Livelihoods and Skills Development Advisor

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The World Food Programme is the worlds largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict disasters and the impact of climate change.

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WHY JOIN WFP

• WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

• WFP offers a highly inclusive diverse and multicultural working environment.

• WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training accreditation coaching mentorship and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities.

• A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country regional and global offices around the world and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe.

• We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of this vacancy announcement).

JOB TITLE: Livelihoods and Skills Development Advisor
TYPE OF CONTRACT: CST
UNIT/DIVISION: Climate and Resilience Service (PRGR)
DUTY STATION (City Country): Rome Italy
DURATION: Until December 31st 2026

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:
The World Food Programme (WFP) is the leading humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. WFPs Strategic Plan (2026-2029) is guided by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set forth in the 2030 Agenda in particular SDG 2 on ending hunger and SDG 17 on revitalizing global partnerships for implementation of the SDGs. This assignment sits in the Community Infrastructure Livelihood and Regenerative Practices Team whose core areas of work include livelihood programmes i.e. Asset Creation and Skills Development the Three-Pronged Approach (3PA) and resilience.
In recent years four major trends urbanisation protracted displacement a renewed interest in gender equality and the youth bulge have had widespread implications for WFP programming on Livelihoods and Skills Development. Urban and displaced populations are more dependent on human and financial capital (compared to natural and physical capital) for livelihoods. Women and youth similarly lack access to land and other assets. Many were excluded from or denied an opportunity for basic education and are in vulnerable employment. With increasing caseloads of beneficiaries who reflect these trends there is a need to maintain and focus further the efforts on the Skills Development programme stream which aims at developing human capital.
Food Assistance for Training (FFT) represents the bulk of skills development activities within the Climate and Resilience Service (PRGR) and a major share of WFPs footprint within the human capital and youth employment portfolios. FFT seeks to build the human capital of food insecure and vulnerable women and men participants as an important step towards making them self-reliant and eventually enhancing their resilience to shocks and stressors. Traditionally a transfer is provided to help participants meet their immediate needs while attending skills development trainings. The objective is to equip participants with skills they can use to generate income and ultimately improve their food security and some programmes the technical skills training is complemented with interventions such as literacy and numeracy skillsdigital and finacial literacy business management skills training asset transfers access to finance market linkages and job search services to enhance the employability or enterprise viability of the training graduate.
Against this background the Community Infrastructure Livelihood and Regenerative Practices Team is seeking to hire a consultant to fill in the position of Livelihoods and Skills Development Advisor. The consultant will also act as a key PRG-R and PRG-F liaison on the Asset Impact Monitoring from Space (AIMS) programme and interface through the team with ROs and COs on this topic.

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:
1. The purpose of the position is to coordinate and oversee the successful development and implementation of WFPs FFT portfolio by contributing to policy formulation and providing technical guidance or oversight on strategy design and implementation issues vis-à-vis Country Offices and Regional Offices also related to urban displacement gender and youth employment issues.
2. Provide technical support on a broad range of strategic/programmatic (e.g. activities design context tailoring - i.e. recovery conflict IDPs etc - layering and sequencing) technical (e.g. standards and norms toolkits etc.) and operational issues (e.g. SOPs training etc.) relating to skills development.
3. Monitor and support operational research and evidence-building on skills development activities for advocacy and resource mobilisation and to provide guidance to strengthen programme/proposals formulation.
4. Identify possible capacity gaps on Skills Development programmes at CO and ROs level and strengthen such capacities through in-person and online trainings/webinars.
5. Collect reports publications and a variety of information products or proposals for internal and/or external use which demonstrate media posts video and photo content in coordination with the communication teams at Country Office and the knowledge manager of the team.
6. Supervise and guide the piloting of new corporate indicators in selected Country Offices.
7. Provide guidance to COs and engage in technical review of ACRs skills development reporting.
8. Develop and implement a communicatin strategy including drafting of factsheets success stories etc..
9. Identify and establish linkages with other units/divisions to promote the integration of skills development activities with other programmes and areas of work.
10. Lead in close collaboration with other units in HQ (e.g. PRGE) COs and ROs the policy and programme engagement in the youth employment arena.
11. Support as required the advancement of the urban resilience agenda from the skills development standpoint.
12. Be the key focal point in the team to liaise with PRG-F in the outreach and expansion of the AIMS project. This would also include be the main interface with relevant ROs and COs staff on programmatic issues.

DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT:
1. Comprehensive technical guidance package for Skills Development Programming.
2. Evidence research monitoring and reporting the FFT portfolio.
3. Delivery technical assistance to COs on Skills Development portfolio.
4. Internal and external communication and visibility of the FFT programme.
5. Integration and partnerships with other WFP programmes on youth displacement urban displacement and gender.
6. Liaison with PRG-F and outreach with COs and ROs.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:
Education: Advanced University degree in International Affairs Economics Nutrition/Health Agriculture Environmental Science Social Sciences or other field relevant to skills development and livelihoods

Experience: At least five (5) years of postgraduate progressively responsible experience in livelihood activities.
Has worked in a Country or Field Office in the setup implementation and management of one or more of the technical areas mentioned above.
Has gained direct experience of different programme approaches related to livelihoods.
Experience on these topics in the Middle East and North Africa region where the need for Skills Development programmes is currently more acute is considered and asset.

Knowledge & Skills: Good analytical and managerial skills;
Resourcefulness initiative maturity of judgement tact negotiation skills;
Ability to communicate clearly both orally and in writing;
Ability to work in a team and establish effective working relations with persons of different national and cultural backgrounds.
Knowledge of GIS and remote sensing technology and tools is considered an asset.

Languages: Fluency (level C) in English language. Knowledge of a second UN language is an asset

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REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

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