Programme Policy Officer

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the world's largest humanitarian agency, fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to end global hunger. Every day, WFP works around the globe 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.

We are building a Programme Policy Officer Talent Pool that will be comprised of highly competent professionals who can play a key role in helping achieve zero hunger. All applicants will go through a comprehensive selection and assessment process to demonstrate their technical and organisational capabilities and the potential to grow and work across different field locations. Successful applicants will remain in the Talent Pool for 12 months, and can be considered for short or long-term international professional employment opportunities at entry and mid-management levels (P2, P3 and P4), in Country Offices, Regional Bureaux and Headquarters.

Strategic Purpose of the Function

The WFP Programme Policy Function is the core area for developing and implementing a wide range of programmatic tools to ensure WFP continually responding to emergencies and saving lives by getting food to the hungry fast.  The function also helps to design and implement programmes that help prevent hunger in the future - use food as a means to build assets, spread knowledge and nurture stronger, more dynamic communities.  

Job Purpose

·      P2 level: Programme Policy Officers at the P2 level operate with a high degree of independence and manage more junior staff to ensure that programme and policy objectives are achieved in full. They are involved in a wide variety of programme and policy activities and analytical work, some of which are of a considerable complexity. In addition, they will contribute to performance improvement to ensure that food assistance needs are effectively met.

·      P3 level: Programme Policy Officers at the P3 level manage a moderate portfolio of activities that include contribution to and/or direct management of programmes in Country Offices of moderate complexity, or contribution to policy formulation and provision of technical advice at Regional Bureau or Headquarters level for a defined area of expertise. They operate with considerable independence in their specialities and manage a substantial team of junior professional and support staff. They design and manage programmes of moderate size or complexity that effectively meet food assistance needs.

·      P4 level: Programme Policy Officers at the P4 level manage a complex portfolio of activities that include formulation and direct management or coordination of programmes at Country Office level or formulation of substantial parts of WFP-wide policies and provision of technical advice at Regional Bureau or Headquarters level. They are expected to have an extensive breadth of programme and policy knowledge/experience including strong technical abilities in an area of expertise and ability to credibly influence strategic, policy and operational discussions. They usually manage a large team or excel in a specific area and design and manage programmes that effectively meet food assistance needs.

Qualification Requirements

Education:

·      Advanced University degree in International Affairs, Economics, Nutrition/Health, Agriculture, Environmental Science, Social Sciences or other field relevant to international development assistance, or First University Degree with two additional years of relevant work experience from the minimum experience requirement stated below.

Experience:

·      P2 level: At least three years of postgraduate progressively responsible professional experience in the relevant field.

·      P3 level: At least five years of postgraduate progressively responsible professional experience in the relevant field.

·      P4 level: At least eight years (of which three international) of postgraduate progressively responsible professional experience in the relevant field.

Functional Capabilities (scope of capabilities will vary by grade level):

·      Programme Lifecycle & Food Assistance - Displays ability to identify the main hunger problem at the national or subnational level to design and implement context-specific programmes that integrate complex analysis and the full range of food assistance tools.

·      Transfer Modalities (Food, Cash, Voucher) - Demonstrates the ability to design, implement, monitor and provide oversight over effective and efficient programmes deploying different transfer modalities.

·      Broad Knowledge of Specialized areas (i.e. Nutrition, VAM, etc.) - Demonstrates the ability to interpret basic data in the context of WFP specialised fields to contribute to technical programme design, implementation and monitoring.

·      Emergency Programming Displays - Ability to translate understanding of programme principles in emergencies and protracted conflict situations into relevant, effective, and context specific approaches.

·      Strategic Policy Engagement with Government - Develops thorough recommendations using multiple inputs (e.g., government counsel, research, own experience) to strengthen national or subnational entities and government owned food and nutrition security programmes.

Organisational Capabilities:

·      Purpose – ability to align individual purpose to WFP’s mission.

·      People - support our people to be the best equipped to serve our beneficiaries.

·      Partnership – lead across boundaries to deliver the best for our beneficiaries.

·      Performance – deliver practical, sustainable, solutions to achieve WFP’s mission.

Language:

·      Fluency in oral and written English.

·      Although intermediate knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish) or Portuguese (one of WFP’s working languages) is mandatory for fixed-term posts, for some roles exceptions may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Desirable Requirements (scope of requirements will vary by grade level):

·      Experience in leading a Field Office or a small country/area office programme team or a component of a country office programme portfolio.

·      Experience in providing input into policy discussions and decisions.

Terms and Conditions

For fixed-term appointment, WFP offers an attractive compensation and benefits package, including basic salary, post adjustment, relocation entitlement, travel and shipment allowances, 30 days’ annual leave, home leave, an education grant for dependent children, pension plan and medical insurance. For more details about the UN grading system and the compensation package, please visit icsc.un.org

Application Procedures:

Go to: 

http://bit.ly/1B0T7Q2

Step 1: Click on “Description” to better understand the actual accountabilities and requirements at different levels.

Step 2: Click on “Apply” to create an online CV and answer application questions to submit your application.

Deadline for applications: 31 January 2015