Programme Policy Officer NOB

This job will be based in Herat Area Office and will directly report to Head of Area Office.

Job holder operates with a high degree of independence, manage junior staff to ensure that programme and policy objectives are achieved in full. He/she will be involved in a wide variety of programme and policy activities and analytical work, some of which may be of considerable complexity.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive, within delegated authority):

Under the direct guidance and supervision by the Head of Area Office, and in close collaboration with programme teams in the Country office, the Head of Programme will be responsible for the following duties:

1.    Manage WFP programme implementation at field level, ensuring timely, effective and coordinated deployment of food and cash assistance and related activities in line with WFP standards, policies and procedures.
2.    Provide technical expertise and support to the AO Programme team in planning, formulating, and implementation of food and cash assistance programmes, offering context specific advice to strengthen programme design and delivery.
3.    Ensure coordination and technical support for resilience-building programmes, particularly enhancing linkages between school feeding, nutrition, social protection, climate adaptation and broader resilience initiatives.
4.    Review and analyze data collected through M&E corporate tools and present it to the head of office and the PU team for decision making purposes. 
5.    Ensure efficient use of financial resources, monitoring programme activities to achieve objectives within approved budgets.
6.    Facilitate cross-functional coordination within the Area Office, ensuring programme delivery is coherent, integrated, and efficient across technical and operational units e.g., Supply Chain, VAME, Security and Support Services.
7.    Establish and maintain operational partnerships with WFP Cooperating partners, Other NGOs, UN agencies, civil society and other stakeholders to enhance programme quality and identify opportunities for collaboration.
8.    Support identification, development, and management of strategic partnerships, promoting complementary interventions and improved food assistance packages.
9.    Support capacity improvement of WFP staff, partners and DfA counterparts, including contributing to training materials and providing technical guidance to strengthen preparedness and response capacities.
10.    Guide, supervise, and develop junior and field-level programme staff, fostering high performance and serving as a key point of referral for programme-related analysis and queries.
11.    Perform other duties as required.

FUNCTIONAL CAPABILITIES:

Programme Lifecycle & Food Assistance : Displays ability to identify the main hunger problem at the national or subnational level to design and implement context-specific programmes that integrate complex analysis and the full range of food assistance tools. 

Transfer Modalities (Food, Cash, Voucher): Demonstrates ability to analyze and consolidate quantitative and qualitative information from different sources (e.g., market studies) to inform transfer modality selection and programme development. 

Broad Knowledge of Specialized areas (i.e. Nutrition, VAM, etc.): Demonstrates the ability to interpret basic data in the context of WFP specialized fields to contribute to technical programme design, implementation and monitoring. 

Emergency Programming: Displays ability to translate understanding of programme principles in emergencies and protracted conflict situations into relevant, effective, and context specific approaches. 

Strategic Policy Engagement w/ Government: Develops thorough recommendations using multiple inputs (e.g., government counsel, research, own experience) to strengthen national or subnational entities and government owned food and nutrition security programmes. 

Advanced University degree in International Affairs, Economics, Nutrition/Health, Agriculture, Environmental Science, Social Sciences or other field relevant to international development assistance, or First University Degree with additional years of related work experience and/or trainings/courses

• Has deepened technical knowledge through exposure to technical teams.

  • Has taken leadership of implementing programmes.

  • Has provided input into policy discussions and decisions.

Language: Fluency (level C) in English language and Dari/Pasho is mandatory.  

Location: Herat