Programme Policy Officer – Social Protection _International Consultants Level I (Internationals only
.
WFP encourages female candidates and people with disabilities to apply.
WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles. Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis. We are committed to promoting diversity and the principle of equal employment opportunity for all our employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of religion or belief, ethnic or social background, gender, gender identity and disability.
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 (SDG 2) 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. WFP has been present in Sri Lanka since 1968 providing assistance to the country in emergency situations and conducting protracted recovery interventions in the aftermath of man-made disasters such as the 27-year conflict and recurrent natural disasters (droughts and floods/landslides). The country’s on-going economic crisis — the worst in decades – has triggered a spike in the cost of living, along with lost jobs and reduced incomes. Coupled with the lingering effects of COVID-19 and impacts of climate change, the country is experiencing a concerningly high level of food insecurity. These challenges threaten to reverse years of development gains, undermining the country’s ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Even before the ongoing crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, Sri Lankan women and children had very high rates of malnutrition: 17 percent of children under 5 were too short for their age (stunted) and 15 percent were too thin for their height (wasted), a figure which is considered 'very high’ in WHO classifications. The current economic crisis will likely aggravate this further. WFP commenced its second-generation five-year Country Strategic Plan (CSP) for the period 2023 – 2027 (CSP 2018-2022) which aims to address immediate food and nutrition needs while building medium to long-term solutions through four strategic outcomes.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
JOB TITLE: Programme Policy Officer – Social Protection (CST I)
TYPE OF CONTRACT: Regular International Consultancy
DUTY STATION (City, Country): Colombo, Sri Lanka
DURATION: 6 months
WFP offers a competitive compensation package which will be determined by the contract type and selected candidate’s qualifications and experience.
Please visit the following website for detailed information on working with WFP: http://www.wfp.org
Click on: “Our work” and “Countries” to learn more about WFP’s operations.
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS
03 April 2023
JOB PURPOSE
The Country Office is seeking a Social Protection Programme Policy Officer (CST – level 1) to support the engagement in social protection related activities (Government agencies (Department of Samurdhi Development, in particular), UN Agencies, civil society counterparts, cooperating partners, IFIs and major stakeholders) and programmes that effectively meet food security, nutrition needs and response to major shocks (shock responsive social protection (SRSP)/ adaptive social protection, resilience, EPR, gender and disaster risk management (DRM)).
The purpose of the assignment is to contribute to WFP Sri Lanka’s social protection work to ensure that WFP effectively contributes to the coordinated efforts of various stakeholders to strengthen national social protection in the country.
The incumbent will operate under the direct supervision of the Head of Social Protection and will be responsible for carrying out the following tasks and responsibilities:
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)
1. Programme and project management and operational support/: Support the coordination and liaison with other WFP programme functional units including Budget and Programming, Finance, Supply Chain, VAM and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) to provide information, as may be required for formulation of Social Protection proposals, monitoring cash assistance reconciliation reports and contribute to the discussion on cash assistance through social protection mechanisms, digital transformation and innovative approach of national social protection programmes and systems, Coordinate with Nutrition, CBT, Gender, and School Feeding team to promote nutrition sensitive social protection, Support the Head of Social Protection in contextualizing and operationalizing WFP’s Social Protection strategy, with linkages to WFP’s interventions in the field, Contribute to the development of a roadmap to advance social protection agenda in Sri Lanka and within the regional perspective, Contribute to the development of the regional Social Protection Implementation Plan by liaising with Social Protection team in WFP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific and an external consultant to facilitate the consultation process,
2. Policy, research and analysis: Contribute to Knowledge Management and Learning (KML), focusing on evidence generation activity on linking social protection activities with the implementation of the global cash-based transfers (CBT) response to mitigate the impact of the economic crisis in Sri Lanka, during the emergency and, for the transition to the recovery phase, Participate in the development of Knowledge Management and Learning system and develop a policy brief to guide WFP work to enhance government-led social protection systems and programmes in Sri Lanka, Support the collaboration with government and other development partners to identify, generate and analyze evidence for shock responsive and adaptive social protection system, Distill lessons learned and good practice based on current scale-up operations and social protection activities, identify implementation challenges and results enhancing qualitative programming, Identify and suggest / recommend opportunities for pilot programmes, technical support, advocacy, and policy work.
Maintain a knowledge and information-sharing platform to update and communicate with relevant stakeholders on bridging the emergency and development/recovery activities in Sri Lanka, assist in organizing workshops, meetings, seminars, and field visits.
3. Partnerships: Support and foster partnerships with the Department of Samurdhi Development (DSD) and other relevant government entities, UN agencies, development partners, civil society, IFIs, research partners and academic institutions to foster shock responsive and adaptive social protection agenda, related policies, reforms and contribute to WFP being a partner of choice, Support technical capacity strengthening of WFP staff and Government institutions at both national and subnational levels in social protection-related topics, particularly how to consider the impact of shocks and stressors, Coordinate with other UN and NGO partners as may be necessary for information sharing and reporting.
STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Education: Advanced University degree in Public Policy, Public Administration, International Development, International Relations, Sociology, or other fields relevant to social protection, or a First University Degree with additional years of related work experience and/or trainings/courses.
Experience: 3 or more years of relevant professional work experience in international development or humanitarian work, especially in data collection and analysis; has led and/or managed monitoring and evaluation activities in a project or a country office context; is familiar with IT solutions in support of programme and project monitoring. Experience in managing diverse teams of technical staff.
Knowledge & Skills:
• Understanding of Agenda 2030 and respective targets – particularly SDG1, SDG2 and SDG17 – and how the work of WFP can contribute to achieving them;
• Knowledge of current thinking and developments in the field of social protection, public policy, in country capacity strengthening and transfer modalities;
• Understanding of key national and regional contexts and issues;
• Problem solving, analytical and decision-making skills;
• Ability to develop and maintain relationships with a variety of stakeholders, conveying an informed and professional demeanour toward internal and external partners and stakeholders;
• Learning agility, and appetite for exploring innovative ideas and approaches.
• Demonstrated ability to produce high-quality written outputs and ability to present in English;
• Ability to work independently in a timely and organised manner;
• Ability to work as part of a team, participating in open dialogues and valuing diverse opinions of others, regardless of gender, culture, background, experience, or country assignment;
• Proficient computer literacy.
.
WFP has a zero-tolerance approach to conduct such as fraud, sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to WFP’s standards of conduct and will therefore undergo rigorous background verification internally or through third parties. Selected candidates will also be required to provide additional information as part of the verification exercise. Misrepresentation of information provided during the recruitment process may lead to disqualification or termination of employment
WFP will not request payment at any stage of the recruitment process including at the offer stage. Any requests for payment should be refused and reported to local law enforcement authorities for appropriate action.
