Programme Policy Officer - Pastoral Livelihoods at World Food Programme (WFP)

JOB PURPOSE

The Programme Policy Officer (Pastoral Livelihoods) will work under the direct supervision of the national Programme Policy Officer (Rural Resilience Unit) and overall supervision of the Programme Advisor, Rural Resilience Unit and will be responsible for the following:

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

• Undertake a capacity needs assessment of gaps (for WFP, partners and targeted communities) in knowledge and skills (practical) on pastoral livelihoods in the arid and semi-arid parts of Kenya.
• Develop a programme to fill in the identified capacity gaps.
• Support WFP Cooperating Partners in designing quality projects that address the underlying causes of food insecurity.
• Appraise project proposals and advise the WFP Partners, relevant County Project Committees, WFP/Nairobi management and National Project Steering Committee (NPSC) accordingly.
• Monitor the implementation of the projects through field visits and monthly reports and provide necessary technical support.
• Collate all information from various sources and develop regular project updates including Standard Project Reports(SPRs), andinformation for a database, and website
• In liaison with the WFP Monitoring and Evaluation Unit ensure the establishment and maintenance of a sound database.
• Undertake Capacity Gap Assessment of the partners and organize capacity building programmes (workshops, training, exchange visits etc) to address these gaps.
• Work with the service units (Procurement, Logistics, and Finance) to ensure that quality non-food items are purchased and supplied to the communities for effective implementation of projects.
• Support building of partnerships with other UN agencies, NGOs, & Government to improve synergy and impact of the projects.
• Support in development of project guidance materials (e.g. guidance manuals) on projects implementation.
• Ensure that Reports officer and Public information Officers are well informed of the on -going recovery activities.
• Organize field missions for donor/media/Senior WFP management and ensure that WFP staff, Partners Agencies and GoK staffs are informed on time and provide sufficient relevant information.Provide inputs for the donor briefs.
• Represent WFP in meetings and conferences at National and County levels

• Review financial reports from the partners to ensure quality before submitting to the Finance department.
• Assist supervisees develop clear work plans at the beginning of the year and evaluate their work performance.
• Perform other related duties as required.

4Ps CORE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES

Purpose

• Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives: Understands WFP’s Strategic Objectives and the link to own work objectives.
• Be a force for positive change: Flexibly adapts individual contributions to accommodate changes in direction from supervisors and internal/external changes (such as evolving needs of beneficiaries, new requirements of partners).
•  Make the mission inspiring to our team: Recognizes and shares with team members the ways in which individual contributions relate to WFP’s mission.
•  Make our mission visible in everyday actions: Sets own goals in alignment with WFP’s overall operations, and is able to communicate this link to others.

People

• Look for ways to strengthen people's skills: Assesses own strengths and weaknesses to increase self-awareness, and includes these in conversations on own developmental needs.
•  Create an inclusive culture: Participates in open dialogue, and values the diverse opinion of others, regardless of background, culture, experience, or country assignment.
•  Be a coach & provide constructive feedback: Proactively seeks feedback and coaching to build confidence, and develop and improve individual skills.
•  Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit: Participates in accomplishing team activities and goals in the face of challenging circumstances.

Performance

• Encourage innovation & creative solutions: Shows willingness to explore and experiment with new ideas and approaches in own work.
•  Focus on getting results: Consistently delivers results within individual scope of work on time, on budget and without errors.
•  Make commitments and make good on commitments: Commits to upholding individual accountabilities and responsibilities in the face of ever-changing country or functional priorities.
•  Be Decisive: Makes rational decisions about individual activities when faced with uncertain circumstances, including in times of ambiguity regarding information or manager direction.

Partnership

• Connect and share across WFP units: Seeks to understand and adapt to internal or cross-unit teams’ priorities and preferred working styles.
•  Build strong external partnerships: Demonstrates ability to understand and appropriately respond to and/or escalate needs of external partners.
•  Be politically agile & adaptable: Portrays an informed and professional demeanor toward internal and external partners and stakeholders.
•  Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships: Provides operational support on analyses and assessments that quantifies and demonstrates WFP’s unique value as a partner.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s Degree in the following fields; Animal Production, Range Management, Pastoral Livelihoods, Veterinary Science from a recognized universities.A degree in Rural Development studies will be an added advantage.
• At least 5 years field experience in working at county level implementing community based development and relief activities in ASALs of Kenya.

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

• Understanding of community based participatory planning approaches.
• Ability to conduct capacity gaps assessments and design programs to fill these gaps.
• Experience in working in arid and semi-arid parts of Kenya.
• Excellent communication skills - both written and oral in English and Kiswahili. Skills in workshop facilitation.
• Strong organization and planning skills coupled with good interpersonal skills.
• Good analytical skills; resourcefulness, initiative, maturity of judgement, tact, negotiating skills;
• Ability to work in a team, and establish effective working relations with persons of different national and cultural backgrounds.
• Flexibility in accepting work assignments outside normal desk description. Ability to deal patiently and tactfully with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
• Ability to support counties with Environmental Impact assessment.
• Competent in MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.