ABOUT THE NATIONAL PROGRAMME AND POLICY OFFICER POSITION AT WFP TANZANIA
This position is based in Dar es Salaam and reports directly to the Head of Programme, who oversees overall performance and strategic alignment for the implementation of Strategic Outcomes (SOs) which are SO1 (Refugees & DRR), SO2 (Nutrition and School Feeding) and SO3 (Agriculture and climate resilience interventions) and other crosscutting elements (such as gender, protection, energy etc.) of the Country Strategic Plan (CSP) for 2022-2028 period. This position is the Strategic Outcome 1 Manager who will lead SO1 on ‘crisis affected populations in Tanzania to meet their essential food and nutrition needs in anticipation of, during and the aftermath of shocks and build resilience to shocks and stressors by 2027’. This role oversees the refugee operation, as well as activities to work with the government to prepare and respond to disasters in Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar. This post requires solid team management experience and would provide backstopping on management activities for the Programme unit, as well as working closely on overall government engagement.
As well as having a direct supervisory role, this position further entails close working relationships with field-based offices notably in Kasulu, Zanzibar, Dodoma, Mtwara and Arusha as a strategy to provide on-the-ground support on capacity building initiatives, and policy advice to national government on DRM activities including on adaptive social protection, DRR, climate resilience and anticipatory action, as required and in consultation with the respective technical leads.
The incumbent would need a strong understanding and demonstrated experience of coordination with Government and UN Agencies as well as with donors and NGO partners. Key stakeholders include Disaster Management Department, Disaster Management Commission, PMO-LYED, TMA, TASAF and other key donor, agency and government coordination groups.
Tanzania has experienced sustained economic growth in recent years, achieving Lower Middle Income Country status in 2020. Despite a positive development trajectory, the increasing frequency of extreme weather events threatens to undermine progress in poverty reduction and exacerbate existing inequalities, including between men and women and people with disabilities.
WFP’s objective is to support Tanzania’s shift from reactive emergency relief towards a more proactive, risk-informed, and sustainable disaster risk management programming to protect at-risk vulnerable and food insecure communities. This includes increased investments in national capacities on emergency preparedness and response; strengthening forecast-based mechanisms so we can act before a hazard becomes a disaster through Anticipatory Action; designing adaptive social protection approaches for shock-response and climate adaptation, and enhancing national food security analysis and data availability so every intervention is backed by real-time data.
The incumbent to this position is expected to play a crucial role of leading, designing and implementing inter-connected activities that ensures the inclusive approach to manage disasters in the country.