Programme Policy Officer at United Nations World Food Programme

The World Food Programme Somalia activities include food assistance for relief, school feeding, nutrition, food for assets creation through provision of in-kind and cash-based transfers and safety nets.

The Joint Resilience Action

Somalia is a complex political, security and development environment, and much of its recent past has been marked by poverty, famine and recurring violence and environmental shocks and stresses. While the humanitarian situation in Somalia remains critical due to ongoing impacts of drought, displacement, seasonal floods and conflict, these shocks result in a constant cycle of disrupted livelihoods, increased poverty, acute hunger and malnutrition amongst vulnerable populations.

Typically, food insecurity is prevalent amongst internally displaced persons (IDPs), the urban poor and the rural poor (subsistence smallholders and pastoralists) due to their inability to provide surplus levels of or command viable prices for produce; limited complementary livelihood options; continued insecurity/displacement; and poor infrastructure. Weak value chains and marketing undermine the food security of poor rural producers. Poor households in rural areas, including those headed by women, face several constraints, including access to inputs and productive resources (financial and natural). As Somalia becomes more urbanized, limited livelihood opportunities and lower incomes undermine the ability of urban or peri-urban poor to purchase adequate amounts of food or provide a safe, healthy environment for their children.

Social services have been weakened by years of crisis in Somalia, leading to the deterioration of health and nutrition, poor development of formal protection services, as well as poor access to education. Continuing insecurity in rural areas prevents poor households from accessing basic social services, including primary health care.

Poverty, poor health care, inadequate infant and young child feeding practices, harmful socio-cultural beliefs and inadequate basic social services lead to malnourished children who are susceptible to infections or disease. Children are often exposed to grave violations, with thousands at risk of abduction, recruitment and sexual and gender-based violence. Millions of Somali children, particularly girls, remain vulnerable to and displaced by disasters triggered by conflict or extreme climatic events. Limited education opportunities reduce a child’s full potential to be well-rounded individuals.

Children are being deprived of their childhoods and the potential to thrive and be active citizens in their communities due to the recurrent impacts of crisis – whether this manifests as prolonged displacement, illness, malnutrition, exploitation and/or limited or no access to education.

Although Somalia faces many challenges, the country has great potential to improve its food security, nutrition and resilience. People within and outside the country continue to build an enabling environment for stability through provision of essential services and support, especially in times of crises. Investing in resilience building increases the population’s ability to withstand shocks, enabling the country to thrive and economic growth to flourish. There is a clear need for a targeted, integrated approach that builds resilience and addresses the multiple, root causes of vulnerability – lack of food security, health, nutrition, education, WASH and child/social protection.

Based on lessons learned and building on best practices, together with an understanding that recurrent food security and nutrition fluctuations will continue to cause frequent shocks throughout Somalia if not addressed, FAO, UNICEF and WFP are now moving towards targeted Joint Resilience Action (JRA). The JRA is conceptualised specifically for Somalia, taking into account conflict sensitivity, the need to build basic governance systems at the community level and enable an environment that prioritises and promotes food security, nutrition, and basic services.

Purpose of Assignment:

The purpose of the assignment is to operationalize the JRA from a strategic document to an operational framework, which outlines the overall implementation approach of the three agencies, starting with existing programs (such as the Rome-based Agencies project and the Strengthening Resilience in South Central Somalia programme). The operational framework will consider new developments, such as the revised National Development Plan (NDP9), the Recovery and Resilience Framework (RRF), the Famine Action Mechanism (FAM), the Government -led rural safety-net (World Bank), among others. The operational plan will span from the district level and up to regional level governance structures.

This position is open to qualified candidates, female candidates are particularly encouraged to apply.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Learning from other resilience programming in Somalia (DFID, EU, KfW & USAID) to update elements of JRA design and look for opportunities to innovate on these;
• Value proposition for the three agencies working together: strong links with the Government, experience in delivering institutional support for the provision of social services (education, nutrition, health), use of beneficiary registration systems like SCOPE; ability to bring safety nets with food security & livelihoods (FSL) and social services in one area based framework under government leadership;
• Develop with a clear geographic targeting criterion that results in a mapping of priority sites
• Carry out a risk analysis of these specific areas based on livelihood zones;
• Design a model/approach that will draw from the current Rome-Based Agencies, the DFID ASAL and KFW models, and adapt them to the selected sites; and outline of how the program laying will function, including FSL pathways, referral to social safety nets and access in to basic health, nutrition and WASH services;
• Strengthen sustainability aspects at community and institutional levels;
• Draw on comparative advantages of working with State Governments through the UN Joint Programme on Local Governance – supporting them to develop district level resilience frameworks that coordinate and integrate different programmes (including other resilience and durable solution actors) and alignment to National Development Plan (NDP9)/Resilience and Recovery Framework at federal level;
• Explore complementarities with other consortiums like SomReP and BRCiS;
• Consider donor’s strategic geographic and sector interests in targeting locations for area-based design development;
• Value for Money (VfM) analysis & JRA value proposition relative to other resilience actors.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Education: Advanced university degree in Social Sciences, Economic Development, Political Science, Agriculture, or other field relevant to international development assistance, or First University Degree with additional years of related work experience and/or trainings/courses.
• Experience: At least nine years of professional experience in designing and/or implanting resilience programmes. Experience at a regional level is desirable. Experience and familiarity of the Somalia and regional context is a plus.
• Language: Fluency in both oral and written communication in English.

Knowledge & Skills:

• In-depth knowledge and experience in development of resilience strategies and operational plans as well as the ability and experience in linking Health, Nutrition, WASH and Food Security and Livelihoods into a holistic programme;
• Strong understanding of and expertise in community engagement processes and links to local governance;
• Should have strong writing, analytical and communication skills.