Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis, and we are committed to promoting diversity and gender balance
Are you Public Policy Professional interested in further developing your professional experience while contributing to ending global hunger? Would you like to join WFP, a highly reputable organisation bringing positive change to lives of people affected by hardships? Would you like to join a global organisation investing in its people?
If your answer is yes, then this is a great opportunity for you to become an integral member of a diverse and passionate team that works on varied and international programs and projects directly contributing to beneficiary assistance.
About WFP
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) 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. With more than 18,000 colleagues worldwide, WFP works 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.
Why WFP?
- WFP assists more than 86 million people around 83 countries. Your work will have a positive impact on lives of the world’s most vulnerable people
- You will join a team of international professionals and will have a chance to exchange your experience and expertise with international team of colleagues
- Our team is growing internationally and the timing to join us cannot be better!
- We offer competitive compensation package determined by the contract type and your qualifications
RBC Cairo, Egypt & Unit Information
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the world’s largest humanitarian agency, fighting hunger worldwide. We are seeking to fill the position of Programme Policy Officer (Social Protection) at the P4 level, based in our Regional Bureau in Cairo (RBC), Egypt. This Regional Bureau covers a broad and very diverse set of countries in the Middle East and North Africa, Central Asia and Eastern Europe sub-regions.
WFP is well known for its ability to deliver food assistance rapidly to people in need. To continue responding effectively to challenging contexts while also contributing to longer-term efforts to end hunger, WFP is in the process of reshaping its engagement and support to national safety nets and social protection systems, to support governments with their hunger-fighting strategies.
In recent years, WFP has experienced a paradigm shift in response to an evolving operating environment that requires the UN agency’s technical expertise not only in the delivery of food assistance, but also in the development of sustainable hunger-smart and nutrition-sensitive solutions that will support progress towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Two: “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture”.
Efforts from WFP towards 2030 Agenda need to influence the design of the national social protection programmes (when available) and these efforts need to yield high and significant impact on nutrition status and contribute to improved food security outcomes.
RBC provides strategic guidance, policy/technical support and direction to WFP operations and activities in 17 countries: Algeria, Armenia, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kyrgyz Republic, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey and Yemen. Several Country offices have already started to feature support to national social protection systems in their strategies, programmes and initiatives, and there are good examples of such engagements conducted in very different contexts and settings, including in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq. To build on this success, RBC is looking for a more coherent and strategic approach to social protection leveraging WFP’s expertise and experience to be implemented across the region.
The Role
Under the general supervision and guidance of the Head of Programme (Expertise), the specific duties of the Programme Policy Officer will include:
- Lead and coordinate the technical works of the RBC in relation to food security, social protection and safety nets in different operational settings including displacement, conflict and fragile shock prone contexts.
- Provide technical, programme and strategic guidance to Country Offices in the formulation of strategies, resource mobilization and in the design and implementation of social protection projects, programmes and initiatives, including support to building a policy dialogue on social protection with host governments and their development partners
- Undertake technical assistance missions to support field level initiatives
- Formulate substantial parts of programme policies and implementation plans related to Social Protection and Safety Nets in line with both organizational strategies and the practical realities of operating in the field
- Support capacity building of Country Offices in the area of social protection through enhancing understanding of social protection concepts, strengthening use of analysis to inform strategy, enhancing Country Office capacity for social protection policy engagement
- Manage or oversee operational research and evidence building and lead the documentation of regional learning and wider knowledge management on issues relevant to social protection
- Support the utilization of outcomes from WFP analyses to inform social protection programming, including on bridging humanitarian assistance.
- Foster the integration of social protection work in the RBC region with other workstreams like school feeding, nutrition, cash based transfers, emergency preparedness and response planning, and vulnerability analysis, including the use of different types of safety nets (cash, school feeding, public works), strengthening of nutrition-sensitive and shock-responsive elements of social protection design, and enhancing effectiveness of underlying delivery systems
- Liaise with HQ in relation to the development of strategy, guidance materials and tools, ensuring that RBC’s experience, vision and concerns are adequately reflected
- Facilitate the development of partnerships and support the RBC Programme to engage in broader policy dialogue on social protection at regional level with key actors (e.g., Government agencies, UN agencies, social protection partners such as the World Bank).
- Support WFP’s policy engagement in international, regional and national events and meetings including through the preparation of policy briefs, advocacy and communication material, as well as internal briefing documents
- Lead, motivate and develop a team of social protection experts located both in Cairo as well as in various country office across the region to enable high performance.
- Ensure the best use of assigned financial resources for achievement of set objectives within a significant budget
- Incorporate gender perspectives in all areas of work, to ensure equal and meaningful participation of women and men.
- Other tasks as required and assigned by the supervisor or the senior management.
QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:
- Advanced University degree in Social Sciences, International Affairs, Economics, Nutrition/Health, Agriculture, Environmental Science, Public Administration, Public Policy or other field relevant to international development assistance, or First University Degree with two additional years of relevant work experience from the minimum experience requirement stated below
- At least 8 years (of which three international) of postgraduate progressively responsible professional experience in the international humanitarian and development fields
- At least 3 years of experience with national social protection systems in relation to food security, including in policy design, analysis and guidance
- Relevant operational experience in social protection and safety nets implementation in low- and middle-income countries, including experience in managing or implementing cash transfer programmes, electronic payment systems for social assistance, or linking humanitarian assistance to national social protection and safety nets
- Proven ability and experience in the development of interagency networks, partnerships, strategies and communications initiatives
- UN or donor experience, especially with WFP and/or UNICEF, DFID or World Bank is an asset
- Advanced understanding of the latest policy debates, theory, design and implementation issues of social protection and safety nets
- Knowledge of major humanitarian and development challenges and issues, specifically strategies for poverty and hunger reduction
- Knowledge of policy making processes and the ability to distil operationally relevant recommendations/lessons for governments and other partners;
- Understanding of donor policies, strategies and programme priorities in relation to development assistance, social protection and safety nets
- Strong capacity for analysis, learning, research and innovation
- Proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook)
Languages:
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Effective action management to plan, coordinate and prioritize multiple tasks
- Excellent cognitive capacity and problem-solving skills
- Strong strategic thinking with the ability to conceptualise value propositions in line with interests and needs of stakeholders
- Outstanding teamwork, leadership and interpersonal skills with ability to work patiently and tactfully with people of different national and cultural backgrounds
- Ability to gain the assistance and cooperation of others in a team endeavour through technical leadership in a broad range of operational areas
- Fluency in oral and written English
- Intermediate knowledge of Arabic or another official UN language (Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish) or Portuguese (one of WFP’s working languages)
Terms and Conditions
WFP offers a competitive compensation package which will be determined by the contract type and selected candidate’s qualifications and experience.
Please visit the following websites for detailed information on working with WFP.
http://www.wfp.org Click on: “Our work” and “Countries” to learn more about WFP’s operations.
Deadline for applications: 06 May 2020
Ref.: VA No. 120503
Qualified female applicants 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.
تنقيب– مصر
