Post:Food Security Analyst P3, Short-term (Johannesburg, South Africa)
Organization: World Food Programme
Location:Johannesburg, South Africa
The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger
worldwide. We are currently recruiting for a short-term Food Security Analyst at P3 level to support the technical activities of the African Risk Capacity (ARC) regional and in-country technical working groups (TWGs). The position will be based in our Regional Bureau in Johannesburg, South Africa, for an initial contract period of 6 months. The Analyst will be expected to travel to the African Union member countries to assist TWGs in their understanding and customization of the Africa RiskView software, as well as contribute to the improvement of the underlying risk modeling methodology through analysis, research and feedback from TWGs.
Background
The African Risk Capacity (ARC) is a Specialized Agency of the African Union (AU) designed to improve current responses to drought food security emergencies and to build capacity within AU member states to manage drought risks. As an African-owned, continental index-based weather risk insurance pool and early response mechanism, ARC offers an African solution to one of the continent's most pressing challenges. By bringing together the concepts of early warning, insurance and contingency planning, ARC aims to create a new way of managing weather risk by transferring the burden away from African governments, and their vulnerable populations who depend on government assistance, to ARC that can handle the risk much better.
ARC has a two-tiered institutional structure: ARC Agency, a Specialized Agency of the African Union created by treaty to oversee the ARC operations, guide policy and provide capacity building to Member States and ARC Ltd, a mutual insurance company created by ARC Agency and organized under national law to carry to out ARC’s insurance functions. The ARC design and establishment phase was managed by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). Administrative and procurement services for the initial operational phase of ARC Agency are being provided by WFP.
Establishing contingency funding, or monies that become available automatically if an extreme drought, flood or cyclone occurs in a vulnerable area, ensures a more timely, appropriate, objective and transparent response. Because extreme weather events do not happen in the same year all across the continent, pan-African solidarity in the creation of a disaster risk pool like ARC Ltd could be financially effective. The facility will provide participating African Union Member States immediate cash in the event of an extreme weather event in order to implement prepared response plans to assist vulnerable populations as part of a national disaster risk management strategy. This African-owned, AU-led entity will use satellite-based weather risk modeling software called Africa RiskView – developed by WFP – to estimate and trigger timely funds to participating African countries hit by severe weather events, beginning with drought.
At the country-level the ARC Secretariat of ARC Agency is supporting ARC in-country technical working groups on several technical and political work-streams as they progress towards making an informed decision on participating in the ARC Ltd insurance pool.
Responsibilities
Qualifications & Experience Required
Education:
Advanced university degree in Economics, Food Security, Agriculture, Development Studies or other related fields. PhD would be an asset.
Experience:
· At least five years of postgraduate progressively responsible professional experience in food security analysis or a closely related area, such as agricultural risk management or early warning.
Technical Skills & Knowledge:
Competencies:
Language:
Working knowledge (proficiency/level C) of English and French;
Proficiency in Portuguese is an asset.
Terms and Conditions
WFP offers a competitive compensation package which will be determined by the contract type and selected candidate’s qualifications and experience.
Please visit the following websites for detailed information on working with WFP.
http://www.wfp.org Click on: “Where we work” and “Our work” to learn more about WFP’s operations
http://www.unstaffmobility.org Learn more about countries where the UN operates
How to apply:
Go to: http://i-recruitment.wfp.org/vacancies/13-0014638
Step 1: Create your online CV.
Step 2: Click on “Description” to read the position requirements and “Apply” to submit your application.
NOTE: You must complete Step 2 in order for your application to be considered for this vacancy.
Closing date: 31 Oct 2013
REF: 13-0014638
How to Apply
http://reliefweb.int/job/609321/food-security-analyst-p3-short-term-johannesburg-south-africa
Organization: World Food Programme
Location:Johannesburg, South Africa
The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger
worldwide. We are currently recruiting for a short-term Food Security Analyst at P3 level to support the technical activities of the African Risk Capacity (ARC) regional and in-country technical working groups (TWGs). The position will be based in our Regional Bureau in Johannesburg, South Africa, for an initial contract period of 6 months. The Analyst will be expected to travel to the African Union member countries to assist TWGs in their understanding and customization of the Africa RiskView software, as well as contribute to the improvement of the underlying risk modeling methodology through analysis, research and feedback from TWGs.
Background
The African Risk Capacity (ARC) is a Specialized Agency of the African Union (AU) designed to improve current responses to drought food security emergencies and to build capacity within AU member states to manage drought risks. As an African-owned, continental index-based weather risk insurance pool and early response mechanism, ARC offers an African solution to one of the continent's most pressing challenges. By bringing together the concepts of early warning, insurance and contingency planning, ARC aims to create a new way of managing weather risk by transferring the burden away from African governments, and their vulnerable populations who depend on government assistance, to ARC that can handle the risk much better.
ARC has a two-tiered institutional structure: ARC Agency, a Specialized Agency of the African Union created by treaty to oversee the ARC operations, guide policy and provide capacity building to Member States and ARC Ltd, a mutual insurance company created by ARC Agency and organized under national law to carry to out ARC’s insurance functions. The ARC design and establishment phase was managed by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). Administrative and procurement services for the initial operational phase of ARC Agency are being provided by WFP.
Establishing contingency funding, or monies that become available automatically if an extreme drought, flood or cyclone occurs in a vulnerable area, ensures a more timely, appropriate, objective and transparent response. Because extreme weather events do not happen in the same year all across the continent, pan-African solidarity in the creation of a disaster risk pool like ARC Ltd could be financially effective. The facility will provide participating African Union Member States immediate cash in the event of an extreme weather event in order to implement prepared response plans to assist vulnerable populations as part of a national disaster risk management strategy. This African-owned, AU-led entity will use satellite-based weather risk modeling software called Africa RiskView – developed by WFP – to estimate and trigger timely funds to participating African countries hit by severe weather events, beginning with drought.
At the country-level the ARC Secretariat of ARC Agency is supporting ARC in-country technical working groups on several technical and political work-streams as they progress towards making an informed decision on participating in the ARC Ltd insurance pool.
Responsibilities
- As part of the ARC Secretariat Technical Team, the Analyst will report to the ARC Programme Director and be responsible for the following key duties:
- Within each ARC participating country, analyse food security and vulnerability data to determine the country level drought risk;
- Manage the ARC household survey database;
- Study and understand the Africa RiskView underlying methodology and the interactions among different software components;
- Monitor Africa RiskView estimates against news, emerging information on drought events and feedback from TWGs, explore potential causes of the discrepancies and implement required improvements;
- Explore opportunities to improve Africa RiskView and involve external parties in the refinement, development and sustainability of the tool, including incorporating new/better data, methods etc.;
- Advise senior ARC managers in the recruitment and management of national ARC Government Coordinators and the multi-stakeholder composition of TWGs;
- Supervise and guide the Africa RiskView customization work in-country:
- - With the support of the Regional Programme Officers (RPOs), liaise with government technicians, relevant in-country partners and the ARC in-country working group focal point(s);
- - Support and check the data analysis and customization of each Africa RiskView module – rainfall, drought index, vulnerability – and ensure consistency and accuracy;
- - Provide support to the in-country TWGs to write the customization reports and ensure consistency and quality of the information provided;
- - Monitor and oversee the writing and distribution of weekly customization updates, ground-truthing reports and other technical documents required from TWGs;
- - Seek to involve all relevant in-country technical experts in the customization process; where necessary establish and help Government Coordinators manage these working relationships.
- Understand the links between the Africa RiskView estimates and the risk transfer parameters for participating in the ARC risk pool;
- Provide information for, and support to the Technical Team in, the writing of the regular Africa RiskView monitoring bulletin: a weekly monitor of Africa RiskView estimates against news and emerging information on drought events by different Early Warning Systems;
- Provide technical inputs and analyses to be used in country briefs and risk profiles or any other materials as required by Regional Programme Officers and other ARC colleagues;
- Design Africa RiskView training materials and train in-country TWG members and technical counterparts on the Africa RiskView methodology with respect to food security analysis, and on in-season monitoring of Africa RiskView estimates;
- Lead the working-level interactions between ARC and TWGs to establish a constructive drought and ARC-related information sharing platform across all participating countries;
- Represent the ARC Secretariat on field missions and conferences, as required.
Qualifications & Experience Required
Education:
Advanced university degree in Economics, Food Security, Agriculture, Development Studies or other related fields. PhD would be an asset.
Experience:
· At least five years of postgraduate progressively responsible professional experience in food security analysis or a closely related area, such as agricultural risk management or early warning.
Technical Skills & Knowledge:
- Strong knowledge of food security analysis and the data collection, treatment, and manipulation techniques typically associated with it;
- Familiarity with quantitative and qualitative survey techniques;
- Proficiency in MS Office (Word, Project, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook) and statistical analysis software (i.e. SPSS, STATA);
- Knowledge of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing.
Competencies:
- Strong analytical and problem solving skills;
- Ability to work independently under minimal supervision;
- Good interpersonal skills with ability to work in multicultural settings that involve a large number of stakeholders;
- Resourcefulness, initiative, maturity of judgment and tact;
- Ability to communicate clearly both orally and in writing;
- Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines;
- Ability to deal patiently and tactfully with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
Language:
Working knowledge (proficiency/level C) of English and French;
Proficiency in Portuguese is an asset.
Terms and Conditions
WFP offers a competitive compensation package which will be determined by the contract type and selected candidate’s qualifications and experience.
Please visit the following websites for detailed information on working with WFP.
http://www.wfp.org Click on: “Where we work” and “Our work” to learn more about WFP’s operations
http://www.unstaffmobility.org Learn more about countries where the UN operates
How to apply:
Go to: http://i-recruitment.wfp.org/vacancies/13-0014638
Step 1: Create your online CV.
Step 2: Click on “Description” to read the position requirements and “Apply” to submit your application.
NOTE: You must complete Step 2 in order for your application to be considered for this vacancy.
Closing date: 31 Oct 2013
REF: 13-0014638
How to Apply
http://reliefweb.int/job/609321/food-security-analyst-p3-short-term-johannesburg-south-africa
