Cluster Coordinator

WFP is a voluntary donors’ funded agency that provides food assistances in the form of food commodities and cash-based transfers (CBT) to the most vulnerable people of the community. WFP does not directly implement projects; in fact, it provides funds to its cooperating partners (CPs) that are mostly national and international NGOs, and in some cases UN agencies and government departments. These Cooperating partners are responsible for the implementation of its projects in the field.
WFP’s food is transported to distribution sites by both its own fleets as well as commercial transporters contracted by WFP. WFP takes the responsibility to ensure that right quantity and quality of food commodities are delivered on time to various distribution sites identified and designated by the Cooperating Partners.  Where cash transfer is the food assistance modality, WFP engages the service of Financial Service Providers (FSP) who are responsible to disburse cash to targeted beneficiaries.
WFP implements over 200 lifesaving and livelihood projects throughout the 34 provinces of the country every year. For the successful implementation of the projects, WFP requires unrestricted and unimpeded access to visit projects’ sites in order to conduct projects’ assessments, beneficiaries’ verifications, activity/progress monitoring, distribution monitoring, post distribution monitoring and the like. However, due to the insecurity across the country and the restrictions imposed by the UN security on UN agencies, WFP employees are not able to access all the projects’ sites to oversee its projects’ implementation. It, therefore, contracts with Third-Party Monitoring (TPM) service providers to conduct the cited activities in areas that are not accessible for WFP staff. WFP has contracted CTG as Third-Party Monitoring service provider to monitor WFP’s projects implemented by its cooperating partners (CPs) in Hilmand, Nimroz, Uruzgan, Zabul and Kandahar provinces.

Under the direct supervision and overall direction of the WFP VAME Focal Point, the Cluster Coordinator has the following duties and responsibilities:
 

• Coordinate and conduct all field activities as requested by the WFP Field Office and provide regular support to team leaders and field monitors on day-to-day operations in the field.
• Regularly supervise staff under his/her supervision and ensure that the staff assigned to a particular area/project site is there and available on time and ensure that the information received is reliable, accurate and of high quality.
• Jointly prepare Weekly and Monthly Monitoring Plan with his/her team and WFP VAME Focal Point and make sure that justice among his/her team in terms of assigning them to the field i.e. frequency of travels, nearby and remote areas, relatively secure and insecure areas, etc. are considered and maintained; ensure to prepare the monitoring plan in a way that each project site and type of activity is monitored and visits are conducted in a systematic manner. Anticipate changes in the monitoring plan and ensure to communicate any changes in the monitoring plan immediately with the WFP VAME focal point for adjustment and further actions.
• Rigorous and timely review of all the monitoring checklists submitted by field monitors and/or team leaders in KOBO/MODA (WFP Corporate Data Collection Tool) and other reports i.e. assessment, verification, etc. and make sure that the checklists are filled out properly and the narrative in the checklists and reports are accurate, clear and understandable in English.
• Extract critical issues from the checklists and reports, share and follow up with the WFP VAME focal point and SO managers at the field office and provide timely feedback to the team particularly to the relevant team leader and field monitor.
• Timely identify key issues in the field related to assessments, verifications, food deliveries, food distribution and any other and communicate the issue(s) with WFP field office (Head of Field Office, VAME Focal Point or SO Managers), local authorities, line departments and communities to take corrective measures, and in case of food diversions and misuse report to WFP Field Office immediately and take necessary actions as advised by WFP Field Office.
• Follow up with team on the issues identified during the previous monitoring or site visit(s) that required follow up and further actions and make sure that they are taken up and resolved timely.
• When requested by WFP Field Office, represent WFP at the district and provincial level coordination meetings called by governor and line departments such as: PDMC and NGO/INGO; take note of key matters discussed and report back to the field office for information and further appropriate actions.
• Maintain proper and regular coordination mechanism with all key stakeholders i.e. Cooperating Partners (CPs), UN agencies, Financial Service Providers (FSPs), local government departments, communities, etc.
• Establish and maintain district-level lists of NGO partners, CDCs, Shuras, community elders, Mullas and other relevant community stakeholders and influential people, and their contact details in each area where WFP activity is  implemented in order to ensure their cooperation and participation in WFP activities and obtain feedback on the conduct of distributions and project activities. These lists should be updated and shared with WFP Field Office on a quarterly basis.

• Undertake regular field trips (each province under the coverage is visited at least once in a quarter), meet with the team leaders and field monitors; address or refer as appropriate challenges and obstacles in the field and come up with the visit/mission report identifying key issues for follow up and resolution with the WFP Field Office and TPM organization/company.
• Organize regular (Weekly, Bi-weekly or Monthly ) or ad-hoc meetings as appropriate or deemed necessary with the team leaders and field monitors through face-to-face or online platforms as appropriate and feasible, discuss key issues and develop action points for taking corrective measures for proper coordination and therefore effective monitoring.
• Organize training/orientation sessions for newly recruited TPM team leaders and field monitors and make sure that the newly recruited staff are provided with on-the-job training before being assigned to the field.

• As and when requested, support WFP Field Office in analyzing the access situation of areas, routes and districts of the provinces under the coverage of the Field Office as relevant to WFP programming and support Team Leaders and Field Monitors on negotiation of access and timely inform WFP Field Office in case any access problem occurs.
• Under the general guidance of the TPM Reporting Officer, prepare monthly report on the overall monitoring activities within the month on the progresses made in project assessments, activity/progress monitoring, distribution monitoring, post distribution monitoring, food arrivals at Extended Delivery Points (EDP) and/or Final Delivery Points (FDP), stock balances in CPs’ stores as well as compliance/Hotmail cases and submit it to WFP Country Office VAME and Field Office.
• Perform any other duties as assigned by WFP Field Office.

Report to Manager

N/A

5 years of progressively responsible professional experience in public sector management, development projects