Resilience Officer/Urban Resilience Officer (International Consultant Level 2)

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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. 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.

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the world’s largest humanitarian agency, fighting hunger worldwide. More than half the population of Afghanistan – a record 22.8 million people – will face acute food insecurity in 2022. The combined effects of drought, conflict, COVID-19, and the economic crisis, haveseverely affected lives, livelihoods, and people’s access to food. The team of 600 staff, 550 of which are Afghan nationals are working tireless to bring emergency food and nutrition assistance to the millions of people suffering across the country. The assistance provided by WFP includes emergency food assistance, school meals, nutrition programmes and important self-reliance and resilience programmes. The packet of support can include food, cash, or vouchers. 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.

ABOUT WFP AFGHANISTAN

With rich natural resources, and a young and diverse population, Afghanistan has the potential to stabilize and make significant progress on the 2030 Agenda. However, a complex and protracted conflict, combined with challenges related to climate change, demographics, gender inequalities, underemployment, and transparency issues, has dramatically impeded its efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 2 on Zero Hunger. The 2017 Afghanistan Zero Hunger Strategic Review (ZHSR) found that the country suffers from high, and in some cases rapidly rising, levels of food insecurity and undernutrition, and outlines a series of recommendations to address the problem. The overarching goal of the WFP Afghanistan Country Strategic Plan (CSP) is to support the country to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030 in a manner that also contributes, wherever possible, to the broader, longer term transition to peace and development. WFP, through the CSP, is continuing to scale up emergency activities nationwide and mainstreaming the crosscutting issues of gender equality and women’s empowerment, protection, and accountability to affected populations, the CSP focuses on six, highly interrelated outcomes that span both SDG 2 and 17 (partnering for the goals).

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Position: Resilience Officer Contract: International Regular Consultant Grade: Level 2 (P3 equivalent) Duty Station: Kabul Country Office, Afghanistan Number required: 2 positions Duration: 6 months (with possibility to extension) Reporting: Head of Resilience and Food Systems Coordination

WFP is committed to ensuring that all its workplaces are free from abuse, offensive behaviour, harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. WFP is also committed to promoting a work culture in which every employee understands, and is able to carry out, his/her personal responsibilities for maintaining the dignity of work colleagues. WFP seeks to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women. We believe our mission of fighting global hunger worldwide can only be achieved if women, men, girls and boys are offered equal opportunities in terms of access to resources and services and participation in decision making roles.

Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The hunger crisis is unfolding at a rapid speed, with over half of Afghanistan’s population of 40 million now facing acute food insecurity—the highest number the humanitarian community has ever seen in the country. Work opportunities are shrinking, with most households now reporting just one day of work per week. This comes on top of the worst drought in years, which is especially concerning for the 85 percent of the population who rely on agriculture for livelihoods.

Through livelihoods and resilience activities, WFP provides participants with dignified livelihoods opportunities which build or boost productive assets in their communities (like irrigation canals or roads), while simultaneously meeting the immediate needs of their families with food, cash, asset and training assistance. In addition, WFP is building small and large-scale value-chains aimed at building longer term resilience and scaling fortified and nutritious foods.

WFP must address this nexus of risk factors underpinning food and nutrition insecurity and eroding the livelihoods of the poorest. Working with partners, WFP in the region is advancing a more holistic approach to supporting disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation, livelihoods, resilience and value-chains at all levels.

In this context, WFP is seeking to recruit a Resilience Officer in Afghanistan to support a large programme of livelihoods, resilience, and food-systems value-chain activities, ensuring these are connected and synergized for maximum impact. This post will be based in the programme unit under the supervision of the Head of Resilience and Food Systems Coordination.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

• Support WFP’s resilience strategy and its operationalization in Afghanistan – in the context of significant scale-up – supporting a team of resilience and value-chain staff and focal points. • Support the coordination of appropriate resilience and value-chain programming in Afghanistan, including identifying, reviewing, and mapping out key experiences and lessons, comparative advantages, and opportunities at field level. • Provide technical, programme guidance to staff and NGO Cooperating Partners (CPs) in operationalizing the implementation of programmes and initiatives, with a special focus on FFA, FFT, SAMS and other types of livelihood enhancement, and clarify and interpret available policies, guidance, and tools. • Support activities related to the strategic scale-up of national fortification and nutritious food value-chains engaging with the private-sector. • Ensure compliance with relevant corporate policy and guidance and with donor requirements in the preparation of funding proposals, including through development and use of oversight materials and through review of project documents, RFPs, and MOUs. • Promote linkages between livelihoods and future national social protection where appropriate through support to the conceptualization, development, and institutionalization of productive safety net approaches. • Promote linkages with and mainstreaming of principles related to social protection, nutrition, gender and conflict sensitive programming throughout the design, planning and implementation stages. • Undertake technical assistance missions to support field level initiatives and implementation of WFP tools and guidance. • Assist the implementation of Three-pronged Approach (3PA) at the country level, with a focus on the Seasonal Livelihood Programming (SLP) and Community Based Participatory Planning (CBPP). • Support learning and cross-fertilization of experiences across the country building on achievements and results, including through the documentation of good practice, lessons learned and success stories, and the development of relevant guidance materials. • Contribute to and support country level strategic reflection and the development of Country Strategic Plans and associated programmes and activities. • Contribute to the design and implementation of capacity development initiatives at the national level to enhance the ability of WFP staff and partners to develop strategies and programmes in support of livelihoods and resilience building • Support regional interagency collaboration and partnerships with NGOs, private sector and other relevant actors in the policy and programme spheres with a view to advancing innovative programme strategies for livelihood and resilience building in Afghanistan. • Support resource mobilization efforts related to livelihoods, resilience building and food and nutrition security, including the formulation of targeted concept notes for innovative programme ideas. • Liaise with relevant regional bureau and HQ units in relation to the development and adaptation of guidance materials and tools, ensuring that experience, vision, and concerns are adequately reflected. • Any other assigned duty.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Education: Advanced university degree in political/social sciences, international development, development economics, or related fields or First University Degree with additional years of related work experience and/or trainings/courses.

Experience: Minimum 5 years’ professional, relevant experience required out of which at least 3 years of demonstrable experience in any of the following: resilience, livelihoods, value-chain development, market development and/or TVET.

Language: Fluency in both oral and written communication in English.

OTHER SPECIFIC JOB REQUIREMENTS

Desired Background:

• Exposure to humanitarian and/or development fields
• Field experience in implementing technical programs related to resilience and livelihoods, how they relate to hunger and food security, and sustainable development.
• Relevant experience in providing input into policy discussion and decisions
• Knowledge humanitarian and development challenges and issues, specifically strategies and/or policies at global/regional/national level for building resilience and developing livelihoods.
• Knowledge of emergency preparedness, preparedness planning, early warning, and emergency response.
• Strong teamwork and coordination capacities.
• Understanding of donor policies, strategies, and programmes priorities in relation to resilience building.
• Experience in the development of interagency networks, partnerships, strategies and communications initiatives.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

Thursday, 14 April 2022.