Head of Area Office UN Careers – World Food Programme (WFP)

Job Title:            Head of Area Office
Organization: World Food
Programme (WFP)
Duty Station: Uganda
Position Grade: P4
Reports to: Deputy Country
Director (Head of Operations)
About US:
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) is the United Nations frontline
agency against world hunger. It is the largest and longest serving humanitarian
agency in Uganda. . Currently WFP focuses on three priority areas: Saving lives
in Emergencies; Building Resilience through Predicatable Safety Nets; Improving
Nutrition & Mother and Child Health; and Supporting Small Holder Farmers to
Access Markets. WFP has operations in various parts of the Country.
Job Summary: The Head of
Area Office will lead and manage a WFP Area Office to ensure the effective and
efficient management of human and financial resources and delivery of WFP
programs and activities. A large emphasis is placed upon building and
maintaining relationships with local governments, UN agencies and other
partners in the area to reinforce WFP’s visibility.
Key Duties and
Responsibilities:  
  • Formulate substantial parts of WFP-wide
    programme policies in line with both organisational strategy and the
    practical realities of operating in the field; or translate WFP-wide
    programme policy into Regional/Country level practices, programme guidance
    and implementation modalities and operations, to ensure a clear and strong
    connection between HQ and field operations.
  • Offer timely advice and support to COs
    delivering a complex portfolio of programmes to clarify ambiguities and
    ensure that policy and programme operations are consistent with WFP
    policies, Executive Board decisions, and other relevant guidance.
  • Offer technical advice or mobilise
    technical expertise, on a wide range of programme and policy issues
    including assessment and analysis, the choice of objectives, activities,
    transfer modalities and appropriate food products, the deployment and
    testing of innovative approaches and the development of strategies to
    support government efforts to reduce hunger and malnutrition.
  • Support senior stakeholders of governments
    and other partners in identifying where food assistance can be usefully
    employed and provide support and technical expertise for the planning,
    formulation and implementation of food assistance programmes to strengthen
    government and community ownership and effectiveness of food security and
    nutrition programmes at national and sub-national level
  • Develop operational partnerships and
    maintain established strategic partnerships to identify opportunities for
    collaborative approaches and initiatives that improve assistance packages
    and support advocacy work.
  • Manage or oversee operational research and
    evidence building on issues relevant to food assistance.
  • Enhance WFP’s leadership status in
    different forums on subjects related to food security, nutrition, livelihoods,
    resilience, engagement in humanitarian, transition and development
    contexts and other related issues through direct participation, briefings,
    information products and other materials.
  • Manage or oversee preparation and
    dissemination of timely analytical and critical reports, publications, and
    a variety of information products or proposals for internal or external
    use.
  • Advocate for resources for a broad
    portfolio of WFP projects, including clearly articulating the need for
    food assistance and related programme opportunities, and follow up on the
    resource situation of projects including commodity and cash availability.
  • Advice and support the development of
    functional training in areas of expertise to enhance the capacity of WFP
    staff and partner to design and deliver effective food assistance
    programmes.
  • Lead, motivate and develop a substantive
    team to enable high performance.
  • Ensure the best use of assigned financial
    resources for achievement of set objectives within a significant budget.
  • Take responsibility for incorporating
    gender perspectives in all areas of work, to ensure equal participation of
    women and men.
  • Actively contribute to Country Office
    Emergency Preparedness i.e. early warning, risk analysis, and contingency
    planning in order to respond to humanitarian crises and needs.
Qualifications, Skills and
Experience:
  • The applicants for the United Nations UN
    World Food Programme (WFP) Head of Area Office job opportunity should hold
    an Advanced University degree in Economics, International Development,
    Social Sciences or other related field, or First University degree with
    additional years of related work experience and/or training/courses.
  • The applicant should have experience in
    developing or supporting the development of, multi-discipline work plans
    to support the achievement of WFP strategic aims within a defined area.
  • Has gained experience in field
    operations, preferably in a hardship duty station or emergency situation.
  • Gained experience of analysing political
    situations, assessing risk accurately.
  • Has gained experience managing mid-size
    financial budgets, balancing multiple priorities effectively.
  • Prior experience leading a mid-size to
    large team to ensure the effective delivery of objectives.
  • Experience in participating in a
    vendor/government/ partner negotiation.
  • Experience in participating in an
    emergency operation/ development programme, preferably in a hardship duty
    station.
  • Prior experience with security
    co-ordination and compound management within a mid-size area.
  • Language: Fluency (level C) in
    English language. Intermediate knowledge (level B) of a second official UN
    language: Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish, and/or WFP’s working
    language, Portuguese.
Personal Competencies:
Strategy & Planning: Demonstrates advanced knowledge of
national and international socio-political issues, WFP programmes and overall
country strategic objectives.
  • Plans, directs and expertly manages the
    implementation of programmes in area of responsibility to ensure effective
    and timely delivery of aid to beneficiaries.
Operations: Utilises understanding of country operations and
supply chain network in the local area to address WFP’s operational challenges
(e.g., dangerous transportation conditions, supplier scarcities, changing tax
laws).
  • Proactively manages work streams across
    functions and ensures their effective operational delivery.
  • Ensures optimal operational processes and
    procedures are in place within country operations that support broader
    inter-agency efforts.
Resource: Advocates for WFP’s fundraising initiatives, taking
ownership of the achievement of organisation wide targets, innovating new
approaches and coaching other leaders. 
  • Applies knowledge of financial planning,
    budgeting and forecasting to contribute to the development of budget setting
    parameters, overseeing and holding ultimate accountability for delivery of
    budgets within area of responsibility.
Diplomacy: Leverages expert negotiation, networking and
diplomacy skills to build relationships with other agencies, donors and local
government officials to drive operational activities which are of strategic
importance to WFP’s mission, within their area of operation.
  • Maintains and strategically builds
    contacts with key stakeholders providing quantifiable evidence of WFP’s
    impact in building sustainable food programmes.
  • Uses formal and informal opportunities to
    leverage networks to influence outcomes that are aligned with WFP’s
    mandate.
People Management:      
  • Engages with and manages people so that
    they are highly effective in their roles and teams.
  • Uses human resource strategy, processes
    and practices and open communication, to create a culture of
    high-performance, accountability and empowerment.
  • Is able to resolve conflicts between
    people, influence other’s behaviour and align people toward a common
    vision.
  • Upholds WFP’s values and approaches to the
    effective management of people, and uses human resources support to
    continuously improve their people management practices.
Organisational Capabilities:
Purpose:
  • Understand and communicate the
    Strategic Objectives:
    Understands WFP’s Strategic Objectives
    and the link to own work objectives.
  • Be a force for positive change: Flexibly
    adapts individual contributions to accommodate changes in direction from
    supervisors and internal/external changes (such as evolving needs of
    beneficiaries, new requirements of partners).
  • Make the mission inspiring to our
    team:
    Recognizes and shares with team members the ways in
    which individual contributions relate to WFP’s mission.
  • Make our mission visible in everyday
    actions:
    Sets own goals in alignment with WFP’s overall
    operations, and is able to communicate this link to others.
People:
  • Look for ways to strengthen people’s
    skills:
    Assesses own strengths and weaknesses to increase
    self-awareness, and includes these in conversations on own developmental
    needs.
  • Create an inclusive culture:
    Participates in open dialogue, and values the diverse opinion of others,
    regardless of background, culture, experience, or country assignment.
  • Be a coach & provide
    constructive feedback:
    Proactively seeks feedback and coaching
    to build confidence, and develop and improve individual skills.
  • Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit:
    Participates in accomplishing team activities and goals in the face of
    challenging circumstances.
Performance:
  • Encourage innovation & creative
    solutions:
    Shows willingness to explore and experiment with
    new ideas and approaches in own work.
  • Focus on getting results:
    Consistently delivers results within individual scope of work on time, on
    budget and without errors.
  • Make commitments and make good on
    commitments:
    Commits to upholding individual accountabilities
    and responsibilities in the face of ever-changing country or functional
    priorities.
  • Be Decisive: Makes
    rational decisions about individual activities when faced with uncertain
    circumstances, including in times of ambiguity regarding information or
    manager direction.
Partnership:
  • Connect and share across WFP units:
    Seeks to understand and adapt to internal or cross-unit teams’ priorities
    and preferred working styles.
  • Build strong external partnerships:
    Demonstrates ability to understand and appropriately respond to and/or
    escalate needs of external partners.
  • Be politically agile &
    adaptable:
    Portrays an informed and professional demeanor
    toward internal and external partners and stakeholders.
  • Be clear about the value WFP brings
    to partnerships:
    Provides operational support on analyses and
    assessments that quantifies and demonstrates WFP’s unique value as a
    partner.
How to Apply:
All candidates who desire to join the United Nations World Food
Programme are encouraged to submit their applications online at the link below.
Deadline: 25th January
2017
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