Programme Policy Officer (Home Grown School Feeding), NO-A

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.

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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).

THE ROLE
The Programme Policy Officer will play a key role in designing and managing home-grown school feeding (HGSF) programmes that strengthen local food systems by linking smallholder farmers to school meals, ensuring a nutrition-sensitive approach. They will contribute to policy formulation and the implementation of nutrition-sensitive social protection strategies, working closely with government counterparts to align school feeding policies with national priorities. Additionally, they will support agricultural value chains and agri-food processing initiatives to enhance food quality, safety, and accessibility, promoting food fortification and sustainable local production.

The Programme Policy Officer will work under the direct supervision of the School Feeding Team Lead, and receive overall functional guidance from the Head of Programme in the Country Office

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive, within delegated authority):

1. Programme Design and Strategy Development

• Contribute to the design of locally produced school feeding programmes, plans, and processes, ensuring alignment with WFP's policies and programme directions.
• Research and analyse policy and operational issues to inform the formulation of HGSF policies, programmes, and activities.
• Support the strengthening of the national HGSF programme and policies, including strategies, action plans, protocols, and guidelines in line with national priorities.
• Contribute to initiatives that ensure a complete value chain with farmer organizations to increase production (and processing), income, and capacity, aiming for long-term impacts, in coordination with relevant units (resilience, nutrition, procurement, etc.).

2. Programme Implementation and Management

• Implement and manage local production-based school feeding activities in specific areas of intervention according to identified funds and programmes/projects of considerable size and complexity, in line with WFP standards and procedures.
• Contribute to the preparation of accurate and timely reports, publications, and information products or proposals for internal and external use.
• Liaise with internal and external counterparts for effective collaboration, monitor ongoing projects, and highlight potential risks to project implementation.
• Support capacity building of WFP staff, partners, government, and communities in preparing and responding to food assistance needs through training and provision of HGSF-related equipment.

3. Coordination and Collaboration

• Develop synergy with other ongoing WFP activities in Timor-Leste, including resilience, nutrition, humanitarian assistance, social protection, and gender.
• Support the identification, development, and management of potential partnerships and collaborative working groups aimed at improving food assistance delivery.
• Represent WFP at appropriate meetings to contribute to discussions, exchange experiences, advocate for HGSF, and identify areas of potential collaboration.
• Accompany the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Forestry with support and technical expertise for the planning, formulation, and implementation of HGSF, enhancing government and community ownership and effectiveness.

4. Financial Management and Resource Mobilization

• Contribute to resource mobilization efforts for WFP projects, articulating the need for home grown school feeding programme opportunities, and monitor the resource situation of projects, including food and cash availability.
• Ensure efficient use of financial resources to achieve objectives within a realistic budget.

5. Capacity Building

• Provide guidance and supervision to staff under your responsibility, while accompanying them in complex portfolio analyses.
• Respond to any other tasks requested by the supervisor, partners, government, and communities in preparing and responding to food assistance needs through training and provision of HGSF-related equipment.
• Perform other tasks within the technical area of work, as required

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
Education: Advanced University degree in social policy, education, development studies, nutrition, agriculture or other social sciences, and project management or related qualifications, or First University degree in the same subject(s) with additional two years of related work experience

Experience:

• Minimum one or more years of relevant professional work experience in project management and/or management of capacity building activities. Experience implementing similar programmes is an added advantage.

• Proven ability to coordinate and manage capacity building and communication activities in partnership with government, UN, NGOs and other stakeholders.

• Computer skills in word processing and spreadsheet applications (MS Word, Excel).

• Ability to collaborate with and deliver as part of a team and maintain effective work relationships with counterparts.

• Demonstrated ability to plan, manage and organize work in a resourceful way to achieve set objectives.

Language: Fluency (level C) in English & Tetum. Portuguese language would be an advantage
 

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Click here to access WFP Leadership Framework

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

WFP is committed to supporting individuals with disabilities by providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process. If you require a reasonable accommodation, please contact:  global.inclusion@wfp.org

NO FEE DISCLAIMER

The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.

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.