DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

27 October 2024-23:59-GMT+01:00 West Africa Standard Time (Kinshasa)

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.

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.

To learn more about WFP, visit our website: https://www.wfp.org and follow us on social media to keep up with our latest news: YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok.

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).

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:
The United Nations WorldFoodProgramme (WFP) isthe world’slargest humanitarian agency dedicated to fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes. Every day, WFP works globally 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.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is facing one of the largest hunger crises in the world. Hunger and conflict exacerbate each other, with armed conflict and widespread displacement prevailing for the past 25 years.
Multiple other crises further compound DRC’s humanitarian challenges. North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri are the provinces where war and unrest have been most protracted. Three out of every four internally displaced people live
with host families, many of whom were already struggling before taking in strangers in need. The number of acutely food-insecure people stands at 27 million, making access to food a daily struggle for a significant part of the
Congolese population. An estimated 3.4million children are acutely malnourished.
Under its Country Strategic Plan (CSP) 2021-2025, the World Food Programme in the DemocraticRepublic of Congo aims to provide:
• Unconditional food-resource transfers to crisis-affected and food-insecure populations.
• Nutrition prevention activities against moderate acute malnutrition among children under age 2 and
pregnant and lactating women.
• Nutrition treatment activities for children under age 5 and pregnant and lactating women suffering from
moderate acute malnutrition.
• A school feeding program for children at school.Nutrition prevention activities against stunting.
• Support for smallholder farmers and asset creation and livelihood interventions.

JOB PURPOSE:
The Partnerships Officer will help position WFP strategically as a key development partner amongst the national stakeholders and will co-lead the engagement with the national Government, International Financial Institutions, and other development actors in the country to maximize the impact of WFP’s development programmes.
The Officer will facilitate WFP’s contribution and advocacy for the design of key policies and programmes in country and will mobilize resources for WFP programmes contributing to the country’s development agenda (around agriculture, food systems, resilience, social protection and nutrition). Incumbent will report to the Head of Unit.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES (Not all-inclusive, not exhaustive):
1. Lead the implementation of a work plan for an assigned area to enable WFP to identify, develop and strengthen quality partnerships with national actors (especially government) in support of WFP strategic objectives.

2. Engage with other functional units, RBs and COs on WFP’s thematic, regional and country specific offerings, developing content and language that speak to individual audiences and align with on-going policy dialogue
in national and global fora; Support alignment of partner engagement across the organization.
3. Proactively support a wide range of aspects of a partnerships portfolio, including partner profiling, data/trends analysis, budgetary analysis and outreach plan, to maximize resources and leverage policy and technical support for WFP’s work; Ensure partner visibility and that partner conditions are met especially for the national government.
4. Facilitate corporate dialogue with partners through preparation of quality briefing and advocacy materials; Ensure the drafting of key communications with National Government respecting local administrative protocols. Proactively highlight strategic opportunities and issues to senior management and propose options for the best course of action to nurture trust and interest in the work of WFP; Support the preparation of joint events (e.g. National SDG Forum that can advance WFP interests and objectives.
5. Gather and share partner intelligence (including forecasting) especially related to national government strategies and activities, using key information systems), and assess results.
6. Support functional units, RBs and COs on partnership strategies (including the development of Partnering and Resourcing Strategies); Extend support on partnership/contribution management, in line with corporate norms,
processes and legal agreements, on quality proposal and report writing by engaging with other WFP entities and external stakeholders.
7. Facilitate partnership growth, by exploring opportunities to expand existing partnerships especially with national government and scope new partners, guided by assessments, analysis and due diligence; Present recommendations to senior management and ensure follow-up.
8. Contribute to the preparation of partnership proposals, strategic agreements, joint strategies and/or MOU, taking into account corporate norms, processes and external regulations; Ensure quality control of content by engaging with relevant functional units, RBs and COs.
9. Use socio-political insights to support WFP’s effective positioning vis-à-vis national governments, regional and international institutions with the aim to influence the policy agenda.
10. In the context of the UN system and multilateral fora, support the development of partnerships with member states, civil society and intergovernmental organizations to advocate for the SDGs and Zero Hunger on the global agenda, and advance WFP priorities and policies, based on a good understanding of member states’ dynamics and interests.
11. Solicit inputs from other entities that contribute to inter-governmental/inter-agency work to ensure that WFP positions are properly explained and considered in decision making.
12. Manage staff, providing coaching, training and guidance to ensure appropriate development and enable high performance.
13. Take responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives in all areas of work to ensure equal participation of women and men.
14. Contribute to preparedness actions, providing technical recommendations and guidance; Monitor defined risks and make recommendations how to manage these effectively.
15. Develop and co-lead the implementation of WFP’s partnerships with Government and key development actors, including IFIs, academia, regional organisations and other UN agencies working on development issues.
16. Engage with national institutions, universities, and think-tanks to establish WFP as a thought leader in the country in the development arena.
17. Other tasks as required.

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE
• Has a deep understanding of national government strategies, functioning and processes.
• Has developed effective relationships with partners especially the national government and explored new areas to scaleup existing activities and researched new opportunities.
• Has developed powerful narratives by using data analysis visualization to enable action-oriented discussions with partners.
• Has prepared briefs and advocacy documents to raise resources for operations and advocate for policy objectives.
• Has provided advanced technical support on working with national institutions and identified opportunities for service delivery excellence to strengthen partnerships.
• Has motivated team spirit and contributed to a gender-balanced, inclusive and sound working environment.
• Minimum five (5) or more years of relevant professional work experience in partnership roles or public administration and political advisory roles.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

EDUCATION: Advanced University degree in Political Science, International Development, Development Economics, International Relations, Law, or other relevant field, or First University degree with additional years of related work experience and/or trainings/courses

EXPERIENCE: At least five (5) years of postgraduate professional experience in partnership roles or public administration and political advisory roles or First University degree with two (2) additional years of related work experience and/or training/courses.

LANGUAGE: Fluency (Level C) in French and English is required.

KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS:
• Demonstrable experience with the national government, public sector economic planning and budgetary processes at the strategic level. Ability to interact effectively with staff at the Ministerial level and at the International Financial Institutions (IFIs) Management level.
• Ability to identify relationships within data and provides insights to enable discussions and inform actions with partners. Uses data analysis visualization to draw out fact-based insights and develop powerful narratives within own area of responsibility. Leverages insights from multiple sources of data to identify trends, determine interrelationships among multiple issues and identify innovative solutions that impact partnerships.
• Ability to identify opportunities for service delivery excellence to strengthen partnerships. Provides advanced technical support to other business areas. Troubleshoots complex system issues and contributes to the design and implementation of system changes. Provides input into training and support strategy for technical systems users. Demonstrates managerial skills in the delivery of support and guidance.
• Ability to collect and collate necessary information to enable WFP to make informed operational decisions.
• Demonstrated competence in use of spreadsheets, data presentation and reporting skills.

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

WFP Leadership Framework guides to the common standards of behavior that guide HOW we work together to accomplish our mission.

Click here to access WFP Leadership Framework

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

WFP is dedicated to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our recruitment process is inclusively crafted to welcome candidates of all backgrounds, celebrating diversity and ensuring a respectful environment for all. We aim for an accessible and fair recruitment journey. Should you need any reasonable accommodations or have accessibility concerns, please reach out to us confidentially at global.inclusion@wfp.org. Our DEI team is here to ensure your full participation in our recruitment process.

NO FEE DISCLAIMER

The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.

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 global.hrerecruitment@wfp.org 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.