Programme Policy Officer- Social Protection CST level II

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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, physical or mental 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.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is well known for its ability to deliver food assistance rapidly to people in need. To continue responding effectively to challenging contexts while also contributing to longer-term efforts to end hunger, WFP is in the process of strengthening its engagement and support to national social protection systems and safety nets, as part of efforts to support governments with their fight against hunger.

In this context, the Palestine Country Office (CO) is enhancing its support to the Ministry of Social Development (MoSD) and related line ministries to strengthen social assistance being provided through the National Cash Transfer Programme, efforts at targeting that social assistance particularly to the most vulnerable groups (such as the disabled and older persons), as well as support capacity-building efforts and strengthening analysis and related delivery mechanisms that underpin these efforts.

JOB PURPOSE

This position is intended to ensure dedicated expertise to enable coordination of these efforts within the CO, with Ministry counterparts and with partners undertaking joint programmes in this area. The role will include contributing to strategy formulation, coordination with key stakeholders (internal and external), provision of technical guidance on programme strategy and implementation, as well as associated delivery mechanisms. The position will be needed for 11 months.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

1. Coordinate defining strategic direction for CO social protection engagement
2. Coordinate WFP’s technical work on social protection and capacity strengthening
3. Partnerships
4. Involvement in broader Social Protection discussions
5. Evidence building
6. Coordination and resource management

Long Description

Coordinate defining strategic direction for CO social protection engagement

• Provide strategic thinking and direction on the CO’s role in social protection programming identifying opportunities for WFP’s positioning and engagement in this area, in close coordination with all relevant stakeholders in the CO and with partners.
• Support inputs to CO strategy development in social protection in line with organisational and regional strategy and the practical realities of operating in the field, including formulating clear programme and implementation plans related to social protection, and translating WFP programme policy into country-level practices, programming and implementation modalities and operations, working in close conjunction with CO management and relevant CO teams.
• Inform CO engagement in coordination of efforts in support of national social protection schemes.
• Inform strategic and technical programme development, fostering cross-functional working and coordination with relevant technical teams in the CO, Regional Bureau and Headquarters as required, in key areas such as cash based transfers, school feeding, nutrition, emergency preparedness and response planning, monitoring and evaluation, gender, IT…).

Coordinate WFP’s technical work on social protection and capacity strengthening

• Support coordination efforts of WFP’s engagement with MoSD, with relevant staff in the CO and with partners, in their efforts to bolster the national social protection system.
• Provide technical advice and help mobilize additional technical expertise for the Ministry, on a wide range of programme and policy issues related to social protection including on analysis, objectives, activities, transfer modalities, the deployment and testing of innovative approaches and the development of strategies to support government efforts to reduce hunger and malnutrition through national social protection systems
• Provide technical assistance to Ministry counterparts on the development of strategy and systems for social programmes, working in close collaboration with internal stakeholders and key partners in the social protection space.
• Support other on-going initiatives relevant to social protection together with key partners, such as sister UN agencies, the World Bank and the Cash Working Group.
• Advise and support the development of functional training in areas of expertise to enhance the capacity of Government counterparts to design and deliver effective programming.
• Facilitate knowledge capture, documentation and exchange to develop innovative approaches to better design and implement social protection systems.

Partnerships

• Inform partnership strengthening and coordination with Government and key development partners, laying out a roadmap towards that and support building a policy dialogue on social protection.
• Maintain established partnerships and develop new ones in line with opportunities for collaborative approaches and initiatives
• Maintain a network of national and international professional contacts in the field of social protection
• Attend external events linked to social protection, as needed
• Identify new funding opportunities for the social protection unit and develop funding proposals

Involvement in broader Social Protection discussions

• Act as a WFP’s subject-matter expert on social protection for the elaboration of the national social protection policy
• Represent WFP in policy and engagement dialogue on social protection with key actors (e.g., Ministries, UN agencies, IFIs, NGOs and social partners etc)
• Enhance WFP’s leadership status in different forums on subjects related to social protection and resilience building through direct participation, briefings, information products and other knowledge products.
• Contribute to opportunities to facilitating the national social protection policy development process through the coordination, preparation, moderation and reporting of the policy drafting committee’s technical group on shock responsive social protection
• Support CO to build a policy dialogue on social protection with the host government and development partners
• Coordinate WFP activities to assist in the completion of a national social protection policy more specifically regarding the shock responsive social protection strategic axis of the policy document, including the hiring and oversight of WFP consultants, internal and external experts

Evidence building****:

• Support operational research and evidence building on issues relevant to social protection and the related dissemination of reports and information products.

Coordination and resource management

• Manage the social protection workplan to ensure expected deliverables are met in a timely manner
• Ensure the best use of assigned financial resources for achievement of set objectives within a significant budget. Where applicable, advise on cooperating partner budgets, monitor expenditures and review invoices for timely payments based on performance
• Coordinate with colleagues engaging in team working to enable high performance
• Support team members through coaching and guidance as relates to social protection. Conduct targeted trainings for staff and partners, as required.
• Take responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives in all areas of work, to ensure equal participation of women and men.
• Contribute to Country Office Emergency Preparedness i.e. early warning, risk analysis, and contingency planning in order to respond to humanitarian crises and needs.
• Other tasks as required and assigned by the supervisor or senior management.

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..

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

Advanced University degree in Social Sciences, International Affairs, Economics, Public Administration, Public Policy or other field relevant to international development assistance.

Language:

• Working knowledge (proficiency/Level C) of English
  • Knowledge of Arabic would be a plus.

OTHER SPECIFIC JOB REQUIREMENTS

Experience:

• At least 3 years’ experience in social protection implementation in low and middle income countries.
• At least 3 years experience of working in or alongside government partners
• At least 3 years’ operational experience in national social protection systems, including responsibility for liaising with different line ministries at national and decentralized levels;
• Experience in the region is an asset
• UN or donor experience, especially with WFP is an asset.

OTHER SPECIFIC JOB REQUIREMENTS

Knowledge & Skills:

• A sound understanding of policy making processes and the ability to distil operationally relevant recommendations/lessons for governments and other partners;
• Strong capacity for analysis, learning, research and innovation;
• Capacity to foster strong cross-agency collaboration
• Good leadership and interpersonal skills
• High degree of discretion and diplomacy
• Excellent communication skills verbally and in writing

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

13th February 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.

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.