The World Food Programme (WFP) is the leading humanitarian organization saving lives and changing lives, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. As the international community has committed to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition by 2030, one in nine people worldwide still do not have enough to eat. Food and food-related assistance lie at the heart of the struggle to break the cycle of hunger and poverty. For its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict, WFP was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020.

Malawi is a small landlocked country in Southern Africa. With a population expanding rapidly at 3 percent per year and the majority of livelihoods dependent on agriculture, the population is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate-related disasters. Poverty is experienced by most rural families, with those headed by women suffering the most. Relying on small parcels of densely cultivated land for their livelihoods, rural Malawians are highly affected by climate change. Episodes of drought as well as severe flooding are increasing in frequency, intensity and unpredictability, giving the most vulnerable households inadequate time to recover.

Malawi’s challenges are also compounded by high rates of HIV infection (at 9.6 percent), low primary school completion rate (at 51 percent) and chronic under-nutrition (at 37 percent for children under 5). WFP continues to partner with the government, other UN agencies, NGOs, civil society and the private sector to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, with a particular emphasis on reaching Zero Hunger (SDG 2), addressing structural drivers of hunger wherever possible.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

WFP is the convening agency for the Malawi Partnership for Resilience (MP4R), a joint UN programme co-financed by the UN in Malawi and the UKAid, through its Building Resilience and Adapting to Climate Change (BRACC) initiative. The joint programme aims to build household resilience to shocks and stresses and end the recurrent cycle of crises and humanitarian assistance in Malawi. Joint Components 1 and 2 of the BRACC are implemented by an UN-NGO partnership, primarily implemented in four target districts of Balaka, Chikwawa, Mangochi, and Phalombe, with some activities in additional districts. The partnership under components 1 and 2 of the BRACC is termed PROSPER (Promoting Sustainable Partnerships for Empowered Resilience).

PROSPER targets 1,159,938 people in Malawi to improve their anticipatory, absorptive, and adaptive capacities to climate and other shocks, and to facilitate transformative systems change, including through improved household access to finance and markets.

A partnership among nine UN and international non-governmental organizations was established to co-design and co-implement this programme (2019-2023), managed through 2 contracts (a grant agreement with the UN through the Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office, and an accountable grant with the Concern Worldwide-led NGO Consortium). For the UN, BRACC contributes to the UN Joint Resilience Programme (MP4R), and as a joint UN programme, strategic guidance for the UN partnership is provided by the UN Resident Coordinator, and includes four Partner UN Organizations (PUNOs): FAO, UNDP, UNICEF, and WFP. The CWW-led Consortium is comprised of three INGOS (Concern Worldwide, United Purpose, Goal) and one private sector contractor (Kadale).

PROSPER leverages the comparative advantages of these different organisations to provide an integrated package of household and community-based resilience building interventions, such as lean season support, climate-smart agriculture practices, risk reduction and flood protection, through to market systems development that together will strengthen household resilience and climate adaptation in Malawi.

Operating on the principles of joint programming and adaptive management, PROSPER will aim to provide flexible, coordinated and predictable funding to support the achievement of increased national resilience to shocks - aligning to nationally owned and determined priorities. By improving coordination among all stakeholders, it can also provide a forum for policy dialogue, and programmatic coordination and harmonization as well as building up a body of evidence for improved joint targeting, programme design, delivery, and adaptive management.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

Under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the national MP4R Coordinator and under the administrative authority of the WFP Lilongwe Country Office and in collaboration with the PUNOs and the CWW-led Consortium M&E Officer, the Senior Programme Associate will hold the following accountabilities:

Coordination:

Provide input to and co-chair cross-consortium Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (MEAL) Technical Working Group.
Serve as the coordination focal point for PUNOs MEAL activities and provide overall coordination of project M&E activities for the UN organization partners under the PROSPER programme, representing the UN partners upon request;
Liaise with M&E counterparts in the PROSPER UN partner organisations to support effective collaboration, implementation and monitoring of ongoing project activities;
Convene periodic meetings with UN agencies, consortium NGOs and private sector partners, cooperating partners, Government counterparts, and PROSPER partners to facilitate joint integrated MEAL;
Liaise with the BRACC HUB Knowledge Consortium and represent the UN Consortium in coordination with the National Coordinator; and
Co-chair the cross-consortium Complaints, Feedback and Response Technical Working group in coordination with the National Coordinator.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

Provide technical guidance on M&E aspects for the BRACC project;
Lead in the design, review and implementation of the M&E system for the project in coordination with PROSPER NGO Consortium M&E coordinator;
Ensure that the project M&E system is functional and is well aligned to the overall project results log frame and evaluation plan;
Provide technical support and assist in the development and implementation of various activities and processes within the specific area of work supporting alignment with wider program policies and guidelines;
Ensure accurate, timely recording of data within the specific technical area of work and consistency of information presented to stakeholders;
Act as a point of contact for resolution of a range of operational queries and problems within a specific area of responsibility;
Oversee and/ or review the work of M&E counterparts and PROSPER partners, providing practical advice and guidance, to contribute to delivering objectives to agreed standards and deadlines, when appropriate;

Contribute to the analysis of outcome data and recommend improvements to enhance PROSPER’s ability to demonstrate outcome-focused results;
Produce and share monitoring progress reports with status of results and implementation of improvements;
Follow up on monitoring findings to ensure that corrective actions are taken and/ or adjustments are made to programme response as required; and
Ensure timely data entry and consistency with all data management tools and databases across the PROSPER programme.

Programme Reporting

Support the PROSPER Programme Coordinator in preparation of project reports; and
Prepare a range of reports and data analysis e.g. programme status, performance and highlight trends/issues ensuring deliverables adhere to corporate standards and quality control of UN partners.

Support Programme Visibility and Innovation

Support the PROSPER Programme Coordinator in the preparation of publications;
Support the PROSPER Programme Coordinator and PROSPER PUNOs in the use of satellite and drone imagery technology to strengthen outcome-level monitoring for watersheds and sub-watersheds;
Support additional innovation in monitoring, especially to support integrated initiatives and outcome level monitoring; and
Perform other related duties as required.

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

Has participated in implementing technical programs (i.e. nutrition, etc.)
Has implemented programmes with increased level of responsibility.
Has provided input to policy discussions.
Previous experience in humanitarian or developing programming is an added advantage.
Experience working in consortiums or on joint programmes an added advantage.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Completion of Malawi School Certificate of Education. A post-secondary certificate in Social Science, International Affairs/Development, Statistics, Demography, Economics or Development.

Experience: At least 6 years of progressive professional experience in project/programme monitoring.

Language: Fluency in both oral and written communication in English. Knowledge of the local language or UN official language is an added advantage.

4Ps CORE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES

Purpose

Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives: Coaches team in the most effective ways to communicate WFP’s Strategic Objectives to WFP team and partners in the field.
Be a force for positive change: Implements new methods or tools to improve team’s work processes and productivity.
Make the mission inspiring to our team: Maps team’s activities and tasks to specific successes in beneficiary communities to showcase positive impact.
Make our mission visible in everyday actions: Explains to teammates how each unit contributes to the overall WFP mission.

People

Look for ways to strengthen people's skills: Identifies skill development opportunities such as training modules or on-the-job experiences for self, colleagues and direct reports.
Create an inclusive culture: Facilitates team building activities to build rapport in own unit.
Be a coach & provide constructive feedback: Facilitates the pairing of junior colleagues with coaches within own team.
Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit: Proactively anticipates potential challenges and develops mitigation plans to ensure that team meets goals and targets.

Performance

Encourage innovation & creative solutions: Identifies opportunities to be creative in own work and to help team be more innovative and accurate in their respective tasks and areas of work.
Focus on getting results: Monitors team’s deliverables and provides feedback to ensure outcomes are delivered consistently and accurately.
Make commitments and make good on commitments: Provides accurate guidance to team on expected responsibilities and tasks, whilst also upholding own commitment to the team.
Be Decisive: Sets an example and provides guidance to junior team members on when to escalate issues when faced with challenging issues in the workplace or in the field.

Partnership

Connect and share across WFP units: Facilitates partnerships with other WFP units to accomplish missions in the field.
Build strong external partnerships: Sets an example and provides guidance to team on how to build relationships with external partners.
Be politically agile & adaptable: Articulates to colleagues or direct reports the value of contributing to other WFP teams and agency partnerships in fulfilling WFP’s goals and objectives.
Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships: Organizes, monitors, and prioritizes own and team’s efforts to ensure that they will fulfil the needs of internal and external partners.

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, Vouchers) 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 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 Understands and applies basic principles of engagement with government counterparts at the national or local level.

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WFP is committed to gender equality in its mandate and its staff. Well qualified candidates, particularly females are strongly 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.

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Added 3 years ago - Updated 3 years ago - Source: wfp.org