Head of Protection and Accountability – CST II – Kabul

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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.

JOB DETAILS

Job Title: Head of Protection and Accountability
Grade: CST II
Type of contract: Consultancy
Duration: 11 Months (with possibility of extension)
Duty Station: Kabul
Vacancy Number: 827587
Date of Publication: 19 June 2023
Deadline of Application: 03 Jul 2023

ABOUT WFP

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the leading humanitarian organization saving lives and changing lives, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

With an engaged government, rich natural resources and a young and diverse population, Afghanistan has the potential to make significant progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. However, a complex and protracted conflict, combined with challenges related to climate change, demographics, gender inequalities, and underemployment issues, have dramatically impeded the country’s efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, including goal 2 on zero hunger.

Afghanistan remains one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises with 28.3 million people – two-thirds of the population – in need of humanitarian assistance. Decades of conflict, extreme climate shocks, and severe economic decline characterized by high unemployment, cash shortages, and rising food prices have plunged millions into poverty. According to the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan, some 20 million people are acutely food insecure between November 2022 and March 2023, including more than 6 million people on the brink of famine-like conditions in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency). Further, the global food and fuel crisis makes it harder for already vulnerable households to meet their basic food needs. In response to unprecedented levels of hunger and vulnerability, WFP has scaled-up humanitarian operations with the aim to reach 23 million people in 2022 with emergency food, nutrition, and livelihoods support. Present in Afghanistan since 1963, WFP’s current Country Strategic Plan (2018-2023) has adapted to the new operating environment, providing lifesaving support to those who need it most, while continuing, where possible, to support long-term community resilience, gender, and education initiatives.

Results from WFP’s latest Afghanistan Food Security Update Round 13 (Sep-Oct 2022) show that, on average, 90 percent of household income is spent on food, while 50 percent of households rely on crisis level coping strategies to meet their basic food needs. Furthermore, 90 percent of households continue to face insufficient food consumption for the 12th month in a row. Female-headed households are disproportionately affected, with 84 percent experiencing insufficient food consumption, compared to 50 percent of male-headed households.

JOB PURPOSE

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 most vulnerable and marginalised, including women and children, can achieve and enjoy food and nutrition security.

45% of the total Afghan population experience acute food insecurity (18.9m), and 3.9m children malnourished. With drought, pandemic, and conflict, the food security will continue to worsen. Despite security and logistical challenges, WFP maintains access to most of the country including areas with active fighting. In the first eight months of 2022, WFP delivered food and nutrition assistance to 21.9. million people, including people newly displaced by fighting. Ensuring that WFP activities reach the most in need, safely and with integrity is a key priority.

A humanitarian crisis of considerable magnitude and complexity has developed since international forces withdrew and the Taliban took control in August 2021. At this critical time, WFP is delivering lifesaving humanitarian assistance across the country and continues to have a presence in the field throughout Afghanistan with staff and programme activities in six Area Offices – Faizabad, Mazar, Herat, Kandahar, Jalalabad and Kabul, and satellites offices to be set up in Bamyan, Maimana, Kunduz and Gardez. WFP is adapting its operations in response to the more complex and unpredictable context, reassessing assumptions and adjusting programmes. Major constrains include maintaining access to the most in need (of all diversities of men, women, boys and girls), changing security conditions, navigating internal and cross-border transport corridors, and overcoming expected critical supply challenges. Work is underway on how to adapt programmes in Afghanistan based on lessons and experiences from WFP operations in other conflict and insecure contexts and informed by the affected populations.

WFP is seeking a Head of Protection and Accountability Unit to ensure that protection risks are understood and appropriately mitigated (immediately and sustainably through necessary institutional adjustments), and that ongoing operational presence and activities are driven by protection outcomes and real-time feedback and engagement with the affected populations at national, community and household level. The Head of Protection and Accountability Unit will also lead WFP with ensuring protection capacity is enhanced and evidenced across all staff and that partnering agencies are equally capacitated. Adapting operations and programming to reflect conflict sensitivity is also a priority for this Country Office and will require technical support from the Head of Protection and Accountability Unit.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

Under the supervision of Planning and Accountability Officer, the Head of Protection and Accountability Unit will be responsible for leading the Country Office to understand, mitigate, and adjust to protection risks and progress towards protection outcomes as it relates to Zero Hunger. The advisor will be well versed in: disability inclusion, accountability to affected populations (consultation, community feedback mechanisms, information and knowledge management), support to data privacy, conflict sensitivity, interagency cooperation (especially with the Protection Clusters and its four sub-Clusters), protection assessments, monitoring, analysis, and protection programming for food and nutrition security.

The position will also be proficient in capacity building and be required to travel significantly across the Country to support field offices and engage with communities in a diversity of settings.

The Head of Protection and Accountability Unit will overall be required to be self-driven and able to work strategically and independently to respond to protection priorities as the context evolves. The incumbent will have supervision of protection, disability inclusion and AAP staff.

Key Responsibilities

1. Protection risks: Undertake protection assessments using multi-assessment methods to document protection risks relevant to food and nutrition security. This will include presentation of mitigations ranging from immediate risk mitigation activities to institutional adjustments required for sustainable risk mitigations.
2. Protection outcomes: Identify opportunities and programming adjustments/designs that contribute more intentionally and measurably to protection outcomes that contribute to food and nutrition security, as well as minimizing harm in general. This includes outcomes across all identities and diversities aiming for equitable outcomes.
3. Conflict sensitivity: Support WFP to integrate conflict sensitivity into programmes and operations, especially around emergency food assistance. Implement recommendations and mitigation measures arising from the 2022 conflict sensitivity assessment.
4. Accountability and Disability Inclusion: Oversee the implementation of the WFP Accountability Roadmap and Disability Inclusion Roadmap through establishing and/or strengthening Country Office approach to community consultation, community feedback mechanisms, and information and knowledge management, and support Strategic Objectives in mainstreaming disability inclusion in all stages of programming. This includes supporting integration of AAP into all activities, operations and field offices, and supervise the development and roll-out of a Community Engagement strategy.
5. Capacity building: Support WFP staff and partner capacity to apply protection, AAP, disability inclusion and other relevant cross-cutting approaches. This includes but is not limited to mentoring and training national staff, cooperating partner staff, third party monitoring staff in order to build their capacity to identify food insecurity-related protection risks and implement adequate and culturally appropriate mitigation measures.
6. Partnerships: Represent WFP in Protection and Accountability interagency fora; establish community and key stakeholder relationship to enhance AAP – including with civil society, I/NGOs, community groups, community representatives and individuals working to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment, disability inclusion, minority rights, and other demographics and marginalized groups.
7. General: Implement the Protection and Accountability Strategy for the Country Office; Provide technical input to strategic and policy processes at CO, RB and HQ level as requested by the relevant teams and units; contribute to donor reporting and briefing requirements; as well as protection related ad-hoc tasks as identified or required by Country Office Management.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

EXPERIENCE:

• At least eight years of postgraduate progressively responsible professional experience in development projects or humanitarian assistance, of which at least four years international field experience. This should include experience working in crisis or post-crisis contexts.

KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS:

• Knowledge of Inter-Agency and WFP architecture, systems and programmes.
• Demonstrated knowledge of humanitarian programming in the area of protection and AAP.
• Proven ability to produce outputs independently, while at the same time seeking innovative ways to integrate areas covered by this TOR in the work of other relevant units.
• Demonstrated capacity to rapidly review available documentation on contexts in which WFP operates, and be ready for substantive engagement and advisory work.
• Capacity to engage in strategic conversations at senior levels.
• Demonstrated strong analytical and writing skills, including the ability to write in an engaging and informative manner, and conceptualise and clearly synthesise information.

ESSENTIAL:

• Demonstrated field and policy-oriented experience working on protection, AAP and/or human rights programming is required.
• Experience designing and establishing accountability mechanisms and disability considerations within programmes.
• Experience in delivering training and conducting capacity-building for field operations and supporting senior managers in implementing new concepts.
• Previous deployment to an L2 and/or L3 emergency as protection and AAP (or related) advisor.
• Managerial experience.
• Ability to work on short timelines, under pressure, and managing multiple priorities simultaneously with minimum supervision.
• Initiative, enthusiasm, creativity, and flexibility with excellent interpersonal skills and team spirit.
• Flexibility to travel frequently and on short notice, when necessary.
• Willingness to be deployed to a country office for up to eleven months. No telecommuting possible.

DESIRABLE:

• Knowledge and/or experience in protection in emergencies programming, as well as conflict-sensitivity, peacebuilding, humanitarian access and broader inclusion (social, economic, other identities) consideration in humanitarian and development programming are desirable.
• Understanding of food security programming with previous experience from WFP or any of its cooperating partners is highly desirable.
• Knowledge of subsidiary and other cross-cutting issues including disability, access, gender, conflict sensitive programming, protection from sexual exploitation and abuse, and the humanitarian, development and peace nexus is highly desirable.
• Experience working in Afghanistan is highly desirable.

EDUCATION:

• Specialized education with post-graduate university degree in one of the following disciplines: law, international relations, political science, human rights or other relevant fields.

LANGUAGE:

• Excellent command of English (written and spoken) is essential for this role. Working knowledge of Dari, and/or Pashto is an advantage.

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. We want to ensure the recruitment process is fully accessible. Please contact us at afg.hrrecruitment@wfp.org to advise us of any accessibility needs you may have.

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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.

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