CHARITY JOBS IN AFRICA

Organization: World Food Programme
Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Closing date: 15 Sep 2014

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the world's largest humanitarian agency, fighting hunger worldwide. We are currently seeking for a Junior Professional Officer to fill the position of Emergency Response Officer with our Programme Office in the Goma Area Office in Eastern DRC.

WFP’s Rapid Responses in Eastern DRC

With a current permanent field presence in five of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and with over 300 staff, of which more than 80 per cent is based in provincial sub-offices, the World Food Programme (WFP) Country Office (CO) in DRC has been providing large-scale humanitarian food assistance in conflict-affected areas in the Eastern parts of the country for more than two decades.

In June 2013, WFP’s Executive Board approved the Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO) 200540, covering a 30 months project lifespan until December 2015 outlining WFP’s targeted food assistance to victims of armed conflicts and other vulnerable groups in the DRC. The operation started in July 2013 and aims to reach 3.6 million beneficiaries.

WFP activities in the DRC are focused on providing humanitarian relief to IDPs, refugees, and returnees. Relief activities in areas impacted by displacements include general food, cash or voucher distributions, emergency school feeding (ESF), and treatment of moderate acute malnutrition (TSFP) for children aged 6-59 months, pregnant women and nursing mothers. The geographical areas of interventions are concentrated in acutely food-insecure, conflict-affected areas, largely in the east of the country.

In fact since over two decades the Eastern provinces of the DRC have been affected by inter-community and cross-border conflicts involving fights over land ownership and the exploitation of natural resources. These conflicts are intertwined and feed on each other creating a vicious circle of violence.

The new Security Council resolution (Resolution 2098) of March 2013 provided for the deployment within the peace keeping mission (MONUSCO) of a now active offensive Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) with a mandate to neutralize all armed groups in eastern DRC. The intervention brigade assists the Forces Armees de la republique democratique du Congo (FARDC) who as a result has become more active and effective in conducting military operations against the myriad of armed groups that have caused constant insecurity and instability in the country. The increased numbers of military operations is however resulting in an equally increased numbers of localised civilian population displacements crises, particularly North Kivu.

Against this backdrop the December 2013 Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) results show that the food security situation in the conflict affected areas of the DRC is dire (the June 2014 IPC results have yet to be finalized and made public but there are indications that the situation remains a cause for serious concern). According to the assessment, the percentage of the population suffering from food insecurity has reached 61 % in North-Kivu and 37 % in South-Kivu.

According to OCHA, by March 31 2014 there were around 2,635,000 IDPs and 1,810,000 returnees in the eastern provinces of Orientale, Maniema, North Kivu, South Kivu and Katanga. This makes DRC by far one of the largest protracted humanitarian crises in Africa.

In the context of ongoing conflicts and military interventions, extreme poverty, as well as small to medium scale, sudden, and often pendulum population displacement, it is the main concern for WFP to maintain and increase its rapid response capacity.

Goma, the capital of north Kivu Province, has become the main hub for humanitarian assistance in Eastern DRC and it is now the location of an important contingent of humanitarian actors, including international NGOs, diplomatic missions, and UN agencies. The significant number of coordination fora (meetings, email distribution list, reporting flows) is critically important but also labour intensive processes that would benefit increased capacity to maintain WFP’s ability to provide timely responses to emergency food needs.

General Information

• Title of Post: Emergency Response Officer• Supervisor: Goma Area Office Head of Programme• Unit: Programme• Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo• Duty Station: Goma, North Kivu• Duration of assignment: Two years

Duties and responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Head of the Programme Office, the JPO will have the following responsibilities:

1. Emergency response Coordination

• Take an active role in assisting the Goma Area Office to coordinate WFP activities relating to emergency operations, ensuring an efficient humanitarian response, implementation and an effective, accountable use of WFP funds including on-site distribution management and coordination with all actors such as logistics/transport, security, UN and NGO partners, and government authorities.• Assist management in all matters relating to coordinating WFP’s interactions with the RRMP and its assessments (MSA) to allow for an efficient, quick and effective WFP Food Assistance response to all new displacements.• Provide support to the Head of Programme in its role of coordinating the food security activities in the country and support the coordination with other clusters, such as the Nutrition cluster, Protection cluster, Education cluster, as well as other relevant clusters and UN inter-agency meetings for the delivery of emergency responses. • Facilitate the collecting and analysis of information relevant to the evolving emergency situation to enable rapid responses to targeted beneficiaries. • Assist the Head of Programme and Head of Area Office (HAO) in ensuring effective and timely implementation of emergency response planned activities.• Attend interagency coordination meetings and share information concerning WFP operations.• Assist the AO in the development of information sharing system information flow system on emergency responses and prepare update notes and reports as requested on operational issues.• Engage in ongoing efforts for the development of an early warning system for information sharing in coordination with the Food Security Cluster. • Participate in the establishment, as needed, of information sharing systems, operational protocols and partnerships that will be managed as mainstream activities in the programme unit of the WFP office in Goma.• Assist the head of programme to prepare north Kivu related funding proposals and reports in coordination with Kinshasa’s Senior Management and Resource Mobilization A to inform donors of gaps and resource requirement for the emergency response. • Liaise with operating partners as required.• Provide support in setting up, preparing for and reporting on various coordination meetings and fora.

1. Emergency Preparedness

With technical support from the Emergency Preparedness and Response Office (EPR) based in the Regional Office, the JPO will also:

• Follow up and update the corporate emergency preparedness (EP) package for Goma area office; • Support the Head of Sub-Office in implementing the regular process of EP risk assessments, complete with triggers and thresholds to enable an early response to an elevated risk;• Implement a regular reporting system to monitor the identified risks;• Maintain a register of identified risks for the North Kivu, for both the Annual planning process and EPR contextual risks. Update risk profiles within the office;• Provide technical support in the event of an escalation of a risk requiring the documentation of emergency readiness activities, CONOPS and SOPs for an immediate response;• Contribute to the update of the inter-agency contingency plan at North Kivu level.Expected Outcomes

• WFP’s rapid food assistance is better coordinated with other actors in the field and helps to avoid aid gaps;• Increased monitoring and information gathering about evolving emergency situation allows WFP and humanitarian partners to use resources more efficiently;• WFP operational partnership in the field, including with local authorities, are strengthened, notably through better coordination, and include more comprehensive and timely information sharing;• Goma’s management team has increased capacity for overall operational oversight;• WFP’s resources allocation planning and pipelines are more accurate and translate into more timely and relevant dispatch of various resources to the Eastern provinces;• WFP’s reporting capacity is strengthened with more timely and accurate information on activities, caseloads, resource allocation and geographic coverage;• An early warning system is put in place in coordination with the Food Security Cluster.

Qualifications and experience

• Advanced University degree or University degree with experience and training/courses in one or more of the following disciplines: Food aid, international affairs, social sciences, development studies or a field relevant to international development assistance.• 3 years post graduate, progressively responsible, job related experience in development projects, emergency assistance, and/or operational aspects of national, bilateral or multilateral food aid.• Proficiency in Windows, MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)• Competencies: Cognitive Capacity, Teamwork, Action Management, Innovation, Partnering, Client Orientation.

Working Languages

Fluent in English and French (proficiency/level C).

Supervision

The Emergency Officer with be directly supervised by the Goma Head of Programme with additional guidance by the Head of the Area office. The Head of programme will provide hands-on and field based technical and operational guidance. This will not only include humanitarian assistance activities but general instructions and ongoing orientation on WFP systems and procedures.The Head of the Area Office will provide further guidance on leadership skills, partnership building, team building and management as well as the overall WFP, UN, and Cluster corporate national and international systems.
The Head of the Area Office and the CO’s senior management will coach, mentor and guide the JPO’s professional development in the UN system. The Country Office, through the Programme Unit and the Management section, will provide support for supervision, support, and guidance for effective learning and increase performance. Continuous assessment of the Emergency Officer’s performance will be measured at the pace at which he/she will achieve the following milestones:

• Effective Emergency response;• JPO’s pace at which he/she is becoming conversant with key technical and corporate elements;• JPO’s capacity to deliver against scope of work;• JPO’s capacity to provide substantial inputs in the various technical, operational and strategic issues in DRC;• JPO has developed a robust leadership role in his/her area of work, with partners and in various fora.

Training Components

• JPO Induction briefing at WFP Headquarters in Rome, Italy • JPO Seminar at WFP Headquarters in Rome, Italy (Increase knowledge of WFP and its main programme and activities, new initiatives and managerial skills)• Individual JPO Training Budget to improve specific skills/competencies identified• Possibility to participate to several workshops, webinars and online professional development sessions • The JPO, while based in Goma, and will be provided with the opportunity to do a number of missions/temporary deployments in other Area Offices in DRC: Katanga, South Kivu and Orientale Provinces.

Learning Elements

At the end of the two-year assignment, the JPO should have:• Very good knowledge of WFP corporate policies and guidelines as well as UN and Cluster coordination mechanisms;• Very good knowledge of the complexities of the Eastern DRC protracted relief situation;• Very good knowledge of workable solutions to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Eastern DRC;• Familiarization with the Eastern DRC regional problematic;• General understanding of WFP overall operations and activities in the region of assignment.Through this unique and challenging opportunity, the JPO will• Develop an international expertise in the all matters pertaining to Food Security in a context of crisis as well as reconstruction and development transition processes;• Acquire a holistic understanding of humanitarian assistance in field operations that, given the DRC context, includes practically every possible challenge one could imagine;• Through regular hands-on involvement, develop a level of knowledge sufficient to take a leadership role and provide substantive inputs in the UN cluster system and inter-agency coordination mechanisms;• Become proficient in the deployment of rapid and efficient emergency responses;• Acquire an expertise in all matters relating to refugees and internally displaced people, including assistance operational standards, technical assessments, political dimensions as well as international laws, norms and practices;• Develop an in-depth understanding of all WFP operations and global organizational systems;• Acquire a valuable understanding of the overall international humanitarian landscape;• Develop a rich personal and professional network across various local and international NGOs, UN agencies, donors, national government authorities and the diplomatic community;• Through various training opportunity, further all technical and academic knowledge and expertise;• As a result of this rich experience and acquired expertise, become a highly competitive candidate for emergency responses positions globally.

Terms and Conditions

The selected candidate will be employed on a Junior Professional Officer fixed-term contract (P2 level) for a duration of two years with a probationary period of one year.

Special Notice

This post is opened in the context of the Junior Professional Officer (JPO) scheme sponsored by USAID - Office of Food for Peace and is addressed exclusively to U.S. nationals.
Age limit: 35 years.

How to apply:

Application procedures

Go to: http://i-recruitment.wfp.org/olcv/apply.jsp?reqcode=14-0015444 Step 1: Create your online CV.Step 2: Click on “Description” to read the position requirements and “Apply” to submit your application.NOTE: You must complete Step 2 in order for your application to be considered for this vacancy.

Deadline for applications: 15 September 2014