Programme Policy Officer (School Feeding) NOC (12 months renewal fixed term contract)

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WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.

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.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

In January 2020, WFP launched the Corporate School Feeding Strategy (2020 – 2030). link to the School Feeding Policy .The new strategy lays out on how WFP will advocate globally, and partner with Governments and partners, to address gaps in guaranteeing an integrated and multisectoral health and nutrition response for children in schools.

At the regional level, the strategy will be supported by a Regional Implementation Plan, which defines relevant, effective and context specific measures to ensure WFP adapts its roles to specific country situations.

The Regional Implementation Plan prioritises school feeding modalities that link smallholder farmers and local procurement to the schools as a platform as a game changing initiative for food systems. This is through the opportunity that school feeding programmes create for nutrition and health, agriculture, social protection, youth empowerment, local economic development and broader development interventions linked to the SDG framework. The priority of scaling up this approach to school feeding in the region is aligned and squarely positioned with the vision and aspirations of the African Union and SADC.

Three key priorities guide the Regional Implementation Plan, the first is sustainable and stable funding. The second priority is national ownership for which WFP will promote and strengthen national ownership by positioning school feeding as a tool and intervention within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including other national development frameworks. The final priority is programme quality. It is anticipated that through scaling up activities that link smallholder farmers and build resilience of communities through the school as a platform, there is greater opportunity to position school feeding as a key contributor to national development efforts.

JOB PURPOSE

The primary role of this position is to support Governments and WFP Country Offices in the implementation of school feeding programmes that are linked to smallholder farmers, build resilience and promote agriculture and youth development in the region.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

In a world of plenty, where enough food is produced to feed everyone on the planet, hunger should be a thing of the past. However, conflict, climate change, disasters, inequality and – most recently – the COVID-19 pandemic mean one in nine people globally is still going to bed hungry and famine looms for millions. Powered by the passion, dedication and professionalism of our 20,000 staff worldwide, the World Food Programme (WFP) works in over 120 countries and territories to bring life-saving food to people displaced by conflict and made destitute by disasters, and help individuals and communities find life-changing solutions to the multiple challenges they face in building better futures.

We work to enhance nutrition in women and children, support smallholder farmers in improving productivity and reducing losses, help countries and communities prepare for and cope with climate-related shocks, and boost human capital through school feeding programmes. In conflict situations, we bring relief to exhausted populations and use food assistance to build pathways to peace and stability – work for which WFP was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020.

Southern Africa is a region that is home to more than 50 million food-insecure people. It consists of low-income, lower-middle income and upper-middle income countries with some being endowed with rich natural resources yet limited institutional capacities, and with others that have both strong institutional capabilities and rich natural resources. For WFP to reduce the number of food insecure people in the region, the WFP Regional Bureau for Southern Africa (RBJ) strives to find innovative ways to engage with countries in the region.

The WFP Regional Bureau for Southern Africa supports 12 Country Offices in the region to advance efforts towards Zero Hunger by 2030. A key priority of the Regional Bureau (RB) is to support Governments in the Southern African region, in all areas of our work, and particularly in the area of data and information generation for decision making.

Such support is designed to filter down to concrete ways of saving and changing the lives of the people we serve. Supporting Governments is the cornerstone of WFPs work in the region to address Zero Hunger, where Governments take full ownership and ensure sustainability of the work as we support them. This involves working closely with SADC member states, SADC Secretariat, and increasingly with the African Union through the Africa Union Development Agency - AUDA.

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.

Language:

National Professional: Fluency (level C) in both oral and written communication in English is essential. Working knowledge of French and/or Portuguese, an asset

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

• Manage the overall school feeding portfolio at the regional office, including the regional implementation plan. Provide strategic and operational guidance for country offices on school feeding.
• Work with the Regional Bureau Smallholder Agricultural Market Support team to implement value chain analysis and access to agri-business platforms that support the scale-up of school feeding programmes linked to smallholder farmers.
• Manage operational research and evidence building in a user-centre manner to influence school feeding policy and decision-making in the region.
• Work with the Regional Bureau partnerships team to ensure and promote visibility and engagement with regional stakeholders such as SADC and AUDA-NEPAD.
• Establish and maintain strategic regional partnerships with UNICEF, FAO and other relevant stakeholders.
• Contribute to resource mobilization efforts for school feeding and monitor the resourcing of school feeding activities.
• Manage the preparation and dissemination of background papers, analytical reports, inputs to publications, information products, reports and studies and donor proposals.
• Supervise school-based programming staff based in the Regional Bureau.
• Perform all other duties as may be required.

4Ps CORE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES

Purpose

• Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives : Utilizes understanding of WFP’s Strategic Objectives to communicate linkages to team objectives and work.
• Be a force for positive change : Proactively identifies and develops new methods or improvements for self and immediate team to address work challenges within own work area.
• Make the mission inspiring to our team : Identifies opportunities to further align individual contributions with WFP’s mission of making an impact on local communities.
• Make our mission visible in everyday actions : Helps colleagues to see the link between their individual tasks and the contributions of their unit’s goals to the broader context of WFP’s mission.

People

• Look for ways to strengthen people's skills : Is able to identify, support and encourage focused on-the-job learning opportunities to address gaps between current skillsets and needed future skillsets for WFP.
• Create an inclusive culture : Recognizes the contributions of teammates, and encourages contributions from culturally different team mates to recognise the value of diversity above and beyond just including it in programming for beneficiaries.
• Be a coach & provide constructive feedback : Provides and solicits ongoing constructive feedback on strengths and development opportunities to help develop individual skills, whilst also helping others identify areas for improvement.
• Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit : Sets clear targets for self and others to focus team efforts in ambiguous situations (e.g., unprecedented issues and/or scenarios)

Performance

• Encourage innovation & creative solutions : Thinks beyond team’s conventional approaches to formulate creative methods for delivering food aid and assistance to beneficiaries.
• Focus on getting results : Maintains focus on achieving individual results in the face of obstacles such as volatile or fragile environments and/or organizational roadblocks.
• Make commitments and make good on commitments : Takes personal accountability for upholding and delivering upon team’s commitments and provides assurance to stakeholders.
• Be Decisive : Demonstrates ability to adjust to team’s plans and priorities to optimize outcomes in light of evolving directives, while also responding quickly in high-pressure environments, such as in emergency settings.

Partnership

• Connect and share across WFP units : Demonstrates an understanding of when and how to tactfully engage other units in conversations on impact, timing, or planning
• Build strong external partnerships : Networks regularly with key external partners using formal and informal opportunities to understand each partner’s unique value proposition, and to build and strengthen relationships
• Be politically agile & adaptable : Demonstrates ability to adapt engagement approach in the context of evolving partner circumstances and expectations
• Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships : Demonstrates ability to articulate to internal and external audiences the value that individual contributions and immediate teams bring to partnerships.

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 the ability to design, implement, monitor and provide oversight over effective and efficient programmes deploying different transfer modalities.

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..

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

• 5 or more years of relevant professional experience (preferably including in a regional position), e.g. related to national development programmes, policies, strategies or plans and institutional structures, preferably in relation to food security and/or nutrition and revolving around national capacity building and/or programme and knowledge management
• Has experience working Government institutions, with a United Nations (UN) agency or development organization in the region.
• Knowledge of government public administration processes and decision-making to ensure integration of WFP knowledge and capacity in government structures.
• Has a good understanding of the Southern African food and nutrition security context.
• Has engaged in policy discussions and provided input into policy formulation.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

WFP offers equal opportunities to all WFP is committed to promoting a work culture in which every employee understands and is able to carry out their work responsibilities and maintain the dignity of their co-workers. WFP offers career opportunities for its employees and supports them in their professional development with training and continuous learning actions. WFP is also committed to creating and maintaining a harmonious climate in the workplace, based on mutual respect and understanding, free of discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment and abuse of authority and respectful of diversity. WFP is committed to diversity and inclusion in its workforce and encourages qualified women and men from all religious and ethnic backgrounds to apply. WFP has a zero tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate based on the status of HIV / AIDS. Finally, WFP seeks to promote gender equality and women's empowerment and is confident that its mission to fight global hunger can only be achieved if women, men, girls and boys equal opportunity for access to resources and services and participation in decision-making roles

• Contract type/grade: Fixed Term/NOC
• Contract Duration: 1 year (Renewable)
• Remuneration: A competitive compensation and benefits package is offered.
• Eligibility: This VA is open ONLY to South African Nationals. Female candidates meeting the above qualifications are encouraged to apply.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

The deadline to receiving applications is 28th June 2022.

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All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, 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.