We are seeking to fill the position of Programme Officer (Cash & Vouchers) at the P4 level, based in our Regional Bureau Office in Nairobi, Kenya.
With the shift from food aid to food assistance, WFP is expanding its use of transfer modalities, e.g. cash and vouchers, which allow tailoring of food assistance responses to local contexts and market realities.
Experts in cash and voucher transfer programming at the regional level will help build and support country office capacities to ensure that cash and voucher transfers become an integral part of corporate response options ensuring timely application of the programme and operational guidance developed by the Cash for Change Initiative.With the shift from food aid to food assistance, WFP is expanding its use of transfer modalities, e.g. cash and vouchers, which allow tailoring of food assistance responses to local contexts and market realities.
Under the general supervision and guidance of the Senior Regional Programme Officer within the Programme Unit and with the technical guidance of the Chief Cash for Change Unit, the Regional Programme Officer will be responsible for the following key duties:
- Develop an annual work plan identifying priority countries and operations with the potential to appropriately increase levels of cash and voucher based programming and to standardise approaches
- Identify key steps, timings and support required to assist Country Offices (COs) to scale up cash and voucher based transfers in a manner that is cross-functional and supports alignment to the corporate Cash and Voucher Business Model
- Provide technical support and guidance to COs through identifying additional support capacity and, where necessary, directly undertake field missions and remote assistance focusing on response analysis (choice of transfer modality), design, implementation and evaluation of cash and voucher based programmes
- Provide COs with technical backstopping related to needs assessments, sectoral capacity assessment, transfer modality selection and delivery mechanism design
- Coordinate with the Cash for Change Unit and other relevant HQ divisions and units to ensure technical coherence in the design and management of cash and voucher based interventions and a uniform approach to their scale up and evaluation
- Review project proposals and other relevant documentation to ensure quality assurance and compliance with corporate policies, strategic objectives and guidance
- Participate in the programme review process, providing relevant feedback to highlight issues of potential concern at the operational, policy or strategic level
- Provide support in the drafting and review of Terms of Reference (TORs) for various cash and voucher related studies and evaluations
- Support processes that can feed into corporate development of programme guidance and capacity building tools by incorporating relevant field experience and documenting lessons learned and best practices. This should include the development and piloting of innovations in the cash and voucher field
- Support corporate capacity building initiatives related to cash and voucher based programming, and participate in training and workshops as required
- Represent WFP at workshops, seminars, meetings and other events related to cash based programming as requested
- Perform other duties as required.
Qualifications & Experience Required
Education:
- University degree, preferably at the advanced level, in Economics, International Affairs, Nutrition, Public Health, Agriculture, Environmental Sciences, Social Sciences or a field relevant to international development assistance.
Experience:
- At least eight years (three of which international) of postgraduate progressively responsible professional experience in planning, design and implementation of humanitarian and development programmes with at least five years of relevant work experience at the implementation level in developing countries.
- Strong experience in the design, implementation and evaluation of in-kind food, cash and voucher transfers.
- Proven capacity to manage innovation in programme approaches.
- Previous work experience related to transfers in social safety net and/or emergency setting, particularly refugee settings, is highly desirable.
Technical Skills & Knowledge:
- Strong understanding of the theory and application of food security, livelihood and safety net programmes;
- Good understanding of targeting, monitoring and evaluation techniques and their application;
- Knowledge of major humanitarian, recovery and development challenges and issues, specifically strategies for poverty and hunger reduction;
- Knowledge of issues related to international development cooperation and humanitarian assistance;
- Knowledge and understanding of the UN’s role in development cooperation;
- Proficiency in MS Officer (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) an other standard office software packages and systems;
- General knowledge of UN system policies, rules, regulations and procedures governing administration is high desirable.
Competencies:
- Resourcefulness, initiative, maturity of judgement and tact
- Good analytical and negotiating skills
- Ability to communicate clearly both orally and in writing
- Ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor own work plan and those under supervision
- Ability to develop and maintain effective work relationships with counter parts and staff within the office, with host population, donor, NGOs and other UN agencies
- Ability to gain the assistance and cooperation of others in a team endeavour through technical leadership in a broad range of operational areas
- Ability to deal patiently and tactfully with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
Language:
- Fluency in oral and written English with an intermediate knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish) or Portuguese (one of WFP’s working languages).
- Working knowledge of French is desirable.
Terms and Conditions: Selected candidate will be employed on a fixed-term contract with a probationary period of one year. He/she will be required to travel abroad sometime to remote and difficult locations.
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 please visit icsc.un.org
Application Procedures:
Step 1: Register and create your online CV.
Step 2: Click on “Description” to read the position requirements and “Apply” to submit your application.
Note: You must complete Step 1 and 2 in order for your application to be considered for this vacancy.
Deadline for applications: 12 November 2014
WFP has zero tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status.
Qualified female applicants and qualified applicants from developing countries are encouraged to apply.
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.
Ref: 14-0015682