Programme Associate – Badghis 340 views

WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles.

Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis, and we are committed to promoting diversity and gender balance.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is well known for its ability to deliver food assistance rapidly to people in need. To continue responding effectively to challenging contexts while also contributing to longer-term efforts to end hunger, WFP’s Strategic Plan focuses on better understanding of national food and nutrition security challenges and reshaping its engagement through support to national safety nets and social protection systems, to help host governments with their hunger-fighting strategies.

In emergencies, WFP is often first on the scene, providing food assistance to the victims of war, civil conflict, drought, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, crop failures and natural disasters. When the emergency subsides, WFP helps communities rebuild shattered lives and livelihoods. WFP also works to strengthen the resilience of people and communities affected by protracted crises by applying a development lens in our humanitarian response. WFP development projects focus on nutrition, especially for mothers and children, addressing malnutrition from the earliest stages through programmes targeting the first 1,000 days from conception to a child’s second birthday, and later through school meals.

With a committed government, rich natural resources, and a young and diverse population, Afghanistan has the potential to make significant progress on the 2030 Agenda. However, a complex and protracted conflict, combined with challenges related to climate change, demographics, gender inequalities, underemployment, and transparency issues, has dramatically impeded its efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 2 on Zero Hunger. The 2017 Afghanistan Zero Hunger Strategic Review (ZHSR) found that the country suffers from high, and in some cases rapidly rising, levels of food insecurity and undernutrition, and outlines a series of recommendations to address the problem.

WFP is well placed to help Afghanistan implement several of the key recommendations through their new Country Strategic Plan (2018-2022). The overarching goal of the WFP Afghanistan Country Strategic Plan (CSP) is to support the country to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030 in a manner that also contributes, wherever possible, to the broader, longer-term transition to peace and development. With the CSP, WFP in Afghanistan clearly positions itself to work at the humanitarian-development-peace nexus. WFP, through the CSP, will move toward a more comprehensive, national-led framing of all strategic result areas. Mainstreaming the crosscutting issues of gender equality and women’s empowerment, protection, and accountability to affected populations, the CSP focuses on six, highly interrelated outcomes that span both SDG 2 and 17 (partnering for the goals).

In 2018, WFP in Afghanistan assisted 5,252,338 beneficiaries in 222 districts, through its programmes.

This position is based in Badghis province, managed under the Herat Field Office, under the overall guidance of the Head of Field Office and the Country Office Programme Unit, and reports directly to the Senior Programme Associate. The job holders are responsible for the completion of a range of routine Programme activities managed from the location, requiring interpretation of standard guidelines and practices. Job holders can recommend a course of action to staff at various levels and may allocate tasks to outsources monitors. They work under minimum supervision, perform basic analyses and compile reports to support inform consistency and smooth implementation of programmes/projects.

To perform specialized and/or standardized policy and programme-related processes and activities to support the effective delivery of assistance packages.

• Perform under the supervision of the Senior Programme Associate within the Programme Unit of WFP Herat Field Office, support all the Strategic Outcome (SO) Managers with the alignment of wider programme policies and guidelines.
• Provide project management and general office support to achieve established SO targets for the Field Office within Badghis Province, in accordance with WFP’s policies and procedures.
• Working closely with SO1, SO2 and SO3 managers, compile data and support analysis and preparation of reports including food assistance needs, resource utilization, programme status and performance in order to support operational decision-making.
• Work closely with other internal units of WFP Herat, as well as relevant units in the WFP Afghanistan Country Office (CO) to support effective collaboration, implementation and monitoring of ongoing project activities.
• Support the shock responsive social safety nets pilot programme in Badghis and contribute to the operational research.
• Support communication and activities with local partners, UN Agencies, NGOs and government institutions.
• Respond to general operational queries arising from beneficiaries, cooperating partners, local government institutions or other humanitarian actors, and seek advice from other senior programme staff where necessary.

• Review Project proposals and food requests submitted by CPs and ensure that they are aligned to WFP programme and policy guidelines.
• Provide support and prepare relevant documents for the Project Review Committee (PRC), attend PRC meetings as a member/secretariat, prepare the minutes and compile the package of documents for further approval at the CO-level.
• Provide inputs for the development of the project monitoring plan in close coordination with the WFP Herat M&E focal point and Programme Assistant Team’s (PAT) Coordinator.
• Process Food Release Notes (FRNs) including timely release, submission to Supply Chain Unit, follow up on dispatch, delivery and receipt by CPs.
• Coordinate with SCOPE, CO/CBT and CO/FIN unit on all aspects related to cash assistance.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Education:

Preferably University degree in one or more of the following disciplines: Economics, Agriculture, International Affairs, Business Administration, Social Sciences, Development Studies or a field relevant to international development assistance. Minimum completion of secondary school education with additional years of relevant work experience and training courses.

Language: Fluency (Level C) in both oral and written communication in English, Dari and/or Pashto.

• At least three years of experience in emergency food assistance programmes or related activities
• Experience in managing and/or familiarity with Cash-Based Transfer (CBT) programmes will be an advantage;
• Experience in facilitating communication with technical teams (i.e. nutrition, VAM, etc)
• Experience in training staff in basic M&E and reporting, beneficiary targeting or similar.
• Experience with collaboration and negotiations with partners for project implementation with multiple stakeholders.

Position Title: Programme Associate

Number of Openings: 1 Position

Grade: Service Contract – Level 6 (SC6)

Contract: Service Contract (SC)

Duty Station/travel: Badghis, with travel inside Afghanistan

Salary: Starting at USD 1,860.21 net per month

Medical Plan: International valid medical plan valid also for staff, spouse and dependents children under 18 years

Annual leave: 24 day per annum

WFP Work Envirionment

WFP is committed to ensuring that all its workplaces are free from abuse, offensive behaviour, harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. WFP is also committed to promoting a work culture in which every employee understands, and is able to carry out, his/her personal responsibilities for maintaining the dignity of work colleagues. WFP seeks to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women. We believe our mission of fighting global hunger worldwide can only be achieved if women, men, girls and boys are offered equal opportunities in terms of access to resources and services and participation in decision making roles.

Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply

Wednesday, 18 December 2019

Female applicants and qualified applicants from developing countries are especially encouraged to apply

WFP has zero tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status.

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.