Programme Policy Officer (Cooperating Partners Management) - NOB - Kabul

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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: Programme Policy Officer (Cooperating Partners Management)
Grade: NOB
Type of contract: Fixed Term
Duration: 12 Months (Extendable)
Duty Station: Kabul
Vacancy Number: 831205
Date of Publication: 18 Jan 2024
Deadline of Application: 01 Feb 2024

This vacancy announcement is for Afghan nationals only and WFP encourages especially Afghan females and Afghans with disabilities to apply.

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

WFP works through Cooperating Partners (CP) including National and International Non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The incumbent of this position will be responsible for the strategy and management of the end-to-end management of CPs and other strategic partners for the effective delivery of agreed activities.  

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

Within delegated authority, the Program Policy Officer – Cooperating Partners Management, will lead the function of processing NGO Partnerships and providing oversight to the implementation of agreements between WFP and NGOs. Key responsibilities include:

1. Provide strategic advice and technical support to Programmes on Cooperating Partners (CP) engagement cycle management. 
2. Liaise with WFP’s Regional Bureau, Bangkok (RBB) and WFP Headquarters NGO Partnership teams on the corporate CPM strategy and digital solutions.
3. Develop CPM strategy in line with the country strategic plan (CSP).
4. Provide oversight, guidance, support and training to Country and Field Offices on NGO Partnerships and on implementing CP management SOP and compliance with wider WFP corporate policies, standards, and regulations.
5. Update CP Management standard operating procedures (SOPs) in line with process changes. Onboard, train and implement the Country and Field Offices on the CP Management SOPs. Develop guidance note as necessary to facilitate a successful implementation of the partnership processes.
6. Support the country office in scanning the partnership landscape to facilitate WFP’s engagement with potential NGO partners to ensure better collaboration and synergies in pursing common goals and objectives. 
7. Engage with the wider NGO community and ensure that organizations led by women and people with disabilities are equally considered for seeking partnership opportunities.
8. Ensure corporate due diligence on partner selection processes are duly followed. 
9. Facilitate comprehensive onboarding/induction training of new CPs and at the beginning of new FLAs including CPM management, Gender, Protection, etc. 
10. Maintain communication and strategic relationships with cooperating partners and conduct at minimum biannual consultations and more frequent as needed with them to ensure successful collaboration. 
11. Administer the project approval process through the Country Office Project Approval Committee (CPC), in close coordination with country office cross-functional units and Field Offices. Ensure follow up on the CPC recommendations in the NFRs are carried out and verified.
12. Develop an annual calendar and facilitate/manage CP performance evaluations. Optimally, evaluations are conducted before new FLAs established. 
13. Lead the localization strategy via capacity strengthening activities for CPs to address key areas of concern related to WFP management of NGO Partnerships. 
14. In collaboration with Field Offices and Finance, manage the open high and medium risk items on the Finance dashboard minimizing risks to WFP.
15. Lead, organize and document Country Office spot checks with high-risk CPs and ad-hoc as required with respective units. Ensure Field Office spot checks are regularly conducted with supporting documentation in the CPM repository.
16. Assess, analyze and identify potential risks in CP engagements and recommend risk mitigation measures.  Provide quarterly updates to the Country Office Risk Management Plan, RBB Assurance Plan and establish/maintain a CPM Unit risk register.
17. Lead, motivate, and develop a team of staff to enable high performance, efficiency and cross functional CPM Unit.

   18. Represent WFP in external meetings and platforms that discuss the management of NGO partners in Afghanistan. Actively participate in ACBAR’s localization committee.
 

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

• Advanced University degree in International Affairs, Law, Economics, Nutrition/Health, Agriculture, Social Sciences, Business Administration, Public Policy and/or Management.
• Or another discipline relevant to international development/humanitarian assistance. Or First University degree with an additional two years of most related professional work experience.

Experience:

• At least three years progressively professional experience in humanitarian and development programming and/or project management-related fields; 

Desirable work experience:

• Has experience in a coordination-focused role with diverse internal stakeholders. 
• Experience in building partnership and coordinating with multiple stakeholders and co-creating innovative solutions.
• Has led and/or contributed to the project management and coordination of programmes; 
• Experience in providing input into policy discussions and decisions.

Knowledge & Skills:

• Strong analytical skills and ability to produce quality documents and thorough reports.
• Strong MS Excel capabilities

Language:

• Fluency (level C) in English and local languages

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 afg.hrrecruitment@wfp.org 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.