JPO Programme Policy Officer (Asset Creation & Livelihoods) - OPEN TO NORWEGIAN NATIONALS ONLY

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

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ABOUT WFP

The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity, for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

At WFP, people are at the heart of everything we do and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse, committed, skilled, and high performing teams, selected on merit, operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment, living WFP's values (Integrity, Collaboration, Commitment, Humanity, and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves.

To learn more about WFP, visit our website: https://www.wfp.org and follow us on social media to keep up with our latest news: YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok.

WHY JOIN WFP? 

• WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

• WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse, and multicultural working environment.

• WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training, accreditation, coaching, mentorship, and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities.

• A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe.

• We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of this vacancy announcement).

CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND

We are currently seeking a Junior Professional Officer to fill the position of Asset Creation and Livelihoods Officer with the Climate and Resilience Service based in Rome Headquarters.

Land degradation, compounded by climate change, population growth and mismanagement of natural resources is one of the major drivers of food and nutrition insecurity globally. Restoring ecosystems, enhancing soil health, and ensuring adequate access to water resources are vital preconditions to restore and maintain food and nutrition security across the fragile contexts where WFP operates.

Through its Asset Creation and Livelihoods (ACL) activities, WFP, working in partnership with Governments, NGOs and other UN agencies, provides technical support as well as food, cash, or voucher transfers to communities to rehabilitate soils and landscapes, introduce agroforestry and regenerative design practices, restore irrigation systems and water sources, harvest water, and protect from floods. In 2023 alone, asset creation and livelihoods activities have benefited 8.5 million people across 47 countries.

WFP is currently seeking to increase the capacity of the Asset Creation and Livelihoods Team in HQ, under the Climate and Resilience Service (CRS) to improve our delivery of technical support to Regional Bureaux (RBx) and Country Offices (COs), assist with the development of guidance and support strategic thinking and partnerships for the ACL programmes of the future, with a specific focus on water management issues.

GENERAL INFORMATION

• Title of Post: Asset Creation and Livelihoods Officer

• Grade: P2

• Supervisor: Asset Creation and Livelihoods Lead

• Unit: Policy and Programme Support Unit

• Division/Country Office: Climate and Resilience Service

• Duty Station: Rome, Italy.

• Duration of assignment: Two years

Note: The position is advertised through WFP’s Junior Professional Officer (JPO) programme sponsored by the Government of Norway and is for NORWEGIAN NATIONALS ONLY
 

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the direct supervision of Asset Creation and Livelihood Lead, the JPO will have the following responsibilities, often also in conjunction with different teams and units in HQ, such as the Smallholder Agriculture Market Support (SAMS) team, Anticipatory Action Team, Environmental and Social Safeguards Team (ESS), Climate Finance team, Internal and External Communication unit, Engineering Unit:

Technical Support and Capacity Strengthening

• Support RBx and COs in their efforts to plan, design and implement ecosystem restoration activities at different scales, both in rural and urban settings (including pastoralist or agro-pastoralist and costal area contexts), and ensuring alignment with programmes and policies from WFP and other stakeholders.

• Contribute towards the review and development of key guidance materials, such as the Asset Creation and Livelihoods Manual and the Community Based Participatory Planning (CBPP) guidance.

• Following regenerative design principles, assist RBx and COs in land restoration, moisture harvesting, disaster risk management, afforestation, and community infrastructure interventions and facilitate the adoption of innovative solutions for low-cost water harvesting and water-efficient and sustainable irrigation systems.

• Support RBx and COs in assessing, planning and implementing sustainable surface and groundwater abstraction interventions in appropriate contexts.

• Support the organisation’s efforts in understanding and responding to the challenges that climate change poses to water infrastructure both in terms of technical specs and household/community/government management.

• Develop and carry out relevant capacity-building training online or in person and webinars on water-related interventions for HQ, RBx and COs staff as required.

• Support with the creation and updating of Infotechs, normative guidance, lessons learned, and technical reference material on water resource management as required.

• Support on regional and CO level Training of Trainers, focusing on asset creation, regenerative design and water management issues.

• Support in planning, designing, and implementing sound programmes, focusing on Anticipatory Action interventions, Climate Finance proposals, linkages with SAMS, Energy teams and ESS mainstreaming.

Strategic and Programmatic approach

• Based on data from Annual Country Reports (ACRs), past reports and desk-based resources, and possibly field surveys, conduct an analysis of the current scale and scope of water-related activities within the organization. This will feed into the strategic positioning of WFP in the water sector and the relevance of such programmes in the broader portfolio.

• Since water management is one of the key global policy and programme topics, linking together the three major Conferences of the Parties (COPs) on Climate Change, Desertification, and Ecosystems, support the review of WFP’s strategy in this field, within its food security mandate, to best advocate for WFP’s comparative advantage and improve its impact.

• Conduct an analysis on WFP’s strengths and weaknesses in the design and implementation of water-related activities, policies & circulars, globally and regionally and develop context-specific strategies.

• Review of selected COs ACR, COMET plan, and reports and share overall comments and technical inputs specific to water, land restoration and community infrastructure.

Partnerships, Advocacy and Knowledge Management

• Contribute towards strengthening existing collaborations, or establishing new ones, with governments, UN organizations (e.g., UN-Water, UNICEF, UNHCR), NGOs, research institutions, and private sector partners in the water sector at all levels to maximize WFP's food security outcomes.

• Actively participate and engage with UN Water activities and relevant water-related fora (e.g. World Water Forum, World Water Week, etc...) to benefit WFP’s advocacy, activities outreach and impact.

• Support the communication team in developing ad-hoc water related and land restoration communication material, talking points, presentations, etc...

• Assist in advocacy and fundraising efforts to scale up, in general, the resilience and water related activities in the RBx and COs.

• In close collaboration with the Partnership Team in PPG-R and our Service communication capacity, support on reviewing and updating the asset creation and livelihoods webpages on wfp.org and support on the development of the relevant factsheets.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

• Data on scale and extent of WFP’s water-related activities from ACR analysed and presented for strategic, advocacy and fundraising purposes.

• ACR, COMET plan and report and APR reviewed.

• Revision of Asset Creation and CBPP guidance materials

• Strategy document on WFP’s engagement in the water sector developed.

• Technical support missions to RBx/COs carried out as required.

• Development of necessary programme guidance material for WFP’s interventions requiring groundwater abstraction.

• Development of technical guidance as required.

• Technical trainings carried out.

• Development of webinars and/or in-person trainings on strategic and programmatic issues related to water management.

• Development of key advocacy material and talking points on WFP’s engagement in the water sector at global and regional level.

• Organization of WFP’s participation at selected events.

• Engagement of WFP within major water-related for a.

• Additional tasks as instructed and delegated by first and second-level supervisors

ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

Education: Advanced University degree in water resource management, Irrigation, Natural Resource Management, Environmental Science, Agricultural/Civil Engineering, etc.

Experience for entry into the role:

• Minimum of two years relevant working experience in Natural Resource Management, Rural Development, Social Protection and Food Security, water resources management, climate and disaster risk management, Livelihood and resilience, or related area;

• Proficiency in Windows MS Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook), and experience in using GIS and AutoCAD and other key engineering tools is an advantage;

• Behavioural competencies: leads by example with integrity, drives results and delivers on commitments, fosters inclusive and collaborative teamwork, applies strategic thinking, builds, and maintains sustainable partnerships.

Language: Fluency (level C) in English language.

DESIRABLE REQUIREMENTS

• Exposure to the international arena either by direct work for an international institution/organization or by interacting with international stakeholders

• Intermediate knowledge (level B) of a second official UN language: Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish, and/or Portuguese (a WFP working language).

• WFP’s international professionals are required to serve in different locations around the world during their career (including in hardship duty stations); willingness to be mobile would maximise opportunities for long-term retention into the Organization.

SUPERVISION

The Asset Creation and Livelihoods JPO will report to the Asset Creation and Livelihoods Team lead. Weekly team meetings and one-on-one sessions with the supervisor will ensure ample guidance and feedback to adapt the work plan. Technical assistance from other team members will be available as required.

TRAINING COMPONENTS

• Conduct mandatory online training and other related online and on-the-job training.

• Attend relevant webinars and workshops.

LEARNING ELEMENTS

• At the end of the two-year assignment, the JPO should have obtained:

• A deep understanding of resilience building within WFP and key priorities for addressing recurrent crises and very good knowledge of WFP's asset creation and livelihood initiatives, with a focus on ecosystem restoration, regenerative design and water development.

• Excellent skills on organizing and delivering trainings, creating learning materials, leading webinars, and workshops.

• Fundamental skills in design, implemention and management of asset creation and livelihoods activities in the field, to support first handedly WFP’s COs.

• Familiarity with collaborating in multicultural teams, including field-based colleagues, and with the challenges and opportunities of working across multiple country offices and regional bureaux.

• Improved skills in proposal development, knowledge management, and fostering partnerships.

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

WFP Leadership Framework guides to the common standards of behavior that guide HOW we work together to accomplish our mission.

Click here to access WFP Leadership Framework

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

WFP is dedicated to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our recruitment process is inclusively crafted to welcome candidates of all backgrounds, celebrating diversity and ensuring a respectful environment for all. We aim for an accessible and fair recruitment journey. Should you need any reasonable accommodations or have accessibility concerns, please reach out to us confidentially at global.inclusion@wfp.org. Our DEI team is here to ensure your full participation in our recruitment process.

NO FEE DISCLAIMER

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REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

• We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete, and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, language skills and UN Grade (if applicable).

• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.

• Please make sure you upload your professional CV in the English language

• Kindly note the only documents you will need to submit at this time are your CV and Cover Letter

• Additional documents such as passport, recommendation letters, academic certificates, etc. may potentially be requested at a future time

• Please contact us at global.hrerecruitment@wfp.org in case you face any challenges with submitting your application

• Only shortlisted candidates will be notified

All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.