Jobs at World Food Programme (WFP)

JOB PURPOSE

The challenges of working in difficult conditions to bring much needed food and support to our recipients can place a great deal of pressure and stress on WFP staff. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly exacerbated challenges and stress.

As part of the Wellness Division, the Staff Counselling Unit is committed to preventing and alleviating stress to improve the overall health, performance, and morale of staff. We do this by identifying and addressing factors that contribute to stress in the workplace, promoting good employment and management practices, and providing counselling services that help to mitigate or avoid the negative effects of workplace stress. 

The Staff Counsellor will provide efficient and effective psychological counselling to staff across RBN requiring support related to work-place difficulties or personal issues. A large emphasis will be placed on extensive engagement with staff and promotion of staff well-being. The Staff Counsellor will report to the WFP Regional Staff Counsellor.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

Advanced University degree in Psychology, Psychiatry, Counselling or related field. Registration as a Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Counsellor or equivalent in the country of origin is preferred.

Experience: 

Typically, five years or more of relevant experience in the field of mental health. Experience in hardship duty stations providing counselling or wellness services to staff working in difficult and hazardous environments is desirable

Knowledge & Skills:

• Broad knowledge of all facets of the field of counselling and ability to provide an environment in which others can talk confidentially and act without fear or repercussions within a climate of established trust.
• Excellent communication skills (oral, written, and presentation) including the ability to defend and explain difficult issues and positions to staff at all levels.
• Excellent multicultural awareness and competence, including skills to work with cultures other than one’s own, and knowledge of how visible and invisible cultural power structures can affect wellbeing and work performance.
• Ability to identify clients’ needs and, if required, suggest internal or external resources to support.
• Ability to establish and maintain productive partnerships with staff and management across functions and offices.
• Capacity to be proactive in the promotion and organization of wellness activities.
• Very good working knowledge of technology tools such as Teams, PowerPoint, Excel, Word, and Outlook.
• Ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries and establish and maintain effective working relationships in a multi- cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.

Language:

• Fluency (level C) in English language.
• Intermediate knowledge (level B) of a second official UN language: Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish, and/or WFP’s working language, Portuguese.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

• Provide culturally sensitive counselling services to WFP staff and dependents. This may include case management, individual sessions, group sessions, emergency/critical incident support, and referrals to other resources as required.
• Deliver in-person and online psychosocial workshops, briefings, and trainings for management and employees across a wide range of issues (e.g., stress management, communication, leadership, COVID-19 awareness, culture & diversity, conflict resolution, etc.).
• Provide in-person and remote training and mentoring for Wellness Support Volunteers to facilitate their role in supporting staff.
• Travel as required to WFP duty stations both in Kenya and in other countries in the Eastern Africa Region, to promote wellness and deliver counselling services.
• Liaise, collaborate, and proactively maintain relationships with relevant parties including the WFP global and RBN Staff Counsellor networks, medical colleagues, Wellness Support Volunteers, Family Liaison Officer, PSEA Officer, Wellness Committee, Respectful Workplace Advisors, National Staff Associations, Security Unit, Human Resources, Ombudsman, etc.
• Support countries in the Region to input and further develop content and resources on the WFP Wellbeing platform (website & application).
• Support the work of the Family Liaison Officer to implement programmes and interventions to address the wellness of families of staff in the Region.
• Actively engage with management and staff to establish relationships based on trust, respect, and empowerment.
• Increase awareness regarding important themes, policies, and guidelines to promote staff wellness and safe workspaces.
• Prepare comprehensive reports, trainings and proactively plan and implement staff counselling activities to ensure the provision of cohesive counselling services.
• Maintain at all times, high standards of professional ethics and confidentiality consistent with the Wellness Division Ethical Guidelines and Standards of Practice.
• Complete administrative duties including as maintaining statistics on activities and completing reporting requirements as per the requirement in the Staff Wellness Division.

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

• Experience working in UN or other humanitarian organizations.
• Experience with technology such as digital content creation, graphic design, podcast creation, etc.
• Additional training or certification in related fields, such as alcohol/substance abuse, stress management, critical incident stress, cross-cultural communication, conflict resolution, mediation, trauma, etc. will be an advantage. 

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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

WFP is seeking a candidate of the highest integrity and professionalism who shares our humanitarian principles to fill the position of a CP Management - Engagement Coordinator, SC5 to work under the Programme Cycle Management Unit (Cooperating Partner Management work-stream) based in Nairobi, Kenya.

The Cooperating Partner/NGO workstream focuses on strengthening the capacity of Country Offices to effectively manage Field Level Agreement (FLAs), reducing operational and financial risks and helping to build strong partnerships which support the deliverables of our Country Strategic Plans (CSPs). The process efficiencies include adoption of digital tools/templates, reconciliation of CP (Cooperating Partners) data in various platforms, contributions to Partner Action Plans and identification of emerging risks in the programme operations.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Education: University Degree in Business Studies, Community Development, Social Sciences, Project Management, Statistics and Development Studies or any other related field is desirable.
• Experience required: 1-2 years of progressively responsible experience in either partnerships management, programme implementation, monitoring and evaluation for a humanitarian or development agency. Experience in event planning and coordination is vital.
• Knowledge & Skills: Proactive with excellent planning, organizing and time management skills. Strong ability to write and summarize information. Proficient using Microsoft office products and other standard WFP software packages and systems. General knowledge of UN system policies, rules, regulations, and procedures in the area of work. Sound judgment and the ability to extract, interpret, analyze and format data as well as solve operational problems; ability to work with minimum supervision.
• Language: Fluency in both oral and written communication in English. French is an asset.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

Coordinate meetings and events:

• Schedule monthly calls with Country Offices (COs) ensuring agenda is shared a week in advance.
• Schedule bi-monthly regional Country Office CP (Cooperating Partners) calls, support the coordination of speakers and prepare and send agenda a week in advance.
• Draft Note for the Record (NFR) within 3 working days of meeting for review and dissemination.
• Support Regional CP (Cooperating Partners) Officer in delivering of trainings to Country Office (CO) Teams.
• Coordinate the external CP (Cooperating Partners) Briefings ensuring invitations are sent out at least 3 weeks in advance.
• Contribute to the planning of topics, speakers, and presentations for CP (Cooperating Partners) Briefings.
• Provide on-line assistance during live events (manage presentation, monitor chats, assist with technical problems, etc.).

Information & Knowledge Management:

• Update country office mapping tool within 3 days of meetings/updates with Country Offices.
• Prepare and/or consolidate comprehensive reports, documentation, correspondence, briefing notes, meeting minutes, etc. and conduct research in the area of work.
• Manage the Microsoft TEAMS channel effectively for information and knowledge sharing; documents are named and saved correctly in TEAMS and Country Offices are informed of new information available.
• Proactively posting information (within 2 days of release) on the CP (Cooperating Partners)/NGO Communities channel for wider dissemination of information.

CP Onboarding package to adopted by country offices:

• Ensure the onboarding process is incorporated into all Country Office CP (Cooperating Partners) Mgmt. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
• Prepare Training of Trainer package including presentation, talking points and Frequently Asked Questions FAQ
• Deliver training to Country Office focal points who are responsible for onboarding CPs (Cooperating Partners)
• Ensure Country Office Programme Cycle Management (CP Mgmt.) team is trained to deliver and support the delivery of the CP (Cooperating Partners) On-boarding to their Country Office teams moving forward