WFP seeks to recruit a programme policy officer (head of field office) -104484

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.

 

Job purpose :

Through the five-year Country Strategic Plan, WFP in Kenya continues its shift from service delivery to capacity strengthening of national and county institutions to implement sustainable hunger solutions.   Furthermore, WFP aims to ensure that food systems in the arid and semi-arid lands of Kenya are resilient, efficient and inclusive, enabling people to access and consume food that is safe and nutritious. WFP

The purpose of this post is to lead a cross-functional field team, and to provide technical coordination and operational support to the county government(s) to address food systems challenges, in line with WFP’s CSP.

 

Key Accountabilities(not all-inclusive) :

Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Reporting :

• In coordination with the M&E unit, government and partners, ensure project monitoring data is collected and verified, support for project reviews, outcome monitoring, baselines and evaluations given ;
• Generate, manage and share information and knowledge to support improvement in programme design, and learning ;
• Ensure regular reports summarizing key achievements, challenges, and lessons learned, are prepared and shared on timely basis.

Team leadership and office management :

• Effectively manage the Field Office to ensure the continued development of a cohesive and high performing team by planning, organizing, guiding, distributing, and coordinating the flow of work, as well as support capacity building of WFP staff ;
• Ensure that allocated resources are utilised efficiently and are in line with agreed plans, with any deviations reported to and justified with the Nairobi country office ;
• Make recommendations concerning employment, performance, and other personnel actions, ensuring staff perform their functions with the highest standards of integrity as required by the Charter of the United Nations and in accordance with the Standards of Conduct for the International Civil Service, the WFP Code of Conduct.

 

Standard minimum qualifications :

• Advanced University degree in Agriculture, Agriculture Economics, Environmental Science, Range Management, Land and Water Management, Social Sciences or other field relevant to international development assistance, or First University Degree with additional five years of related work experiences and/or training/courses ;
• At least 5 years of post-graduate of demonstrated experience and deepened technical knowledge in the design and implementation of resilience building programmes, market linkages of small-scale traders/producers, including in-depth knowledge of the theory, practice and/or trends in the food systems approach, particularly crops/livestock production in the arid and semi-arid lands of Kenya ;
• Deepened experience in technical coordination and operational support to county governments ;
• Demonstrated ability to work with government with the required diplomacy and tactical skills to handle complex situations ;
• Demonstrated work experience in project related to enhancing rural livelihoods or community resilience to climatic shocks in partnership with the community, county governments, and other partners ;
• Strong analytic, communication and interpersonal skills, including training and facilitation skills and demonstrated experience in conceptual analysis, planning and organizational skills.

 

Desired experiences for entry into the role :

• Working experience with UN agencies or other International Development Organizations ;
• Demonstrate a strong understanding of national socio-economic and political issues and the complexity and range of WFP programmes to plan and oversee implementation ;
• Conversant with sustainable development goals relevant to food systems and how they affect food security and nutrition ;
• In-depth understanding of WFP programmes, supply chain and budgeting principles, and ability to translate that into relevant, effective and context-specific approaches ;
• Experience in writing funding and project proposals ;
• Ability to drive a four-wheel light vehicle within the field office boundaries, as may be required from time to time.

 

4ps core organisational capabilities :

Purpose :

• Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives: Understands WFP’s Strategic Objectives and the link to own work objectives ;
• Be a force for positive change: Flexibly adapts individual contributions to accommodate changes in direction from supervisors and internal/external changes (such as evolving needs of beneficiaries, new requirements of partners) ;
•  Make the mission inspiring to our team: Recognizes and shares with team members the ways in which individual contributions relate to WFP’s mission ;
•  Make our mission visible in everyday actions: Sets own goals in alignment with WFP’s overall operations, and is able to communicate this link to others.

People :

• Look for ways to strengthen people’s skills: Assesses own strengths and weaknesses to increase self-awareness, and includes these in conversations on own developmental needs ;
•  Create an inclusive culture: Participates in open dialogue, and values the diverse opinion of others, regardless of background, culture, experience, or country assignment ;
•  Be a coach & provide constructive feedback: Proactively seeks feedback and coaching to build confidence, and develop and improve individual skills ;
•  Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit: Participates in accomplishing team activities and goals in the face of challenging circumstances.

Performance :

• Encourage innovation & creative solutions: Shows willingness to explore and experiment with new ideas and approaches in own work ;
•  Focus on getting results: Consistently delivers results within individual scope of work on time, on budget and without errors ;
•  Make commitments and make good on commitments: Commits to upholding individual accountabilities and responsibilities in the face of ever-changing country or functional priorities ;
•  Be Decisive: Makes rational decisions about individual activities when faced with uncertain circumstances, including in times of ambiguity regarding information or manager direction.

Partnership :

• Connect and share across WFP units: Seeks to understand and adapt to internal or cross-unit teams’ priorities and preferred working styles ;
•  Build strong external partnerships: Demonstrates ability to understand and appropriately respond to and/or escalate needs of external partners ;
•  Be politically agile & adaptable: Portrays an informed and professional demeanor toward internal and external partners and stakeholders ;
•  Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships: Provides operational support on analyses and assessments that quantifies and demonstrates WFP’s unique value as a partner.

 

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, Voucher)	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 (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 capacity to provide inputs into the development, implementation and realignment of high quality emergency programmes.
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.

 

Terms and conditions :

• Please ensure you include your past TWO Performance Appraisals/ PACE ;
• WFP is an equal opportunity employer and does not charge fees from applicants at any stage of the recruitment process ;
• Only short listed applicants will be contacted.

Qualified female candidates are particularly encouraged to apply.

For any queries write to Nairobi.queryhr@wfp.org

Deadline of application : 7th April 2019.