Programme Policy Officer (Emergency Response), SC8, Malakal, South Sudan Full Time NEW

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ABOUT WFP
The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity, for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.
At WFP, people are at the heart of everything we do and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse, committed, skilled, and high performing teams, selected on merit, operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment, living WFP’s values (Integrity, Collaboration, Commitment, Humanity, and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves.
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WHY JOIN WFP?

• WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.
• WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse, and multicultural working environment.
• WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training, accreditation, coaching, mentorship, and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities.
• A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe.
• We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of this vacancy announcement).

JOB TITLE: Programme Policy Officer, Emergency Response

TYPE OF CONTRACT: Service Contract, SC8

UNIT/DIVISION: Programme

DUTY STATION (City, Country): Malakal, South Sudan

DURATION: 12 months (Renewable; subject to performance and budget availability)

Country Context

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the United Nations frontline humanitarian agency addressing hunger and malnutrition worldwide. WFP tackles poverty and hunger through a range of interventions: saving lives and protecting livelihoods in emergencies; investing in the prevention and mitigation of disasters; restoring and rebuilding lives and livelihoods in post-conflict or post-disaster situation; and other interventions to tackle hunger. Each year, on average, WFP feeds more than 90 million people in over 80 countries.

Greater Upper Nile is one of the most complex and crisis-affected regions in South Sudan, characterized by protracted conflict, large-scale displacement, food insecurity, and climate shocks. The WFP South Sudan Malakal field office area of coverage includes the following counties of Upper Nile State: Akoka, Baliet, Fashoda, Longechuk, Maban, Maiwut, Malakal, Nasir, Panyikang, and Ulang in addition to Canal/Pigi and Fangak Counties of Jonglei State. (Activities in Manyo, Melut, and Renk Counties are managed by the Renk field office.) Operations include in-kind and cash-based transfers food assistance and community capacity development through general assistance in sudden onset emergencies and for static populations, provision of school meals and nutrition support, and resilience programmes for livelihoods building.

Job Purpose

The Programme Policy Officer, Emergency Response, will report to Malakal field office Head of Programme. The incumbent will lead implementation, monitoring, and documentation of all unconditional support (i.e., emergency response) activities in Malakal field office coverage areas, in line with WFP South Sudan’s strategic direction in resilience building and reducing humanitarian needs. This includes overall planning, coordination, supervision, monitoring, and reporting on all general food assistance and malnutrition prevention support (i.e., blanket supplementary feeding).

Key Accountabilities for the day to day running as well as the strategic management of the general assistance and malnutrition prevention programmes are as follows.

Emergency Coordination
1. Lead field office coordination of the WFP Upper Nile and northern Jonglei emergency response in direct support to the field office management and through strong collaboration and coordination with the country office emergency unit.
2. Lead preparation of response capacities and contingency planning to ensure adequate operational readiness and where feasible, a transition plan for more sustainable emergency responses.
3. Monitor emerging humanitarian and food security trends and, through coordination with security and access focal points, potential socio-economic and political instability to support the identification of risks and strategies for preparedness and risk reduction before crisis occurs.
4. Support the identification, development and management of potential strategic and government partnerships leading to improved food assistance packages.
5. Represent WFP as a technical member of the Food Security and Livelihoods Cluster, Inter-Cluster Coordination Group, and other relevant external platforms, providing updates on WFP emergency response planning and implementation and supporting interagency collaboration and response.
6. Support strategic engagement with line ministries at the Upper Nile state level, particularly related to food security response, to define WFP’s capacity strengthening objectives, implement actions, and document results for knowledge sharing and evidence-based advocacy and policy dialogue.
7. Establish and strengthen strategic partnership with other food security actors through meetings and coordination fora to achieve complementarity, avoid duplication of efforts, and provide coordinated support to subnational institutions.

Distribution Coordination
8. Lead and participate in project design, proposal reviews, budget review and oversight, invoice processing, report reconciliation, and performance reviews for all cooperating partners implementing emergency responses.
9. Serve as first focal point to all cooperating partners implementing emergency responses, ensuring all project activities are conducted in accordance with their field level agreements.
10. Manage all operational data linked to the provision of unconditional support, including coordination with the country office in preparation of the annual operational plan, development of quarterly food and cash assistance requirements, preparation of monthly distribution plans and processing of food requirement notes in advance of food dispatches while ensuring compliance with donor requirements as well as terminal disbursement dates and expiry/best use before dates.
11. Coordinate with the logistics unit to plan delivery of all assistance (by road, river, and air), ensuring accuracy of commodity dispatch and that delivery is on time and in the right place.
12. Oversee the distribution of assistance across the field office coverage area, including coordination with relevant cooperating partners, local authorities, and community/beneficiary-led project management committees, ensuring adequate visibility materials and help desks are present at sites.
13. Collect and review daily/weekly distribution updates and monthly distribution reports from partners to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data for both progress monitoring and reporting purposes.
14. Engage and collaborate with field office management to understand data needs and requirements, ensuring that data analysis outputs align with operational goals and decision-making processes.
15. Ensure strong compliance with all WFP corporate policies and procedures, utilizing corporate platforms (e.g., COMET, Partner Connect, SCOPE, SUGAR-CRM, etc.) and country or field office driven tools as relevant and through coordination with relevant cross-functional counterparts.
16. Prepare accurate and timely reporting on all emergency response activities and ensure consistency of information presented to stakeholders.
17. Coordinate with the field office research, assessments and monitoring team and/or technology team to develop reports, dashboards or other data visualization tools to effectively summarize findings and convey information to inform decision making.
18. Prepare high quality notes for the record on a timely basis to document anomalies in implementation or to make special requests, following up to ensure adequate approvals to prevent retroactive actions.
19. Ensure all relevant documentation is kept up to date and record-keeping is well maintained, inclusive of all approved notes for the record, commodity loss reports, etc.
20. Contribute to the preparation of donor and high-level field visits to highlight and advocate for WFP activities.
21. Coordinate with the resilience and livelihoods building activities team to support transition of communities and households from humanitarian support.

Leadership
22. Conduct site visits, provide feedback and guidance to WFP staff and cooperating partners, document good practices, and ensure that improvement actions are implemented.
23. Participate in WFP’s evidence generation and learning activities and initiatives. Ensure credible evidence is used to inform decision making for programme adaptation.
24. Support the capacity building of WFP staff, partners and national government to prepare for and respond to food assistance needs, e.g. through project management support of learning initiatives.
25. Provide guidance to support staff, acting as a point of referral and assisting them with analysis and queries.
26. Serve as deputy to the head of programme, stepping in as officer-in-charge of the programme unit as required.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

Education:

Advanced university degree in humanitarian or emergency response, disaster management, rural development or other field relevant to food systems and resilience, or first university degree with additional years of related work experience.
Experience:

For master’s degree holder or higher: At least one year post graduate professional experience with humanitarian organizations or government institutions in emergency preparedness and response, disaster risk management, or humanitarian programme coordination and implementation in a complex setting and/or an emergency operation.
For a candidate with bachelor’s degree, at least three years of the above experience is required.

Knowledge, Skills and Behavioural competencies:

• Strong knowledge of conflict dynamics in South Sudan.
• Strong initiative and independence, maturity of judgement, tact, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to deliver on responsibilities with minimal guidance and with competing priorities in a high-pressure environment.
• Strong analytical approach in problem solving and management.
• Strong intercultural and social competences with regard to communication and interface.
• High resilience, improvisation talent, and flexibility.
• Maturity, initiative, courtesy, tact, and ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
• General knowledge of humanitarian principles, UN rules, regulations and procedures.
• Strong proficiency in standard Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint). Ability to manage complex spreadsheets and large datasets is a major component of the position.

Language: Fluency (level C) in English language and at least one relevant local language
Condition for Application:
This position is open ONLY for qualified South Sudanese candidates. Female candidates are highly encouraged to apply.

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

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REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

WFP is committed to supporting individuals with disabilities by providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process. If you require a reasonable accommodation, please contact: [email protected]

NO FEE DISCLAIMER

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REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

• All applications must be submitted exclusively through our online recruitment system. We do not accept CVs or spontaneous applications by email.
• If you experience challenges while submitting your online application, please contact us at [email protected] for technical support only.
• Please note that applications sent to this email address cannot be considered.
• We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete, and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, language skills and UN Grade (if applicable).
• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.
• Kindly note the only documents you will need to submit at this time are your CV and Cover Letter
• Additional documents such as passport, recommendation letters, academic certificates, etc. may potentially be requested at a future time
• Only shortlisted candidates will be notified

All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
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.

Tagged as: South Sudan, World Food Programme