Programme Policy Officer - Disaster Risk Management NOB

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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

Following Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, WFP launched the Office for Caribbean Emergency Preparedness & Response in Barbados (WFP Caribbean) in 2018. WFP Caribbean office works closely with CDEMA and its participating states to enhance emergency preparedness, while also maintaining WFP’s operational readiness to respond to such events in support of CDEMA and governments. WFP Caribbean has a combination of features that distinguish it from other WFP offices globally. The office covers multiple states (22 countries and territories), and the office’s primary work is on capacity-strengthening. The main partner of WFP is CDEMA.

To date, capacity strengthening has focused on two primary areas. The first is creating linkages between social protection and disaster risk management, broadly referred to “shock-responsive social protection”. There are several instances in the Caribbean of social protection programmes – or the systems and institutions underpinning them –playing a direct role in emergency and recovery efforts. A common thread of these experiences is that the social protection programmes and systems were adapted to play these roles after a disaster or shock. A key objective of WFP Caribbean is to strengthen the capacities of governments ahead of shocks to respond through social protection systems and programmes. This has been accelerated as a result of COVID-19, and WFP is prioritizing supporting governments in their use of social protection in response to the COVID-19. The other primary focus on the office is supporting the end-to-end management of relief supply chains and improving telecommunications, coordination and response. An additional area of WFP Caribbean’s work is cross-cutting – vulnerability analysis.

One element of WFP’s work on shock-responsive social protection is financing, meaning efforts to help establish more predictable funding for responses to shocks through social protection. Towards this end, WFP Caribbean developed a risk financing strategy. The objectives of WFP’s risk financing strategy for the Caribbean are two-fold: (1) to advocate for the enhancement of regional and national risk financing capacities to ensure that countries’ most vulnerable populations are better protected; and (2) to enable adequate and fast financing to reach these vulnerable populations through shock-responsive systems if a major event is forecast or occurs.

JOB PURPOSE

This role will focus on WFP’s overall programming on shock-responsive social protection in the Caribbean, including the linkages with disaster risk financing (DRF). This will include working to strengthen risk financing options for social protection, undertaking analysis underpinning WFP’s support to partners and governments, leading the implementation of activities that bridge DRF and social protection, contributing to proposals, engaging with relevant stakeholders, facilitating trainings/information sessions/consultations and providing overall support to the implementation of WFP’s wide-range programmatic work, including emergency responses as needed.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

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

Experience: Three or more years of postgraudate professional experience or First University Degree with five years or more professional related experience.

Language:Fluency (level C) in English language both written and oral.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

1. Contribute towards the development of a wide variety of projects, plans and processes, ensuring alignment with wider programme policies and guidance.
   2. Provide project management support to specific and defined programmes and projects of considerable size/complexity, ensuring a coordinated approach with wider programmes that complies with WFP standards and procedures.
   3. Develop and coordinate data gathering and monitoring systems ensuring that rigorous quality standards are maintained.
   4. Research and analyse a range of policy and operational issues to inform the development of policies, programmes and activities.
   5. Contribute to the preparation of accurate and timely reporting on programmes and activities that enable informed decision making and consistency of information presented to stakeholders.
   6. Liaise with internal and external counterparts to ensure effective collaboration, monitor ongoing projects and highlight potential risks to project delivery.
   7. Support the identification, development and management of potential partnerships to collaborative working leading to improved food assistance packages.
   8. Support the capacity building of WFP staff, partners and national government to prepare for and respond to food assistance needs, e.g. through providing inputs into training materials.
   9. Guide and supervise more junior staff, acting as a point of referral and supporting them with analysis and queries.
   10. Other as required.

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.

OTHER SPECIFIC JOB REQUIREMENTS

• Strong understanding of the intersection of social protection and disaster risk management in the Caribbean, including engaging with governments on this topic
• Experience working with different stakeholders at national and community-level to better understand vulnerability to shocks, including climate-related shocks and risks
• Experience supporting and developing disaster risk finance tools and strategies, such as parametric insurance
• Engagement with governments on strengthening capacities and systems for preparedness and response through social protection
• Clear writing as demonstrated through contributions to studies, reports or similar documents
• On-the-ground experience supporting responses to disasters or other shocks (e.g. COVID-19)
• Strong understanding of CDEMA and CARICOM institutions
• Previous work experience with the World Food Programme
• Experience presenting at meetings and public events

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

• Has deepened technical knowledge through exposure to technical teams. • Has taken leadership of implementing programmes. • Has provided input into policy discussions and decisions.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

• Please note that applications received after the deadline will not be considered and only short-listed qualified candidates will receive an acknowledgement.
• Only open to citizens of Barbados or CARICOM Member States: Antigua & Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Haiti, Montserrat, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent $ the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad & Tobago.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

15 April 2021

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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.