United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the world’s largest humanitarian agency, fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes. Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need. In emergencies, WFP gets food to where it is needed, saving the lives of victims of war, civil conflict and natural disasters. After an emergency, WFP uses food to help communities rebuild their lives. On average, WFP reaches more than 80 million people with food assistance in 80 countries each year. The organization has the global footprint, deep field presence and local knowledge and relationships necessary to provide access to food and contribute to lasting solutions, especially in many of the world’s most remote and fragile areas.

Brief Description Of WFP In Uganda

WFP delivers food assistance in emergencies and work with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. WFP provides life-saving food assistance and livelihood opportunities to refugees in Uganda. In addition, WFP assists the most vulnerable people in Karamoja with food and nutrition assistance. Finally, WFP works with smallholder farmers and links them to markets.

As Uganda strives to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030 and become a middle-income country by 2040, WFP is also assessing its relevance and repositioning its role in Uganda.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The UN World Food Programme (WFP), 2020 Noble Peace Prize winner, is the United Nations frontline agency in the fight against hunger. It is the largest and longest serving humanitarian agency in Uganda.

Karamoja sub-region where WFP has presence since 1964 is the poorest region in Uganda with over 80% population living under the poverty line. The region is prone to increasingly frequent and severe natural disasters, especially droughts, pests, and diseases (humans, crops, and livestock) in part because of climate change.

WFP interventions in Karamoja involve working closely with the nine District Local Governments (DLGs) in joint design and programming, evidence gathering, knowledge sharing, strengthening sub-national capacities and establishing partnerships with other development partners.

WFP in Karamoja focuses on the following areas: Nutrition specific and nutrition-sensitive programmes to treat and prevent malnutrition and reduce stunting; Building resilience to shocks and climate change in anticipation of increased food insecurity and limited livelihood opportunities; Ensuring school children receive nutritious meals to meet their basic food and nutrition needs and including increasing enrolment and attendance; Working with the government and partners to reduce crop losses, improve household food security and increase a marketable surplus; Deploying targeted relief assistance to crises-affected populations or households as informed by food security and nutrition assessments; and Strengthening government’s shock-responsive systems to improve food security and nutrition in Karamoja.

WFP programmes in Karamoja use food and cash to build assets, spread knowledge and nurture stronger, more dynamic communities that are food secure.

On average, WFP aims to bring food assistance to more than 1 million people in Karamoja sub region.

JOB PURPOSE

To provide support to nutrition programmes and activities to contribute to meeting the nutritional needs of the people that WFP serves in Karamoja sub-region.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not All-inclusive)

• Assess Nutrition programming gaps and opportunities together with the Programme Policy Officer (Nutrition) and identify Nutrition projects in relation to the gaps idented to strengthen nutrition programming in Karamoja Area office especially Nutrition sensitive programming.
• Identify nutrition systems and capacity strengthening needs and coordinate its implementation, trainings, and community mobilization in relation to nutrition and health.
• Collaborate with other Karamoja area office programmes to advise on and support nutrition sensitivity of all WFP activities in the two field offices particularly the school-feeding programme, Agriculture and market support, Asset creation and livelihoods and Strengthening of Shock Responsive Systems (PROACT).
• Strengthen community engagement through qualitative data collection methods including but not limited to participatory rural appraisal methods to identify gaps, opportunities, strengths, and threats to nutrition programming with the intention of identifying activities to improve nutrition programming in the Karamoja Area Office.
• Participation in the revision and development of Standard Operation Procedures and related training materials, guidance and tools for the government and community level nutrition management including dissemination of SBCC materials.
• Support and collaborate with the M&E focal point to contribute to a monitoring & evaluation plan for the scale-up, and development of tools, guidelines, and training for Karamoja area office.

Key Accountabilities Cont’d

• Conduct training on nutrition manual and guidelines (IMAM, MIYCAN, etc.) based on existing national nutrition protocols and curricula as per the plan.
• Serve as nutrition resource person at field offices.
• Assist in conducting nutritional surveys following the nationally approved survey protocol e.g., Food Security and Nutrition Assessment.
• Ensure that the routine project activities are properly implemented and monitored through frequent field monitoring and report gaps accordingly.
• Prepare weekly, monthly and Detail Implementation Project action plans of project activities related to nutrition, including checklist for assessments, monitoring, review, and evaluation of project activities.
• Consistent communication with logistics to ensure prioritization of Nutrition feeds (RUSF, CSB++, LNS and NFI) delivery for successful implementation of IMAM/CBSFP.

Standard Minimum Qualifications

Recent graduate with second-class honours bachelors degree qualification from a recognised university ( certified by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – UNESCO) in Uganda in one of the following fields: Nutrition, Public Health, Food Technology, Medicine o r other related field. Graduation must be within the last 3 years (i.e. 2019 to 2021) at the time of applying for the internship.

Required Soft Skills/WFP Competencies

• Ability to work as a team in a multicultural environment.
• Understanding of the Karamoja context
• Ability to work autonomously and accurately.
• Ability to write clearly and concisely.
• Integrity and transparency.
• Sensitivity to diversity.
• Customer and result oriented.

4Ps CORE 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.

Skills And Competencies

• Ability to work as a team in a multicultural environment.
• Understanding of the Karamoja context
• Ability to work autonomously and accurately.
• Ability to write clearly and concisely.
• Integrity and transparency.
• Sensitivity to diversity.
• Customer and result oriented.

LANGUAGE

Fluency in written and oral English language. Ability to communicate in basic Ngakarimojong, Lebthur and/or Swahili languages is a requirement.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

Female candidates are highly encouraged to apply.

WFP has zero tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.