Title: Program Officer – Social Protection
Type of contract / Grade: Special Service Agreement, SSA9
Contract duration: Six (06) months
Unit: Program
Duty Station: Antananarivo – Madagascar
Number of positions to be filled: One (01)
Publication date : October 13, 2025
Application deadline: October 19, 2025
A roster of qualified candidates could be established following this recruitment process to fill potential positions with the same profile.
ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT
As part of the implementation of its Country Strategic Plan (CSP), WFP in Madagascar is committed to supporting the Government in strengthening and operationalizing social protection systems that are sensitive to nutrition, gender, and shocks. The objective is to contribute to the sustainable reduction of poverty, vulnerability, and food insecurity through technical, strategic, and operational support to national structures responsible for social protection.
THE POST
Under the supervision of the Programme Manager, the Social Protection Programme Officer will be responsible for positioning WFP as a key technical player in social protection, ensuring strategic alignment of interventions with national policies, and strengthening support for government institutions in the design, coordination, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of social protection programmes.
MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES (indicative and non-exhaustive list):
Strategic positioning and coordination
- Contribute to the development and implementation of WFP’s positioning strategy in the field of social protection.
- Represent WFP in national coordination platforms (sectoral group, SUN platform, etc.).
- Establish and maintain regular dialogue with key ministries (MPSPF, MEN, MAEP, etc.) and technical and financial partners (UNICEF, World Bank, etc.).
Strengthening national systems
- Support national institutions in the operationalization and monitoring of social protection policies and action plans.
- Contribute to the integration of nutrition, gender, resilience and climate adaptation into social safety nets.
- Propose models for the gradual transfer of responsibilities to the government, particularly in the areas of school feeding and cash transfer programs.
Technical assistance and support
- Provide technical assistance in the design of integrated social protection approaches that are shock-sensitive and life-cycle sensitive.
- Support the operationalization of targeting, registration, payment, accountability, and monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.
- Promoting innovation and digitalization in social service delivery systems.
Monitoring, documentation and advocacy
- Support the capitalization of WFP experiences in the field of social protection (lessons learned, case studies).
- Prepare position papers, concept notes, and contributions to national strategic documents.
- Participate in advocacy efforts for increased and coordinated financing of social protection.
WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK : Common Standards of Behaviour:
Lead by example with integrity
Respects WFP values, principles and standards
Demonstrates and encourages others to respect WFP values, principles and standards
Respect others and value diversity
Values ​​diversity by using respectful and inclusive language, and encourages others to do the same
Stay focused and calm in stressful situations
Remains focused and calm in stressful situations, encourages others to do the same, and offers guidance and support in handling difficult situations
Demonstrates humility and a willingness to learn
Demonstrates humility and promotes learning and knowledge sharing, frequently seeking feedback and taking into account observations, seizing opportunities for self-improvement
Generates results and keeps commitments
Delivers results for maximum impact
Identifies and aligns objectives with required results, assumes accountability and/or fosters a culture of accountability among peers and team members to deliver results for maximum impact
Delegate appropriately
Delegates responsibly and provides appropriate support enabling teams to deliver results
Easily adapts to change
Easily accepts change in different contexts and adapts accordingly
Promotes collaborative teamwork and a spirit of inclusion
Is inclusive and collaborative
Promotes open-mindedness in teamwork and psychological safety by encouraging colleagues to collaborate, share ideas and freely report problems
Communicates constructive feedback in a timely manner
Helps team members develop by providing constructive feedback in a timely manner
Builds and shares new perspectives
Solicits opinions, gains confidence, and listens attentively to diverse points of view to grasp, learn, build, and share new perspectives
Applies strategic thinking
Communicates and achieves the WFP vision
Communicates and achieves WFP’s vision and operational results to deliver meaningful solutions
Demonstrates curiosity and explores new ways of doing things
Demonstrates curiosity, designs and implements new ways of doing things when relevant
Analyzes and evaluates data
Collects data and different perspectives, shares knowledge and uses evidence to inform decision-making
Takes into account the impact of decisions
Implements decisions, considering risks and implications of actions for teams, projects and other initiatives
Establishes and maintains lasting partnerships
Creates partnerships
Initiates and builds partnerships by identifying and fostering opportunities in areas of common interest and benefit
Collaborates to achieve common goals
Collaborates with partners to achieve common goals by sharing information and working together on agreed solutions
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:
Education: Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, economics, political science, or a related field.
Experience:
- Proven knowledge of social protection systems in Africa, ideally in Madagascar.
- Experience in government relations, inter-agency coordination mechanisms, and strategic partnerships.
- Skills in strategic analysis, drafting of advocacy notes and representation.
Language skills: Very good level in French and English (level C).
Critical success factors:
High level of integrity, analytical ability, ability to collect information and develop data collection tools and databases, problem-solving skills, initiative, maturity, judgment, tact, ability to negotiate and communicate orally and in writing, ability to work in a team, ability to establish good relationships with people from different backgrounds and cultures, ability to adapt to dangerous situations in terms of safety and health, and flexibility to carry out field missions.
Skills and abilities:
- Knowledge of national social protection systems
- Mastery of climate data collection and analysis tools.
- Ability to work in a team, communicate effectively and manage multidisciplinary partnerships.
- Excellent report writing and communication skills.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and work in a fast-paced environment.
- Good communication/advocacy, negotiation and leadership skills;
- Be able to evolve in a multicultural environment, demonstrate commitment and integrity.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: October 19, 2025