Programme Assistant SC5 Naryn and Jalalabad (+ roster creation for Batken, Bishkek and Osh)

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Programme Assistant

SC5

Service Contract SC5

Naryn and Jalalabad (+ roster creation for Batken, Bishkek, Osh and other WFP locations) Kyrgyz Republic

747309

04/04/2023

18/04/2023

BACKGROUND

WFP’s vision is that people in the Kyrgyz Republic will have substantially increased access to national social protection systems that safeguard and foster their ability to meet their food security, nutrition and associated essential needs, and to manage the risks and shocks they face, with ample opportunity to graduate from poverty and contribute to sustainable food systems, national disaster risk management efforts and social cohesion.

WFP, the second largest UN agency in the Kyrgyz Republic, will support and promote the inclusion of people with diverse and often intersecting vulnerabilities and inequalities, by supporting nationally led social and civil protection systems and programmes (strengthening the government’s ability for anticipatory action and ensuring that no one is left behind) and by modelling new approaches within complementary WFP interventions (which can be adopted or transitioned), leveraging WFP’s global expertise in promoting healthy diets and sustainable food systems, climate risk management, warehousing, food safety, smallholder market access and innovations such as private sector-oriented solutions, micro-insurance and digital public goods.

PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

To perform specialized and/or standardized policy and programme-related processes and activities to support the effective delivery of planned outcomes.

Supervision received: Under the direct supervision of a more senior Programme staff, Programme Assistants receive strategic directions from Outcome Managers, who – accountable for results and resources for effective Programme delivery – set the operating frame in Bishkek, with operational teams implementing the activities in close collaboration with partners in Offices in Osh and Bishkek and in outposted locations such as Batken, Naryn and Jalalabad.

Programme Assistants ensure smooth collaboration with partners and with support functions, such as supply chain, budget or admin/finance as well as with the advisory and cross-cutting teams in the Research, Analysis and Monitoring unit, to ensure error-free and timely processing of information and operational transactions. Beyond a hierarchical supervisor, matrix reporting lines will aim at enhancing coordination and service provision through feedback, especially where a Programme Assistant supports more than one Outcome.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive, nor exhaustive):

1. Perform specialized and/or standardized processes and activities within the specific technical area of work supporting alignment with wider programme policies and guidelines.
2. Provide project management and/or general office support following established targets and WFP’s policies and procedures.
3. Within the specific area of responsibility, compile data and support analysis and preparation of reports (e.g. assistance needs, resource utilization, programme status, performance) in order to support operational decision-making.
4. Perform accurate, timely recording of data within the specific technical area of work (e.g. social protection, civil protection/disaster risk management, climate change adaptation, school meals, nutrition, value chains, food systems, emergency preparedness or other as defined in the CSP) following corporate standards and guidelines.
5. Work and exchange information with internal counterparts to support effective collaboration, implementation and monitoring of ongoing project activities.
6. Support communication and activities with local partners, agencies, NGOs and government institutions.
7. Act as a point of contact for resolution of general operational queries requesting assistance where necessary.
8. Follow standard emergency preparedness practices to ensure WFP is able to quickly respond and deploy needed resources to affected areas at the onset of the crisis.
9. Perform other duties as required.

SPECIFIC JOB REQUIREMENTS

1. Especially when acting as a focal point, support the WFP Country Office (cross-cutting) on different policy engagements, this includes:

• supporting (from administrative and logistical point of view) in planning, preparing for, organizing and reporting on the meetings, seminars, workshops, other events,
• building related knowledge internally and with partners, with record keeping and information sharing including through the internal archive in MS Teams,
• help identifying gaps and deviations from international standards or best-practices and develop recommendations for programmatic interventions to address identified weaknesses and gaps, preparing suggestions to relevant Outcome Managers.

1. Support the respective Outcome with the coordination of stakeholders, with landscape screening that facilitates complementarity or jointness of WFP interventions with those of other actors and with the management of Cooperating and Government partners who implement programme/project activities. This includes:

• support activities related to FLA management, such as ensuring relevant oversight and assessments are conducted and updated in the Partner Portal, record-keeping and paperwork, ensuring that all documents are maintained and filed in compliance with WFP standards and guidelines, securing the compliance with the overall activity logic and result orientation,
• if needed to facilitate the coordination with Government and Cooperating partner plans and priorities, temporary work in Government and partner premises to coordinate and explain WFP positions and advice,
• coordination with the External Relations unit, updating partnership information in the PAP and other tools to coordinate partnerships, fundraising and advocacy work by identifying potential collaboration with other partners and stakeholders (including other development partners’ projects and programmes, private sector, civil society organizations).

1. Support respective Outcomes with the report writing (for mid- and end of project timelines), support to communications and advocacy, presentations, fundraising proposals and knowledge sharing.
2. Support respective Outcomes with ensuring that RAM data is timely available and analyzed

• to take course corrections,
• to feed meaningfully into reports and publications,
• to ensure that crosscutting objectives such as ‘accountability to affected populations’, ‘nutrition’, ‘gender and disability inclusion’, ‘youth-focus’ and attention to the ‘mountain’ priority are fully considered (leave no one behind (LNOB), nutrition-sensitive, …) in targeting, transfer modality and transfer value choices as well as in other aspects of programme implementation, and that
• the CSP-focus on risk management and preparedness is reflected in up-to-date EPRP plans and MPAs, anticipatory actions and contingency plans to mitigate potential impacts and guidance to Government on shock-responsive national systems.

1. Facilitate effective communication between WFP staff in Bishkek and Osh offices as well as outposted programme staff, keep planning tools (such as procurement plan and tracking tools) and calendars that inform support functions’ work up to date and take minutes in internal and external meetings to keep track of decisions taken as well as of the status of actions planned.
2. Perform any other administrative tasks that contribute to an optimum use of resources to achieve planned results. This includes:

• with guidance by SCU and more senior programme staff: market research and drafting of TOR or specifications for goods and (consultant) services foreseen in the programme plans,
• with guidance by BPU and more senior programme staff: monitor budget utilization in line with the approved budgets in order to ensure that correct expenditure costs are charged and payments to external suppliers, cash grants and other supplier invoices are processed in a timely manner,
• with guidance by Finance/Admin and more senior programme staff: maintain plans and records to help coordinate cash forecasts and travel management.
• act as focal point for NFI procurement for Programme unit and act responsibly on FRN management.

Within specific Outcomes this includes or has specific focus as follows:

A Social Protection

16 a) Assist in aligning WFP activities with the national social protection programmes or in providing direct support to those (e.g. social contract), incl. with WFP supported tools and approaches for targeting, M&E, case management, digital social passport, re-designing of existing processes for better data protection, mitigation of risks and introduction of measures that enhance national systems.

17 a) Assist in programmatic discussion within technical working groups with ministerial and NGO partners to improve state benefits payment system, graduation from poverty through social contract, targeting principles through digitalization of social passport, monitoring and feedback collection, etc.

B Emergency Preparedness (EPRP) and Response

16 b) Assist in needs assessment of emergency affected people as part of the joint UN team, support in compilation of quick situational reports and briefs for management.

17 b) Support in distribution of humanitarian assistance as well as support in oversight of Government and cooperating partner organizations for the emergency preparedness and response.

C Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management

16 c) Finalization of the detailed stakeholder mapping, including existing businesses, associations, financial platforms collation and analysis of data collected under the previous mapping activity.

17 c) Further elaboration on the initiatives and pilots related to livestock insurance, risk mapping, differentiated vulnerabilities and adaptive capacities, along with RE/EE solutions and activities aimed at enhancing value addition. Coordination of the relevant training activities both within WFP KGCO and with external relevant partners active locally.

18 c) Support in assessment of the lessons learned during the previously implemented entrepreneurship support funds/mechanism, in direct cooperation with the Outcome team. The elaborated mechanisms are to be coordinated and discussed with development partners and private sector. Considering such lessons-learned and the way forward, support in identifying the potential small investment areas (specific emphasis on business development support services, processing)

19 c) Coordinate activities aimed at tailoring the last mile climate services to farming communities in close collaboration with KHM and other specified Government and Cooperating partners.

20 c) Facilitate the various technical assistance on a number of topics (adaptation, business planning, risk management, risk transfer, GAP, financial literacy) and secure regular exchange with the private sector on the skills and competences required, which shall further be developed into vocational training activities.

21 c) Support the monitoring of the paradigm shift in the field of adaptive capacities, RE/EE, income generation.

D Schools as Platform for Healthy Diets

16 d) Take responsibility for the launch of optimized meals models at schools and pre-schools as per Outcome work plan approved by CO management.

17 d) Coordinate and conduct (either directly or by tasking CPs) capacity-strengthening, coaching and support to school staff, parents and programme stakeholders on various relevant topics.

18 d) Facilitate the programme handover to national management.

19 d) Assist in organization of programmatic events, SSTC exchanges and missions.

20 d) Coordinate, implement and report on implementation of Home Grown School Feeding (HGSF), SBCC, Private and Public Partnership (PPP) and Urban School Feeding initiatives and activities.

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE:

• Strong knowledge of key national and regional contexts and issues.
• Demonstrated familiarity with the project life cycle, with practical experience with related tools and modalities as also used by WFP.
• Well organized work with accurate information/reports/records, preferably with experience in working collaboratively through MS Teams.
• Time management, multitasking and prioritizations.
• Ability to work with accuracy under time constraints and pressure; to deal patiently and tactfully with staff members and others and to have a high sense of result-orientation, initiative and good judgment.
• Practice in utilizing computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.), including processing transactions error-free and timely in systems like SAP (WINGS) or other databases.
• Demonstrated experience in implementing programme activities through sub-contracted or complementary partnerships (incl. involvement in screening the partnership landscape, negotiating agreements, managing contracts/verifying deliverables and strengthening capacities with both public and private partners).
• Track-record in considering vulnerabilities and the leave-no-one-behind / human rights-based approaches in programme implementation, facilitating two-way communication with the people WFP serves.
• General knowledge of UN system policies, rules, regulations and procedures governing programme management. Knowledge of WFP’s manual, rules and guidelines in the area of programme would be desirable.

FUNCTIONAL CAPABILITIES (Knowledge & Skills):

• Programme Lifecycle & Food Assistance: Can facilitate implementation of food assistance programmes under guidance using basic understanding of principles and good practices of programme design, implementation and monitoring.
• Transfer Modalities (Food, Cash, Vouchers, Insurance and other): Demonstrates ability to facilitate, under guidance, programme implementation that deploys full range of transfer modalities with an understanding of basic principles guiding modality selection and implementation.
• Knowledge of Specialized Areas: Understands basic technical concepts and data and their relevance to activities implemented by WFP or within national social and civil protection frameworks.
• Emergency Programming: Displays capacity to provide inputs into the development, implementation and

• realignment of high-quality emergency programmes.
• Strategic Policy Engagement: Understands and applies basic principles of engagement with government, civil society and other counterparts at the national or local level.
• Ethics and Compliance: Maintains accurate records of activities in line with compliance standards to increase ease of response to basic audit queries.

EDUCATION

Completion of secondary school education. A post-secondary certificate in the related functional area, with project management certificates and/or further university education an advantage.

WORK EXPERIENCE At least five years of working experience for public or private sector organizations, international organizations, UN or NGOs

LANGUAGE

Fluency (level C) in both oral and written communication in English and proficiency in the duty station’s language(s) (Russian and/or Kyrgyz).

All WFP Employees are expected to demonstrate the competencies and standards of behaviour aligned with our core values and defined in the WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK, namely:

Leading by example with integrity,

Driving results and delivering on commitments,

Fostering inclusive and collaborative teamwork,

Applying strategic thinking,

Building and maintaining sustainable partnerships.

HOW TO APPLY

To be considered, interested candidates are invited to apply via (https://www.wfp.org/careers/job-openings). Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

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.

Request for Disability related Reasonable Accommodations:

It is important to WFP to create an accessible and inclusive workplace for everyone. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions. If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the selection and hiring process, please direct your request and inquiries to the Diversity and Inclusion team on: global.inclusion@wfp.org, cc’ing bangkok.recruitment@wfp.org. A member of the reasonable accommodation team will contact you to confidentially discuss your needs.

This email is only to be used for any disability related accessibility requirements, and not for sending the application itself. Due to volume of applications, any applications or CVs sent through this email address will not be considered as a formal application and will not receive a reply from WFP.