UN World Food Programme Programme Policy Officer (Social Protection and Urban Safety Nets) Jobs in South Sudan
About WFP
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), a highly prestigious, reputable & world’s largest humanitarian organization, operating in more than 120 countries and territories, bringing life-saving assistance in emergencies, building pathways to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change and supporting sustainable and resilient livelihoods for a world with zero hunger.
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.
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.
Organizational Context
South Sudan is one of the least developed countries in the world. This newest country on the African continent has vast natural resources, rich cultures, and a young population, key ingredients for growth and prosperity. However, after independence in 2011, civil war and persistent communal violence have kept the country in protracted crises, destroying infrastructure and people’s livelihoods, reducing social services, causing displacement, and increasing humanitarian needs.
The 2018 revitalized peace agreement put an end to large scale violence, giving hope for state building and recovery. Yet, the COVID-19 pandemic, consecutive years of unprecedented flooding, increased occurrence of dry spells and drought, and the Russia-Ukraine war have further strained the coping capacities of national and subnational institutions, communities, and people.
Humanitarian support is vital for meeting immediate needs of the most vulnerable in a highly fragile country such as South Sudan. However, its short-term nature and unpredictability of resources have limitations to addressing the root causes of vulnerabilities amongst communities and people.
Reasons for vulnerabilities vary depending on the age, gender, disabilities, poverty, etc. Therefore, social protection, which is a government system, addresses the needs of people throughout their life cycle, and is adapting to shocks, is a desired sustainable solution to protecting the most vulnerable, promoting household and community resilience capacities to shocks, and transforming societies through human capital development.
Job Purpose
To provide support to policy and programme activities that effectively meet food assistance needs.
Key Accountabilities (not all-inclusive)
Under direct supervision of the Head of FSR, the National Programme and Policy Officer – Social Protection will coordinate WFP’s direct implementation in SSN, act as the technical lead in WFP’s engagement with government and non-government social protection partners, and work with internal units to provide technical assistance to the government in social protection. More specifically, the National Programme and Policy Officer will:
Develop an annual work plan based on WFP South Sudan’s roadmap for support to national social systems strengthening;
Act as the technical lead in revising WFP’s SSN approach in direct programme implementation based on the outcome of the USN programme review;
Coordinate the SSN programme implementation across the country with clearly articulated strategic direction, annual priorities, activities, and targets with other technical units and the Field Offices;
Proactively identify implementation capacity gaps within the Field Offices and cooperating partners and support in strengthening their capacities through training, mentorship, additional guidance materials, and support missions;
Ensure timely and accurate management of donor funds for the SSN programme and social protection systems strengthening;
Coordinate with the Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Unit and the Field Offices to ensure the collection and analysis of quality information and data in the SSN implementation and conduct periodic reviews to apply adaptive programming;
Coordinate a shift towards adaptive and shock-responsive social assistance across the WFP programme portfolio based on evidence and learning from South Sudan and other operations in collaboration
Participate in internal coordination platforms and discussions to promote programme integration, especially sequencing emergency assistance onto SSN, provide updates on the status of the SSN implementation and social protection systems strengthening, conduct assessments and reviews, and contribute to WFP senior-level engagement with the government, donors, UN partners, and other stakeholders;
Liaise with the Regional Bureau Social Protection Unit to provide updates on South Sudan’s operation, seek technical guidance, learn from other countries, and contribute to WFP’s global and regional learning agenda on support to national social protection systems;
Develop a joint annual workplan with MoGCSW for WFP’s support to social protection policy, coordination, research and assessment, programme design and management, information systems, as well as resource mobilization;
Build and strengthen collaboration and partnerships with other social protection actors for complementarity, information and knowledge sharing, harmonized approaches, as well as coordinated technical assistance to national and subnational institutions based on a common understanding of capacity needs;
Contribute to national policy discussions and participate in coordination fora, share knowledge and experience from WFP social assistance programme implementation, advocate for increased technical capacities and financial resources for national social and productive safety nets, and support strengthening the social protection system, programmes, and management information systems in coordination with other technical units and social protection partners;
Lead in drafting, or contribute to, high quality and analytical funding proposals, reports, briefs, and visibility materials for the SSN programme and social protection systems strengthening for advocacy, resource mobilization, and knowledge and information sharing.
Any other duties as required.
Standard Minimum Qualifications
Education:
Advanced university degree or university degree with experience and training/courses in one or more of the following disciplines: economics, social policy, international development, or related disciplines
Experience:
A minimum of three years post graduate with progressively responsible work experience in social assistance, cash-based programming, policy and advocacy, youth livelihoods, and women’s empowerment
Knowledge & Skills:
Demonstrated ability to prepare concise and well-written programme documents (e.g., proposals, reports, briefs, and presentations) in English
Proficiency in computer programmes: e.g., Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
Competencies: cognitive capacity, teamwork, action management, innovation, partnerships, and client orientation
Languages:
Proficiency in English, oral and written (level c)
Desired Experiences for Entry Into the Role
Has deepened technical knowledge through exposure to technical teams.
Has taken leadership of implementing programmes.
Has provided input into policy discussions and decisions.
How to Apply
For more information and job application details, see; UN World Food Programme Programme Policy Officer (Social Protection and Urban Safety Nets) Jobs in South Sudan
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