Career Opportunities: Programme Policy Officer (Agricultural Market Linkages - NOB, Kampala (100429)
Requisition # 100429 – Posted 18/10/2018 – Fixed Term – Africa, Central & Eastern – Uganda – Kampala
WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles.
Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis, and we are committed to promoting diversity and gender balance.
ABOUT WFP
United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) 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. In emergencies, WFP gets food to where it is needed, saving the lives of victims of war, civil conflict and natural disasters. After an emergency, WFP uses food to help communities rebuild their lives. On average, WFP reaches more than 80 million people with food assistance in 80 countries each year. The organization has the global footprint, deep field presence and local knowledge and relationships necessary to provide access to food and contribute to lasting solutions, especially in many of the world’s most remote and fragile areas.
Brief description of WFP in Uganda
WFP delivers food assistance in emergencies and work with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. WFP provides life-saving food assistance and livelihood opportunities to refugees in Uganda. In addition, WFP assists the most vulnerable people in Karamoja with food and nutrition assistance. Finally, WFP works with smallholder farmers and links them to markets.
As Uganda strives to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030 and become a middle-income country by 2040, WFP is also assessing its relevance and repositioning its role in Uganda.
ARE YOU UP TO THE CHALLENGE?
We are seeking for a qualified individual for the position of PRogramme Policy Officer (Agricultural Market Linkages) to be based in Kampala. The successful candidate will be offered employemnt on Fixed Term
ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT
Agriculture and Market Support (AMS) fall under Strategic Outcome 4 of the 2018 – 2022 Country Strartegic Plan for WFP Uganda. The programme aims at building the capcaities of farmer groups and apex producer organisations to link member smallholder farmers to markets and expand their livelihood base and resilience for improved food and nutrition security and incomes’
For market linkages, WFP leverages its purchasing power to connect smallholder enterprises to its local food purchase activity, and applies a facilitative approach to build business relationships between farmers and market actors. Moreover, WFP supports broader market systems development by participating in policy and strategy discussion, transferring knowledge and skills to national institutions and building strategic partnership with development partners.
JOB PURPOSE
To provide support to policy and programme activities that effectively meet food assistance needs.
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)
- Liaise with internal units and field offices to bring synergy between Agriculture and Market Support (AMS) and other WFP assistance activities for vulnerable households and communities;
- Support in the identification of strategic partnership to layer and sequence the AMS programme with the interventions of the development partners;
- Coordinate the linkage between the AMS programme and the WFP local food purchase;
- Participate in the design and selection of AMS implementation patnership arrangements; Identify market linkage gaps and facilitate access to services for smallholder enterprises;
- Provide techniocal input into national policy and strategy development and review to strengthen inclusive market systems development;
- Assist in the design and implementation of WFP’s capcaity traansfers to national institutions based on good practicces and leassons-learnt from the AMD implementation and through South to South cooperation initiatives;
- Support in evidence generation of AMS programme impact by ensuring the availability of quality output and outcome data;
- Update and improve the AMS training materials and organise training of trainers for government counterparts, implementing partner organisations and WFP staff;
- Contribute to drafting funding prioposals, internal situational updates, corporate reports and donor reports.
4Ps CORE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES
Purpose
- Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives: Understands WFP’s Strategic Objectives and the link to own work objectives.
- Be a force for positive change: Flexibly adapts individual contributions to accommodate changes in direction from supervisors and internal/external changes (such as evolving needs of beneficiaries, new requirements of partners).
- Make the mission inspiring to our team: Recognizes and shares with team members the ways in which individual contributions relate to WFP’s mission.
- Make our mission visible in everyday actions: Sets own goals in alignment with WFP’s overall operations, and is able to communicate this link to others.
People
- Look for ways to strengthen people’s skills: Assesses own strengths and weaknesses to increase self-awareness, and includes these in conversations on own developmental needs.
- Create an inclusive culture: Participates in open dialogue, and values the diverse opinion of others, regardless of background, culture, experience, or country assignment.
- Be a coach & provide constructive feedback: Proactively seeks feedback and coaching to build confidence, and develop and improve individual skills.
- Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit: Participates in accomplishing team activities and goals in the face of challenging circumstances.
Performance
- Encourage innovation & creative solutions: Shows willingness to explore and experiment with new ideas and approaches in own work.
- Focus on getting results: Consistently delivers results within individual scope of work on time, on budget and without errors.
- Make commitments and make good on commitments: Commits to upholding individual accountabilities and responsibilities in the face of ever-changing country or functional priorities.
- Be Decisive: Makes rational decisions about individual activities when faced with uncertain circumstances, including in times of ambiguity regarding information or manager direction.
Partnership
- Connect and share across WFP units: Seeks to understand and adapt to internal or cross-unit teams’ priorities and preferred working styles.
- Build strong external partnerships: Demonstrates ability to understand and appropriately respond to and/or escalate needs of external partners.
- Be politically agile & adaptable: Portrays an informed and professional demeanor toward internal and external partners and stakeholders.
- Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships: Provides operational support on analyses and assessments that quantifies and demonstrates WFP’s unique value as a partner.
FUNCTIONAL CAPABILITIES
| Capability Name | Description of the behaviour expected for the proficiency 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 ability to analyse and consolidate quantitative and qualitative information from different sources (e.g., market studies) to inform transfer modality selection and programme development. |
| 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 w/ 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. |
STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
- An advanced university degree obtained from a reputable education institution in any of the following areas: Agriculture, Economics, Development Economics or any related field OR a first university degree in the above areas with more than ten (10) years of demonstrable experience coupled with related training courses;
- Experience in national policy and strategy discussion in agriculture and trade;
- Epeerience in agricultural development project management at regional or national level;
- Private sector experience in agricultural produce marketing (either working within a complny or linkage between the private sector and development intervention);
- Experience in research and project evaluation in smallholder market participation as the technical lead or a senior assistant
- Experience in private or public agricultural extension services and cooperative development.
NOTE
In their cover letters, applicants must make reference to their professional experience vis-a-vis the desired work experience of the position.
DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE
- Has deepened technical knowledge through exposure to technical teams.
• Has taken leadership of implementing programmes.
• Has provided input into policy discussions and decisions.
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS
Sunday 18th November 2018
.
Female applicants and qualified applicants from developing countries are especially encouraged to apply
WFP has zero tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status.
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.
