ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger. Its mission is to help achieve the goal of Zero Hunger. Every day, the WFP works around the globe to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable people, particularly women and children, have access to the nutritious food they need.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has collaborated with the Cuban government since 1963 to strengthen long-standing social protection programs that provide free and universal access to basic services. These efforts have enabled 1.3 million people to benefit directly in 2024. The country’s operational landscape is characterized by significant food security and nutrition challenges, and in this context, the WFP works to address growing humanitarian needs, prioritizing them while constraining resources, by providing nutrition-sensitive food assistance before, during, and after crises.
The WFP strengthens the capacity of the social protection system and facilitates the distribution of nutritious food and nutritional supplements. The WFP also strengthens local food systems and links them to social protection institutions. The WFP has a strong presence on the ground, with monitors operating in six provinces: Las Tunas, Granma, HolguÃn, Santiago de Cuba, and Villa Clara (the latter was recently inaugurated).
PURPOSE OF THE POSITION
To provide effective specialized support and technical analysis to activities related to policies and programs that effectively meet food assistance needs.
MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES
1. To provide technical support and assistance in the development and implementation of various processes and activities within its specific sphere of activity, supporting harmonization with the more general policies and guidelines on programs.
2. Provide specialized project management support to specific programs to ensure that the various activities are carried out taking into account the established goals and applying WFP policies and procedures.
3. Within the specific sphere of responsibility, prepare a series of reports and data analyses (e.g., on food assistance needs, resource utilization, program progress or achievements) and highlight trends and problematic aspects, ensuring that quantifiable results adhere to institutional standards and pass quality control.
4. Carry out (or ensure that) thorough and timely data recording within the relevant technical field of activity (e.g., assistance programs or food security and vulnerability analysis), ensuring the consistency of the information presented to stakeholders.
5. Maintain contact with internal counterparts to support effective collaboration, implementation, and monitoring of ongoing project activities.
6. Coordinate and communicate with partners, agencies, NGOs and public institutions at the local level to conduct thorough analyses of the food security situation and ensure the efficient delivery of food assistance.
7. Provide support for strengthening the capacity of WFP staff, cooperating partners and the national government in the specific technical area concerned.
8. To serve as a point of contact for the resolution of a whole range of queries and operational problems within a specific technical area of ​​responsibility.
9. Supervise and/or review the work of other support staff, providing practical advice and guidance, to help achieve objectives in accordance with agreed standards and deadlines.
10. Follow standard emergency preparedness practices to ensure that WFP is able to respond quickly and send the necessary resources to affected areas at the start of a crisis.
OTHER JOB REQUIREMENTS
1. Provide specialized support for the planning and implementation of specialized projects, with emphasis on those that respond to perfecting the mechanisms of targeting social protection, ensuring conceptual and methodological coherence.
2. Provide technical support and assistance in the development and implementation of vulnerability targeting and analysis tools.
3. Within the specific sphere of social protection and targeting mechanisms, prepare a series of reports and participate in the formulation, review and improvement of technical and methodological documents, executive summaries and reports of meetings and technical sessions.
4. To serve as a point of contact in the exchange with national counterparts and in project committees and other working spaces.
5. Provide specialized support for the organization and facilitation of workshops, monitoring of procurement processes and definition of new investments linked to specialized projects, with emphasis on those that respond to improving the targeting mechanisms of social protection.
MINIMUM STANDARD EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED
Education: Completion of pre-university education. Post-pre-university education certificate.
Experience: Six years of professional experience in the relevant functional area.
Languages: Fluent in Spanish. Intermediate level of English (desirable).
DESIRABLE EXPERIENCE TO PERFORM THIS FUNCTION
Having worked with technical teams (e.g., nutrition, vulnerability analysis and mapping (VAM), etc.).
Having contributed to the implementation of programs.
Having attended policy debates as an observer, or having helped to organize them.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Position: Program Associate (Focusing)
Unit: Programs
Contract Type: Service Contract SC-6
Work Location: Havana, Cuba
Contract duration: 12 months with the possibility of extension based on the organization’s requirements.
How to apply
Apply at the following link:Â Job Openings at WFP