Programme Policy Officer at WFP November, 2021

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:  

Tanzania Country Office is at advanced stage of developing its next Country Strategic Plan (CSP) 2022-2027. Based on a comprehensive consultation process and an analysis of key drivers of food security and nutrition in the country, the important themes of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), resilience, and climate change adaptation have emerged as priorities for the WFP programme portfolio.  Climate change multiplies existing threats to food security and malnutrition. It will make natural disasters more frequent and intense, land and water more difficult to access, and increases in agricultural productivity even harder to achieve. It will disproportionally impact the most vulnerable people, the majority of whom live in fragile areas prone to climate hazards, ultimately putting their livelihoods at risk.

 

Climate change has both impacted, and is impacted by, existing land use in Tanzania. Agricultural production is primarily rain fed and remains highly susceptible to weather variability. Over the last four decades, Tanzania has been hit by a series of severe droughts and flood events. At the same time, unsustainable land management practices are leading to a reduction of the adaptive capacity of small-scale producers. WFP interventions will focus on strengthening disaster management capacities of the government systems and enhancing climate change adaptation through provision of climate services to small holder producers and rehabilitating/restoring degraded lands through community asset creation. To achieve this, WFP aims to strengthen the staffing capacity of the Country Office by hiring a programme policy officer to support integration of climate resilience in the new CSP.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The Programme Policy Officer will play a key role in establishing strategic orientation, designing project activities, and supporting implementation in the area of climate resilience for food and nutrition security. The consultant will lead efforts to develop and launch food security and climate risk management, including cash/food for assets activities for improved access to water, restoration of degraded lands, and reforestation. Additional areas of technical responsibilities include support for renewable energy and climate services at the community level in targeted geographic areas. Support for resource mobilization and strategic engagement with technical counterparts in government line ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and UN agencies will be an important area of responsibility.   The consultant will report to the Head of Programme and work in close coordination with Country and Sub-Office colleagues. Technical coordination and collaboration will be undertaken with climate and resilience experts in the Regional Bureau and Headquarters.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education:	Master’s degree in one or more of the following disciplines: Economics, environmental studies, agriculture and food security, development studies or related area.
Language:	Working knowledge of English (proficiency/level C) required and intermediate knowledge(intermediate/level B) of another UN official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish) preferred.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

Specific tasks will include:

 

1. Develop a country strategy for integrated climate resilience in coordination with relevant CO teams and in coordination with technical leads at RB and HQ level.
2. Identify opportunities to provide technical assistance to national government and related national institutions on climate change, DRR and resilience.  o Operationalize the concepts of Shock Responsive Social Protection, Anticipatory Action and the Food-WaterEnergy Nexus in the context of CSP activities.
3. Work closely with VAM and Emergency colleagues to identify internal capacity building and/or support needs.
4. Provide strategic support and guidance to develop partnerships with donors and various stakeholders in the area of climate resilience and liaise with partners to identify opportunities for joint initiatives/fundraising opportunities.
5. Support CO management in forging strategic partnerships with government, UN agencies and bilateral donors.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES CONTINUED 1:

1. Support regional fundraising efforts, through initiating and reviewing existing guidelines for funding proposals and supporting national and/or local context assessments needed for planning the expansion of project activities.
2. Provide regular project implementation guidance and support to CO and Sub-Office teams; draft progress reports, corporate and donor reports as required, including support on project budget management.
3. Support COs on feasibility studies on integrated resilience programming approaches under a humanitarian development-peace nexus framework.
4.  Support with documenting knowledge, best practices and lessons learned for the formulation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and guidance material.
5. Facilitate, as needed, and provide technical support to learning events at country, regional, and global level, including organising and facilitating trainings, workshops, and other related events.
6. Any other related duties relevant to the role, as 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..

OTHER SPECIFIC JOB REQUIREMENTS

 

Experience:  Minimum of 8 years post graduate, progressively responsible, job related experience in food security analysis, policy and/or, climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, risk financing or related areas. Demonstrated experience in managing projects and teams in a WFP country office on climate and resilience building programmes would be ideal; ability to engage with senior technical staff from government and UN partners; and proven capacity for designing, mobilizing resources and implementing integrated climate resilience programmes at sub-national level required.

Knowledge  & Skills:  Proficiency in MS Windows, MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook). Strong qualitative and quantitative skillsets are essential. Collaborative team player, action management, innovation, partnership, and client orientation are critical characteristics for the profile.

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

• DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT:  
• 1. Development of a Climate Resilience Strategy for Tanzania Country Office, including links to DRR, social protection, and smallholder market access;
  2. Lead drafting of concept notes and proposals, including for climate finance;
  3. Provision technical direction, project management and support for initiating and scaling up of project activities;
  4. Production of analysis, reports, and guidance materials; and
  5. Representation of WFP in relevant internal and external engagements with inter-agency and donor partners, as required.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

All applications should be submitted through the e-recruitment portal.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

The deadline for applications is 14 November 2021.

Female applicants, people with disability 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.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY