Programme Assistant

Job Description

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

In a world of plenty, where enough food is produced to feed everyone on the planet, hunger should be a thing of the past. However, conflict, climate change, disasters, inequality and – most recently – the COVID-19 pandemic mean one in nine people globally is still going to bed hungry and famine looms for millions. Powered by the passion, dedication and professionalism of our 20,000 staff worldwide, the World Food Programme (WFP) works in over 120 countries and territories to bring life-saving food to people displaced by conflict and made destitute by disasters, and help individuals and communities find life-changing solutions to the multiple challenges they face in building better futures.

We work to enhance nutrition in women and children, support smallholder farmers in improving productivity and reducing losses, help countries and communities prepare for and cope with climate-related shocks, and boost human capital through school feeding programmes. In conflict situations, we bring relief to exhausted populations and use food assistance to build pathways to peace and stability – work for which WFP was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020.

Southern Africa is a region that is home to more than 50 million food-insecure people. It consists of low-income, lower-middle income and upper-middle income countries with some being endowed with rich natural resources yet limited institutional capacities, and with others that have both strong institutional capabilities and rich natural resources. For WFP to reduce the number of food insecure people in the region, the WFP Regional Bureau for Southern Africa (RBJ) strives to find innovative ways to engage with countries in the region.

The WFP Regional Bureau for Southern Africa supports 12 Country Offices in the region to advance efforts towards Zero Hunger by 2030. A key priority of the Regional Bureau (RB) is to support Governments in the Southern African region, in all areas of our work, and particularly in the area of data and information generation for decision making.

JOB PURPOSE

The Programme Unit of the WFP regional Office is supporting WFP Country Offices in the region in developing the strategic orientation and technical capacity required to support national government counterparts in addressing underlying and structural causes of food insecurity and malnutrition. It consists of several teams with technical experts in nutrition, school feeding, resilience and smallholder farmers support and market access, amongst others.

WFP looking for a suitably qualified candidate to fill the role of Programme Assistant in the Programme Unit (PU). The successful candidate will be expected to provide both programme and business support services to Programme Unit Staff at the Johannesburg Regional Bureau in Southern Africa.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

Under the supervision of the Senior Regional Programme Advisor, the duties and responsibilities of the Programme Assistant shall include the following:

• Perform specialized and/or standardised processes and activities within the specific technical area of work supporting alignment with wider programme policies and guidelines.
• Provide project management and/or general office support following established targets and WFP’s policies and procedures.
• Within the specific area of responsibility, compile data and support analysis and preparation of reports (e.g. food assistance needs, resource utilization, programme status, performance) in order to support operational decision-making.
• Perform accurate, timely recording of data within the specific technical area of work (e.g. food security and vulnerability assessments) following corporate standards and guidelines.
• Work and exchange information with internal counterparts to support effective collaboration, implementation and monitoring of ongoing project activities.
• Support communication and activities with local partners, agencies, NGOs and government institutions.
• Act as a point of contact for resolution of general operational queries requesting assistance where necessary.
• Follow standard emergency preparedness practices to ensure WFP is able to quickly respond and deploy needed resources to affected areas at the onset of the crisis.
• Under the Business Support role, the duties and responsibilities include:
  
  • Coordinate administrative arrangements for workshops: booking of venues, preparation of budget estimates, administrative notes, flight schedules, airport pick-up lists, rooming lists and ordering stationery and equipment.
  • Process all procurement requests: sourcing of quotations, processing of purchase requisitions, purchase orders and invoice payments.
  • Assist country offices with processing of FLAs, PODAs and invoices.
  • Conduct monthly follow ups with finance on Programme Unit extra-budgetary fund consumption reports and ensure commitment items are cleared.
  • Prepare annual budget estimates and procurement plans for Programme Unit.
  • Follow-up on the submission of back to office reports (BTORs), maintain a reports database on the Programme drive and update the tracking sheet regularly.
  • Update the Programme Unit oversight mission tracking sheet, follow-up on recommendations and upload reports on SharePoint.
  • Update the Programme Unit and RD’s leave and mission plans regularly.
  • Coordinate the completion and signing of monthly timesheets by all Programme Unit staff and submission of leave forms to HR.
  • Coordinate the induction, onboarding and setting up of workstations for new Programme Unit staff.
  • Provide administrative support to the Programme team and country office staff.
  • Perform other duties as required.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Education: Completion of Secondary School education and a post-secondary certificate in the related functional area.
• Experience: Minimum 5 years work experience
• Language: Fluency in both oral and written communication in English.

opportunities Closing date 18 July 2022, 23:59 GMT View vacancy