International CST II- Programme Policy Officer (Food Security and Agriculture Cluster Coordinator)

WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles. Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis. We are committed to promoting diversity and the principle of equal employment opportunity for all our employees and encourage qualified candidates to apply irrespective of religion or belief, ethnic or social background, gender, gender identity, and disability.

JOB DETAILS

Job Title: International Consultant – Programme Policy Officer (Food Security and Agriculture Cluster )
Grade: CST II
Type of contract: Consultancy
Duration: 11 Months (with possibility of extension)
Duty Station: Kabul
Vacancy Number: 832991
Date of Publication: 26 May 2024
Deadline of Application: 09 June 2024

ABOUT WFP

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the leading humanitarian organization saving lives and changing lives, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The hunger crisis in Afghanistan is unfolding at a rapid pace, with 15 million of population now facing acute food insecurity. Work opportunities are shrinking, with most households now reporting just one day of work per week. This comes on top of the worst drought in years, which is especially concerning for the 85 percent of the population who rely on agriculture for livelihoods. Preventing and mitigating a drastic increase in hunger and malnutrition is the aim of WFP in Afghanistan which can only be achieved through the scaled up and sustained complementary food security and nutrition interventions, combined with a scale-up of resilience interventions to safeguard gains. WFP has embarked on a significant month on month scale-up of its crisis response and resilience programmes across the country, ensuring that the programme is delivered at the right scale and time, targeted to the right areas. WFP is also actively following up on evolving trends to pre-empt hotspots, while guaranteeing quality and maximum impact of the programme through the monitoring of these hotspots to be able to support continued donor advocacy.

JOB PURPOSE

The Food Security and Agriculture Cluster (FSAC) in Afghanistan was established in 2008 and is co-led by WFP and FAO with an NGO in a co-chair role. The FSAC has had a dedicated Cluster Coordinator since October 2010.

In February 2022, FAO and WFP reached a common understanding on the need to strengthen the coordination of food security and livelihood interventions in Afghanistan, across all regions, and agreed to establish an FSAC Co-coordination position based in Kabul. Both Co-coordinators maintain the primary responsibility for the overall coordination of the FSAC, whereas this newly created position will be supporting the development and implementation of the FSAC strategy as well as the planning and coordination of partners to find synergies and avoid duplication at field level.

The function of the FSAC Co-coordinator is to ensure a timely, coherent and effective food security response by mobilizing stakeholders to respond in a strategic manner to the humanitarian crisis. The Co-coordinator will operate in an Inter-Agency environment that requires high standards of accountability and demonstrable leadership, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills, and in which the principles of partnership and collaboration are essential. The Cluster Co-coordinator will represent the FSAC in coordination mechanisms and will advocate for mainstreaming the integration of crosscutting issues into the sector’s work. He/she will work impartially with all members of the sector and its sub-components and will serve and represent the group as a whole, and not as an agency officer. He/She will work closely with the existing Co-coordinator to ensure all six cluster functions are successfully achieved.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

The Co-coordinator (WFP) will work alongside the Co-coordinator (FAO) on the facilitation and coordination of the work of the FSAC, actively supporting the achievement of the cluster tasks.
In line with the agreed FSAC functions based on the six IASC core functions, the Co-coordinator (WFP) will work together with the Co-coordinator (FAO) to ensure the coherence and consistency in the humanitarian food security response in Afghanistan. As such the Co-coordinator (WFP) will carry out the following functions:

1. To Support service delivery by:

• Providing a platform that ensures service delivery is driven by the Afghanistan Humanitarian Response Plan.
• Facilitating a timely, coherent effective and coordinated food security response by mobilizing stakeholders in a strategic manner

2. To inform the HC/HCT’s strategic decision-making by:

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• Enhancing coordination through the reinforcement of linkages and synergies between relevant food security actors as well as between humanitarian and development partners Ensuring that the FSAC covers all identified food security needs of the affected population.
• Supporting the FSAC or inter-sector level food security needs assessments.
• Identifying and finding solutions for (emerging) gaps, obstacles, duplication and cross-cutting issues.​​​​​​​

3. To plan and implement the strategy by

• Coordinating, planning, and implementing the FSAC strategies, including contingency planning and preparedness
• Applying and adhering to common standards and guidelines.
• Providing transparent direction to the development of common funding criteria, resource mobilization and prioritization within the sector for inclusion in appeals and pooled funds processes.
• Providing oversight to 5W collection, collation, and dissemination of IM products to partners.
• Ensuring that food security is appropriately represented in the overall humanitarian response.

4. To monitor and evaluate performance by

• Periodically assessing the performance of the FSAC through the utilization of the Cluster Performance Monitoring Tool and ensure that the information generated is then shared with partners for further learning and knowledge management.
• Ensuring that sector coordination mechanisms are adapted over time to reflect the capacities of local actors and the engagement of development partners.
• Ensure adequate reporting and effective information sharing, with due regard for age and sex disaggregation.

5. Build national capacity in preparedness and contingency planning.

• Drawing lessons learned from past activities and revising FSAC strategy accordingly and if appropriate.
• Serve as a forum devolving operational coordination and problem solving within the various Food Security coordination groups in the different regions.
• Ensuring adequate contingency planning and preparedness for new emergencies and seasonal adaptation of responses at partner level at sub-national level.

6. Advocacy

• Identifying concerns that contribute to HC and HCT messaging and action.
• Undertaking advocacy on behalf of the sector, sector members, and affected people.
• Represent the FSAC in meetings with sectoral and external interlocutors.
• Co-chair sector meetings with the other FSAC Co-coordinator and NGO Co-chair.
• Secure from sector participants, minimum commitments on participation in activities.
• Initiate measures to ensure that Principles of Partnership are fully respected in managing coordination mechanisms.

DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT:

All six core functions of the cluster successfully delivered in line with the IASC guidelines as per the accountabilities above.

• Food Security needs analysis and response plan
• Regular Response and Monthly Dashboards, static and dynamic
• Food Security Sector workplan with key deliverables
• Contingency plans and SOPs
• Harmonised packages (e.g. MEB, food basket, livelihood response, etc.)
• Multi-sector joint planning with other clusters
• Food security sitrep, newsletters/bulletins (stand-alone and inter-sector)
• Knowledge Capitalization documents
• Advocacy notes and round table meetings minutes (with key actors such as donors, government)
• Handover report with shared folder with documents at the end of the assignment
• The food security sector is identified as a reference for food security strategy design, programming and food security information sharing.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

• Advanced University degree in International Affairs, Economics, Agriculture Economics, Nutrition/Health, Agriculture, Environmental Science or other field relevant to food security or international development assistance.
• Or First University Degree with additional years of related work experience and/or trainings/courses. Formal training in Cluster Coordination is desirable.

Experience:

• Minimum of 8 years of relevant (international) professional experience in humanitarian response at mid-senior level including in the FSAC or relevant area.

Knowledge and Skills:

• Ability to work and plan at strategic, policy and operational levels.
• Understanding of the international humanitarian response architecture, including humanitarian principles, coordination mechanisms, humanitarian reform and action, and funding mechanisms (e.g. Humanitarian Programme Cycle – HPC, Central Emergency Response Fund and Flash Appeals, Pooled funds).
• Ability to work under pressure and adapt to an evolving and complex humanitarian context.
• Ability to express and summarize ideas orally and in writing in a diplomatic and inclusive manner.
• Ability to convene and organize workshops, meetings and to present outcomes in behalf of a group of stakeholders.
• Familiarity with food security concepts and frameworks, assessment and monitoring and evaluation tools and methodologies.

Language:

• Fluency (level C) in English language.

HOW TO APPLY

To be considered, interested candidates are invited to apply via (https://www.wfp.org/careers/job-openings). Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. We want to ensure the recruitment process is fully accessible. Please contact us at [email protected] to advise us of any accessibility needs you may have.

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WFP has a zero-tolerance approach to conduct such as fraud, sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to WFP’s standards of conduct and will therefore undergo rigorous background verification internally or through third parties. Selected candidates will also be required to provide additional information as part of the verification exercise. Misrepresentation of information provided during the recruitment process may lead to disqualification or termination of employment

WFP will not request payment at any stage of the recruitment process including at the offer stage. Any requests for payment should be refused and reported to local law enforcement authorities for appropriate action.