Service Contract, Senior Programme Associate (VAM and M&E) – World Food Programme WFP

Deadline for Applications 29th April, 2022

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 celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.

Service Contract, Senior Programme Associate (VAM and M&E), SB3, Bhubaneswar, Odisha (161241)

VACANCY DETAILS

Type of Contract: Service Contract – SB-3, L-7
Location:  Bhubaneswar, Poverty & Human Development Monitoring Agency, Planning & Convergence Department, Government of Odisha
Duration of Contract: One year (Renewable, depending upon availability of funds)
Reporting to: Head of Evidence and Results Unit, WFP India Country Office and direct supervision of the Member Secretary, PHDMA, Planning & Convergence Department, Government of Odisha and the Head of WFP Sub-Office, Bhubaneswar

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the world’s largest humanitarian agency, fighting hunger worldwide. WFP India works with national and state Governments to support them to achieve their targets under SDG 2 – Zero Hunger.  One area of work is on building national capacity for monitoring and evaluation and under this workstream, the Country Office is looking to hire a Senior Programme Associate (VAM and M&E) to be positioned in the office of the Poverty & Human Development Monitoring Agency (PHDMA), Planning & Convergence Department, Government of Odisha, in Bhubneshwar.

In the past, WFP and PHDMA have collaborated to prepare the Report on ‘State of Food Security and Nutrition in Odisha’. Moving this partnership forward, PHDMA and WFP will collaborate to to develop an institutionalised system to monitor food and nutrition security in Odisha. Under a new Partnership Agreement, WFP and the Government of Odisha will work together to:

• institutionalize food security and nutrition analysis within government systems;
• generate information to fill critical evidence gaps around food security and nutrition particularly among vulnerable groups;
• engage stakeholders around data and evidence on SDG 2 monitoring; and
• strengthen sate monitoring and evaluation capacity within state government.

In fulfilment of the above agreed objective, WFP intends to recruit a Senior Programme Associate (VAM and M&E).

JOB PURPOSE

In coordination with the WFP India Country Office and PHDMA, Planning & Convergence Department, Government of Odisha, the post holder will be responsible to carry out the jointly agreed activities of the agreement with support from the WFP India Country Office.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES (not all-inclusive)

The  staff will work  under the overall supervision of the Head, Evidence and Results Unit, WFP India Country Office and under the direct guidance of the Member Secretary, PHDMA, Planning & Convergence Department, Government of Odisha and the Head of WFP Sub-Officee. S/he will be responsible for the following key functions:

• Provide technical expertise and contribute towards the development of the project activities, plans and processes for food and nutrition security analysis in Odisha.
• Provide efficient coordination and specialized project management support to the defined programmes to ensure that the various activities are performed within the established targets following WFP’s policies and procedures.
• Update the food and nutrition security analysis report of the state with newer secondary datasets which involves substantial data analysis (NSSO, NFHS, CPHS, CNNS, Census and others). It also includes exploring state level data sources, undertaking data gap analysis, geospatial mapping and infographics to suggest evidence-based action towards achieving zero hunger in the state.
• Plan and ensure quality primary data collection on food and nutrition security situation of the  vulnerable population such as women, children, tribals, PVTGs and others in the state and analyse them to present evidence to the state government and other stakeholders for timely action for ending hunger and malnutrition in the state.
• Plan and support the strengthening of the state monitoring and evaluation capacity in Odisha with a focus to build a robust monitoring and evaluation system for establishing learning and accountability in food safety net schemes and programmes in the state.
• Coordinate and liaise with internal and external counterparts on a range of complex matters to enable effective collaboration, implementation and monitoring of ongoing project activities. In particular, liaise with all relevant departments in Government of Odisha.
• Foster relationships and support partnership-building with local academic institutions, local partners, agencies, NGOs and government institutions to generate critical evidence on food and nutrition security for the state.
• Support the state government in developing and monitoring the SDG 2 State Indicator Framework, District Indicator Framework and sub-district indicator framework and sensitize the officials at all levels to achieve SDG 2 in the state.
• Provide technical inputs to the preparation of SDG 2 and food and nutrition security monitoring dashboard ensuring alignment with wider programme, policies and guidelines of the state government.
• Act as an escalation point for complex query resolution on all matters within the area of responsibility.
• Any other duties as assigned by the supervisor.

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.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education : Completion of secondary school education.  Graduation in the area of Food security / Social Science /Development Economics / Applied economics / Geography / Rural Development / Rural Management / Statistics / Demography or related disciplines will be an added advantage.  Post Graduation and above will be an asset.

EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE

• At least 7 years’ experience in undertaking research, monitoring and evaluation of food security, nutrition, poverty, livelihoods,  and related issues.
• Published research work in the form of books, reports, papers in refereed journals and chapters in books to demonstrate analytical and writing skills.
• Experience of working or interacting with government and international agencies. Cultivated sustainable relationships with government authorities, NGOs, research agencies, academia and other partners.
• Adept in handling and analysing large database such as those published by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), NFHS, Census etc.
• Knowledge and hands-on experience on quantitative, qualitative and geospatial data analysis softwares such as STATA/R/SPSS/Python, Atlas.ti, NVivo, ArcGIS, QGIS and related softwares.
• Experience in working independently with minimum supervision, often in fluid and ambiguous situations will be required.

LANGUAGE : Fluent oral and written communication skills in English and Hindi. Working knowledge of Odiya is desirable.

COMPETENCIES AND SKILLS

The post holder should have strong technical, analytical and problems solving skills; ability to think through complex issues to conceptualize, design and execute action pans. Demonstrate passion and motivation with the ability to manage complexities, multiple tasks with commitment to deliver against multiple, tight deadlines at work. Excellent team player with an ability to work collaboratively, share information and build strong working relationships with colleagues and stakeholders from diverse backgrounds while focusing on impact and results. Excellent oral and written communication skills, presentation and documentation skills with a focus on effective procedural documentation. Knowledge of the Indian Government bureaucracy and SDG 2 are also crucial for this position. Maturity required to effectively participate and contribute in meetings with senior government officials.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.  A written test will be used as a form of screening.  In the event your candidature is retained for an interview, you will be required to provide in advance a scanned copy of the degree(s)/diploma(s)/certificate(s) required for the position.

• This is a national position therefore candidates who are non-Indian nationals will not be considered.

Mode of Engagement: The salary for this position is INR. 1,181,902/- per annum (depending upon the last drawn remuneration of the candidate), plus medical benefits as per WFP’s plan. All tax liability for payments from this contract are to be borne by the subscriber. Qualified candidates will be retained on roster for at least two years and may be considered for future similar vacant posts.

We encourage female applicants and individuals with disabilities to apply.

WFP is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all suitable applicants, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organisation. We will ensure that applicants with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the selection & recruitment process, and for work-related needs upon joining the Programme.

Applications for the positions are required to be submitted online on the E-recruitment link as mentioned below:
https://www1.wfp.org/careers/job-openings.

Note: Applicants are requested to Create an account in the system before applying.
Curriculum and applications will be registered and system allows them to update their profile and apply for a job through wfp careers website.

Female applicants and qualified applicants from developing countries are especially encouraged to apply