Programme Policy Officer – Social Protection
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WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or 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 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.
Background- WFP Palestine Country Office
Over the past five years, socioeconomic conditions in the State of Palestine have deteriorated and a protracted protection and humanitarian crisis has undermined the food security of millions of Palestinians. 1.8 million people are food insecure across Palestine and the aid dependency ratio is increasing. Rising inflation, linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and now also spurred by the Global Food Crisis, has contributed to reductions in the purchasing power of Palestinians and increased food insecurity. For Palestinians engaged in agriculture and herding, climate-related obstacles, including droughts and rising temperatures, increasingly impede productivity.
Building on the strengths of its 2018-2022 country strategic plan, WFP Palestine’s new plan for 2023–2028 will address the needs of Palestinian communities through a humanitarian‑development–peace nexus approach, responding to immediate humanitarian needs and simultaneously addressing longstanding socioeconomic vulnerability.
While food assistance, through cash-based transfers and in-kind food to meet essential needs, remains WFP’s largest activity, this will be complemented by livelihood and resilience building interventions to address issues of poverty and poor labour-force participation, which have been identified as one of the key drivers of poor access to food, and to strengthen resistance to shocks. Nutrition integration will be integrated throughout the programme, to address immediate and underlying causes of micronutrient deficiencies.
WFP Palestine has demonstrated longstanding commitment and contribution to the strengthening of capacity at the national level, through strategic partnerships with various government line ministries, to enhance the consideration of food security, shock-responsiveness and nutrition-sensitivity in national systems, programmes, policies and plans. WFP is engaged in joint programming and implementation with other United Nations agencies. Under the new CSP, WFP is expanding its enabling services – in the form of a CBT platform, CFM, logs sector – to continue supporting the wider humanitarian community to achieve collective outcomes and continue supporting the people we serve.
JOB PURPOSE
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is well known for its ability to deliver food assistance rapidly to people in need. To continue responding effectively to challenging contexts while also contributing to longer-term efforts to end hunger, WFP is in the process of strengthening its engagement and support to national social protection systems and safety nets, as part of efforts to support governments with their fight against hunger.
In this context, the Palestine Country Office (CO) is enhancing its support to the Ministry of Social Development (MoSD) and related line ministries to strengthen social assistance being provided through the National Cash Transfer Programme, efforts at targeting that social assistance particularly to the most vulnerable groups (such as the disabled and older persons), as well as support capacity-building efforts and strengthening analysis and related delivery mechanisms that underpin these efforts.
This position is intended to ensure dedicated expertise to enable coordination of these efforts within the CO, with Ministry counterparts and with partners undertaking joint programmes in this area. The role will include contributing to strategy formulation, coordination with key stakeholders (internal and external), provision of technical guidance on programme strategy and implementation, as well as associated delivery mechanisms.
Key functions
Coordinate defining strategic direction for CO social protection engagement
• Provide strategic thinking and direction on the CO’s role in social protection programming identifying opportunities for WFP’s positioning and engagement in this area, in close coordination with all relevant stakeholders in the CO and with partners.
• Support inputs to CO strategy development in social protection in line with organisational and regional strategy and the practical realities of operating in the field, including formulating clear programme and implementation plans related to social protection, and translating WFP programme policy into country-level practices, programming and implementation modalities and operations, working in close conjunction with CO management and relevant CO teams.
• Inform CO engagement in coordination of efforts in support of national social protection schemes.
• Inform strategic and technical programme development, fostering cross-functional working and coordination with relevant technical teams in the CO, Regional Bureau and Headquarters as required, in key areas such as cash based transfers, school feeding, nutrition, emergency preparedness and response planning, monitoring and evaluation, gender, IT…).
Coordinate WFP’s technical work on social protection and capacity strengthening
• Support coordination efforts of WFP’s engagement with MoSD, with relevant staff in the CO and with partners, in their efforts to bolster the national social protection system.
• Provide technical advice and help mobilize additional technical expertise for the Ministry, on a wide range of programme and policy issues related to social protection including on analysis, objectives, activities, transfer modalities, the deployment and testing of innovative approaches and the development of strategies to support government efforts to reduce hunger and malnutrition through national social protection systems
• Provide technical assistance to Ministry counterparts on the development of strategy and systems for social programmes, working in close collaboration with internal stakeholders and key partners in the social protection space.
• Support other on-going initiatives relevant to social protection together with key partners, such as sister UN agencies, the World Bank and the Cash Working Group.
• Advise and support the development of functional training in areas of expertise to enhance the capacity of Government counterparts to design and deliver effective programming.
• Facilitate knowledge capture, documentation and exchange to develop innovative approaches to better design and implement social protection systems.
Partnerships
• Inform partnership strengthening and coordination with Government and key development partners, laying out a roadmap towards that and support building a policy dialogue on social protection.
• Maintain established partnerships and develop new ones in line with opportunities for collaborative approaches and initiatives
• Maintain a network of national and international professional contacts in the field of social protection
• Attend external events linked to social protection, as needed
• Identify new funding opportunities for the social protection unit and develop funding proposals
Involvement in broader Social Protection discussions
• Act as a WFP’s subject-matter expert on social protection for the elaboration of the national social protection policy
• Represent WFP in policy and engagement dialogue on social protection with key actors (e.g., Ministries, UN agencies, IFIs, NGOs and social partners etc)
• Enhance WFP’s leadership status in different forums on subjects related to social protection and resilience building through direct participation, briefings, information products and other knowledge products.
• Contribute to opportunities to facilitating the national social protection policy development process through the coordination, preparation, moderation and reporting of the policy drafting committee’s technical group on shock responsive social protection
• Support CO to build a policy dialogue on social protection with the host government and development partners
• Coordinate WFP activities to assist in the completion of a national social protection policy more specifically regarding the shock responsive social protection strategic axis of the policy document, including the hiring and oversight of WFP consultants, internal and external experts
Evidence building
• Support operational research and evidence building on issues relevant to social protection and the related dissemination of reports and information products.
Coordination and resource management
• Manage the social protection workplan to ensure expected deliverables are met in a timely manner
• Ensure the best use of assigned financial resources for achievement of set objectives within a significant budget. Where applicable, advise on cooperating partner budgets, monitor expenditures and review invoices for timely payments based on performance
• Coordinate with colleagues engaging in team working to enable high performance
• Support team members through coaching and guidance as relates to social protection. Conduct targeted trainings for staff and partners, as required.
• Take responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives in all areas of work, to ensure equal participation of women and men.
• Contribute to Country Office Emergency Preparedness i.e. early warning, risk analysis, and contingency planning in order to respond to humanitarian crises and needs.
Other tasks as required and assigned by the supervisor or senior management.
STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Education: Advanced University degree in Social Sciences, International Affairs, Economics, Public Administration, Public Policy or another field relevant.
Experience: At least 3 years of experience in social protection implementation in low and middle-income countries.• At least 3 years experience of working in or alongside government partners
• At least 3 years’ operational experience in national social protection systems, including responsibility for liaising with different line ministries at national and decentralized levels;
• Experience in the region is an asset
• UN or donor experience, especially with WFP is an asset.
Knowledge and Skills: A sound understanding of policymaking processes and the ability to distil operationally relevant recommendations/lessons for governments and other partners;
• Strong capacity for analysis, learning, research and innovation;
• Capacity to foster strong cross-agency collaboration
• Good leadership and interpersonal skills
• High degree of discretion and diplomacy
• Excellent communication skills verbally and in writing
Languages: Fluency (level C) in English language. Intermediate knowledge (level B) of Arabic is an advantage.
Deliverables at the end of the contract
- Contribution to the timely and coordinated implementation of the social resilience protection projects in Palestine and the strategic preparation of the next CSP in alignment with WFP and national policies and guidelines.
- Testing of innovative approaches
- The timely production of reports, presentations, briefs, and information material that assist with improved understanding of social protection in Palestine among internal and external stakeholders.
- The maintenance and further development of partnerships and resource mobilization efforts (climate finance on top of development and humanitarian funding) that will ensure sustainability and scaling up of the ongoing resilience and the social protection projects.
- Improved capacity within the country office, partners, and stakeholders to understand and execute programmes that improve food security, resilience and social protection.
4Ps CORE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES
Purpose
- Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives: Utilizes understanding of WFP’s Strategic Objectives to communicate linkages to team objectives and work.
- Be a force for positive change: Proactively identifies and develops new methods or improvements for self and immediate team to address work challenges within own work area.
- Make the mission inspiring to our team: Identifies opportunities to further align individual contributions with WFP’s mission of making an impact on local communities.
- Make our mission visible in everyday actions: Helps colleagues to see the link between their individual tasks and the contributions of their unit’s goals to the broader context of WFP’s mission.
People
- Look for ways to strengthen people's skills: Is able to identify, support and encourage focused on-the-job learning opportunities to address gaps between current skillsets and needed future skillsets for WFP.
- Create an inclusive culture: Recognizes the contributions of teammates, and encourages contributions from culturally different team mates to recognise the value of diversity above and beyond just including it in programming for beneficiaries.
- Be a coach & provide constructive feedback: Provides and solicits ongoing constructive feedback on strengths and development opportunities to help develop individual skills, whilst also helping others identify areas for improvement.
- Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit: Sets clear targets for self and others to focus team efforts in ambiguous situations (e.g., unprecedented issues and/or scenarios).
Performance
- Encourage innovation & creative solutions: Thinks beyond team’s conventional approaches to formulate creative methods for delivering food aid and assistance to beneficiaries.
- Focus on getting results: Maintains focus on achieving individual results in the face of obstacles such as volatile or fragile environments and/or organizational roadblocks.
- Make commitments and make good on commitments: Takes personal accountability for upholding and delivering upon team’s commitments and provides assurance to stakeholders.
- Be Decisive: Demonstrates ability to adjust to team’s plans and priorities to optimize outcomes in light of evolving directives, while also responding quickly in high-pressure environments, such as in emergency settings.
Partnership
- Connect and share across WFP units: Demonstrates an understanding of when and how to tactfully engage other units in conversations on impact, timing, or planning.
- Build strong external partnerships: Networks regularly with key external partners using formal and informal opportunities to understand each partner’s unique value proposition, and to build and strengthen relationships.
- Be politically agile & adaptable: Demonstrates ability to adapt engagement approach in the context of evolving partner circumstances and expectations.
- Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships: Demonstrates ability to articulate to internal and external audiences the value that individual contributions and immediate teams bring to partnerships.
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS
By CoB of 21st May 2023
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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.
