JPO – Programme Nutrition Officer, WFP Kinshasa, Democratic Republic Congo

Junior Professional Officer (JPO) Programme

Nutrition Officer

WFP Democratic Republic Congo (DRC) Country Office

Kinshasa, DRC

ABOUT WFP

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. We are currently seeking for a Junior Professional Officer (JPO) to fill the position of Junior Nutrition Officer in the Democratic Republic Congo (DRC, RBJ).

CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND:

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continues to experience prolonged inter-ethnic conflict and the fragmentation by armed groups perpetrating violence, resulting in population displacement, chronic food insecurity, restricted livelihood activities and impeding access to markets, schools and healthcare. The crisis has deepened and spread in certain parts of the country, now affecting people in areas previously considered relatively stable. The humanitarian situation has significantly deteriorated over the last few years, compounding a situation that is already one of the world’s largest and most complex humanitarian crises. Currently, there are 5 million internally displaced people (IDPs) in DRC, constituting one of the highest numbers of IDPs on the African continent.

Analysis of nutrition trends over the past years indicates that child undernutrition is a significant and enduring public health problem. DRC is one of the ten countries, with the highest number of stunted children in the world (around 6 million). Prevalence of stunting has remained persistently very high nationwide (42% MICS 2018/2019).  Furthermore, levels of Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) and Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) also remain alarmingly high. According to the 2021 Humanitarian Needs Overview, published by OCHA in December 2020, some 4.4 million people are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition in 2021, including 2.4 million children who suffer from moderate acute malnutrition (MAM), one million children suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and one million pregnant and lactating women and girls acutely malnourished.

GENERAL INFORMATION

• Title of Post: JPO Nutrition Officer
• Grade: P2
• Supervisor: Head of Nutrition
• Unit: Programme
• Division/Country Office: Democratic Republic of Congo Country Office

• Duty Station: Kinshasa, DRC
• Duration of assignment: Two years

Note: The position is advertised through WFP’s Junior Professional Officer (JPO) Programme sponsored by the Government of Canada and is for CANADIAN NATIONALS ONLY.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the direct supervision of the Head of Nutrition and HIV in DRC the JPO will have the following responsibilities:

1. Contribute to the development of nutrition projects and activities, plans and processes, ensuring alignment with wider nutrition policies and guidance.
2. Provide project management support to specific and defined nutrition projects and activities, ensuring a coordinated approach with wider programmes/projects that complies with WFP standards and procedures.
3. Support the development of data gathering and monitoring/assessment systems ensuring that rigorous quality standards are maintained.
4. Track and analyse data to provide input into reporting activities and contribute to the preparation of accurate and timely reporting on nutrition activities that enables informed decision making and consistency of information presented to stakeholders.
5. Liaise with implementing partners (internal and external) to monitor ongoing projects, ensuring effective collaboration, timeliness, and efficiency, and highlight potential risks to project delivery.
6. Track and analyse the commodity pipeline situation of specialized nutritious foods.
7. Support the identification of potential partners and partnership negotiations to ensure a collaborative and holistic approach to meeting nutrition needs.
8. Support the capacity building of WFP staff, partners, and national government to prepare for and respond to nutrition needs for example the production and review of training materials.
9. Guide more junior staff, acting as a point of referral and supporting them with more complex analysis and queries.
10. Work in collaboration and coordination with the gender and protection team at the CO level implement the outputs related to nutrition in the country level gender action plan.
11. Support overseeing the implementation of findings of rapid gender assessments conducted within the context of nutrition activities, when and if feasible also participate in a rapid gender assessment in coordination with the gender and protection team.
12. In coordination with the gender and protection team support the implementation of the Gender and Age marker and mainstreaming of gender and GBV risk mitigation within the context of broader nutrition projects and activities.
13. Act in an assigned emergency response capacity as required to meet emergency food assistance needs.
14. Others as required.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

• JPO understands WFP’s policy and programming approaches towards Zero Hunger.
• JPO to be acquainted with nutrition emergency operations.
• JPO understands and can support gender mainstreaming within WFP programs and policies
• JPO to be familiarized with nutrition sensitive programming with a special focus on SBCC.
• JPO to be well versed with WFP internal systems including COMET, LESS, WINGS
• JPO able to effectively coordinate with other units within WFP including, Finance; Supply Chain; Procurement; Budget and Programming etc.

ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

• Advanced university degree or first level university degree with additional relevant work experience in Public Health Nutrition, Nutrition, Food Technology, Medicine or other relevant field.
• Two years of relevant working experience and exposure to implementation of national/international development programmes.; working in public health/food security/ nutrition related activities; identifying and defining nutrition issues/problems within a country.
• Fluency in English and French
• Proficiency in Windows MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook);
• Behavioral competencies such as Action Management, Client Orientation, Cognitive Capacity, Innovation, Partnering and Teamwork.

DESIRABLE REQUIREMENTS:

To perform the wide range of tasks and excel in this position, the ideal candidate would also possess:

• Exposure to the international arena either by direct work for an international institution/ organization; or, if working for a national entity, by way of interacting with international stakeholders.
• Intermediate level of one, or more, of the following official languages: English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese and Russian.
• WFP’s international professionals are required to serve in different locations around the world during the course of their career (including in hardship duty stations); willingness to be mobile would maximize opportunities for long-term retention into the Organization.

SUPERVISION

The JPO will be directly supervised by the Head of Nutrition unit, who will provide on-the job training and mentoring. The Head of Programme will act as a second level supervisor.

TRAINING COMPONENTS

The JPO will receive on the job training in the Country Office and will expand his/her knowledge through field visits to WFP project sites.

LEARNING ELEMENTS

At the end of the two-year assignment, the JPO should have obtained:

• Very good knowledge of WFP’s project cycles (from assessment to monitoring and evaluation), in a protracted relief/emergency setting
• Familiarization with WFP’s core policies and strategies on nutrition
• Interagency coordination on nutrition
• Good general understanding of WFP’s overall operations and activities in the region of assignment.

INFORMATION ON THE COUNTRY OF ASSIGNMENT –

• Living conditions in the Democratic Republic of Congo

OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION

• VA Reference no: 172968
• Closing Date: 06 October 2022, 23:59 Rome time

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

These are the common standards of behaviour that guide HOW we work together to accomplish our mission.

Different expectations of behaviour are defined depending on your grade and role/responsibilities within WFP.

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.

Saving Lives

Changing Lives

Candidates will receive acknowledgement receipt of their applications. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

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