WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles. Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis. We are committed to promoting diversity and the principle of equal employment opportunity for all our employees and encourage qualified candidates to apply irrespective of religion or belief, ethnic or social background, gender, gender identity, and disability.

JOB DETAILS

Job Title: Budget and Programming Officer
Grade:  NOA
Type of contract: Fixed Term
Duration:  12 months (Extendable)
Duty Station: Kabul
Vacancy Number: 830939
Date of Publication: 13 Jan 2024
Deadline of Application: 27 Jan 2024

This vacancy announcement is for Afghan nationals only and WFP encourages especially Afghan females and Afghans with disabilities to apply.

ABOUT WFP

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the leading humanitarian organization saving lives and changing lives, delivering food assistance in emergencies, and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The hunger crisis in Afghanistan is unfolding at a rapid pace, with 15 million of the population now facing acute food insecurity. Work opportunities are shrinking, with most households now reporting just one day of work per week. This comes on top of the worst drought in years, which is especially concerning for the 85 percent of the population who rely on agriculture for livelihood. Preventing and mitigating a drastic increase in hunger and malnutrition is the aim of WFP in Afghanistan which can only be achieved through the scaled-up and sustained complementary food security and nutrition interventions, combined with a scale-up of resilience interventions to safeguard gains. WFP has embarked on a significant month-on-month scale-up of its crisis response and resilience programs across the country, ensuring that the program is delivered at the right scale and time, and targeted to the right areas. WFP is also actively following up on evolving trends to pre-empt hotspots while guaranteeing quality and maximum impact of the program through the monitoring of these hotspots to be able to support continued donor advocacy.

JOB PURPOSE

To support the delivery of budget and resource analysis and programming activities and/or provide support in HQ/RBs, partnering with managers to apply best practice approaches that support the efficient, effective, and compliant utilization of funds.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

Budget Planning and Management

• Contribute to the development and implementation of policies and procedures for budget and programming activities through close monitoring, to achieve compliance with WFP and functional strategies.
• Contribute towards the compilation, preparation, and revision of various budget plans in compliance with budget and programming procedures.
• Monitor WFP’s corporate systems ensuring that all budget-supporting documents are accurate, well-developed, and in line with recommendations to enable accurate recording into internal systems and follow up on budget approval actions.
• Participate in CSPs/RBPs closure activities and work with spending units to highlight and close open commitments promptly whilst bringing any potential issues to the supervisor’s attention.

Pipeline Management

• Collate commodity pipeline requirements including Advance Financing requests in collaboration with stakeholders at the operational level, to ensure timely shortfall coverage and efficient utilization of contributions.
• Prepare monthly pipeline reports and support the CO/RB team in monitoring the resource pipeline across all transfer modalities (Food, Cash Based Transfers, Capacity Strengthening, and Service Delivery) including corporate stock replenishments to maximize operational effectiveness.
• Participate in and support preparations for the monthly, cross-functional, pipeline working group, (across Area Offices, Sub Offices, and Field Offices as needed), that proactively discusses resource availability and upcoming shortfalls, recommending timely mitigation measures.

Funds, Performance Management, and Reporting

• Check accuracy and monitor timely programming and utilization of funds based on operational priorities, funding proposals, and donor conditions, proposing timely recommendations and possible corrective actions that enable reporting in collaboration with spending units.
• Perform and document fund sub-allotments as per available procedures and guidelines, to avail funds to spending units for timely commitment.
• Participate and support preparations for the CO/RB Resource Management Committee (RMC) as per agreed timelines. The RMC reviews and prioritizes resources against the Country Portfolio Budget (CPB).

Other

• Where needed, support the activation/deactivation and management of Global Commodity Management Facility (GCMF) supply lines, participate in knowledge transfer activities in support of the facility, and facilitate decision-making for the allocation of corporate stocks.
• Support the capacity enhancement of junior staff in budgeting, funds management, operational planning, and performance reporting, through regular day-to-day interactions, delivering training using available materials, manuals, and guidelines.
• Take active participation in training and learning opportunities, interactions with and accepting guidance from peers and senior colleagues.
• Collect inputs and draft accurate and timely reports, to enable informed decision-making and consistency of information presented to senior management and external stakeholders.
• Contribute towards the development and improvement of systems, techniques, tools, processes, and procedures to better monitor, manage, and report on WFP budgets and resources.
• Participate in internal meetings/committees/working groups as required, to obtain and provide information from a budget and resource programming perspective.
• Follow standard emergency preparedness practices and contribute to monitoring the management of financial risks.
• Perform other relevant duties as required.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

• Advanced University degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics, or other relevant field.
• Or First University degree with additional specialized training and an additional two years of most related professional work experience.

Minimum Work Experience:

• At least one year of postgraduate professional experience in budget and programming.

Desirable Work Experience:

• Experience in performing analytics and presenting the information to meet various audience needs.
• Experience working with large datasets, extracting information in an easy-to-interpret manner.
• Experience in preparing, managing, and reporting on operational budgets and performance.

Knowledge and Skills:

• Knowledge of information and financial systems and how those support the implementation of operations.
• Knowledge of operational planning and business processes, rules, and procedures and apply them consistently in the implementation and support of program interventions.
• Ability to deliver results against delegated tasks within the deadlines.
• Ability to work collaboratively in a team, with people of different backgrounds towards common goals.

Language:

• Fluency (level C) in English and local languages

HOW TO APPLY

To be considered, interested candidates are invited to apply via (https://www.wfp.org/careers/job-openings). Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

We want to ensure the recruitment process is fully accessible. Please contact us at afg.hrrecruitment@wfp.org to advise us of any accessibility needs you may have.

WFP has a zero-tolerance approach to conduct such as fraud, sexual exploitation, abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to WFP’s standards of conduct and will therefore undergo rigorous background verification internally or through third parties. Selected candidates must also provide additional information as part of the verification exercise. Misrepresentation of information provided during the recruitment process may lead to disqualification or termination of employment

WFP will not request payment at any stage of the recruitment process including at the offer stage. Any payment requests should be refused and reported to local law enforcement authorities for appropriate action.