienced are especially encouraged to apply

WFP has zero tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status or disability.

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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Potential interview questions

Added 5 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: wfp.org