Programme Policy Officer (Gender Protection and Inclusion)

We want Lao PDR to become independent and efficient in providing healthy food for its people.
Our goal is to gradually stop distributing food and to set up an environment that ensures that the authorities can assist and guide communities in making their own informed choices about what kind of food to put on their families’ tables.

Having established a presence in Lao PDR in 1975, the World Food Programme (WFP) is supporting the Lao Government’s vision of “a prosperous country, with a healthy population, free from food insecurity, malnutrition and poverty”. In its approach, WFP is gradually shifting from the delivery of services to building the capacity of both institutions and communities to address the challenges of food insecurity and malnutrition. As populations are scattered over vast areas where access can be difficult, strengthening the self-reliance of communities for solving their own nutrition and food security problems is central to WFP’s strategy. By promoting changes in people’s behaviour – such as introducing complementary, nutritious foods; diversifying diets; improving infant and young child feeding practices; and enhancing communities’ ownership of initiatives like school feeding – WFP aims to improve the nutritional status of vulnerable people throughout their life cycle, as well as their resilience to seasonal and long-term shocks and stresses. WFP has been implementing a Country Strategic Plan 2022-2026 for the achievement of the following outcomes:
1. Schoolchildren in vulnerable areas have improved food security, nutrition and learning results through a sustainable national school meals programme.
2. Vulnerable people at risk of any form of malnutrition, in particular women and girls of reproductive age, children under 5 and school-age children, have improved nutri-tion outcomes in line with national targets.
3. Vulnerable people in disaster-affected or at-risk areas have enhanced food and nu-trition security all year round and increased capacity to mitigate and manage risks associated with climate and other shocks.
4. Crisis-affected populations in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic are able to meet their food, nutrition and other essential needs during and after disasters risks associated with climate and other shocks.
5. The Government of Lao People's Democratic Republic, humanitarian and devel-opment partners have access to reliable common services on demand.

The incumbent will report directly to the Programme Policy Officer for day-to-day management and technical guidance, and indirectly to the Deputy Country Director for overall direction and supervision. The UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:
• Coordinate strategic inputs and lead the operationalization of WFP’s Protection and Accountability Policy, Gender Policy, Environmental and Social Sustainability Framework (ESSF), Privacy Policy, and Disability Inclusion Roadmap, ensuring coordination, coherence, and systematic integration of cross-cutting standards across all Strategic Outcome activities at the Country Office (CO) level.
• Facilitate cross-cutting integration by reviewing, consolidating, and aligning key processes and documents to enhance programme quality, coherence, and impact.
• Provide substantive input to programme design and planning to ensure that WFP’s commitments to protection, GEWE, disability inclusion, and accountability are embedded in strategic frameworks, project proposals, and implementation plans.
• Generate and monitor strategic evidence and analysis on cross-cutting issues—including Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) risks and Indigenous Peoples’ engagement—to inform decision-making, advocacy, and future programme design.
• Represent WFP as focal point in UN inter-agency coordination mechanisms and thematic working groups, contributing to joint strategies and influencing collective outcomes on protection, gender, and inclusion.
• Contribute to the development of the cross-cutting sections of the Annual Country Report (ACR) and other key corporate documents, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and alignment with strategic priorities.
• Support strengthening institutional capacities of WFP staff, cooperating partners, and government counterparts by advancing understanding and practical application of WFP’s cross-cutting standards and frameworks.
• Ensure accountability and data integrity through the integration of protection, gender, and inclusion dimensions into monitoring, reporting, and analysis systems, upholding high-quality and ethical standards.
• Guide and contribute to strategic reporting, ensuring that insights and results from cross-cutting areas inform management decisions, partnerships, and resource mobilization efforts.
• Provide high-quality analytical inputs and communication materials for reports, donor visibility, and advocacy, reflecting WFP’s commitments and achievements in cross-cutting domains.
• Foster collaboration and partnerships with internal and external stakeholders to enhance programme synergies.
• Contribute to policy development and innovation by analysing trends, identifying gaps, and recommending evidence-based approaches to advance WFP’s agenda on protection, gender equality, inclusion, and environmental sustainability.
Perform other related duties as required.