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.

Background and purpose of the assignment :

Within the framework of the Uganda Country Strategic Plan (2018-2022) the Resilience Unit supports the overall achievement of three strategic outcomes: SO2: food insecure populations in areas affected by recurring climate shocks have access to adequate and nutritious food all year round, SO4: Smallholder farmers, especially women, in targeted areas have strengthened and resilient livelihoods by 2030 and SO5: Strengthened national and sub national institutions to respond to shocks. Specifically, the resilience Unit is responsible for the implementation of the following core activities: national social protection system strengthening inclusive of social registry modelling, national disaster management system strengthening, agriculture market support, asset creation and rehabilitation and home-grown school feeding. The unit compromises three sub units: Livelihoods and Asset creation, Food Systems and Digital Social Protection, which is managed by the Head of Resilience Programming.  

The Head of Resilience Programming is one of four senior programme managers within the Kampala based programme team. The position reports directly to the Deputy Country Director responsible for the programme function and field operations.

Accountabilties and responsabilities : (Cont’d) 

• Closely coordinate with other programme and functional areas to ensure that resilience programmes and a system strengthening focus is applied in different areas of WFP’s work and that relevant knowledge is captured and informs WFP’s work in Uganda;
• Provide technical support to upgrade the quality of existing safety nets, including school feeding, asset creation, Agricultural market support, food systems, resilience building and other activities; and help refine the institutional links between safety nets and emergency-related mechanisms, including through risk sensitive or shock responsive programmes;
• Provide technical advice and/ where needed mobilize technical expertise to promote policy coherence and synergies between food and nutrition security programmes and national social protection/poverty reduction and agriculture frameworks;
• Provide technical support and strategic guidance to ensure integrated programming across the resilience portfolio.;
• Oversee the development of donor proposals and contribute to resource mobilisation efforts for resilience activities;
• Supervise other national and international programme staff; provide training and technical guidance in their work;
• Perform other related duties as required.

WFP in Uganda is well positioned to actively support the government in support of SDG2 targets, and as a partner of choice for hunger and nutrition sensitive policies, capacity building and operational support :

•  Evidence, knowledge and best practice is shared with relevant programme officers and senior staff across the region to improve the quality of WFP’s direct assistance and technical support;
• The safety nets that WFP is implementing directly in the region are achieving enhanced outcomes for beneficiaries, and evidence and learning from these experiences is captured and shared internally and externally;
• Well prepared, analytic work;
• Well managed projects, programmes and/ or operations.

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.

Qualifications and experience :

Education:  University degree in International Affairs, Economics, Nutrition/Health, Environmental Science, Social Sciences or other field relevant to international development assistance.

Experience:  At least eight years of postgraduate professional experience with increasing responsibilities in resilience, social protection in a bilateral, multilateral or nongovernmental organization.

Knowledge & Skills: 

Very good knowledge of effective and sustainable practices and principles related government social protection systems in a variety of contexts. Proven capacity to conduct policy analysis and to successfully engage in policy dialogue. Demonstrated effectiveness in bringing global strategies into the regional/country context. Proven experience in building synergies among units, projects and regions. Strong communication skills and ability to produce written work to very high standards.

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;

• High capacity for organization and coordination, as well as an ability to work with a high degree of independence in a team environment;
• Experience in managing diverse and sometimes competing interests and perspectives to arrive at a durable consensus;
• Fluent 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.

Languages:  Fluency (level C) in English language.

• Good analytical skills, resourcefulness, initiative, maturity of judgement, tact, negotiating skills;
• Ability to identify the main hunger problem at the national or subnational level to design and implement context-specific programmes that strengthen government systems and integrate complex analysis and the full range of food assistance tools.
• 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.
• Demonstrated ability to engage key stakeholders in policy dialogue to strengthen national government social protection systems.
• Ability to translate policy and programme principles into relevant, effective, and context specific approaches, including in emergencies and protracted conflict situations.
•  Experience leading teams in strategic discussions;
•  Experience working in a multi-donor environment;

Critical succes factors includes (Cont’d) :

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;

•  High capacity for organization and coordination, as well as an ability to work with a high degree of independence in a team environment;
• Experience in managing diverse and sometimes competing interests and perspectives to arrive at a durable consensus;
• Fluent 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.

09.08.2019