Programme Policy Officer (Partnerships) SC9, Lebanon Country Office, Beirut

Assisting more than 90 million people in 83 countries each year, the World Food Programme (WFP) is the leading humanitarian organization saving lives and changing lives, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. As the international community has committed to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition by 2030, one in nine people worldwide still do not have enough to eat. Food and food-related assistance lie at the heart of the struggle to break the cycle of hunger and poverty.

In Lebanon, WFP works to support approximately 700,000 people with regular assistance using e-cards. WFP also supports Lebanese schools with school meals, and has run over 300 development activities which include supporting rural infrastructure, as well as education and training opportunities for vulnerable individuals in families. WFP also supports Lebanon’s National Poverty Targeting Programme. 

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT: The post is based in Beirut CO and the incumbent is to report to the Head of Programme.

JOB PURPOSE: To manage and support activities related to engagement and management of Cooperating Partners (CP) and other strategic partners in order to effectively meet the food assistance needs of beneficiaries.     

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES (not all-inclusive, nor exhaustive):

Under the supervision of Head of Programme, the incumbent will perform the following tasks:

1. Provide strategic advice and support to other functional units (Cash Based Transfers (CBT), School Feeding, Livelihoods, and National Poverty Targeting Programme (NPTP)) on Cooperating Partners (CP) engagement cycle management.  This includes setting timelines of partner selection process, build consensus on outreach process, providing technical support in call for proposals and evaluation of proposals, organizing Cooperating Partner Committee (CPC), drafting and finalizing Field-Level Agreement (FLA) with CPs, and supporting the process of CP performance evaluation.
2. Be on top of the status of engagements of each CP, identify actions required, and execute necessary actions in a timely manner. 
3. Ensure corporate due diligence on partner selection processes and evaluation are duly followed. 
4. Analyze potential risks in CP engagements and recommend risk mitigation measures.
5. Support functional units in performance evaluation of the CPs implementing WFP’s food assistance programme, in coordination with the sub-offices.
6. Identify, develop, and sustain liaison with CPs, potential partners, and strategic partners engaged in the field WFP operates to ensure effective collaboration.  This includes organization of meetings and workshops with CPs to convey key messages and trainings to CP staff members with the aim of improving WFP’s programme effectiveness.
7. Bring to the attention of Head of Programme and relevant functional units any constraints arising from engagement with CPs and other strategic partners that would require changes in the FLAs or future partner engagement strategy.  Analyze such situation and provide strategic advice to Head of Programme and relevant functional units on the way forward.
8. Maintain records on CP and strategic partner engagement activities, from formulation stage through completion, by extracting relevant information from reports, project committees, and other documentation; make information available for reporting and operational purposes to enable informed decision making and consistency of information presented to stakeholders; and ensure engagement cycle deadlines are met.
9. Liaise with HQ/Regional Bureau counterparts to ensure the latest corporate standards and templates on CP engagements are used at the WFP Lebanon Country Office, and inform any new/revised procedures and practices on partnership engagements to relevant colleagues in the Lebanon Country Office; interpret and assess the impact of changes and make recommendations on follow-up actions.
10. Provide strategic advice to Head of Programme and relevant functional units regarding engagements with actors who aim to achieve the common goals of assisting vulnerable population, including liaison with HQ Partnership and Legal units, as necessary, on appropriate contractual relationship with such actors.
11. Lead, motivate, and develop a team of staff to enable high performance and efficiency of the Partnerships Unit.
12. Perform other related duties as required, including ad-hoc reporting, meeting minutes, and preparation of notes.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Education: Advanced University degree in Economics, Agriculture, International Affairs, Business Administration, Social Sciences, Development Studies or other related fields or First University degree with additional years of relevant work experience and/or trainings/courses.

Experience: 5 years of relevant progressively responsible experience in Cooperating Partners management, humanitarian and/or development assistance programmes, or related field.

Language: Fluency in both oral and written communication in English and Arabic. Knowledge of the French language is added advantage.

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE:

• Demonstrated operational experience on Cooperating Partners management is required.
• Advanced experience and knowledge of Partnership engagement and risk mitigation measures.
• Understanding of the theory and application of food security, cash-based assistance programs, or other safety net programs.
• Knowledge of major humanitarian, recovery and development challenges and issues at the field level.
• Demonstrated planning and project management skills, and experience of leading teams effectively.
• Strong writing skills.