Website World Food Programme (WFP)
JOB OPPORTUNITY
Programme Policy Officer (Research)_SC 8 (Equivalent to NO-A)_Kathmandu (171213)
WFP encourages female candidates and people with disabilities to apply.
WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles. Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis. We are committed to promoting diversity and the principle of equal employment opportunity for all our employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of religion or belief, ethnic or social background, gender, gender identity and disability.
JOB PURPOSE
WFP defines impact evaluations as assessments of the positive and negative; direct and indirect; intended and unintended changes in the lives of affected populations in receipt of WFP interventions, that can be attributed to a specific programme or a policy through a credible counterfactual. WFP sees rigorous impact evaluation as a tool to support learning. The WFP Impact Evaluation Strategy has four main objectives, to: 1) CONTRIBUTE to the evidence base for achieving global goals; 2) DELIVER operationally relevant and useful impact evaluations; 3) MAXIMISE impact evaluation responsiveness to rapidly evolving contexts; and 4) HARNESS the best tools and technologies for impact evaluation. WFP’s Office of Evaluation (OEV) is responsible for supporting the quality of all WFP impact evaluations and building organizational capacity to deliver them. This has implications for the type of impact evaluations supported (e.g., perspective), their focus (e.g., corporate, and global evidence priorities), and the ways they are delivered (e.g., built to align with operational timelines). Current WFP evidence priorities for impact evaluation include: 1) cash transfer modalities; 2) gender; 3) climate and resilience; 4) nutrition; and 5) school feeding. OEV uses impact evaluation windows – portfolios of 5-6 impact evaluations on specific evidence areas – to encourage evidence generation in priority areas. In this context, WFP Nepal Country Office, in collaboration with OEV is commissioning an impact evaluation of Forecast-based Anticipatory Action in Nepal, a project aimed at improving communities’ disaster preparedness, response, and resilience of vulnerable communities. The impact evaluation will involve randomized control trial (RCT) techniques in delivery and monitoring. The Research Assistant will thus support the planning and execution of this impact evaluation, working closely with relevant officials from OEV, the MRE unit of the CO, and the programme team.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Job Title: Programme Policy Officer (Research)
Grade: SC-8 (Equivalent to NO-A)
Type of contract: Service Contract (SC)
Duration: 6 months
Duty Station: Kathmandu
Vacancy Number : 171231
Deadline of Application: 16 August 2022
This vacancy announcement is ONLY for Nepalese Nationals.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
WFP offers a competitive benefits package including salary, social security, leave plus a medical insurance (Medical Insurance Death and Disability Plan (MIDD) | WFPgo).
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)
1. Under the direct supervision of the Monitoring, Review, Evaluation, and Knowledge Management Unit, the incumbent will be responsible for providing support to the MRE unit and RBB/HQ IE team for managing FBAA. The main accountabilities and responsibilities of the individual in this position involve providing support to the generation of evidence on WFP-led Forecast-based Anticipatory Action through an impact evaluation study that may involve both quantitative as well as qualitative methods.
1. Support the coordination and management of Forecast-based Anticipatory Action (FbAA) Impact Evaluation (IE) – 20%
– Support the development of IE tools, data banks, e-library, information, and archive systems for assigned work (including in SharePoint and Microsoft Teams)
– Gather documents, review literature and data as necessary for preparing activities
– Provide relevant analysis and support for meetings (e.g., evaluability assessments, inceptions, data collection phases, etc.)
– Support and participate in IE field missions to the selected local Palikas
– Support the development of a virtual library of humanitarian impact evaluation design appropriate for the WFP-Nepal context
TERMS OF REFERENCE
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– Support development and use of novel data sources and collection techniques for the IE
2. Support WFP to learn and use appropriate IE tools and methods – 20%
– Actively share lessons learned from the IE (e.g., measurement tools, data collection protocols, analyses, etc., with the country office, OEV, and relevant WFP officials.
3. Support the delivery of Fb-AA IE – 40%
– Support in the monitoring of daily data collection and ensure data quality assurance
– Support in the coordination of enumerators across FbAA implementing Palikas
– Support in providing technical guidance to enumerators during training, pre-test, intervention, and data-collection
– Support relevant impact evaluation teams in sharing beneficiary datasets with the OEV team, data cleaning, and performing initial analyses
– Support the country office and the OEV in ensuring data security during data collection, management, and analysis for impact evaluation activities.
4. Internal and external communications & reporting for WFP impact evaluation activities and outputs (20%)
– Support the synthesis, packaging, and communication of lessons learned from impact evaluation activities at key stages (e.g., promising intervention designs, effective measurement tools, IE findings, etc.)
– Support the preparation of briefings and presentation materials for communication
– Coordinate the development and publication of knowledge products (blogs, guidance material, webinars, etc.) related to the given IE activities
5. Any other duties assigned by the Director of Evaluation, the Head of Unit, or the Head of the Impact Evaluation Team
STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Master’s in academic disciplines relevant to the assignment (evaluation, economics, political science, development studies, statistics, etc.).
WORK EXPERIENCE
Master’s degree and three years of professional experience, and preferably with exposure to shock response-focused impact evaluations or research. Experience supporting the delivery of impact evaluations or conducting similar research in different disaster-related studies.
KEY COMPETENCIES
– Solid knowledge of quantitative and qualitative methods used for identifying and measuring disaster-relevant studies, mainly floods (e.g., survey design, randomization, statistical significance, etc.).
– Demonstrated interest and practical experience in assessing different cycles of disaster response vs. anticipatory action is desirable
– Proficiency in using statistical software packages (Stata, R, SPSS, etc.)
– Fully computer-literate with excellent skills in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and database management
– Strong interpersonal skills with demonstrated ability to work effectively and sensitively in diverse teams. Experience working with government partners is desirable
– Excellent communication skills, written, verbal and visual Experience effectively translating between academics and practitioners is highly desirable
– Well-organized and systematic
LANGUAGE
Full proficiency in English and Nepali (written and spoken).
OTHER SPECIFIC JOB REQUIREMENTS
DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT
– Record of active support and CO engagement for the implementation of FbAA IE
– Well organized and accurate impact evaluation coordination and planning tools
– Complete library of well-organized evaluation products, databases, and process as per OEV standard procedures
– Clear step-by-step documentation of the impact evaluation process
– Portfolio of easily accessible impact evaluation outputs (e.g., data collection and analysis tools, reports, and other communication products)
4Ps CORE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES
Purpose
- Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives: Understands WFP’s Strategic Objectives and the link to own work objectives.
- Be a force for positive change: Flexibly adapts individual contributions to accommodate changes in direction from supervisors and internal/external changes (such as evolving needs of beneficiaries, new requirements of partners).
- Make the mission inspiring to our team: Recognizes and shares with team members the ways in which individual contributions relate to WFP’s mission.
- Make our mission visible in everyday actions: Sets own goals in alignment with WFP’s overall operations, and is able to communicate this link to others.
People
- Look for ways to strengthen people’s skills: Assesses own strengths and weaknesses to increase self-awareness, and includes these in conversations on own developmental needs.
- Create an inclusive culture: Participates in open dialogue, and values the diverse opinion of others, regardless of background, culture, experience, or country assignment.
- Be a coach & provide constructive feedback: Proactively seeks feedback and coaching to build confidence, and develop and improve individual skills.
- Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit: Participates in accomplishing team activities and goals in the face of challenging circumstances.
Performance
- Encourage innovation & creative solutions: Shows willingness to explore and experiment with new ideas and approaches in own work.
- Focus on getting results: Consistently delivers results within individual scope of work on time, on budget and without errors.
- Make commitments and make good on commitments: Commits to upholding individual accountabilities and responsibilities in the face of ever-changing country or functional priorities.
- Be Decisive: Makes rational decisions about individual activities when faced with uncertain circumstances, including in times of ambiguity regarding information or manager direction.
Partnership
- Connect and share across WFP units: Seeks to understand and adapt to internal or cross-unit teams’ priorities and preferred working styles.
- Build strong external partnerships: Demonstrates ability to understand and appropriately respond to and/or escalate needs of external partners.
- Be politically agile & adaptable: Portrays an informed and professional demeanor toward internal and external partners and stakeholders.
- Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships: Provides operational support on analyses and assessments that quantifies and demonstrates WFP’s unique value as a partner.
HOW TO APPLY
To be considered, interested candidates are invited to apply via (https://www.wfp.org/careers/job-openings).
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
We want to ensure the recruitment process is fully accessible. Please contact us at nepal.hr@wfp.org to advise us of any accessibility needs you may have.
ABOUT WFP
The World Food Programme (WFP) is the leading humanitarian organization saving lives and changing lives, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience.
ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT
WFP is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce. WFP has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, abuse of authority or discrimination. All selected candidates will, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
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.
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.
Transfer Modalities (Food, Cash, Voucher): Demonstrates ability to analyse and consolidate quantitative and qualitative information from different sources (e.g., market studies) to inform transfer modality selection and programme development.
Broad Knowledge of Specialized areas (i.e. Nutrition, VAM, etc.): Demonstrates the ability to interpret basic data in the context of WFP specialised fields to contribute to technical programme design, implementation and monitoring.
Emergency Programming: Displays capacity to provide inputs into the development, implementation and realignment of high quality emergency programmes.
Strategic Policy Engagement w/ Government Develops thorough recommendations using multiple inputs (e.g., government counsel, research, own experience) to strengthen national or subnational entities and government owned food and nutrition security programmes.