Programme Policy Officer - Nutrition and Food Systems Research Specialist

Vacancy Announcement

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WFP encourages female candidates and people with disabilities to apply.

WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles. Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis. We are committed to promoting diversity and the principle of equal employment opportunity for all our employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of religion or belief, ethnic or social background, gender, gender identity and disability.

Job Title: Programme Policy Officer – Nutrition and Food Systems Research Specialist

Type of contract: International Consultant

Duration: 11 months (with the possibility of extension)

Duty Station: Phnom Penh, Cambodia Vacancy Number: One

Date of Publication: 4 July 2023

Deadline of Application: 17 July 2023

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

WFP offers a competitive benefits package including salary plus a medical insurance.

JOB PURPOSE

Job Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to strengthen WFP’s engagement on research and analytics as it relates to nutrition and food systems and support the translation of evidence into meaningful action both within WFP and at the national and sub-national levels. The Nutrition and Food Systems Research Specialist will serve as an intermediary between the research, assessment, and monitoring (RAM) and programme teams to facilitate technical nutrition inputs in research activities and uptake of findings related to programmes and policies.

Under the supervision of the Head of the Nutrition Unit and in close coordination with the Head of the RAM, 1) provide technical support, guidance, and leadership on research and evidence-generation activities related to nutrition and food systems and 2) support the translation of evidence for advocacy and programme and policy development.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

Food Systems and Nutrition Research

• Participate in strategic discussions to define priority research questions for WFP related to nutrition and the intersections between nutrition and other priority areas (e.g., climate change).
• Manage, coordinate, and/or conduct research on nutrition and food systems, together with the RAM Unit, to fill key evidence gaps and inform the development of high-impact and evidence-based policies, programmes, and activities.
• Together with the Nutrition, Food Systems and RAM units (and other units as relevant), identify and develop partnerships with relevant actors, including academic institutions, for guidance and collaboration on different evidence pieces.
• Engage in the technical design of relevant studies, including writing study protocols, drafting analysis plans, developing and validating tools for data collection, and managing the ethical approval process.
• Provide hands-on support to the set up and roll out of studies and surveys via collaboration with local research teams, participation in on-site supervisions of ongoing data collection activities, provide trainings where needed, and ensure rigorous quality standards are maintained throughout.
• Perform and support data analysis using qualitative and quantitative research software (e.g., Atlas.ti and Stata/SPSS).
• Draft reports and academic manuscripts for peer-reviewed and practitioner journals, where appropriate, and present findings in relevant fora.

Monitoring and Evaluation for Nutrition

• Support the RAM Unit to interpret and contextualize nutrition findings and ensure M&E frameworks and theories of change adequately capture nutrition.
• Provide technical and capacity building support to government counterparts and other stakeholders to develop and operationalize nutrition-sensitive M&E frameworks in policy documents.
• Support the monitoring and evaluation of WFP nutrition activities, including contributing to M&E frameworks, providing technical expertise on nutrition-related indicators, developing tools or systems as needed, and supporting with analysis and interpretation.
• Support routine monitoring for nutrition social and behaviour change (SBC) activities, including indicator and questionnaire development and data analysis, together with the SBC specialist.
• Facilitate the design of qualitative data collection tools, support data collection/facilitation, and analyse findings to complement and triangulate evidence from the quantitative household surveys.
• Manage the GAFSP project monitoring, including outcome, output, and process monitoring and contribute to bi-annual project reporting.

Translating Evidence for Programmes and Policy

• Leverage relevant results from research activities and outcome monitoring exercises as an advocacy tool and opportunity to support the Government with the design, adaptation, and review of national strategies/policies.
• Compile, collate, and synthesize evidence related to food systems and nutrition to contribute to an up-to-date knowledge base that can inform decision making of WFP and other stakeholders.
• Engage with national stakeholders to identify preferred modalities for receiving evidence in order to promote its use and uptake.
• Produce evidence-based technical and policy briefs and communications materials.
• Facilitate timely dissemination of research and knowledge products to relevant stakeholders.

Work closely with the GAFSP project coordinator and SBC specialist to leverage research findings and results from annual outcome monitoring to inform programme design and implementation.

Technical Support

• Provide technical inputs and evidence-based advice to WFP staff, partners, and national government counterparts on nutrition specific and nutrition sensitive programme and policy issues, and opportunities for nutrition integration, in line with available evidence, corporate standards, and national policies and priorities.
• Support the strengthening of national nutrition initiatives, including the development of national government policies, strategies, and guidelines related to nutrition. This includes, but is not limited to, the Third National Strategy for Food Security and Nutrition (NSFSN) and the National Guidelines on the Management of Acute Malnutrition.
• Contribute to strategic planning and the development of nutrition programme activities, providing technical analysis, interpretation, and recommendations.
• Represent WFP in government and development partner coordination forums on food security and nutrition (e.g., Food Security and Nutrition Forum, Nutrition Working Group; United Nations Nutrition Network, etc.) to contribute in technical discussions, exchange experiences, advocate for nutrition, and identify areas of potential collaboration.

Perform other relevant duties as requested by the Country Office.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

Master's degree in the field of international development, economics, public health nutrition, social sciences, or other related field

WORK EXPERIENCE

• At least 3 years of professional experience in international development, nutrition, food systems, and/or nutrition research, analytics and evidence generation.
• Demonstrated experience in research, analysis, and use of evidence for programme and policy development.
• Experience translating complex technical material and research findings into dissemination-friendly formats.
• Experience working with diverse range of stakeholders including national government counterparts.
• Experience leading surveys, assessments, and/or other research activities, including methodology and tool design, data collection, and analysis.
• Experience with program monitoring and evaluation.
• Prior work experience in Cambodia, or other similar contexts, highly desirable.

KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS

• Advanced knowledge of nutrition.
• Knowledge of various research methods, including both qualitative and quantitative methods.
• Ability to conduct complex data analyses using statistical software such as Stata, SPSS, or R.
• Competency in qualitative analysis and use of Atlas.Ti or NVIVO is preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to synthesize and consolidate data and information from different sources and evaluate the quality of different pieces of evidence.

• Ability to interpret data and research findings to contribute to technical programme, policy, and strategy design, implementation, and monitoring.

• Strong writing skills, particularly related to writing research articles and reports.

• Excellent interpersonal skills, including strong professional communication skills.
• Ability to work within tight deadlines and manage multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Ability to work independently and as part of team and establish effective working relationships with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
• Previous experience within the UN system and/or general knowledge of WFP programs is an advantage.

KEY COMPETENCIES

Knowledge of Nutrients: Utilizes knowledge of vitamins and nutrients to understand the causes of malnutrition, the relationships between the different types of malnutrition, and is able to articulate the UNICEF conceptual model.

Situation Analysis and Evidence Assessment: Able to appropriately interpret the nutrition situation, analyze primary causes of malnutrition, define limitations to the analysis (e.g. seasonality) and prepare an overview of the food security and nutrition situation in country.

Knowledge of Public Health: Has foundational knowledge of the core public health sciences (i.e., biostatistics, epidemiology, social science, environmental health, and prevention of chronic and infectious disease and injury) in order to assess a country’s/region’s health situation.

Knowledge of Food System: Ability to analyze how food systems influence the diets of vulnerable groups and identify how and where food systems may contribute to specific nutrient gaps.

Applying Programme & Policy Standard: Leverages nutrition knowledge to provide technical advice to governments to design and implement country nutrition programmes that follow international and WFP agency standards and guidance.

LANGUAGE: Fluency (Level C) in English

All WFP Employees are expected to demonstrate the competencies and standards of behavior aligned with our core values and defined in the WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK, namely:

1. Leading by example with integrity,
2. Driving results and delivering on commitments,
3. Fostering inclusive and collaborative teamwork,
4. Applying strategic thinking,
5. Building and maintaining sustainable partnerships.

HOW TO APPLY

To be considered, interested candidates are invited to apply via (https://www.wfp.org/careers/job-openings). Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

WFP will not request payment at any stage of the recruitment process including at the offer stage. Any requests for payment should be refused and reported to local law enforcement authorities for appropriate action.

Request for Disability related Reasonable Accommodations:

It is important to WFP to create an accessible and inclusive workplace for everyone. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions. If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the selection and hiring process, please direct your request and inquiries to the Diversity and Inclusion team on: [email protected]*, cc’ing* [email protected]*. A member of the reasonable accommodation team will contact you to confidentially discuss your needs.*

This email is only to be used for any disability related accessibility requirements, and not for sending the application itself. Due to volume of applications, any applications or CVs sent through this email address will not be considered as a formal application and will not receive a reply from WFP.

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, 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

Since 1979, WFP has provided support to the Cambodian people to meet their emergency needs and enhance the long-term food and nutrition security of vulnerable households and communities. Despite notable progress in addressing malnutrition in recent years, the burden of malnutrition remains high in Cambodia. Notably, 22% of children under five are stunted, while nearly 10% are wasted. Micronutrient deficiencies are high across population groups and there are growing levels of overweight and obesity.

Under the forthcoming country strategic plan (CSP) 2024-2028, WFP will adopt an integrated approach that focuses on nutrition, social protection, food systems, and disaster management. WFP will consolidate its enabling role and invest in evidence-based systems strengthening at national and, increasingly also, at subnational levels with a focus on supporting policy formulation and implementation, institutional effectiveness and financing for improved service delivery. Evidence-generation will be increasingly core to WFP’s work under the new CSP. Through research, analytics and monitoring, WFP will support the development of food security and nutrition strategies, programmes, and guidelines with the aim of promoting healthy diets and preventing all forms of malnutrition. WFP will also contribute analytics for advocacy and decision-making, help strengthen the policy environment, and translate policy objectives into action.

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WFP is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce. WFP has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, abuse of authority or discrimination. 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.