Programme Policy Officer (VAM – Hunger Monitoring), SSA-9, Manila (For Filipino national only) 1

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ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme 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. 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.

JOB DETAILS

BACKGROUND

The Philippines is beginning to feel the alarming effects of the global food, energy, and financial crisis. Inflation has hit 5.4 percent in May 2022, compared to 4.9 percent in April 2022, with food and transport costs leading to the increase in commodity prices. Following the severe COVID-19 pandemic impact on the economy, this places unprecedented stress on the agriculture sector, threatening trade and productivity gains from major crops in the coming months.

While emergency measures through "targeted relief” to the most vulnerable sectors are being introduced by Government, it is crucial to build on these experiences to turn short-term measures into long-term, comprehensive, shock-responsive responses to mitigate the impact of the current crisis, support economic recovery, and increase resilience to future crises. To this end, monitoring and analysis systems need to be strengthened to provide evidence-based policy options and inform necessary reforms.

For the Philippines to devise comprehensive preventive response measures to shocks including frequent severe climate disasters , and now, the looming food and energy crisis, it must enhance its periodic data collection and analytics systems to inform necessary reforms toward more effective shock-responsive social protection responses and food supply chain management.

PURPOSE OF ASSIGNMENT

In this context, under the leadership of the Resident Coordinator Office (RCO), WFP in partnership with FAO and ILO aims to (1) craft an improved and integrated monitoring framework to enhance data collection, analysis, and information dissemination on the impact of the global crisis; (2) building on the robust data collected, provide policy options and risk-mitigating actions, especially in the areas of social protection and food systems and (3) prepare the institutional mechanism that will potentially carry forward & streamline the monitoring and reporting work.

This joint programme will craft an improved and integrated framework for existing government monitoring and surveillance systems for agriculture, food security, and social protection, anchoring them in the DRR and early warning systems already operational in the government agencies, and introduce UN-facilitated data collection methods and tools to support monitoring and reporting of the impact of the global crisis in the Philippines.

The major action of the programme started consists in collecting data on indicators relevant to agriculture, food security, energy, livelihoods, and social protection at the regional level. The project utilizes WFP’s mVAM (mobile Vulnerability and Mapping) tool, which collects data through fielding mobile calls at the household level of the general population, traders, farmers, fishermen etc. Preparation of the survey questionnaire was jointly supported by WFP, FAO and ILO to ensure adequate coverage and representation of the indicators, as well as data quality. he first round of data collection was completed in September 2022 and two subsequent rounds are planned to be conducted by end of March 2022.
A UN Joint Programme Task Force (JPTF) was established, chaired by the RCO, with FAO, ILO and WFP (PUNOs) as members, with invited government counterparts. The JPTF is composed of technical experts from RCO and PUNOs and are the main decision-making body for the implementation of activities. The JPTF meets on a monthly basis to ensure coordination among actors, monitor the progress of delivery of project outputs, and troubleshoot issues encountered in the implementation.

The candidate is expected to play a lead role in managing the second and third rounds of mVAM based near real-time monitoring in the country and ensure coordination with programme partners, i.e. FAO, ILO, RCO, and government stakeholders.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The job holder will be working under the supervision of the Head of Research, Assessment and Monitoring (RAM) with overall guidance from the Head of Programme and/or the Deputy Country Director

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

1. Lead the review of the tools of the mVAM based near-real time continuous food security monitoring based on the feedback from the first round of data collection in coordination with relevant units, regional and HQ focal points, RCO, partner UN agencies in country (FAO, ILO), and government stakeholders.
2. Coordinate and co-lead with the firm in charge of data collection refresher trainings of call center operators, update guidance and training materials, operators’ script and questionnaire guidelines.
3. Lead and coordinate the implementation and roll out of the subsequent rounds of near-real time monitoring.
4. Carry out data cleaning and analysis of data in coordination with relevant units/ stakeholders, ensuring appropriate result outputs are generated.
5. Implement and maintain systems to control data collection. Conduct regular checks of data collection progression and key related indicators (response rate, refusal rate, completion rate) and troubleshoot any potential issue affecting the adequacy of data collection, including identified delays.
6. Regular monitoring of data quality, including the listening of recorded calls, to identify potential errors or misunderstandings of operators.
7. Maintain fluid communication flow with data collection team to ensure timely clarifications of technical doubts operators may face during interviews and provide remarks to operators and supervisor if needed.
8. Monitor the regular upload of the competed questionnaires and review completed questionnaires to ensure clarity and accuracy.
9. Ensure referrals are conducted following country standard channels.
10. Based on the analysis, write and edit bulletins/reports in an attractive layout and easy to understand manner, ensuring coherence and consistency, and with key messages and programme implications clearly highlighted.
11. Develop and maintain a dashboard to visualize key results and findings.
12. Lead the preparation of dissemination workshops with partners including the RCO, partner UN agencies and government stakeholders.
13. Lead the UN Joint Programme Task Force (JPTF) monthly meetings through the preparation and presentation of updates, preliminary results, etc.
14. Assist in the preparation of a range of advocacy material, including thematic briefs, flyers, and presentations, when required.
15. Lead the collaboration with partners, particularly with FAO, ILO and government stakeholders, on the use of mVAM and inter-agency collaboration on assessments;
16. Prospect and lead the establishment of partnerships with government stakeholders to develop projects and programs addressing mVAM findings;
17. Work closely with the RBB mVAM focal point and HQ Hunger Monitoring unit to ensure high quality of mVAM assessments, alignment with regional mVAM, and data compatibility with Hunger Map Live;
18. Provide training to relevant staff to build up mVAM technical capacity in the country.
19. Any other tasks as assigned by the Head of the Unit.

DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF CONTRACT

1. A functional remote monitoring system in the Philippines.
2. mVAM food security information products based on quality information.
3. Enhanced capacity of relevant staff/partners for mVAM implementation.
4. Monthly meetings of the UN Joint Programme Task Force chaired.
5. Results dissemination Workshops with UN partners and government stakeholders.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

• Education: A postgraduate degree in Economics, Statistics, Food Security, Nutrition, Food Security, Data Science, Geography or a related field;
• Experience: At least 3 years of experience in food security and nutrition analysis and survey methodology.
• Knowledge and Skills:
  • Experience analyzing large household survey data is required
  • Experience in implementation of household phone surveys (e.g. mVAM) including design of tools and methodology, training and collection supervision, and data analysis;
  • Experience in producing information products based on food security and nutrition analysis
  • Programming skills in SPSS/STATA/Python or R, and data management required
  • Familiarity with Tableau or other dashboards software
  • Context knowledge and previous experience in the Philippines are considered an asset
• Language: Excellent spoken and written English skills.

REMUNERATION PACKAGE

• Approximate monthly salary is a minimum of PHP 97,000++ and a maximum is PHP 121,000++
• Medical coverage that can be extended to eligible dependent/s

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

The deadline for applications is on 01 December 2022, Friday 11:59 pm (Manila time). Qualified candidates are required to complete an online candidate profile on UN WFP Careers Website https://www.wfp.org/careers Only applications received on this website are considered valid and will be processed and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

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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.

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