Programme Policy Officer (Regenerative Resilience Advisor) SC8,Moroto

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

10 April 2025-23:59-GMT+03:00 East Africa Time (Kampala)

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 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).

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) 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.
In many parts of the world, environmental degradation is both a driver of food insecurity and of vulnerability to climate change. At the same time, the expansion of conventional agriculture exacerbates environmental degradation through impacts such as habitat loss, interrupted water cycles and pollution. It is therefore imperative that food security is achieved based on sustainable approaches that work with natural systems to reverse processes of degradation.
What WFP terms regenerative resilience therefore describes an approach that focuses on land restoration to ensure sustainable food security and climate resilience based on contextualized design and locally available resources. This approach centres on three principles: hydrological stabilization, living soils and biodiversity. It is applicable at all scales, from backyard gardens to watersheds. Moreover, it is designed to work with and complement existing interventions.
The approach includes a diverse array of interventions. Earthworks such as contour dams, swales, terraces, and half-moons mitigate erosion, enhance soil moisture, and increase water availability. Gully control measures like gabions, stone bunds, one-rock-dams coupled with reforestation efforts restore ecosystems and reduce disaster risk. These structures in turn support agroforestry, conservation agriculture, non-chemical pest management and compost making as central features of regenerative agriculture. At the same time, sustainable irrigation systems further enable farmers to have reliable production throughout the year in the context of climate change. All interventions are based on comprehensive site analysis that take into account the wider watershed and local context through community co-design. Implementation is often labour intensive and can require heavy machinery like excavators and bulldozers at larger scale.
In Uganda, WFP is working to integrate regenerative resilience across its three areas of operation, which cover the refugee hosting districts and Karamoja Sub-Region. WFP will implement regenerative resilience at different scales, as part of wider assistance through its home-grown school feeding programme and through its efforts to support disaster risk management. This includes developing school gardens and community owned irrigation projects based on regenerative principles as well as approaching disaster risk reduction through nature-based solutions.
The position will also require extended missions to support the Southwest and Arua area offices where regenerative resilience is being integrated into WFP’s efforts to transition refugees towards self-reliance while restoring landscapes.

KEY ROLE & RESPONSIBILITIES:

Under the direct supervision of the Head of Asset Creation and Livelihoods based in Kampala, who will coordinate with the Head of the Area Office and Head of Program, the Regenerative Resilience Advisor will perform part the following tasks:

1.In close coordination with the Country Office and Area Office teams, lead on the design of regenerative resilience systems ensuring alignment with WFP’s resilience objectives, and global environmental sustainability standards.

• Develop contextualized site designs for school gardens, community horticultural sites, block farms and other systems based on demand. Designs will be based on comprehensive site analysis including utilisation of precision tools (e.g., GPS, laser levels), climatic data and soil assessments as well as cocreation with the community and local government.
• Design irrigation systems for horticulture and earthworks for soil-water conservation that are aligned to global environmental sustainability efforts.
• Support procurement processes for irrigation systems, rainwater harvesting systems, and the use of heavy machinery (e.g., excavators, bulldozers). This includes developing technical scopes of work, cost estimates, and providing expertise for the selection of services.
• Oversee the execution of engineering designs to ensure technical compliance, structural integrity, and alignment with local conditions.
• Provide technical expertise on the installation and optimization of irrigation systems, ensuring sustainable water use and improved efficiency, with a focus on climate-smart and low-energy technologies appropriate for Karamoja’s context.
• Provide technical expertise in integrating agroforestry, soil-water conservation earthworks, erosion control measures, and other techniques to support contextualised land restoration and sustainable natural resource management.
• Develop operations and maintenance plans for all sites and share with site governance structure.

2.Lead trainings of trainers on regenerative resilience for local government, cooperating partners, WFP staff and community members. Equip them with practical skills in site maintenance, operation, and management, fostering the long-term sustainability of regenerative resilience interventions.

3.Support WFP Research, Assessment and Monitoring (RAM) team with technical expertise to develop effective monitoring systems that track the progress and impact of regenerative resilience interventions, including support of Earth observation monitoring efforts.

4.Conduct an internal review of current WFP activities/projects involving water supply (irrigation, rainwater harvesting, etc.) and draft recommendations on strategic approaches for development and implementation of related interventions.

5.Contribute to integrated project proposal development to secure additional funding for regenerative resilience.

6.In collaboration with Country and Area offices, support engagement of local government, NGOs, private sector, and other stakeholders implementing regenerative resilience for improved knowledge sharing, programme quality, and advocacy efforts.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:
EDUCATION:

• Advanced University Degree and/or equivalent experience with emphasis in one or more of the following disciplines: civil and water engineering, regenerative agriculture, environmental science, or a field relevant to regenerative resilience, and/or first university degree in related fields with additional years of relevant experience and training/courses. Additional knowledge in the implementation of irrigation systems and earthworks through labour-intensive public works and heavy machinery will be considered an added advantage.

EXPERIENCE:

• At least 8 years post graduate, progressively professional experience in the fields of permaculture, resilience design, regenerative resilience, regenerative agriculture, land restoration, hydrology, soil, and water engineering, and land evaluation for irrigation.
• Specific experience in programme management and project planning in a large multicultural institution, and previous experience with WFP or the UN System would be an asset.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:

• Ability to translate understanding of programme principles into relevant, effective, and context specific approaches.
• Ability to explain WFP projects and operations to counterparts and to communicate with Government and partners clearly and effectively, both orally and in writing.
• Good understanding of project lifecycle, humanitarian principles and tools, programmes and transfer modalities.
• General knowledge of UN system policies, rules, regulations, and procedures.
• Good interpersonal skills, teamwork spirit and ability to work in multicultural settings.
• Excellent communication skills required to give and receive information and work with various individuals.
• Ability to creatively apply regenerative resilience principles to develop customized solutions for land rehabilitation and agricultural production in diverse agroecological contexts.

Fluency in oral and written English

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 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.