Programme Policy Officer (Partnerships) at the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to end global hunger. 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.

We are recruiting to fill the vacant position below:

Job Title: Programme Policy Officer (Partnerships), NOB

Requisition #: 74102
Location: Maiduguri

Job Description/Purpose

• We are seeking to fill the position of Programme Policy Officer post at the NOA level, based in WFP Nigeria, Maiduguri Office. If you are a Nigerian national, committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for people in need, we would like to hear from you!
• To provide support to policy and programme activities that effectively meet food assistance needs.

Key Accountabilities (not all-inclusive)
Reporting to the  Programme and Policy Officer (first level) & the Head of Programme Unit (second level), the National Programme Officer (Partnerships) will perform the following:

• Assist in the identification, development and management of potential partnerships to collaborative working leading to improved food assistance packages
• Support the lead Partnership Programme Officer to develop and sustain liaison with key professionals and NGOs engaged in the field of food security;
• Assist in the research and analysis of potential partnerships for WFP assistance programmes/ projects to support colleagues in the development programmes and activities
• Assist in liaising with internal and external counterparts to ensure effective collaboration, monitor ongoing partnership
• Assist in identifying the capacity gaps and support the capacity building of partners (including NGOs, national and local government) to prepare or and respond to food assistance needs, e.g. through project management support and/ or learning initiatives.
• Support in managing partnership, and performance evaluation process on biannual basis ensuring that rigorous qualify standards are maintained; and ensure compliance with WFP’s policies, criteria and procedures
• Assist in the preparation of Field Level agreements (FLA), Memorandum of Understanding(MOU) of all approved partnership proposals, and submit to the lead Partnership& FLAs Officer for review before final submission for approval to management
• Support to provide continuing liaison with bilateral food aid programmes, with UN agencies and with NGOs providing technical or other forms of assistance to WFP assisted projects.
• Contribute to the preparation of periodic and timely reporting on NGOs and other partnerships that enable informed decision making and consistency of information presented to stakeholders.
• Assist in the preparation and dissemination of timely analytical and critical reports including proposals for improvements in operation and the scope of programmes;
• Assist in the design and maintaining of databases of all partnership agreements including FLAs, and MOU relating to WFP projects
• Support in providing guidance to support staff/ units/ sections, acting as a point of referral and assisting them with analysis and queries
• Supervise the day-to-day activities of junior staffs within the section as assigned
• Perform any other duties as requested

Expected Results & Critical Success Factors:

• Well prepared, analytical work; well managed projects, programmes and/or operations.
• Good analytical skills; resourcefulness, initiative, maturity of judgement, tact, negotiating skills; ability to communicate clearly both orally and in writing; ability to work in a team, and establish effective working relations with persons of different national and cultural backgrounds.
• Ability to cope with situations which may threaten health or safety; flexibility in accepting work assignments outside normal desk description.
• Ability to deal patiently and tactfully with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.

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.

Standard Minimum Qualifications
Education:

• 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.

Language:  

• Fluency in both oral and written communication in English Language (Level C) and any other in use at the duty station.

Experience:

• Minimum of 3 years work experience.
• At least 3 years of postgraduate professional experience in commerce, development, administration or food aid support.

Knowledge:

• Training and/or experience utilising computers, including word processing, spreadsheet and other standard WFP software packages and systems.
• General knowledge of UN system policies, rules, regulations and procedures governing administration.

Functional Capabilities
Programme Lifecycle & Food Assistance:   

• Displays ability to identify the main hunger problem at the national or subnational level to design and implement context-specific programmes that integrate complex analysis and the full range of food assistance tools.

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 ability to translate understanding of programme principles in emergencies and protracted conflict situations into relevant, effective, and context specific approaches.

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.

Desired Experiences For Entry Into The Role

• Has deepened technical knowledge through exposure to technical teams.
• Has provided input into policy discussions and decisions.
• Well prepared, analytical work; well managed projects, programmes and/or operations.
• Good analytical skills; resourcefulness, initiative, maturity of judgement, tact, negotiating skills; ability to communicate clearly both orally and in writing; ability to work in a team, and establish effective working relations with persons of different national and cultural backgrounds.
• Ability to cope with situations which may threaten health or safety; flexibility in accepting work assignments outside normal desk description.
• Ability to deal patiently and tactfully with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.

Terms and Conditions

• Qualified female candidates are encouraged to apply.
• Applications should be submitted online and in English only.
• Only Nigerian nationals are eligible to apply for this position.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Candidates should not contact HR unless in response to an invitation.
• Canvassing (for the position) of any sort will lead to automatic disqualification of the concerned candidate.

Application Closing Date
28th January, 2018.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online