UN World Food Programme Policy Officer NOB - Emergency and Social Protection Jobs in Malawi

UN World Food Programme Policy Officer NOB - Emergency and Social Protection Jobs in Malawi

About WFP

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.

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.

Organizational Context

The Programme Policy Officer will manage a portfolio of activities that include contribution to and/or direct management of emergency programmes including the relief operation, Social Protection and support to refugees, with oversight responsibility at Country Office level while supporting sub-offices.

S/he will operate with considerable independence in her/his specialties and will be the day-today focal point contact for emergency and social protection programmes at Country Office level. S/he will significantly input into the design, management and coordination of programmes that effectively meet food assistance needs.

WFP recognize its role for strategic engagement in social protection and emergencies to achieve SDG2 and contribute to the government’s objectives under Malawi’s Vision 2063, through improved targeting and design of emergency and social protection assistance programmes so no one is left behind.

Job Purpose

To plan, manage and coordinate operations to ensure an efficient, effective and well-coordinated food assistance provision to the food insecure residents, Lean season response beneficiaries, social protection beneficiaries, asylum seekers and refugees.

Key Accountabilities (not all-inclusive)

The Programme Policy Officer will perform the following duties and responsibilities:

Programme Design and Planning for Emergencies and Social Protection

• Contribute to resource mobilisation efforts for WFP projects, including clearly articulating the need for food assistance and related programme opportunities, and follow up on the resource situation of projects including commodity and/or cash availability, seeking advice from sector leads, where necessary.

• Lead UNSDCF planning and reporting on emergency and social protection (including cash+) activities and ensure submission of SITREPs to Country Office on programme implementation, track key trends, recommend an-actions to address any identified, or foreseen gaps;

• Contribute to Country Office Emergency Preparedness i.e. early warning, risk analysis, emergency preparedness and response package administration, contingency planning, response planning etc in order to timely respond to humanitarian crises and needs;

• Provide advice and support to partners on moderately complex issues to clarify ambiguities and ensure that policy and programme operations are consistent with WFP policies, Executive Board decisions, and other relevant guidance.

• Guide the Country Office on operational research and evidence building on issues relevant to food assistance to support the development of country strategies, programme and activities.

• Contribute to ongoing strategic planning processes on social protection and safety nets and support the improved positioning of WFP in this area, vis-à-vis internal and external stakeholders. Including the inclusion of all stakeholders at all levels, major stakeholder being government.

Programme Management and Implementation for Emergencies and Social Protection

• Establish and maintain strong operational and strategic partnerships to improve assistance packages, develop and sustain liaison with local government authorities (district councils, Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of Disaster Management Affairs), NGO partners, UN Agencies (UNHCR, UNDP, UNICEF), international and local NGOs, civil societies, beneficiaries and other partners and media engaged in the field of food security for both residents, social protection beneficiaries, refugees/asylum seekers;

• Reinforce local level engagement and deliberate efforts to cultivate the community leadership roles to enhance targeting criteria, implementation of impactful Shock Sensitive Social Protection and wider expansion to relief operations

• Contribute to the expertise sharing and capacity building of humanitarian actors for effective preparedness and response to food assistance needs;

• Plan and manage day-to-day WFP field operations in the central and northern regions to ensure effective and efficient delivery of food assistance and that daily operational issues are timely resolved to prevent losses or delays;

• Prepare accurate and comprehensive reports on WFP’s operations and performance with regular and timely submission to Country Office to inform efficient operational planning and informed decision making while ensuring consistency of information presented to stakeholders;

• Support DoDMA, Min of Gender and EP&D in coordination of the Food Security Cluster and represent WFP in key technical working groups, task forces etc.

• Ensure all relief project activities are conducted in accordance with the Field Level Agreements, agreed upon implementation plans, proposals and budget limits;

General management and Leadership

• Maintain regular and effective communication with staff, government Ministries, UN agencies and partner NGOs through meetings and written correspondence to ensure timely, orderly and effective delivery of food assistance to beneficiaries;

• Work with the Budget Programming Office and Finance units to track and programme funds and grants and ensure that all grants are well managed;

• Support the partner management process through development of EOIs, performance evaluations, capacity assessments etc.

• Advise and support the development of functional training in areas of expertise to enhance the capacity of WFP staff, national government and partner to prepare for and respond to emergency and/or social protection needs/opportunities;

• Coordinate and oversee delivery of the innovations including the relief-resilience complementary activities such as social behavioural change communication (SBCC) messaging and linkages between relief, social protection and resilience, nutrition interventions and recommend improved strategies to achieve better results; while strengthening existing government systems; for awareness, ownership, guiding operationalization and effective delivery of services i.e National Identification, UBR, MIS etc

• Support development of Country office strategic and operational plans and lead reviews of the same for emergency sector

• Provide direct management of emergency programmes (relief operation, social protection and refugee/asylum seekers support), with oversight responsibility at Country Office level and supporting sub-offices.

• Research and analyze policy and operational issues to support the development of country strategies, programme and activities including the on-going Malawi’s Country Strategic Plan (CSP) review/development.

Standard Minimum Qualifications

Education:

Advanced university degree in one or more of the following disciplines: economics, agriculture, international affairs, business administration, social sciences, development studies or a field relevant to international development assistance, or relevant first degree with additional years of related work experience and/or training/courses.

Experience:

At least five years of postgraduate progressively responsible professional experience in public sector management, development projects, emergency assistance, and/or operational aspects of national, bilateral or multilateral food aid or commercial transactions.

How to Apply

For more information and job application details, see; UN World Food Programme Policy Officer NOB - Emergency and Social Protection Jobs in Malawi

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