Programme Policy Officer (GAFSP Project Coordinator), SC-9

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ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide.  The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes.  Every day, WFP works worldwide 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.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The job holder will report to a senior Programme Policy Officer but is expected to operate with a high degree of independence, manage staff to ensure that programme and policy objectives are achieved in full. The incumbent is also expected to be involved in a wide variety of programme and policy activities (such as nutrition integration, climate change adaptation, resilience, social protection, gender equality and women’s empowerment among others) and analytical work, some of which may be of a considerable complexity. 

Background

The Government of Nepal received financial assistance from the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (“GAFSP”), worth USD 12 million (USD 9 million investment grant and USD 3 million Technical Assistance grant) for implementing a project entitled “Vegetables in Hilly Areas Project (as part of the Nuts and Fruits in Hilly Areas (NAFHA) Project)” for 5 years.  Through consent from the Government ADB and WFP have been selected as Supervising Entities for the project.  As such, ADB manages the USD 9 million investment grant while WFP manages the Technical Assistance (TA) component of the project contributing to the Project’s Output 2: “production and productivity of project farmers increased”. This project is also part of WFP Nepal’s Country Strategic Plan (CSP), 2024-2028, Strategic Outcome 3: “Smallholder farmers and climate-vulnerable populations in Nepal benefit from climate-resilient and equitable food systems, sustainable livelihoods and climate-proof assets and services by 2028”. Apart from providing technical assistance in the effective delivery of activities of output 2, to be funded by ADB investment and GAFSP grant, the GAFSP’s technical assistance grant of USD 3 million will be used for activities that support smallholder farmers in the production of vegetables and nutritious crops. The project supports 10,000 HHs who have less than 0.2 Ha of land and lack financial resources for fruits and nuts orchard development and will be implemented in 100 Local Governments of 34 districts of five Provinces (Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki, Karnali and Sudur-Paschim) along the mid-hill highway. The major activities include: a) establishing and operationalizing Farmers Nutrition Schools (FNS) (400 FNS covering 10,000 farmers) focusing on climate-smart, nutrition-sensitive, and good agricultural practices and technology for the production of vegetables and nutrient-dense local crops; b) supporting household availability and utilization of nutritious food (seeds, diversity kits, chicken), c) training and support for home garden fruit plantation and irrigation for nutrition promotion, d) facilitating market linkage for smallholder farmers to localized markets leveraging the home-grown school feeding approach in community schools and e) providing Technical Assistance (TA) – guidance, oversight and monitoring for management of grants to the farmers for farming/production of vegetables, and nutrient-dense local crops. As part of WFP’s TA provisions, WFP is looking to recruit a highly motivated, experienced programme policy officer to serve as Project Coordinator who will support the NAFHA project execution at different levels.

JOB PURPOSE

The Programme Policy Officer (GAFSP Project Coordinator) shall be responsible for overall programmatic coordination of the GAFSP-supported component of the NAFHA project, including information management, and reporting to the GAFSP and capacity strengthening in line with WFP Nepal Country Strategic Plan (CSP) strategic outcomes and Government policies and programmes. S/he will ensure that the NAFHA project is implemented effectively and efficiently contributing to increased beneficiary’s income from climate-resilient vegetable and nutritious crops production.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Position Title: Programme Policy Officer (GAFSP Project Coordinator)
Contract Type:  Service Contract (SC)
Level: SC-9 (Equivalent to NOB)
Contract Duration: 12 months (Renewable)
Duty Station: Kathmandu, National Center for Fruit Development (NCFD), Nepal
Vacancy Number: 832377
Date of Publication: 04.04.2024
Deadline of Application: 17.04.2024
WFP offers a competitive benefits package including salary plus a medical insurance (www.cignahealthbenefits.com)

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

The Programme Policy Officer (GAFSP Project Coordinator) will work under the direct supervision of the WFP Nepal CO, Deputy Head of Programme and Strategic Outcome Manager with overall guidance of the Head of Programme and senior management and in close coordination with the Project Director and technical specialists based at NAFHA Central Project Management Unit (CPMU)- National Center for Fruit Development (NCFD), Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD) Kathmandu, and the different technical units (livelihoods, climate change and resilience, school feeding, nutrition and Research, analysis and monitoring units, etc ) in WFP Nepal Country Office. The incumbent will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Support the management of the TA aspect of the GAFSP-funded component of the NAFHA project, developing a comprehensive periodic and annual work plan, and TA grant management to achieve quality deliverables in the allocated timeframe in      close collaboration with CPMU.
• Contribute to the implementation of WFP Nepal’s Country Strategy Plan (CSP), corporate policies and programmes aligned with national policies (such as the Agricultural Development Strategy, Climate Change Policy, National Nutrition Policy, and Strategy, etc) and wider UN strategic focus areas related to nutrition, agriculture, and livelihoods.
• Provide strategic support to team members and the Center Project Implementation Unit (CPIU) and Project Implementation Unit (PIU) in the development and implementation of the GAFSP-funded programme component of the NAFHA project. 
• Facilitate and supervise the organization of training and workshops related to the project activities, including the development of curriculum and implementation of Training of Trainers/ facilitators (ToT/ToFs) to Junior Technicians/Junior technical assistant (JT/JTA) of the NAFHA project and resource farmers to facilitate the FNS. 
• Support to implement FNS, develop and deliver a package of practices including a diversity kit to enhance household availability and utilization of nutritious food. 
• Support in the promotion of the Home-Grown School Feeding (HGSF) program to localized smallholder market in collaboration with the school feeding team of WFP and MoEST, MoALD and other stakeholders.
• Contribute to nutrition integration across project interventions by identifying complementarities with the MSNP and other programmes.   
• Coordinate with NCFD, Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Nepal Agriculture Research Council, Department of Food Technology and Quality Control and other stakeholders for the smooth project implementation in a coordinated and coherent manner.

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• Coordinate with the WFP country office for necessary support, guidance, quality assurance and oversight.
• Work as the main contact person between WFP and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development for agriculture, food security and food system-related engagement and partnerships in addition to the GAFSP-supported project.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate potential project risks, taking proactive measures to mitigate them and minimize their impact on project delivery.
• Support to collect, validate, track, and document GAFSP component (USD 12 million) related project progress and provide the required information and document to WFP and ADB for biannual and annual reporting to the GAFSP.
• Contribute to the NAFHA project baseline, mid-term and final evaluation exercise including GAFSP Project’s endline evaluation processes.
• Provide regular oversight and field monitoring visits and ensure timely information collection and reporting of field activities conducted by project staff at the field level.
• Identify and document best practices and lessons learned from the project for organizational sharing and learning.
• Contribute to the organization of and/or participate in meetings, conferences, workshops, consultations, and field visits as needed; contribute to building collaborations and partnerships.
• Guide and supervise TA staff, as required, to ensure timely implementation of the project activities within the budget framework and according to WFP policies and procedures.
• Perform other related duties as assigned by the supervisor and the Project Director as required, in project-related tasks.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Masters/Advanced university degree in Agriculture, Agriculture economics, Nutrition, or other relevant field or First University Degree with additional years of related work experience and/or trainings/courses.

Language: Excellent proficiency in both oral and written English and Nepali languages.

EXPERIENCE

• At least three years of relevant post graduate professional experience (after an advanced university degree) in coordinating and managing agriculture, nutrition, or related projects is required. More years of experience in the relevant field is desirable. 
• Strong experience in liaising with government partners, has good negotiation skills and ability to communicate effectively, has provided input into policy discussions and decisions. 
• Demonstrated experience in managing complex projects and coordinating a team of professionals.

Desired Knowledge and Skills

• Sound understanding of agriculture especially the vegetable sector, agribusiness, climate-smart village development, nutritious food system (home garden and small livestock), agriculture and nutrition policies, programmes, and approaches in Nepal, understanding of approaches of climate change adaptation will be an added advantage.
• Sound knowledge, skills and experience in business development/project/programme design and management.
• Ability to write clear and concise technical documents in short deadlines, with multi-tasking skills.
• Ability to perform well in cross-disciplinary teams.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• General knowledge of UN system policies, rules, regulations, and procedures in the area of work is an advantage.
• Proficient in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK: COMMON STANDARDS OF BEHAVIOURS

All WFP Employees are expected to demonstrate the competencies and standards of behaviour aligned with our core values defined in the WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK, namely:

•    Leading by example with integrity
•    Driving results and delivering on commitments
•    Fostering inclusive and collaborative teamwork
•    Applying strategic thinking
•    Building and maintaining sustainable partnerships

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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. 

Request for Disability related Reasonable Accommodations:  

It is important to WFP to create an accessible and inclusive workplace for everyone.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.  If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the selection and hiring process, please direct your request and inquiries to [email protected]. A member of the HR team responsible for reasonable accommodation will contact you to confidentially discuss your needs.  

This email is only to be used for any disability related accessibility requirements and not for sending the application itself. Due to the volume of applications, any applications or CVs sent through this email address will not be considered a formal application and will not receive a reply from WFP. 

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

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