UN World Food Programme Programme and Policy Officer (Resilient Livelihoods) - Consultant Jobs in Kenya

UN World Food Programme Programme and Policy Officer (Resilient Livelihoods) - Consultant Jobs in Kenya

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.

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the United Nations frontline agency fighting hunger. WFP reaches more than 80 million people every day - delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with smallholder farmers, communities and governments to improve nutrition and build resilience.

Background and Purpose of the Assignment

In the eastern Africa region, approximately 20 percent of the global population faces acute hunger. Ethiopia and South Sudan face two of the top ten worst global food crises which are still ongoing, and Sudan has entered a steep downward spiral towards the same direction.

The region constitutes a microcosm of larger trends and food and nutrition security issues faced by communities, governments, and WFP itself. The climate crisis poses a significant risk to food systems, disproportionately affecting the most food- insecure people around the world.

Key Accountabilities (not all-inclusive)

Working under the supervision of the Deputy Head of Food Systems, the Programme and Policy Officer (Resilient Livelihoods) will:

Lead and supervise the livelihoods team

Manage and set priorities for a team of technical specialists and operational personnel, building capacities as needed

Supervise special projects within the team, ensuring deliverables are met, and expenditures are tracked as needed

Thought leadership on resilient livelihoods and food systems

Provide strategic direction, building on established resilience and food system frameworks, support country offices (COs) with their resilient livelihoods strategies and how these contribute to their overall food systems strategy development and programme implementation

Lead discussions on developing innovative approaches for WFP programming within resilient livelihoods portfolio and its inclusion in guidance for COs

Provide technical insight and coordination on WFP’s regional natural resource management, soil and water conservation, landscape and ecosystem restoration policies

Develop and lead regional studies, assessments and research on topics related to his/her portfolio.

Provide technical backstopping to Country Offices on resilience building activities by:

Support COs on the design, implementation, and oversight of resilient livelihoods programmes at country level, with a specific focus on asset creation and livelihoods, natural resource management, soil and water conservation, landscape and ecosystem restoration, and on their synergies with other programmes and activities (e.g. anticipatory action, climate services, access to financial services, school feeding, nutrition, and social protection, etc)

Lead the team providing CO support on strengthening value chains, improving access to markets and market-based solutions, post-harvest management and youth engagement

Ensure gender perspectives are effectively reflected in asset creation and livelihoods programming, and that they are designed to ensure the meaningful participation of women and men and the empowerment of marginalized groups;

Advise on mainstreaming relevant cross-cutting issues within asset creation and livelihoods programming

Support and provide guidance on his/her areas of expertise to COs as needed during the development of their Country Strategic Plans (CSPs) and project proposals; this entails working closely with RBN colleagues to ensure a coordinated approach and maximise synergies with climate risk management, DRR and climate change adaptation, emergency preparedness interventions

Knowledge management and capacity building

Support capacity building activities for RBN and COs’ staff, including:

Work closely with colleagues from other programming areas to co-develop and incorporate relevant guidance on integrated resilience/ food systems programming in relevant trainings/documents to strengthen coherence

Contribute to the development of knowledge and evidence-based products, including briefs, key messaging, talking points and case-studies

Enhance overall coordination on asset

creation and livelihoods and market access programmes and programmatic integration within programme teams as well as with procurement and logistics units

Support better coordination with other food systems programmes at RBN and CO level, also working closely with other technical units in RBN (social protection, emergency preparedness, RAM, school feeding) to foster synergies for integrated approach to resilience building and DRR

Liaise and strengthen coordination with relevant units in HQ working to promote greater coherence and coordination and coordinate provision of inputs and technical support to country offices on asset creation and livelihoods and smallholder markets support

Participate and represent WFP in regional inter-agency meetings and other relevant fora

Partnerships and fundraising

Support the development of proposals, including reviewing and providing inputs into climate finance proposals, with elements of asset creation and livelihoods

Support country offices engagement with relevant partners and stakeholders to scale up integrated resilience programmes, with a focus on strengthening government and community ownership and effectiveness of food security and nutrition programmes at regional, national and sub-national levels – including through extended field work

Strengthen and develop operational partnerships with other organizations (governments, UN, NGO’s, academia and research institutions) to foster collaborative approaches and initiatives that improve resilience and livelihoods related assistance packages

Support the development of MoUs, LTAs or expert rosters as needed to strengthen Country Offices access to relevant expertise;

Standard Minimum Qualifications

Education: Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in geography, environmental Science and management , development Studies, agronomy, agriculture, forestry, Climate Studies or related disciplines or a First University Degree with additional years of related work experience.

Language: Fluent in English including(writing and speaking ) is required

Desired Experiences for Entry Into the Role

Minimum 6-10 years of post-graduate, progressively responsible professional experience working on environmental engineering and/or development programming, rural development, agriculture or other related fields;

Country-level experience leading programme implementation and operationalizing programmatic policies on food security, natural resource management and sustainable development, rural livelihoods and poverty reduction, asset creation, access to markets, value chains, climate change adaptation and disaster risk management with communities;

Demonstrable experience and understanding of sustainable development issues is required. Experience in resilience building through rural livelihoods, graduation pathways, access to finance, climate adaptation and urban food systems at the community level, and in collaboration with local and national government in east Africa will be considered an asset.

Knowledge & Skills

Proven experience in managing diverse teams and partnerships, supervising staff, agenda setting, managing multiple projects, priorities, and timelines

Specialized technical understanding of rural and urban livelihoods, sustainable development issues, natural resource management, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation programming. Experience with community based participatory approaches will be considered an asset.

Proven ability to write briefs, analytical and guidance documents to a high standard, and to present complex technical information analyses to technical and non-technical in simple and easily understandable way.

Experience with developing and facilitating trainings to a wide range of stakeholders.
Proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook) and other standard WFP software packages and systems.

Desired general knowledge of UN system policies, rules, regulations and procedures

Desired working experience in the east Africa region

How to Apply

For more information and job application details, see; UN World Food Programme Programme and Policy Officer (Resilient Livelihoods) - Consultant Jobs in Kenya

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