Programme Policy Officer (National Technical Advisor), NOC – Gabon

Vacancy Announcement n°: 168093

👉Job Title: Programme Policy Officer (National Technical Advisor), NOC

📌Type of Contract: National Professional Officer Fixed-Term

🚩 ️Unit / Division: Country Office Management

⭐Direct Reporting Line: Regional Director for WFP Regional Bureau for Western Africa

📍 Duty Station: Libreville (Gabon)

🌟 Duration: 1 year (renewable based on performance)

BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE:

Since its establishment, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has been entrusted with a dual mandate: to meet emergency and protracted relief food needs (saving lives) and to support economic and social development (changing lives). To contribute to national development agendas in an impactful way, WFP innovates to tackle the root causes of hunger and malnutrition and builds resilience both at a community and system level. The organization works with multiple stakeholders, aiming to build strong partnerships – including at the technical level – with national governments, development partners (incl. International Financial Institutions), as well as the private sector.

Effective design and implementation of development programmes require:

1. Robust engagement and investment in relationships with governmental authorities (local, subnational and national), and other development actors including International Financial Institutions (IFIs);
2. Expertise in public policy and public administration and contextual knowledge of how respective Governments and ministries operate.
3. Ensure the generation of robust evidence to support food security and nutrition policies and programmes.

The Programme Policy Officer (National Technical Advisor) will help position WFP strategically as a key development partner amongst the national stakeholders and will co-lead the engagement with the national Government, International Financial Institutions and other development actors in the country to maximize the impact of WFP’s development programmes.

The Programme Policy Officer (National Technical Advisor) will facilitate WFP’s contribution to the design of key policies and programmes in the country and will mobilize resources for WFP programmes contributing to the country’s development agenda.

COUNTRY CONTEXT:

The total cropland of Gabon is estimated at 495,000 hectares. Although 27% of the population lives in rural areas, each subsistence family only farms on about one hectare of land or less. In Gabon, high-yield seeds and chemical fertilizers are very uncommon, causing harvests to be minimal. Seventy-one percent of farmers cited cost as the main reason they do not utilize chemical fertilizers. Other causes of low yield include lack of irrigation and elementary farming techniques and technology. Only 3% of total cropland was irrigated. Subsistence farmers practice slash and burn agriculture. This method causes high erosion rates due to the average annual rainfall between 1250mm and 2000mm. Slash and burn agriculture also causes soil degradation which contributes to the low crop yields. Plantains, cassava, and maize, which are the most common Gabonese subsistence crops, are continually planted in the same soil season after season.

The proportion of undernourished people in Gabon is rising again. According to the 2021 Global Hunger Index report, Gabon’s proportion of undernourished people has been steadily decreasing every year since 2008. Gabon ranks 67th out of the 116 countries with sufficient data to calculate 2021GHI scores. With a score of 16.6, Gabon has a level of hunger that is moderate. However, hunger levels decreased every year between 2008 and 2014 but have since started to rise. Data from the 2018 global report on nutrition indicates that in Gabon, malnutrition exists in all its forms, with an 18% rate of chronic malnutrition among children of less than five years of age. 61% of pregnant women are anaemic; 46.4% of women are overweight; 15% of adults are obese, and obesity rates are steadily growing among children. Improved access to food can help prevent starvation, malnutrition, and sickness.

Gabon’s government has taken measures to fight the hunger epidemic. In 2019, the Gabonese government founded the Gabonese Parliamentary Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition (APGSAN). The organization, established in association with the FAO Subregional Office for Central Africa and the United Nations, is committed to fighting hunger and malnutrition throughout the nation. APGSAN will work with other parliamentary coalitions to help provide sustainable food to the 42.7 million people who are starving in Central Africa. APGSAN’s formation proves that nations can allocate money, design legislation and form coalitions to combat pressing issues.

From 2000 to 2019, the prevalence of growth stunting in children dropped from 25.9% to 20.2%. Growth stunting in children has seen a steady decline, but since 2010, the number of children suffering from stunted growth has in fact increased from 17% to 20.2%. In response, NGOs like ScalingUpNutrition (SUN) have created detailed action plans that illustrate hunger priorities the Gabonese government must address, such as resource mobilization for nutrition and budget allocations.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Regional Director and the Regional Operations and Partnerships teams, the Programme Policy Officer (National Technical Advisor) will undertake the following key responsibilities to advance the positioning of WFP with the government of Gabon and within the UN team in Gabon, particularly in programme and partnership building, monitoring and evidence generation and resource mobilization with the Government, IFIs and other development actors:

Advice and Analysis

• Provide advice to the Regional Director and to the Resident Coordinator in terms of strengthening WFP’s relationship with the Government and positioning WFP as a key actor in the humanitarian and development space.
• Proactively scan the country’s humanitarian and development landscape and identify viable opportunities for strategic engagement, to refine WFP’s value proposition and specific offerings for WFP’s strategic engagement with the Government and other actors, including IFIs, particularly in the areas of food security and nutrition analysis, emergency response, social protection, rural transformation, sustainable infrastructure and human capital development.
• Analyse the national development, budgeting and spending priorities, as well as relevant external developments and processes involving the Government and IFIs (e.g. national budgetary processes, approval of key strategic documents, and loan negotiations), to determine how WFP could support the Government with furthering its priorities and closing the funding gap.
• Provide technical advice and support to WFP and its partners on matters pertaining to food security and nutrition strategies, policies, programmes, and ensure the timely and productive use of related outputs.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Establish and maintain partnerships to identify opportunities for collaborative approaches and initiatives with Government and key development actors, including IFIs, academia, regional organisations and other UN agencies, as well as other relevant stakeholders working on development issues.
• Identify programmatic complementary approaches to the overall UNCT and especially complementarity with United Nations Rome-Based agencies.
• Consolidate evidence base to inform CCA development/adjustment and contribute to the design and strategic WFP positioning in the UNSDCF.
• Inform and support the Regional Director and the Resident coordinator as well as its technical teams on the engagement with key partners on the strategy, design, relevance and impact of programmes that can be supported by WFP to advance national development priorities.
• Provide advice on WFP’s representation and messaging in various national instances/committees /working groups (on humanitarian/development issues) and support the positioning of WFP among key external stakeholders as a UN agency with a dual humanitarian and development mandate and a trusted development partner.
• Engage with national institutions, universities and think-tanks to establish WFP as a thought leader in the country in the humanitarian and development arena.

Technical Advisory

• Provide advice and guidance on the development of programme activities, providing technical analysis, interpretation, and recommendations to enable food assistance needs to be met effectively.
• Contribute to the development of systems and tools for the monitoring and assessment of food assistance needs in line with innovative methodologies and best practice.
• Lead the development and implementation of Monitoring, Review and Evaluation plans that will provide the most relevant and strategic information to manage progress towards achieving expected results (as set out in global and regional plans), while being compliant with WFP evaluation and monitoring requirements.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of national government and interagency monitoring, reporting and evaluation frameworks.
• Position WFP through strategic partnerships and complementarities and contribute to national development goals by leveraging WFP's global expertise and know-how in an advisory role.
• Build capacity of partners and national government to conduct food security, nutrition, markets and resilience analysis, as well as monitoring & evaluation, to effectively inform preparedness and response activities.

Key Working Relationships:

• Internal: Reports to the Regional Director. Works closely with the Country Office Management and Programme and Partnerships Teams
• External: Facilitates engagement with the Government, including relevant ministries and agencies, and key development actors, including IFIs, UN sister agencies and academia.

KEY DELIVERABLES:

1. On-going strategic advice leading to game-changing support from WFP to the government.
2. Increased funding for WFP’s work contributing directly to the country’s development portfolio.
3. Government and development actors (including IFIs) engagement strategy including stakeholder mapping for WFP at the country level.
4. Lead the implementation of the CO partnerships strategy both by supporting the Regional Director and the Reside Coordinator and by building and maintaining partnerships directly as relevant.
5. Joint concept notes with the national government on areas of joint engagement.
6. Advocacy documents and position papers on WFP’s development work.
7. Regular stakeholder meetings and technical workshops, where relevant.
8. Establish and implement an evidence generation system.
9. Analysis of evidence generated and recommendations to senior management.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED :

Education:

Advanced university degree in Public Administration, Political Science, Economics, International Development, statistics or other relevant field.

Desired technical skills and experience:

• At least 5 years of experience working in the public sector/ international development/ humanitarian sector.

• Significant experience in developing relationships and ability to engage and interact effectively with staff at the Ministerial level and at the IFI Management level.

• Proven record of accomplishment in building strategic partnerships.

• Demonstrated experience in analyzing country and cultural contexts, assessing food availability, access and utilization, and exposure to risks.

• Experience with vulnerability analysis exercises.

• Prior experience with establishing/managing food security and vulnerability monitoring systems.

• Experience in programme/project design processes and coordination with internal and external stakeholders, including governments and IFIs.

• Experience working closely with academia and think tanks.

• Knowledge of WFP operations and international experience is a plus.

Languages:

Fluency (level C) in English language and French.

Deadline for application: 25 August 2022.

Qualified female applicants are especially encouraged to apply.

WFP has zero-tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate based on race, sex, color, ethnic group, age, sexual orientation, other affiliation, or 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.

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