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Regional Consultant - Risk Transfer Specialist

Multiple locations

  • Organization: WFP - World Food Programme
  • Location: Multiple locations
  • Grade: Consultancy - International Consultant - Internationally recruited Contractors Agreement
  • Occupational Groups:
  • Closing Date: Closed

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

 

 

 

Job Title:                             Risk Transfer Specialist

Type of Contract:              Regular Consultant

Duty Station:                      WFP Regional Bureaus (Johannesburg, Nairobi, Dakar, Panama and Bangkok)

Duration:                             6-11 Months (starting asap)

 

 

 

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

 

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The Climate and Disaster Risk Reduction Programme Unit is currently establishing a roster of consultants to provide support to Regional Bureaus and Country Offices in risk transfer activities.

 

WFP is opening a roster of insurance experts to contribute to the expansion, scale-up, improvement and graduation and provide support to country offices and regional bureaus. Consultants may be assigned to any of the following WFP Regional Bureau: Nairobi, Johannesburg, Panama, Dakar/Abidjan and Bangkok. Profiles of consultants who are not selected for these posts will be kept in a roster and be considered for assignments in WFP country offices or possibly in Rome HQ. Irrespective of the location of their assignment, consultants are likely to be required to travel extensively to the field to perform their duties.  Assignments will be based on demand and funding, and the level of expertise required will depend on a range of factors, including the nature and size of the portfolio and the specific tasks that will be demanded to the consultant. Duration of individual assignments may last between six and a maximum of eleven months.

 

WFP has recognized insurance as a transfer modality and an efficient tool to build resilience against climate shocks and fight against hunger. Microinsurance has predominantly been developed under the Rural Resilience Initiative, or R4, a strategic collaboration between WFP and Oxfam America, bringing public and private sector actors together in a strategic, large scale initiative to help the most vulnerable people build resilient livelihoods. In 2019, about 100,000 poor and food-insecure households were insured against climatic shocks and received support to manage vulnerability to climate through an affordable, comprehensive risk management program that builds long-term resilience.

 

WFP has also launched the first pilot, with Start Network, of ARC Replica, a sovereign insurance system, by purchasing policies for Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, the Gambia and Zimbabwe. This innovative approach will allow WFP to respond faster to major drought events, but also contribute to the capacity strengthening of ARC countries in terms of index customization and building systems through the partnership on operational plans for replica countries.

 

WFP tests and develops a new set of integrated tools that extend the risk management benefits of financial services such as insurance and credit to the vulnerable farmers. WFP is currently active in 7 countries (Ethiopia, Senegal, Malawi, Zambia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso) and is expanding to new countries in (Mozambique, Mali) and outside Africa (Guatemala, El Salvador, Cuba, and Bangladesh). R4 focuses on mechanisms that can be integrated into social protection systems, including productive safety nets so that the results can be applied at a much larger scale by governments and international organizations.

 

WFP is also in partnership with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), under the Weather Risk Management Facility (WRMF). This joint initiative was established in 2008 to reduce smallholders’ vulnerability to weather and other risks that limit agricultural production. It aims to encourage and protect investments in smallholder agricultural production and enhance food security. Amongst its major activities and services are: High-quality operational research; Capacity building in weather risk management for food security and agriculture; Implementing initiatives for innovative risk management solutions, such as agricultural index insurance (including weather, and remotely-sensed indexes). These solutions can be mainstreamed within WFP’s and IFAD’s investment programmes, as well as those of other partners, for an integrated resilience-building approach to climate disasters and change.

 

For more info on R4, please visit: https:// www1.wfp.org/r4-rural-resilience-initiative

For more on ARC Replica, please visit https://www.wfp.org/publications/2018-arc-replica

For more on climate risk financing at WFP, please visit https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP-0000110866/download/.

 

 

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

 

  1. Participating in feasibility studies aimed at introducing insurance (micro, meso and macro) and climate risk finance tools into WFP activities. WFP is trying to promote better integration between its corporate tools, in order to optimize the impact of interventions and improve the efficiency of resources. For this reason, the consultant will have to closely work with country/regional bureau management, programme lead and other technical teams, including but not limited to Social Protection, Assets Creation, Resilience and livelihoods, Smallholders Access to Market, etc.
  2. Participating in the insurance product design process, particularly regarding pricing strategy and product analysis. The consultant will be following the existing training modules on data collection, in order to strengthen the technical skills of the local teams. Provide support to the index design teams in countries and contribute to empowering local stakeholders, as needed.
  3. Participating in index customization of macro insurance schemes, capacity strengthening of local stakeholders, support in risk transfer parameters decision. In the case of a Replica pilot, advise the Country Office and liaise with the global team.
  4. Providing specific support to Country Offices, in particular for implementing risk transfer services (micro or macro), if need be. This might include: design of risk transfer schemes (including distribution & business plan), supervision of product design, training of local stakeholders, help setting up national teams and processes, integration with WFP and government’s programmes, supporting procurement, legal and finance programming, to ensure the effective implementation of the programme and the insurance product, technical assistance to local stakeholders.
  5. Providing technical support to local stakeholders, in particular insurers, delivery channels and governments to progressively have full ownership of the system.
  6. Supporting and possibly running seasonal monitoring analysis for operating countries during the season, in order to provide enough inputs to assess potential basis risk situations.
  7. Supporting building synergies with other agencies, such as IFAD or FAO, in order to build graduation plans, helping beneficiaries of WFP programmes to be progressively transitioned to the market.
  8. Representing country offices, regional bureaus or Rome HQ and actively contributing to ARC Annual Regional Consultations and another country/regional/global events in the field of risk transfer;
  9. Developing knowledge management materials, such as guidelines, through documenting processes and results from ongoing activities in specific countries.
  10. Contributing to the fundraising efforts of the team, which includes writing proposals in close coordination with programme and donor relations teams.

 

 

DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT:

 

  • Feasibility Studies
  • Product design, technical documentation
  • Outreach figures (number of people insured, total premium, the total sum insured, gender indicators, etc.)
  • Improvement of in-country contractual documents with insurance partners in order to ensure the best possible consumer protection.
  • Capacity building plans.
  • Graduation strategies agreed upon and implemented
  • Knowledge management material, incl. microinsurance part of the guidelines, documentation on specific aspects of the microinsurance activities.

Update, design and share with Country Office teams standard materials for training, awareness-raising and promotion.

 

 

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

 

Educations:

  • MA Degree in International Development/Relations/Business, Political Science, Economics, Public Policy, or related field.

 

Experience:

  • Junior Consultant hires: up to 3 years of experience in microinsurance, sovereign insurance or more broadly risk financing.
  • Consultant hires: above 3 years of experience in microinsurance, sovereign insurance or more broadly risk financing.

 

Knowledge & Skills:

  • Sound knowledge of microfinance sector and working knowledge of microinsurance, sovereign insurance and risk management;
  • A technical expertise in microinsurance, insurance, statistical or agronomical background would be valued.
  • Good quantitative and qualitative analysis skills preferred;
  • Excellent analytical and writing skills;
  • Ability to work independently as well as within a team;
  • Detail oriented, efficient, and able to promptly meet deadlines.

 

Languages:

 

  • Written and spoken fluency in English required. For some of the assignments, Fluency in French, Portuguese or Spanish would be required;

 

 

Terms and Conditions

WFP offers a competitive compensation package which will be determined by the contract type and selected candidate’s qualifications and experience.

Please visit the following websites for detailed information on working with WFP.

http://www.wfp.org Click on: “Our work” and “Countries” to learn more about WFP’s operations.

Deadline for applications: 3 February 2020

Ref.: VA No. 111801

Qualified 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.

This vacancy is now closed.
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