Career Opportunities: Human Development Outcome Manager (International Consultancy II) (827187)

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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 RELATED KEY INFORMATION

Job Title:                           Human Development Outcome Manager   
Grade:                               CST II     
Type of contract:              Regular Consultancy             
Duration:                           11 months 
Duty Station:                     Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Vacancy Number:             827187
Date of Publication:          16 May 2023
Deadline of Application:   29 May 2023

BACKGROUND

Despite positive economic growth and progress in poverty reduction, Tajikistan is still facing a challenging food security and nutrition situation. Recent economic challenges compounded by population growth have contributed to the reclassification of the country as low-income in 2018 while the COVID pandemic and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine has further increased household vulnerability. Malnutrition rates remain the highest in Central Asia, and the number of undernourished has remained stagnant. Tajikistan faces different environmental challenges, including environmental and soil degradation and poor natural resource management. Additionally, Tajikistan is extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, which has further exacerbated food security and livelihoods of vulnerable communities. Given the above, the government has identified food security and access to quality nutrition as one of its development priorities. 

WFP Tajikistan has commenced its Country Strategic Plan 2023 – 2026 (CSP) in tandem with the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) covering the same period. By means of the CSP, WFP is undertaking a strategic shift from direct implementation to enabling and strengthening capacities of national and subnational institutions to deliver on their food security and nutrition priorities. WFP activities support the achievement of SDGs 2 (Zero Hunger) and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). Operations across the country include school-based programmes (hot meals and capacity development) that provide a valuable social safety net, nutrition specific and sensitive programmes, and climate change adaptation and resilience building programmes. In addition, WFP responds to emergencies and shocks created by natural disasters or resulting from socioeconomic crises. The geographic scope of WFP Tajikistan operations encompasses the entirety of the country. In addition to the country office in Dushanbe, WFP has field offices located in Bokhtar, Gharm, Khorog, and Khujand to oversee operations in those specific regions.

Strategic Priority I of the UNSDCF and Strategic Outcome 2 of the WFP CSP focus on inclusive human development. There are gaps in the quality and coverage of essential social services, especially in under‐served rural areas and for vulnerable groups. The country is highly vulnerable to external economic shocks; the COVID‐19 pandemic and the global food crises have highlighted structural vulnerabilities and widening inequalities. Combined, these undermine prospects to achieve the national development goals (NDS) and 
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for a growing, diversifying economy and a thriving, productive society. The provision of adequately financed and high quality, inclusive services in the area social protection, including school-based meals and nutrition, are central for Tajikistan to achieve its NDS goals and related SDGs. Food security and malnutrition are major concerns that bridge economic and social policy and programmes. 

ASSIGNMENT PURPOSE

Within the WFP programme unit, an outcome group focusing on human development includes three (3) interlinked teams: schoolbased programming, nutrition, and fortification. Strong themes of social protection cut across the portfolio and among each of these areas, effective coordination is required. The incumbent will serve as outcome manager and oversee activity managers working on school-based programmes, nutrition, and fortification while ensuring cross-collaboration within and across outcomes and activities.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES (not all-inclusive)

Under the general guidance of the Deputy Country Director while reporting directly to the head of programme, the Outcome Manager will:

External Cooperation
• Coordinate with relevant government stakeholders to design national plans and policies relevant to the portfolio;
• Advocate for multi-sectoral, multi-stakeholder coordination, to improve governance and coverage/delivery of interventions;
• Conduct context-specific analyses and assessments collaboratively with government and other partners to ensure that interventions effectively and efficiently reach vulnerable groups without duplicating efforts;
• Cultivate partnerships to strengthen school feeding, nutrition, and fortification within the realms of social protection, education, health/WASH, agriculture and food systems;

Project Management and Implementation
• Ensure efficient development of projects and activities, plans and processes, ensuring alignment with relevant policies and guidance;
• Oversee project management and activities, ensuring a coordinated approach with wider programmes/projects that complies with WFP standards and procedures;
• Advocate for nutrition-sensitive concepts and approaches into programming, including specific nutrition objectives and indicators;
• Ensure data gathering and monitoring/assessment systems meet rigorous quality standards and are conducted routinely;
• Oversee reporting activities and ensure preparation of accurate and timely reporting that enables informed decision making and consistency of information presented to stakeholders;
• Support identification of and negotiations for partnerships to ensure a collaborative and holistic approach;
• Ensure nutrition capacity in emergencies and support to communities to build resilience to shocks that affect nutritional status;
• Lead resource mobilization efforts through development of concept notes and proposals to enhance the portfolio;

Capacity Development
• Ensure staff are cognizant of WFP policies and procedures, providing guidance and advice as required;
• Provide strong strategic guidance, technical support, advice and direction for relevant programmes, analysis and reporting; 
• Lead the capacity building of WFP country office and field staff, partners, and government counterparts to prepare for and respond to all projects within the portfolio;
• Engage with relevant partners to enable sharing of experience, lessons learned and best practice;
• Provide training and guidance to junior staff as required to ensure appropriate development and enable high performance;
 

Team Management
• Create an inclusive work environment through respectful and constructive communication and holding self and other team members accountable for their actions;
• Hold regular meetings and/or use other innovative and effective ways to ensure proper information sharing and communication within the team/staff members under direct supervision or coordination; 
• Actively manage underperformance through regular conversations, providing support/coaching, documenting as required, and proactively seeking second level supervisor and HR advice; 
• Ensure substantiated input and completion of all phases in PACE (performance evaluation portal) within established deadlines for all team members under direct supervision; 
 

Cross-Cutting
• Support the implementation of the WFP Tajikistan Country Strategic Plan by ensuring cross-cutting efforts such as nutritionsensitivity, gender and diversity inclusion (including disability), protection and accountability, and linkages with other activities, including school meals, climate change adaptation and resilience building;
• Perform all duties and functions of a manager as relevant to internal WFP processes and procedures in accordance with all deadlines (e.g., potential partner proposals, field level agreements, service provision processes and contracts; invoice/ transfers clearances; corporate systems such as WINGS/COMET; monthly deliverables such as mission plans, country brief inputs and bank forecast inputs; responding to official letters requesting support or information; serving as hiring manager; etc.);
• Ensure all team members, including self, conduct regular field visits for capacity development, oversight, and general knowledge gathering/sharing and provide concise back-to-the-office reports following such visits;
• Support in the development of and ensure proper use of a structured information management and archival system for the team, which links to the greater programme unit system;
• Any other business.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

EDUCATION: 

Advanced university degree in education, social protection, public health, nutrition, food technology, food sciences, or other relevant field, or first university degree with additional years of relevant work experience and/or advanced training/courses.

EXPERIENCE: 

• At least 8 years of professional work experience in education, public health, nutrition, and/or social protection related activities;
• Experience and exposure to implementation of national/international development programmes, with some understanding of emergency contexts;
• Experience identifying and defining nutrition issues/problems within a country;
• Worked within large teams with varied areas of expertise in the delivery of varied projects;
• Has provided substantial input into functional practices and policies, preferably in the areas of education, nutrition, public health and/or social protection;
• Collaborated with a diverse array of humanitarian actors, including governments, NGOs, UN agencies, civil society, etc

LANGUAGE: 

• Fluency in oral and written English is required;
• Some level of oral and written Tajik or Russian is advantageous. 

FUNCTIONAL CAPABILITIES

• Programme lifecycle & food assistance: displays ability to identify the main hunger problem at the national or subnational level to design and implement context-specific programmes that integrate complex analysis and the full range of food assistance tools.
• Transfer modalities (food, cash, voucher): demonstrates the ability to design, implement, monitor and provide oversight over effective and efficient programmes deploying different transfer modalities.
• Broad knowledge of specialized areas (i.e., nutrition, school-based programmes, food fortification, food security, 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 ability to translate understanding of programme principles in emergencies and protracted conflict situations into relevant, effective, and context specific approaches.
• 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.

SKILLS:

• Excellent analytical and communication skills demonstrated through preparation of well-analysed and comprehensive reports;
• Excellent ability to synthesize large amounts of complex data into summary documents;
• Strong ability to work independently;
• Strong proficiency in MS Office Suite;

COMPETENCIES:

• Drives results and delivers on commitment;
• Fosters inclusive and collaborative teams;
• Applies strategic thinking;
• Builds and maintains sustainable partnerships;

APPLICATION PROCESS

WFP will not request payment at any stage of the recruitment process including at the offer stage. Any requests for payment should be refused and reported to local law enforcement authorities for appropriate action.  

Request for Disability related Reasonable Accommodations:  

It is important to WFP to create an accessible and inclusive workplace for everyone.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.  If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the selection and hiring process, please direct your request and inquiries to the Diversity and Inclusion team on:  global.inclusion@wfp.org, cc’ing taj.careers@wfp.org. A member of the reasonable accommodation team will contact you to confidentially discuss your needs.  

This email is only to be used for any disability related accessibility requirements, and not for sending the application itself. Due to volume of applications, any applications or CVs sent through this email address will not be considered as a formal application and will not receive a reply from WFP.  

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 WFP has a zero-tolerance approach to conduct such as fraud, sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to WFP’s standards of conduct and will therefore undergo rigorous background verification internally or through third parties. Selected candidates will also be required to provide additional information as part of the verification exercise. Misrepresentation of information provided during the recruitment process may lead to disqualification or termination of employment