Conflict and Food Security Analyst, SHA-Secondment to WFP  

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

In September 2018, after more than five years of civil war, the Republic of South Sudan signed a peace agreement with several opposition parties, including the SPLA-IO. Yet over the past two years, implementation of the peace agreement has stalled, and South Sudan continues to present a wide array of challenges to the conflict sensitive delivery of humanitarian assistance. While an enduring ceasefire covers most of the country, new armed opposition groups have emerged, with some remaining outside the peace agreement, and the peace process is deeply troubled and at risk of collapse. Armed conflict continues in several parts of the country, particularly in parts of Central and Western Equatoria. Sub-national and local violence has increased in Warrap, Lakes, Jonglei, Upper Nile, and Unity states, resulting in the killing of civilians and large-scale displacement, as well as contributing to widespread food insecurity and malnutrition.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 2417 (2018) reaffirmed the well-evidenced role of conflict as a primary driver of food security – including famine risk and occurrence – economic crisis, and the degradation of resilience in rural and urban contexts. These links demand a heavy analytical emphasis on the interactions of conflict, socio-economic wellbeing, and humanitarian programming if WFP is to be effective in South Sudan. Likewise, the role of humanitarian assistance – especially food and cash – in armed conflict and the associated risks of unintended negative consequences and opportunities for positive contributions to peace demands integrated conflict, food security, and programmatic analysis. The World Food Programme requires dedicated analytical staff to ensure conflict sensitive programming and to further the Triple Nexus agenda in South Sudan.

DUTIES

Recognizing armed conflict and varied forms of violence as primary impediments to achieving Zero Hunger in South Sudan, WFP-South Sudan in 2020 established the position of Conflict and Food Security Analyst. This Analyst supports the Programme Unit and all of its sections and units in integrating conflict sensitivity in its strategies and throughout the programme cycle – including project design, partnerships, implementation, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning. This also includes directly supporting and remotely providing technical backstopping to all Field Offices (FOs) as a core duty. These efforts are both reactive – responding to issues and requests as they arise – and proactive – integrating conflict sensitivity to prevent and mitigate such issues and to anticipate analytical needs within the organization.

The Analyst also supports efforts to strategically and programmatically incorporate contributions to peace and peacebuilding into the WFP-South Sudan portfolio, including through conducting context analysis and providing inputs to programme design.

The Analyst works across all relevant units, collaborating heavily with Gender & Protection, Security, and Access as well as VAM & MEAL. Technical backstopping may be provided to the Analyst by the Senior Conflict Sensitivity and Peacebuilding Advisor in WFP HQ and RBN staff including a Peace and Conflict Adviser as available.

This analyst also functions as a further link between the Country Office and a wide range of stakeholders as relevant to conflict sensitivity and peacebuilding, including organizations engaged in implementation and knowledge production both within and outside of South Sudan, such as but not limited to the Conflict Sensitivity Resource Facility in South Sudan, relevant sections and divisions of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, and International Crisis Group.

Under the supervision of the Head of Programme, the Conflict and Food Security Analyst shall perform the following tasks:

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Source and analyze a wide range of information, including related to politics, conflict, food and nutrition security, protection, and humanitarian access, to inform context analysis in support of conflict sensitivity and/or peacebuilding for strategic planning, all aspects of the programme cycle, and ad hoc needs;

a. Produce public and internal memos, briefs, full-length reports, presentations, and other written outputs as requested and as anticipated as needed;

b. Lead on development of products developed by the Conflict, Security, and Access team (CSAT), including relating to strategic planning of logistics, security, and access for the country office;

c. Contribute to any analysis by Access or Security units and utilize analysis by other units for conflict sensitivity as applicable.

2. Oversee implementation of the Conflict Sensitivity Action Plan originally adopted December 2019 – in conjunction with the Head of Section-Gender & Protection – across the CO and FOs, updating and documenting progress against the Action Plan throughout; will include but not be limited to:

a. Design, inform, and/or lead on assessments, tools, trainings, guidelines and other outputs to support the CO and Field Offices in conflict sensitivity and other context assessments and analysis;

b. Lead and support capacity-building in core skills required by WFP staff to effectively and durably implement the Conflict Sensitivity Action Plan across all relevant units, covering the CO and FOs;

3. Support the CO in the design of programming to best utilize opportunities for contributions to peace and peacebuilding (including implementation of the Contributions to Peacebuilding Strategy), ensuring that high quality analysis underpins project design, and design processes articulate evidence-based theories of change regarding peace and conflict;

4. Establish and maintain formal and informal relationships with external stakeholders, including organizations and individuals, involved in humanitarian and other analysis related to the context of South Sudan as considered relevant for CO needs in conflict sensitivity; ensure the incorporation of key research findings and recommendations; facilitate collaborative and/or applied research, preferably from the beginning of the research cycle, to advance contextual understanding, conflict sensitivity, and peacebuilding for WFP;

5. Provide integrated conflict and food security analysis for use in Integrated Food Security Phase Classification analyses by VAM as requested;

6. Perform other related duties as required.

DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT:

1. Weekly nutrition update on the Sudan crisis response, inputs for the SITREPs, USAID and other project specific activities provided.

2. and regular nutrition activities in the two states.

3. Quarterly review meeting undertaken for Bor, Malakal, Renk and Maban FO

4. Operational plan needs for Unity and Lakes States are updated.

5. A bi-weekly touch base meetings organized with Field Office Focal Points and Alternates in for Bor, Malakal, Renk and Maban FO

6. Sub national contingency and floods response plan for Bor, Malakal, Renk and Maban FO

7. Quarterly field monitoring and supervision per each Field Office

8. Weekly TDD/BUB status update shared to for Bor, Malakal, Renk and Maban FO

9. NFRs, amendments and addendum to Field Level Agreements (FLAs) reviewed as needed

10. CP payment and invoice tracker for Bor, Malakal, Renk and Maban FOs is developed and updated monthly.