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Programme Policy Officer NOC(Deputy Head Of Programme)- The Gambia

Banjul

  • Organization: WFP - World Food Programme
  • Location: Banjul
  • Grade: Mid level - NO-C, National Professional Officer - Locally recruited position
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Legal - Broad
    • Political Affairs
    • Project and Programme Management
    • Managerial positions
  • Closing Date: Closed

 

TERMS OF REFERENCE

JOB TITLE:

Programme Policy Officer, NOC (Deputy Head of Programme)

TYPE OF CONTRACT:

Fixed Term

UNIT/DIVISION:

Programme & Policy

DUTY STATION (City, Country):

Banjul, The Gambia

DURATION:

One Year (renewable)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A. BACKGROUND

WFP Gambia’s Country Strategic Plan (CSP) 2019-2021 aims to support the Government in reaching the National Development Plan (2017-2021)’s goals through investments in sectors relevant to Sustainable Development Goal 2. This CSP positions WFP as an enabler for the Government and combines direct implementation and capacity support in the enhancement of the national transition process. WFP support constitutes direct operational support, knowledge transfer and technical assistance and it contribute to WFP's Strategic Results 1, 2, 3 and 5 in line with the National Development Plan, the National Social Protection Policy and the United Nations development assistance framework for 2017–2021.

 

The CSP focuses on contingency plans for response to shocks (Strategic outcome 1); building the resilience of vulnerable populations through nutrition-sensitive and gender-responsive social safety nets for children in primary and early childhood education, pregnant and lactating women and girls, children under 5 and smallholder farmers (Strategic outcomes 2, 3 and 4) and capacity strengthening to facilitate the alignment of national policies through an integrated approach to food and nutrition security that includes the school meals programme, nutrition interventions, social protection, disaster risk reduction and early-warning systems (Strategic outcome 5). Critical new focus areas will be support for development of a social protection system focused on mainstreaming the national school meals programme as a national safety net, food fortification and south-south and triangular cooperation. The country office (CO) aims to streamline all planning and implementation processes to ensure alignment with corporate standards and procedures.

 

Facilitating South-South cooperation is a strategic priority and opportunity for WFP Gambia to (1) adopt more effective programme approaches by tapping into empiric evidence on localized solutions; (2) expand the tools and modalities to implement CSP activities by mobilizing additional technical and capacity development support from other countries through support from the WFP Centres of Excellence; (3) promote country ownership and advocacy on SDG 2 by engaging host governments not only as recipients, but also as providers of SDG 2 solutions; (4) scale up local innovation; and (5) expand their financial resources by engaging with triangular and emerging donors.

 

PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

The Programme Policy Officer (Deputy Head of Programme) will provide support to the overall programme management and leadership for all the CSP activities including the special projects-Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme (GAFSP) project, Climate Adaptation Fund project, Peace Building Fund project, and other Disaster risk reduction and climate resilience initiatives, in the strategic shift towards capacity strengthening of the government, providing technical guidance, and programme team management for the effective implementation of the CSP priorities and strategies in this focus area.

 

The Deputy Head of Programme will lead budget and resource analysis and programming activities and/or provide technical support to the programme team to ensure application of the best practice approaches that support the efficient, effective and compliant utilisation of funds.

 

The Deputy Head of Programme will take the leading role in facilitating process oriented cross-cutting activities including the cash based transfers, cooperating partner engagement, south-south cooperation and capacity strengthening; ensuring that all field level agreement (FLAs), stakeholder engagement, cash based transfer processes are finalized on time, cost efficient and all partnership issues outlined in the FLA are properly managed.

 

The Deputy Head of Programme will also provide support for the upstream engagement and coordination in close coordination with other activity managers.

 

B. ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

 

Under the direct supervision of the Head of Programme, the Deputy Head of Programme and Country Director. Within the delegated authority, the Head of Programme will be responsible for the supervision and management of the Budget and Programming, Cash-Based Transfers and Cooperating Partner Engagement, and south-south cooperation  and capacity strengthening, in addition to the overall support to the Head of Programme.

 

Specific duties will include:

 

Project Management and Administration:

  • Provide support to Head of Programme in oversight in all aspects of programme management and implementation; supporting overall programme decision making needs through provision of relevant information and analytical products;
  • Provide guidance and support to Programme team; to identify priority intervention areas in planning, formulating, and targeting recipients for new requests for WFP assistance and coordinate timely CSP budget revisions, internal budgets, workplanning and reviews, financial requests etc;
  • Support the updating/development of standard operating procedures to guide effective programme activity implementation;
  • Actively participate in providing information for new initiatives and lead/contribute to the resourcing of new projects including preparation of project funding proposals;
  • Lead the development of information knowledgebase and enhance access to information for management;
  • Lead the development and implementation of capacity building plan and activities for project staff and project stakeholders;
    Responsible for facilitation of administrative aspects for programme including field travel, leave plans, mission support;
  • Represent WFP in Government and UN coordination meetings as requested;
  • Serve as officer in charge of programme in absence of HOP.

 

Budget and Programming:

  • Create and review project budget plans and monitor ongoing project performance against budget, ensuring adherence to guidance and policies, and providing financial analysis and advice to optimize resources;
  • Monitor and provide advice on fund utilization, and advance financing, loan and borrowing/repayment and refinancing arrangements, prioritization; alerting Management (Country Director) to approaching deadlines for unassigned funds and potential resource shortfalls/surpluses, and proposing appropriate solutions;
  • Prepare and review monthly Resource Management analysis Reports, involving in-depth analysis of pipeline and resourcing issues facing WFP Gambia;
  • Proactively lead in improving systems, techniques, tools, processes and procedures that will lead to better monitoring and managing of budgets and funds;
  • Monitor and provide advice on actions related to project closure and resource transfer;
  • Ensure correct budget and project documentation is created, and ensure relevant resource data is recorded in internal systems for reference, in line with WFP standards and procedures;
  • Build capacity of WFP staff in budgeting, fund management and operational planning, through preparing and delivery training, coaching, guidelines and manuals;
  • Manage junior staff to ensure appropriate development and enable high performance.

 

Coordinate Cross-cutting programme aspects- Cash Based Transfers, Cooperating Partner Engagement and South-South and Triangular Cooperation

 

  1. Support to Field Level Agreement Management process
  • Lead and oversee the cooperating partner engagement supporting the cooperating partner committee (CPC) including partner selection, field level agreement (FLA) process management, NGO partner vendor creation process, creation and closure of FLAs, purchase orders (PO), down payments, purchase requisitions, service entry sheets in WINGS (and COMET for FLA only); invoice payments through the Invoice Tracking System, NGO performance management;
  •  Maintain an up-to date tracking of all FLA, POs and list of contacts of all NGO partners focal points.

 

  1. Support to Cash Based Transfer programming
  • Lead the coordination of intra-office efforts for cash-based transfers with the Programme, Supply Chain, Finance/Administration units;
  • Support the design and implementation of any potential cash & vouchers intervention;
  • Ensure cash transfer activities are in line with various policies by among other things effectively mainstreaming gender, nutrition and protection issues;
  • Oversee database management for the cash transfer beneficiaries including data entry, cleaning, reconciliation and status reporting.

 

  1. South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) and capacity strengthening
  • Understanding gaps and opportunities for WFP Gambia to support The Government of The Gambia in SSTC;
  • Develop and sustain operational rapport with the relevant Government counterparts and NGOs engaged in the implementation and coordination of the CSP activities;
  • Prepare a Country Office strategy- (strategic options/activities, key deliverables, and learning and collaboration arrangements) and workplan aligned with government priorities to support a coordinated approach to SSTC and capacity strengthening;
  • Leverage ongoing work on south-south cooperation to document lessons learnt and collaboration opportunities;
  • Facilitate CO’s interaction with Centres of Excellence and with WFP’s global SSC team to identify collaboration and support opportunities with Gambia CO;
  • Prepare reports of the status of the work and the activities on SSTC;
  • Lead/coordinate all capacity building activities related to SSTC.

 

Annual Performance Planning/Review

  • Lead the facilitation and documentation of the annual performance planning/review processes for the country office;
  • Support planning and organisation of the after action reviews and/or any learning events.

 

4Ps CORE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES

Purpose

  • Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives: Coaches team in the most effective ways to communicate WFP’s Strategic Objectives to WFP team and partners in the field.
  • Be a force for positive change: Implements new methods or tools to improve team’s work processes and productivity.
  • Make the mission inspiring to our team: Maps team’s activities and tasks to specific successes in beneficiary communities to showcase positive impact.
  • Make our mission visible in everyday actions: Explains to teammates how each unit contributes to the overall WFP mission.

People

  • Look for ways to strengthen people's skills: Identifies skill development opportunities such as training modules or on-the-job experiences for self, colleagues and direct reports.
  • Create an inclusive culture: Facilitates team building activities to build rapport in own unit.
  • Be a coach & provide constructive feedback: Facilitates the pairing of junior colleagues with coaches within own team.
  • Create an “I will”/” We will” spirit: Proactively anticipates potential challenges and develops mitigation plans to ensure that team meets goals and targets.

Performance

  • Encourage innovation & creative solutions: Identifies opportunities to be creative in own work and to help team be more innovative and accurate in their respective tasks and areas of work.
  • Focus on getting results: Monitors team’s deliverables and provides feedback to ensure outcomes are delivered consistently and accurately.
  • Make commitments and make good on commitments: Provides accurate guidance to team on expected responsibilities and tasks, whilst also upholding own commitment to the team.
  • Be Decisive: Sets an example and provides guidance to junior team members on when to escalate issues when faced with challenging issues in the workplace or in the field.

Partnership

  • Connect and share across WFP units: Facilitates partnerships with other WFP units to accomplish missions in the field.
  • Build strong external partnerships: Sets an example and provides guidance to team on how to build relationships with external partners.
  • Be politically agile & adaptable: Articulates to colleagues or direct reports the value of contributing to other WFP teams and agency partnerships in fulfilling WFP’s goals and objectives.
  • Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships: Organizes, monitors, and prioritizes own and team’s efforts to ensure that they will fulfil the needs of internal and external partners.

 

FUNCTIONAL CAPABILITIES

Capability Name

Description of the behaviour expected for the proficiency level

Programme Lifecycle &

Food Assistance

 Demonstrates ability to identify key variables and contextual factors that

affect food assistance problems and programmes throughout the lifecycle to inform quality programme design or re-design.

 Demonstrates effectiveness in developing recovery programmes, bringing the corporate/ existing WFP strategies into the country context; ability to provide technical advice, or mobilise technical expertise, on a broad range of operational areas to managers and implementation staff.

 

 

Transfer Modalities

(Food, Cash, Vouchers)

Demonstrates ability to implement food assistance programmes deploying the full range of transfer modalities with an understanding of basic principles guiding modality selection and implementation.

Broad Knowledge of

Specialized Areas

Understands basic technical concepts and data and their relevance to food

Assistance programmes.

Emergency

Programming

Displays capacity to provide inputs into the development, implementation

and realignment of activities that bridge emergency response with long term resilience programmes.

Strategic Policy

Engagement w/Government

Understands and applies basic principles of engagement with government

counterparts at the national or local level.

 

REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

 

Education:

  • Advanced University Degree in Business Administration, Finance, International Development or Economics or a first degree with 5 years relevant work experience

 

Experience:

  • At least 3 years of relevant experience in public sector management/international organisations, development projects, agriculture/food security and livelihoods programming, performance reporting, budget planning, resource and/or project management;
  • Proven project and operational experience in development as well as humanitarian settings;
  • Experience of coordination with government, local and international partners and strong network within government and other stakeholders;
  • Experience leading and engaging multi-disciplinary technical teams in challenging contexts;
  • Knowledge of supervising setting up project team, financial, reporting and M&E systems for results-based reporting an advantage;
  • Demonstrated experience in donor, government, and private sector liaison and coordination;
  • Previous UN work experience will be an added advantage.

 

Competences:

  • Thorough understanding of operational planning and business processes, rules and procedures and apply them consistently in the implementation and support of programme interventions;
  • Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
  • Ability to lead formulation and monitoring of management projects;
  • Has performed basic financial analysis or either office or operational budgets;
  • Has provided analytical inputs for the development of budgets, financial plans or analysis;
  • Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
  • Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
  • Ability to lead effectively, mentoring as well as conflict resolution skills;
  • Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
  • Remains calm, in control and good humoured even under pressure;
  • Proven networking, team-building, organizational and communication skills;
  • General knowledge of UN system policies, rules, regulations and procedures governing administration.

 

Languages:

  • Fluency in English with good verbal and written skills.

 

Women are strongly encouraged to apply

Deadline is 8th October 2020

This vacancy is now closed.
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