Programme Policy Officer

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS
10 October :59-GMT+08:00 Philippine Standard Time (Manila)

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ABOUT WFP
The World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity, for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

At WFP, people are at the heart of everything we do and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse, committed, skilled, and high performing teams, selected on merit, operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment, living WFP's values (Integrity, Collaboration, Commitment, Humanity, and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves.

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WHY JOIN WFP?

• WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.
• WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse, and multicultural working environment.
• WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training, accreditation, coaching, mentorship, and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities.
• A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe.
• We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of this vacancy announcement).

In the Philippines, WFP's efforts are guided by its work outlined in the Philippines Country Strategic Plan (CSP WFP focuses on strengthening government systems at the national, local government unit and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) levels to further build the resilience of vulnerable individuals and communities.

The CSP is aligned with national strategies and policies as well as the United Nations Sustainable Development Framework and is guided by three interrelated outcomes:

• By 2028, communities exposed to shocks and stressors in the Philippines are better able to meet food, nutrition and other essential needs with inclusive and equitable emergency preparedness and response capacity at the national and local levels.
• By 2028, communities vulnerable to food and nutrition insecurity in the Philippines are more resilient and can better manage risks affecting human capital gains and food systems, inclusively and equitably.
• The Government and partners in the Philippines access WFP services that augment their interventions, upon request.

These strategic objectives are framed within the context of the Philippines being on the verge of becoming and upper-middle income country, while at the same time being one of the world's most disaster-prone countries. Disasters remain a leading cause of hunger, affecting all aspects of food security: economic and physical access to food, availability and stability of supplies, and nutrition.

While WFP Philippines maintains a strong capacity to respond directly when significant shocks occur, the overall emphasis of the Country Office lies on systems strengthening (disaster risk management, social protection and food systems) at national, LGU and BARMM levels. WFP utilizes its field operations expertise to support the Government in delivering on key food programmes linked to its mandate and the CSP, including supporting the conceptualization and roll out of national priority programmes such as Walang Gutom 2027 and LAWA (Local Adaptation to Water Access) at BINHI (Breaking Insufficiency through Nutritious Harvest for the Impoverished) and modelling globally proven programmes such as home-grown school feeding – linking local smallholder farmers production to the institutional demand of school meals programmes. WFP engages at the national level on policy dialogue, supporting legislative advances in areas such as school meals, anticipatory action and rice fortification.

JOB TITLE:
Programme Policy Officer (Value Chains)
TYPE OF CONTRACT:
Service Contract (SC)
JOB GRADE:
SC-8
DUTY STATION (City, Country):
Cotabato, Philippines
DURATION:
12 months
This position is open to Filipino nationals only.
ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT:
Smallholder farmers and fisherfolk in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) have limited resources, information, and training to increase their yield and undertake value- adding activities necessary to improve their livelihoods. The economic insufficiencies deprive them of resources to spend on food security, nutrition, housing, education, healthcare, and other non-food essentials. Moreover, inadequate agricultural infrastructure, poor soil and water management practices and land tenurial issues impedes smallholders' abilities to become self-reliant. Improved climate-smart agricultural practices and equitable inclusion of women and men smallholder farmers and fisherfolk into value chains is a crucial missing link to sustainably solve the prevalent poverty index and quell the low nutritional indicators that have affected the BARMM region for decades.

WFP works with the BARMM Government and other key partners to implement an integrated package of interventions to build the resilience and self-reliance of target populations. Specifically, WFP:

• Contributes to smallholders' economic sustainability by promoting their inclusion in the value chain through creation of rural infrastructure by engaging vulnerable communities in the creation of farm-to-market roads; irrigation canals, reforestation, soil conservation and water harvesting structures, and development of post-harvest facilities.
• Supports the formation of farmer and fisher associations/cooperatives and their inclusion in value chains by strengthening access to markets such as the Home-Grown School Feeding (HGSF) Programme and other institutional markets.
• Empowers the community and food producers through Social and Behavioural Change (SBC) initiatives to positively enable behavior change towards self-reliance and healthy diets.

JOB PURPOSE:
The Programme Policy Officer (Value Chains) will primarily be supporting Strategic Outcome 2 of the Country Strategic Plan. The holder will be part of the Integrated Resilience Team based in the Cotabato Field Office and will oversee the operationalization of WFP's Market and Livelihoods Framework (MALF) in the BARMM and capacity strengthening activities for Government partners and smallholder farmers and fisherfolk.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
The Programme Policy Officer (Value Chains) will receive overall guidance from the Head of Integrated Resilience, technical support from the SAMS Officer in the Country Office, and direct supervision from the Programme Policy Officer (Market and Livelihood). The Programme Policy Officer (Value Chains) will provide technical support to conduct analysis, oversee coordination, build capacities internally and of partners, oversee timely and high-quality implementation of interventions, and support the monitoring and reporting of key activities. Specific duties include:

Coordination & Capacity Strengthening

• Equip government and community partners with practical tools and guidance to analyse capacities of farmer and fisherfolk organizations, conduct market analyses, interpret findings, and design training initiatives that strengthen their production, governance, marketing and business capabilities and overall self-reliance.
• Facilitate linkages between farmer and fisherfolk organisations and local and regional markets, to connect smallholder farmers and fisherfolk to the HGSF programme and other public and private buyers.
• Advance women's self-reliance, economic empowerment and inclusion by designing and rolling-out gender responsive interventions that ensure women's participation in training and decision making, create pathways to women-led aggregation and enterprises, and remove barriers to market entry.
• Support design and piloting of inclusive financing mechanisms to improve farmer cash flow and bargaining power.
• Ensure compliance with Environmental and Social Safeguards (ESS) by conducting ESS screenings of value‑chain interventions, developing and monitoring mitigation action plans, training partners on ESS requirements, and manage grievances and reporting.
• Provide day to day supervision and management of staff and consultants working in the value chain team, where necessary support identification of expertise to augment or fill the technical gaps.
• Regularly liaise across functional units in the Cotabato Field Office and Country Office to support effective collaboration, implementation and monitoring of ongoing project activities.

Monitoring & Reporting

• Support the Monitoring and Evaluation team to identify relevant indicators and develop survey tools to monitor the support to smallholder farmers and fisherfolk in line with WFP corporate reporting and accountability requirements.
• Provide regular technical updates and quarterly briefing notes to management to track progress, risks, budget utilization, and adaptive decisions.
• Prepare inputs for donor reporting and contribute to concept notes and funding proposals to scale proven value‑chain interventions.
• Produce short case studies and communications inputs showcasing impact, lessons learned and opportunities for replication, in coordination with CO communications.
• Perform other related duties and responsibilities as required which may include workstreams in school feeding, social protection, anticipatory action, emergency response, gender and disability mainstreaming, and other key areas of work, as required and guided by management.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:
EDUCATION:
Advanced university degree or bachelor's degree in Rural Development, Agriculture and/or fisheries, Agronomy, Climate Change Adaptation, Development of SMEs, Environmental Economics, or similar field

EXPERIENCE:

• Required: Minimum of one (1) year of relevant experience in development work with an advanced university degree, or two (2) years of relevant experience with a bachelor's degree.
• Preferred: Seven (7) years of relevant experience in development work, including prior management experience in food security and livelihood projects.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:

• Strong interpersonal and diplomatic skills with ability to establish effective relations with communities, authorities, colleagues and partners' staff.
• Ability to think creatively, proactively, and problem-solve with flexibility and adaptability.
• Strong analytical skills, including ability to draw conclusions and recommend a course of action.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to write clearly and concisely.
• Experience in food systems, including value chains development and market systems.
• Utilizing computers including word processing, spreadsheet, and other software packages.
• Knowledge of research methods and monitoring and evaluation standards.

LANGUAGE:
Excellent knowledge of written and spoken English and Filipino; Knowledge on the local language in BARMM is desirable.

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK
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Click here to access WFP Leadership Framework
REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION
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REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

• We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete, and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, language skills and UN Grade (if applicable).
• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.
• Please make sure you upload your professional CV in the English language
• Kindly note the only documents you will need to submit at this time are your CV and Cover Letter
• Additional documents such as passport, recommendation letters, academic certificates, etc. may potentially be requested at a future time
• Please contact us at in case you face any challenges with submitting your application
• Only shortlisted candidates will be notified

All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, 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.