Programme Assistant (Smallholder Agriculture Market Support), GS-5, Cotabato, Philippines

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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.

We encourage 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 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 is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce. WFP has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, abuse of authority, or discrimination. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

JOB DETAILS

This vacancy notice is open to Filipino nationals only

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

Smallholder farmers and fisherfolk in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) lack the resources, information, and training to increase their yield and undertake value-adding activities necessary to improve their livelihoods. The economic insufficiencies deprive them of resources to spend on housing, education, healthcare, and other non-food essentials. Inadequate agricultural infrastructure, poor soil and water management, land tenurial issues, denuded natural resources etc. impede smallholders abilities to become self-sufficient. Another challenge is the limited integration of farmers into the agricultural value chain and the lack of transformation into high-value-added products adapted to the conditions of a changing climate. Improved climate smart agricultural practices while strengthening the inclusion of smallholder farmers and fisherfolk in gender sensitive value chains is a crucial missing link to sustainably solve the prevalent poverty index and quell the low nutritional indicators that have plagued the BARMM region for decades.

WFP, along with its partners, has successfully supported the BARMM Government in the creation of Bangsamoro Food Security Task Force (BFST), through the issuance of EO No.005 s.2020, that aims to facilitate innovations, convergence, and reforms, and increase investments toward a sustainable food system in the region. It is tasked to carefully coordinate, rationalize, monitor, and assess the efforts of concerned Ministries and instrumentalities to ensure a holistic and comprehensive approach to achieving food security and nutrition of the BARMM. Accordingly, in 2020, four BARMM Ministries established inter-ministerial collaboration through convergence model ”IBGP-Kayod Ka Bangsamoro” as an entry point.

The Convergence has two tracks of implementation: (1) Resilient Livelihood Support and (2) Sustainability and institutionalization, wherein the Community-based Participatory Planning (CBPP) will be used to formulate the Convergence Community Area Development Plan (CADP).

To support BARMM, WFP targets 26 municipalities under its integrated and conflict-sensitive resilience portfolio in the provinces of Maguindanao and Lanao Del Sur contribute to smallholders’ economic sustainability by promoting their inclusion in the value chain through creation of rural infrastructure (e.g., farm-to-market roads; irrigation canals, reforestation, soil conservation and water harvesting structures, post-harvest facilities etc.).

In the framework of integrated resilience portfolio WFP also supports the formation of farmer and fisher associations/cooperatives, inclusion of farmers and fisher associations to value chains by strengthening access to markets through WFP’s “Farm2Go” mobile application and empowering the community and food producers to make better nutritional decisions through implementation of Social and Behavioral Change Communication (SBCC) activities.

JOB PURPOSE

The Programme Assistant for Smallholder Agriculture Market Support (SAMS) will assist Programme Policy Officer (PPO) and Head of the Integrated Resilience/Programme Unit in various programme-related tasks, activities and processes.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

Under the overall guidance of the Head of Integrated Resilience/ Programme Unit and direct supervision of the Programme Policy Officer (FFA), Programme Assistant (SAMS) will be responsible for the following duties:

• Provide technical support and assistance in the development and implementation of various programme activities linked to smallholder farmers support and improvement of their access to market in alignment with wider WFP integrated resilience programme.
• Provide specialized support to smallholder farmers operations and programmes to ensure that the various activities are performed within the established targets following WFP’s policies and procedures.
• Assist in the conduct of gap analysis on market access, aggregation systems, and participation of female and male smallholder farmers and fisherfolks in nutrition-sensitive value chains in collaboration with counterparts in BARMM government.
• Conduct relevant nutrition-sensitive value chain needs assessments of smallholder farmers in target municipalities, using standardized tools and approaches.
• Facilitate access of smallholder farmers to extension and agricultural services by cooperatives and civil society organizations (CSOs).
• Support in promotion of access to markets for FFA participants, smallholder farmers and fisherfolks, including facilitation of access to local and regional markets through Farm2Go digital product and access to school procurement in HGSF programme and government supported School-Based Feeding Program
• (SBFP) programme.
• Facilitate linkages of smallholder farmers with agricultural and processing cooperatives for promotion of added value chains and reduction of the post-harvest losses.
• Assist in coordination of WFP livelihoods support to smallholder/fisherfolk communities with focus on rural vulnerable populations (poor, women, PWDs, decommissioned combatants, malnutrition affected children, etc.).
• To support in mapping and monitoring of cooperatives and other aggregation entities to link with smallholder farmers supported by WFP.
• Assist in the conduct of trainings and capacity building activities to NGO partners and stakeholders in the community and the BARMM Government.
• Within the specific area of responsibility, prepare a range of analytic reports and data analysis (e.g. programme status, performance) and highlight trends/issues ensuring deliverables adhere to corporate standards and quality control.
• Ensure and/or perform accurate, timely recording of data within the specific technical area of work and consistency of information presented to stakeholders.
• Liaise with internal counterparts across functional units to support effective collaboration, implementation and monitoring of ongoing project activities.
• Provide inputs and support to visibility material and social media content by assisting in collection of photo and narrative materials for achievements and success stories in coordination with the Communications unit.
• Coordinate and communicate with local partners, agencies, NGOs and sub-national government institutions to perform smallholder farmers support related activities in a timely and effective manner.
• Support the capacity building of WFP staff, and cooperating partners involved in implementing WFP supported activities related to smallholder farmers.
• Act as a point of contact for resolution of a range of operational queries and problems related to smallholder farmers support within the area of responsibility.
• Perform other related duties and responsibilities as required.

ESSENTIAL MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Education: Completion of secondary school education. A university degree in Agriculture, Rural Development, Economics, Development Economics, or any relevant field is an advantage.

• Experience:
  • At least five (5) years or more of professional experience in a relevant field of programme assistance-related functions;
  • Work experience in agricultural value chains, cooperative development, market linkages for smallholder farmers, community mobilization, and project management is an asset.
  • Experience working with government counterparts in implementing livelihoods, rural development, and school feeding programs is an asset.

• Technical Skills and Knowledge:
  • Skills for utilizing computers including word processing, spreadsheet, and other software packages.
  • Sound knowledge of project cycle and programme implementation procedures.
  • Skills in research and data collection, reporting and ,analysis on programme/ project activities.

• Language: Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and Filipino. Working knowledge of any BARRM language is desirable.

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

• Excellent communication, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work effectively in a multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary team;
• Training and/or experience in project management, livelihoods, rural development, peace-building project activities;
• Ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor own work plan and those under supervision;
• Demonstrated ability to develop and maintain effective work relationships with counterparts and staff within the office, host government, donors, other UN agencies and NGOs;
• Previous work experience with the UN Agencies or knowledge of UN system policies, rules, regulations and procedures.
• Has facilitated communication with technical teams (i.e. nutrition, VAM, etc.).
• Has contributed to the implementation of programmes.
• Has observed or assisted with policy discussions.

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

All WFP Employees are expected to demonstrate the competencies and standards of behavior 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.

REMUNERATION PACKAGE

WFP offers a competitive salary package including an approximate monthly remuneration amounting to PHP53,000++, pension benefits, and comprehensive medical insurance which can be extended to eligible dependents.

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 essential for 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 through [email protected].

A member of the reasonable accommodation team will contact you to confidentiality discuss your needs.

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

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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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