Programme and Policy Officer (Resilient Livelihoods) - Consultant Level II at World Food Programme (WFP)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

• In the eastern Africa region, approximately 20 percent of the global population faces acute hunger. Ethiopia and South Sudan face two of the top ten worst global food crises which are still ongoing, and Sudan has entered a steep downward spiral towards the same direction. The region constitutes a microcosm of larger trends and food and nutrition security issues faced by communities, governments, and WFP itself. The climate crisis poses a significant risk to food systems, disproportionately affecting the most food- insecure people around the world. Especially in Eastern Africa region, land degradation is an increasingly serious issue, which leads to a situation where the double environmental and climate crises reinforcing each other. The impacts of climate variability and extremes are most prominent in the Eastern Africa Region, interacting with other main drivers of hunger and malnutrition, including conflict and economic shocks (now exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic), resulting in the increasing humanitarian needs.
• At the same time, eastern Africa holds many of the answers to addressing these challenges, offering additional opportunities for WFP to fight hunger by adopting a transformative approach to food systems engagement. As WFP continues to work in food systems, it looks to align its programmes and activities, as well as its thinking, to adopt a holistic food systems lens. With the objective to transform its assistance, WFP will look to intentionally contribute to the development of a food system that will make it more nourishing, sustainable, equitable, and resilient for all. Through livelihoods within food systems initiatives in the region, WFP aims to strengthen vulnerable people’s and food systems’ capacities to absorb the impacts from different types of shocks and stressors by adapting their practices and transforming their livelihoods, across the humanitarian development peace nexus.
• In light of the double environmental and climate crises mentioned earlier, WFP has had several examples of how it can strengthen its programming to increase restoration (nature-based solutions) especially through watershed management and other water- related programmes, which can help break this cycle and create the potential to positively transform food systems.
• The consultant will focus on supporting strategy, policies, design, implementation, and research on WFP activities and initiatives in the region and beyond focusing on specific activities that can contribute to resilience building. These include asset creation and livelihoods, strengthening value chains, and improving access to markets and market- based solutions, across agricultural and pastoralist systems, in both rural and urban settings. S/he will work in close collaboration with the food systems team, as well as relevant focal points from the nutrition, school feeding, supply chain, social protection, and emergency response and preparedness teams to achieve the necessary programme integration.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)
Working under the supervision of the Deputy Head of Food Systems, the Programme and Policy Officer (Resilient Livelihoods) will:

• Lead and supervise the livelihoods team
• Manage and set priorities for a team of technical specialists and operational personnel, building capacities as needed
• Supervise special projects within the team, ensuring deliverables are met, and expenditures are tracked as needed
• Thought leadership on resilient livelihoods and food systems
• Provide strategic direction, building on established resilience and food system frameworks, support country offices (COs) with their resilient livelihoods strategies and how these contribute to their overall food systems strategy development and programme implementation
• Lead discussions on developing innovative approaches for WFP programming within resilient livelihoods portfolio and its inclusion in guidance for COs
• Provide technical insight and coordination on WFP’s regional natural resource management, soil and water conservation, landscape and ecosystem restoration policies
• Develop and lead regional studies, assessments and research on topics related to his/her portfolio.

ADDITIONAL KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES
Provide technical backstopping to Country Offices on resilience building activities by:

• Support COs on the design, implementation, and oversight of resilient livelihoods programmes at country level, with a specific focus on asset creation and livelihoods, natural resource management, soil and water conservation, landscape and ecosystem restoration, and on their synergies with other programmes and activities (e.g. anticipatory action, climate services, access to financial services, school feeding, nutrition, and social protection, etc)
• Lead the team providing CO support on strengthening value chains, improving access to markets and market-based solutions, post-harvest management and youth engagement
• Ensure gender perspectives are effectively reflected in asset creation and livelihoods programming, and that they are designed to ensure the meaningful participation of women and men and the empowerment of marginalized groups;
• Advise on mainstreaming relevant cross-cutting issues within asset creation and livelihoods programming
• Support and provide guidance on his/her areas of expertise to COs as needed during the development of their Country Strategic Plans (CSPs) and project proposals; this entails working closely with RBN colleagues to ensure a coordinated approach and maximise synergies with climate risk management, DRR and climate change adaptation, emergency preparedness interventions

ADDITIONAL KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES
Knowledge management and capacity building

Support capacity building activities for RBN and COs’ staff, including:

• Support the development and facilitation of trainings tailored to the eastern Africa region and specific country contexts, including relevant background materials, to enhance the capacity of WFP staff and partners to design and deliver effective asset creation and livelihoods, improving access to markets and markets-based solutions, post-harvest losses reduction, and value chain development programmes. 
• Work closely with colleagues from other programming areas to co-develop and incorporate relevant guidance on integrated resilience/ food systems programming in relevant trainings/documents to strengthen coherence
• Contribute to the development of knowledge and evidence-based products, including briefs, key messaging, talking points and case-studies

ADDITONAL KEY ACCOUNTABILTIES Long Description
Enhance overall coordination on asset creation and livelihoods and market access programmes and programmatic integration within programme teams as well as with procurement and logistics units

• Support better coordination with other food systems programmes at RBN and CO level, also working closely with other technical units in RBN (social protection, emergency preparedness, RAM, school feeding) to foster synergies for integrated approach to resilience building and DRR
• Liaise and strengthen coordination with relevant units in HQ working to promote greater coherence and coordination and coordinate provision of inputs and technical support to country offices on asset creation and livelihoods and smallholder markets support
• Participate and represent WFP in regional inter-agency meetings and other relevant fora

Long Description
Partnerships and fundraising

• Support the development of proposals, including reviewing and providing inputs into climate finance proposals, with elements of asset creation and livelihoods
• Support country offices engagement with relevant partners and stakeholders to scale up integrated resilience programmes, with a focus on strengthening government and community ownership and effectiveness of food security and nutrition programmes at regional, national and sub-national levels – including through extended field work
• Strengthen and develop operational partnerships with other organizations (governments, UN, NGO’s, academia and research institutions) to foster collaborative approaches and initiatives that improve resilience and livelihoods related assistance packages
• Support the development of MoUs, LTAs or expert rosters as needed to strengthen Country Offices access to relevant expertise;
• Monitor and support operational research and evidence generation on issues relevant to asset creation and livelihoods to support resource mobilisation, and to strengthen programme/proposals formulation
• Manage and contribute to the preparation and dissemination of timely analytical reports, publications, and a variety of information products for internal and/or external use

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Education: Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in geography, environmental Science and management , development Studies, agronomy, agriculture, forestry, Climate Studies or related disciplines or  a First University Degree with additional years of related work experience.
• Language:Fluent in English including(writing and speaking ) is required

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

• Minimum 6-10 years of post-graduate, progressively responsible professional experience working on environmental engineering and/or development programming, rural development, agriculture or other related fields;
• Country-level experience leading programme implementation and operationalizing programmatic policies on food security, natural resource management and sustainable development, rural livelihoods and poverty reduction, asset creation, access to markets, value chains, climate change adaptation and disaster risk management with communities;
• Demonstrable experience and understanding of sustainable development issues is required. Experience in resilience building through rural livelihoods, graduation pathways, access to finance, climate adaptation and urban food systems at the community level, and in collaboration with local and national government in east Africa will be considered an asset.