Program Policy Officer FT / NOA Cash Based Transfer ( CBT ) At World Food Program

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Program is the world’s largest humanitarian agency that fights hunger in the world. WFP’s mission is to end world hunger. WFP works around the world every day to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, especially women and children, can access the nutritious food they need. In fact, WFP provides assistance to more than 87 million people in approximately 83 countries each year. To find out more about WFP, visit our website and follow us on social media to keep you informed of our latest news: LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

BACKGROUND

Over the past decade, the Government of Burundi has made significant progress in strengthening its social net system and setting up basic service delivery systems through the nets project national social Merankabandi. The Merankabandi National Social Net Project aims to improve the well-being and increase the resilience of specific groups in order to reduce poverty and vulnerability in Burundi. As the Merankabandi project sought to build the fundamentals of traditional safety net systems, the government is now committed to going beyond cash transfers to adopt an integrated social protection system ( SP ) in order to strengthen the social and productive inclusion of the poor and vulnerable.Although the current achievements of the Merankabandi are impressive, there is room for the further development of SP systems in order to meet this commitment.

The project has been successfully implemented in 4 provinces of Burundi, benefiting more than 56,000 households with cash transfers and support measures on the development of human capital. The project created the basis for the development of an appropriate social protection system by developing basic delivery systems such as a targeting system, a payment system, a monitoring and evaluation system, a complaints mechanism and a management information system to support project activities and report.

The Government has asked the World Bank to support progress in three areas: i ) strengthening institutional capacities and special service delivery systems, in particular the establishment of a single register in the country, as well as continuing to improve the efficiency of other delivery mechanisms; ( ii ) invest in the intensification of existing social nets sensitive to nutrition, as well as testing personalized productive inclusion models in addition to regular cash transfers to improve human capital and the self-sufficiency of poor and vulnerable households ;and iii ) improve the responsiveness of the social protection system to shocks by expanding its coverage and strengthening funding mechanisms to improve household resilience and provide rapid support for cope with recurrent droughts induced by the climate. Subsequently, the Government and the World Bank began phase II of the Merankabandi project.

WFP SUPPORTS SOCIAL PROTECTION IN BURUNDI

In February 2021, WFP published its Social Protection Strategy in Burundi, defining its position within the SP ; and as part of its Interim Country Strategic Plan ( ICSP ) 2022-2024, WFP is committed to working with the Government of Burundi and the World Bank to provide operational and technical support for the implementation of the fourth component of the Merankabandi II project, which involves the integration of refugees into the national social protection system. In accordance with WFP’s current footprint in meeting the needs of refugees in camps in Burundi, this partnership aims to provide preventive, protective mechanisms, promotional and transformers to support the most vulnerable refugees in their basic needs and promote their social, economic and financial empowerment.WFP is supporting the expansion of the national social nets project to refugees living in camps while providing targeted households with cash transfers via mobile phones, support measures for the development of human capital and productive inclusion activities. In addition, WFP will transfer capacity to government departments to enable them to lead the project expansion.WFP will transfer capacity to government departments to enable them to lead the project expansion.WFP will transfer capacity to government departments to enable them to lead the project expansion.

The integration of refugees into national social protection systems will make it possible to establish the link between humanitarian aid and development, building on existing emergency systems to establish a broader social protection system; and WFP is keen to assist the Government in developing holistic approaches in the camps, promoting social cohesion between host communities and refugees while adhering to the principles of doing nothing.

Under the general supervision of the Head of the CBT unit and in collaboration with the social protection unit, the incumbent will be responsible for providing support for the implementation of cash transfer interventions under the Merankabandi II project element implemented by WFP.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

• Contribute to the development of a limited number of projects, plans and processes, ensuring alignment with the broader policies and directions of the program.

• Provide project management support for specific and small to medium-sized programs and projects that are relatively simple in nature, ensuring a coordinated approach with broader programs that conforms to WFP standards and procedures.

• Monitor data collection and monitoring systems, ensuring that rigorous quality standards are maintained.

• Research and analyze political and operational issues to help high-level colleagues develop policies, programs and activities.

• Support capacity building for WFP staff, partners and the national government to prepare for and respond to food aid needs, for example by supporting project management of learning initiatives.

• Plan, distribute the activities, the expected results and the deadlines for the implementation of the CBT modality in the project.

• Compile, clean, organize and analyze relevant CBT data and generate useful conclusions, exploitable trends and recommendations on the use of electronic transfer ( mobile money ) as a CBT modality in order to effectively inform internal learning and operational decision-making. This includes, but is not limited to, regular analysis of beneficiary lists and databases as well as transaction records to identify possible duplicate records or other problems or anomalies.

• Support the selection, registration and verification of beneficiaries in coordination with project monitoring and evaluation staff and the TEC unit. Apply the corresponding insurance control and support the training of personnel and the financial service provider.

• Contribute to the implementation of project evaluation and monitoring plans in order to guarantee the effectiveness and relevance of WFP interventions in the area of cash transfers ( for example, the needs and situation of the beneficiaries, food security, implementation difficulties, etc. )

• Contribute to the establishment of distribution systems, including the collection of data for the creation and examination of payment lists of beneficiaries, the creation and distribution of payment instruments, and liaison with service providers, partners and other WFP stakeholders for optimal management.

• Provide timely analytical and critical reports and data visualizations using Table, including proposals to improve the functioning and scope of the money transfer modality in accordance with the objectives and results of the project.

• Support the coordination of the CBT unit as a whole ( budgets, mission plans, supply plans, etc. ).

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

Training: Higher university degree in statistics, IT, economics, information management, social sciences or other related fields, or first university degree with additional years of professional experience and / or training.

Experience :

Holder of a higher university degree: At least one year of postgraduate professional experience in the field of monetary social transfer projects or emergency financial assistance, as well as proven experience in implementing money transfer and business transaction programs and / or operations.
Holder of a first university degree ( License ): At least three years of relevant professional experience in the field of social cash transfer projects or emergency financial assistance, as well as proven experience in implementing money transfer and business transaction programs and / or operations.
Experience in CBT operations, including coordination with internal and external stakeholders.
Experience in conducting analytical and conceptual work in support of strategy design and implementation of CBT operations.
Skills in data storage and extraction.
Experience in the use of visualization tools ( for example Table ) and in the development of dashboards.
Good command of statistical software ( SPSS, STATA, R ).
Customer orientation and problem solving – ability to grasp needs and translate them into solutions and ideas.
Strong written and oral communication skills, including in substantive analysis and reporting.