Programme Policy Officer (NOC) - Activity 1 Manager - Nairobi

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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, and we are committed to promoting diversity and gender balance.

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme 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.  

WFP Kenya Country Strategic Plan is based on the National Zero Hunger Strategic Review, as well as the United Nations Development Assistance Framework. It contributes to Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 17, as well as WFP Strategic Results 1, 4, 5 and 8, through four specific outcomes:

• Refugees and asylum seekers living in camps/settlements and populations affected by natural and man-made disasters have access to adequate food to meet their food and nutrition needs.
• Targeted smallholder producers, food-insecure and vulnerable populations benefit from sustainable, inclusive food systems and increased resilience to climate shocks to meet food and nutrition needs by 2023.
• National and county institutions in Kenya have strengthened capacity and systems to assist food-insecure and nutritionally vulnerable populations by 2023.
• Government, humanitarian and development partners in Kenya have access to and benefit from effective and cost-efficient logistics services, including air transport, common coordination platforms, and improved commodity supply chains.

WFP Kenya works in some of the remotest parts of the country, working with local communities to deliver on our promise to enhance food securiy, eliminate mulnutrition and strengthen food systems. We work with the national and country governments as well as national and international actors, including other UN bodies, the private sector and individuals of goodwill.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

WFP is currently implementing the Kenya Country Strategic Plan (CSP, from July 2018 – June 2023). The CSP has four strategic outcomes covering seven activities.  Strategic Outcome 1 (SO1) aims at ensuring that refugees and asylum seekers in camps/settlements and populations affected by natural and man-made disasters have access to adequate food to meet their food and nutrition needs. Under strategic outcome 1, WFP’s refugee operation aims  to meet the food and nutrition needs of refugees through general distributions (a combination of in-kind food and cash-based transfers), treatment of acute malnutrition, complementary feeding to prevent malnutrition for women for the first 1,000 days after conception and for children aged 6-24 months, nutrition support to people living with chronic diseases and patients in hospitals, school meals for young learners and investments to enhance socio-economic outcomes and promote increased productivity and diversified livelihoods.

JOB PURPOSE

The Programme Policy Officer- (Activity Manager) supports the delivery of multiple inter-related activities and partnerships through two large field offices, ensuring coherence and quality of planning, design and implementation. WFP Kenya Activity 1 under the Strategic Outcome 1 constitutes close to 50 percent of the Kenya Country Office portfolio and managing multiple integrated business processes is required for the effective and efficient implementation of the Activity 1, as is representation to government, donors, partners and mobilizing and managing resources under multiple proposal and reporting cycles.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

The Activity Manager, In conjuction with the functional area managers, will focus on the planning, implementing and monitoring of Activity 1 programs to facilitate the accomplishment of the relevant strategic outcomes included in the CSP/ICSP.

Responsibilities will include:

• Contribute to the formulation of the CSP/ICSP and in translating the Strategic Outcomes from the CSP/ICSP into activities that will achieve the expected results.
• Plan and design the activity programme, including planning outputs and resource requirements.
• Perform day to day management of activity programmes under the leadership of the person with strategic outcome responsibilities. Where applicable, coordinate with and provide support to Field Offices and other colleagues in implementing and monitoring activity operations in line with WFP policies and other relevant guidance.
• Monitor activity outputs or services delivered to ensure they meet the Country Office’s planned strategic outcomes, and is to the appropriate quality, on time and within budget. Proactively monitor overall progress and initiate corrective actions as appropriate to resolve issues.
• With guidance from the Integrated Resource Management Officer and if delegated from the manager of the relevant strategic outcome, manage the activity programme’s budget, monitoring the expenditures against outputs as the programme progresses.  

KEY ACCOUNTABITITIES cont..

• Collaborate with and report progress on the activity delivery at regular intervals to the person with strategic outcome responsibilities and with functional managers and other staff with activity management responsibilities.
• Assess and advise the SO1 manager on the relevance & importance of activities over the course of the CSP duration; Initiate activity expansion/contraction and other management interventions wherever gaps are identified, or issues raised.
• Facilitate the recruitment and development of individuals to the activity programme teams. Manage the performance of the activity programme teams.
• Contribute to resources mobilisation efforts, including clearly articulating the need for food assistance and related programme opportunities, and follow up on the resource situation of projects including commodity and cash availability, seeking advice from senior colleagues where necessary.
• Develop and ensure a knowledge management approach for activity.
• Develop and manage partnerships with external partners including government and implementing partners.
• Other duties as required.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education:  Advanced degree in Economics, Agricultural Engineering, Agriculture, Agricultural Economics, or other field relevant to market and humanitarian or development work or first university degree with additional years of related work experience and/or trainings/courses.

Experience:  At least five years of postgraduate professional (managerial) experience in designing and implementing projects across the programme portfolio including retail and partnership networks, small and medium enterprise development.

Language: English

Minimum Qualifications:

• Has led a Sub Office or a small country/area office programme team or a component of a country office programme portfolio.
• Has engaged in policy discussions and provided input into policy decisions.
• Proven ability to take initiative, develop and execute demanding work plans.
• Ability to analyse and identify opportunities and challenges and develop and propose solutions to programmatic challenges.
• Proven ability to establish and maintain excellent working relations with colleagues and external partners and deal tactfully and patiently with different people.
• Experience in managing diverse interests and perspectives and build consensus.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

The Incumbent will be expected to have a breadth of programme and policy knowledge/experience including:

• Strong technical abilities in emergency operations and ability to influence strategic, policy and operational discussions.
• Proven capacity to conduct policy and programme analysis and to successfully engage in policy and programme dialogue.
• Good analytical skills, resourcefulness, initiative, maturity of judgement, tact, negotiating skills. 
• High capacity for organization and coordination, as well as an ability to work with a high degree of independence in a team environment.
• Demonstrates the ability to incorporate technical information into policy and strategy formulation and into programme design and implementation, and to appropriately communicate it internally and externally.
• Experience leading teams in strategic discussions.
• Experience working in a multi-donor environment.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS cont...

• Ability to work in a team and establish effective working relations with persons of different national and cultural backgrounds;
• Ability to deal patiently and tactfully with people of different national and cultural backgrounds;
• Experience in managing diverse and sometimes competing interests and perspectives to arrive at a durable consensus;
• Fluency in English, written and oral; excellent public speaking and presentation skills; excellent computer skills in MS Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint;
• A willingness to travel frequently, often to remote areas; ability to cope with situations, which may threaten health or safety; flexibility in accepting work assignments outside normal desk description.

4Ps CORE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES

Purpose

• Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives : Utilizes understanding of WFP’s Strategic Objectives to communicate linkages to team objectives and work.
• Be a force for positive change : Proactively identifies and develops new methods or improvements for self and immediate team to address work challenges within own work area.
• Make the mission inspiring to our team : Identifies opportunities to further align individual contributions with WFP’s mission of making an impact on local communities.
• Make our mission visible in everyday actions : Helps colleagues to see the link between their individual tasks and the contributions of their unit’s goals to the broader context of WFP’s mission.

People

• Look for ways to strengthen people's skills : Is able to identify, support and encourage focused on-the-job learning opportunities to address gaps between current skillsets and needed future skillsets for WFP.
• Create an inclusive culture : Recognizes the contributions of teammates, and encourages contributions from culturally different team mates to recognise the value of diversity above and beyond just including it in programming for beneficiaries.
• Be a coach & provide constructive feedback : Provides and solicits ongoing constructive feedback on strengths and development opportunities to help develop individual skills, whilst also helping others identify areas for improvement.
• Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit : Sets clear targets for self and others to focus team efforts in ambiguous situations (e.g., unprecedented issues and/or scenarios)

Performance

• Encourage innovation & creative solutions : Thinks beyond team’s conventional approaches to formulate creative methods for delivering food aid and assistance to beneficiaries. 
• Focus on getting results : Maintains focus on achieving individual results in the face of obstacles such as volatile or fragile environments and/or organizational roadblocks.
• Make commitments and make good on commitments : Takes personal accountability for upholding and delivering upon team’s commitments and provides assurance to stakeholders.
• Be Decisive : Demonstrates ability to adjust to team’s plans and priorities to optimize outcomes in light of evolving directives, while also responding quickly in high-pressure environments, such as in emergency settings.

Partnership

• Connect and share across WFP units : Demonstrates an understanding of when and how to tactfully engage other units in conversations on impact, timing, or planning
• Build strong external partnerships : Networks regularly with key external partners using formal and informal opportunities to understand each partner’s unique value proposition, and to build and strengthen relationships  
• Be politically agile & adaptable : Demonstrates ability to adapt engagement approach in the context of evolving partner circumstances and expectations 
• Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships : Demonstrates ability to articulate to internal and external audiences the value that individual contributions and immediate teams bring to partnerships.

FUNCTIONAL CAPABILITIES

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

• WFP is an equal opportunity employer and does not charge fees from applicants at any stage of the recruitment process. Only short-listed applicants will be contacted. 
• Qualified female candidates are particularly encouraged to apply.
• For any queries write to Nairobi.queryhr@wfp.org

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

The deadline for application is 16 March 2021.

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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.