AA Knowledge

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

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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).

JOB TITLE: AA Knowledge & Learning Consultant
TYPE OF CONTRACT: REG CST II
UNIT/DIVISION: PPGR
DUTY STATION (City, Country): Home-based
DURATION: 11 months

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:
The Climate and Resilience Service (PPGR) in WFP Headquarters provide guidance and support to WFP Country Offices (COs) and governments on activities related to climate risk management, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. These services can range from climate analyses to better understand climate change impacts on food security and nutrition, to supporting governments and WFP COs with technical advisory services as well as policy advice on risk reduction, financing and transfer.

One of WFP's flagship programmes for climate risk management is Anticipatory Action (AA) for climate shocks, an innovative approach that enables the implementation of anticipatory actions to prevent and mitigate, to the extent possible, the impact of extreme weather events on the food security and nutrition of the most vulnerable populations. Piloted in 2015 together with the German Red Cross, WFP's Forecast-based Financing (FbF) portfolio now includes 19 countries in the regions of Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, where, together with national and local government partners, WFP is implementing projects to link early warning systems with anticipatory actions embedded in national disaster risk management for critical natural hazards such as droughts, floods and cyclones.

WFP´s vision is to continue to mainstream the AA programme within its own corporate strategy and operational systems through the strengthening of the current AA country portfolio and expanding it to addittional WFP COs and the governments. In that aim, the AA team in PPGR plans to:
-Strengthen the competencies and skills of the WFP staff implementing AA around the world.
-Strengthen the knwoledge of AA related concepts among WFP staff in general.
-Strengthen the capacities of the government on the anticipatory action value chain.
Growing in parallel, the Risk-Informed Early Action Partnership (REAP), which was launched at the UN Climate Action Summit in September 2019, is a global partnership convening the humanitarian, development and climate communities, drawing on evidence and best practice to drive up and unify standards and increase targets for forecast-based action and investment. By bringing together partners working on early warning and early action and focusing on the communities most at risk from climate shocks, this Partnership will drive a systemic shift towards anticipatory action that will save lives and protect livelihoods. WFP is an active partner of the REAP and is heavily contributing to achieve the main goal.

It´s in that aim that WFP is seeking an expert with specialized skills in AA, climate information and experience in early warning systems, social protection, project management and proposal writing, and partnership as well as knowledge management and adult learning.

Home-based, and with support from the global AA coordinator, the expert will provide support to WFP ROs and COs implementing AA, through the systematic building/enhancement of an AA related knowledge management approach in the team, able to take stock of the good practices and know how from the different contexts, and translating them into enhanced knowledge and skills for the AA team and partners.

The expert shall also support with the design, review and submission of project proposals for COs/RBs with an interest and capacity to engage in AA to be able to access climate finance sources, such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Adaptation Fund (AF) and thus will play a key role in supporting the further development of WFP's AA approach. Additionally, the consultant will support WFP's role in the the REAP secretariat and Board.

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:
Under the supervision of the AA global coordinator:

1.Develop and manage a knowledge management system for the AA team, including COs and ROs, which includes:

2.An online repository that takes stock of the existing theoretical and practical AA knowldege.

3.A dynamic collaboration space for knowledge exchange.

4.Learning resources tailored to the needs of the team.

5.Develop linkages and complementarities with the knowledge management and learning initiatives from AA partners, including the Anticipation Hub and the REAP.

6.Jointly with the COs and ROs, assess the capacity strengthening needs from governments, and develop a strategy to address them, including through existing networks as the Anticipation Hub.

7.Support the work of the AA coordinators with evidence, advocacy, and external partnerships globally, regionally and nationally as needed.

8.Support effective coordination and collaboration with WFP partners working on AA at the global level, such as through Anticipatory Action Task Force, REAP, and MEAL working groups, and the co-development and participation in regional and global conferences on anticipatory action together with the German Red Cross, IFRC and WFP COs/HQ as needed.

9.Document and disseminate best practices and lessons learned from the AA projects by generating guidance and advocacy material and organizing knowledge exchange opportunities including with other COs and partners engaged in AA or complementary projects.

10.Support the strengthening and improved development of the AA CoP and WFP's anticipatory action Trust Fund, and linkages with WFP disaster risk management tools and divisions.

11.Provide strategic guidance to COs in their formulation of Country Strategic Plans and the potential integration of FbF activities with an integrated climate risk management approach.

12.Other complimentary activities as required.

DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT:

Successful leadership and implementation of AA knowledge management and learning strategy (cont. from 2022), including keeping the repository updated, organization of webinars, and keeping an active Community of Practice, in alignment and support of the recently upcoming IA tools. Development of AA related learning products as part of the strategy. A strengthened, more dynamic and updated WFP online community of practice on AA and resource center. Development and dissemination of AA communication materials in support to COs, RBs and HQ, including the AA Global report. Support to regional and national workshops for AA. Dissemination of WFP AA case studies and evidence reports in main events along the year as HNPW, GDP, COP and others. Successful leadership and implementation of AA knowledge management and learning strategy (cont. from Development and dissemination of main learnings based on AA practice (After Action reviews and lessons learnt).

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:
Education:
Advanced university degree in geography, environmental science and management, development studies or related disciplines.

Experience:
At least 10 years of postgraduate experience, progressively responsible, in international

Knowledge & Skills:
development and/or public sector aid programs. Proven experience in project or program management, ideally in a developing country context. Specialized technical understanding of climate services and forecast-based financing. This includes knowledge of how climatic information and early warning products and services are produced and applied in climate change adaptation policy and programming (including national adaptation planning and the design and implementation of forecast-based financing programs and approaches). Familiarity with vulnerability analysis work and how relevant indicators can be collected and applied to different systems, including DRR, early warning and anticipatory action, and social safety nets. Proven ability to write briefs, analytical and guidance documents to a high standard, and to present complex technical information/analyses to technical and non-technical audiences.Knowledge of community-based participatory approaches to support climate risk analysis and inform planning for forecast-based and anticipatory action. Proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) and other standard WFP software packages and systems. Proven network with organizations working on climate change and disaster risk reduction.

Languages:
Working knowledge (proficiency/level C) of English
Intermediate knowledge (level B) of another UN official language (Arabic, French, Spanish, Russian or Chinese) or Portuguese (one of WFP's working languages) is an advantage.
 

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REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

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REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

• All applications must be submitted exclusively through our online recruitment system. We do not accept CVs or spontaneous applications by email.

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• 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.

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