Programme Policy Officer (Partnerships Management), Fixed Term, NOA, Addis Ababa

.

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

Through its 2020 – 2025 Country Strategic Plan (CSP), WFP Ethiopia is providing food assistance and strengthen the resilience of Ethiopia’s most vulnerable population and to chart a more prosperous and sustainable future for the next generation. The Country Office also supports programmes that use food assistance to empower women, transform areas affected by climate change and keep children in school.

To effectively and efficiently reach the targeted beneficiaries, WFP signs partnership agreements with the Ethiopian Government ministries and departments, academia, non-government organisations (NGOs) and other UN agencies. WFP Ethiopia also has a dedicated operational support section (OPS) under the Programme Unit which manages all partnerships for the implementation of programme activities.

JOB PURPOSE

Under the direct supervision of the Programme Policy Officer (OPS) and the overall supervision of the Head of Programme, the Programme Policy Officer (PPO) Partnerships Management will be responsible for the provision of support to policy and programme activities that effectively meet food assistance needs. Working closely with all Activity Managers, Resource Mobilising Unit, Supply Chain, Finance Unit, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEAL), Area/Sub-offices, Gender and Protection unit, the PPO will manage activities aimed at ensuring that WFP remains compliant with its policies and guidelines. These include implementing due diligence activities, analysing budgets from the cooperating partners (CP) and expenditure trends, WFP’s business processes, capacity building and strengthening of the CPs and WFP staff. At this level, job holders are expected to demonstrate responsibility and initiative to respond independently to various queries with only general guidanceo provide support to policy and programme activities that effectively meet food assistance needs.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

• Together with technical units and Area/Sub-Offices, coordinate and effectively plan and conduct capacity and performance assessments and due diligence on minimum requirements for existing and potential partners;
• Keep track of recommendations raised from partnership capacity and performance reviews and ensure respective parties are informed and undertake their follow-up actions;
• Plan and implement partnerships midterm reviews/meetings/workshops to take stock of agreements (Field Level Agreements – FLA and Memorandum of Understanding - MOU) implementation, achievements, challenges, and design corrective measures for improvement of partnerships;
• Develop, compile and maintain a partnership roster and maintain accurate records of FLA and other documents and regularly update partnerships information including contact information (physical, emails, telephones) and be able to produce reports, statistical information, and tables including contract values from time to time;
• Arrange and undertake secretarial roles of the Cooperating Partner Committee (CPC) meetings and review notes for the record and ensure the packages are complete to take to CPC;
• Lead the budget forecasting, budget analysis, and FLA compliance, and advise on any observed discrepancies on actualization of plans;

• Ensure new agreements and partners are registered and maintained regularly updated incorporate systems including the vendor master, Country Office Tool for Managing Effectively (COMET) and WFP Information Network and Global System (WINGS);

• Analyse and report funding status and funds utilisation at Programme Unit level and flag any discrepancies on the actualisation of budgets;

• Analyse FLA and MOU budgets to harmonize the budgeting process and in collaboration with Procurement and SO/AO, standardise the costing to ensure there are no duplication of costs and/or double/overcharging by CPs;
• Oversee and/or review the work of other support staff, providing practical advice and guidance, to contribute to budget management, analysis and reporting objectives within agreed standards and deadlines.
• Other as required.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION: First Degree, preferably in Social Sciences, Finance, Public Administration, Governance & Public Policy, International Relations, or development studies

EXPERIENCE: At least 5 years of work experience, 3 of which should be in partnerships/budget management, agreement formulation, or equivalent roles.

LANGUAGE: Fluency in oral and written communication in the English language

KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS:

• Proficiency in MS Office packages, especially word processing and spreadsheet
• Specialized knowledge of the application of common business processes, practical business support methods, procedures and systems used, gained through technical training and work experience
• Ability to analyse and interpret programmatic and financial data
• Good communication skills to provide specialized business support services to a wide range of individuals within WFP and externally
• Ability to build relationships with a variety of individuals across functions; and
• experience in coordinating the work of others and self, training, and supporting others

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 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, 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 capacity to provide inputs into the development, implementation and realignment of high quality emergency programmes. 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.

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

• Has gained experience in implementing technical programs (i.e. nutrition, etc.). • Has implemented programmes and provided input into designing operations. • Has provided input into policy discussions and decisions.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

31 March 2021

.

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.