WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

All applications should be received no later than Monday 25 September 2023

TYPE OF CONTRACT AND DURATION

Eligibility: Non Syrian Type of Contract: Limited Fixed Term ( LFT) P3 Contract Duration: 12 Months Duty Station: Damascus, Syria Number of employees required: 1

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetime. Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need. In 2020, WFP was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to fight hunger globally, including its work during the coronavirus pandemic.

In Syria, WFP provides food assistance to more than 4.6 million people each month. This includes families who require emergency assistance when affected by conflict and displacement and also those who need help to improve their nutrition and food security. WFP supports children across Syria with healthy meals and snacks at school, mothers with nutritious diets, and families and communities with sustainable livelihood projects.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

The Special Assistant to the Country Director will report directly to the Country Director and will be responsible to provide day-to-day support to the Country Director in the execution of his/her functions, maintaining strategic communication with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders. The Special Assistant will also be responsible to facilitate smooth operations of the management front office, handling highly confidential and sensitive matters, analyzing situations accurately, providing timely advice, and taking effective action.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

Within delegated authority, the incumbent will be responsible for the following duties:

•  Under the overall guidance and supervision of the Country Director, coordinate and oversee the overall planning of activities for the Country Director as required and assist the Country Director in the daily operations to reach operational objectives.
•  Respond to, review, or draft as appropriate, management reports and correspondence documents on behalf of the Country Director and bring matters that need decisions to his/her attention. Ensure internal communication to staff from the Country Director is disseminated thoroughly and consistently in coordination with other colleagues as necessary, using socio-political insights to support WFP’s effective positioning.
•  Coordinate, review and/or prepare as appropriate high-quality strategic background documents, talking points, and briefs for the Country Director to ensure he/she has all the information required for all meetings and engagements.
•  Attend interagency, governmental and internal meetings with the Country Director as required, ensuring consistency and clarity in the NFRs and coordinate follow up actions as required.
•  Oversee and coordinate all functions of the Country Director’s front office managing other staff as necessary. Ensure that requests, feedback and concerns from staff in matters related to the Country Director are dealt with in a professional, confidential and appropriate manner in line with Country Office and WFP policies and procedures.
•  Provide coaching and guidance to front office staff as required to ensure appropriate development and enable high-performance.
•  Actively liaise with other relevant actors in the RB, COs and HQ on a regular basis with regards to follow up on issues, priorities and decisions concerning management.
•  Maintain strong relationships with counterparts in other UN and (I)NGO agencies, to ensure smooth and strong relations, strategic information sharing, and coordination of meetings and joint missions if necessary.
•  Organize travel with Country Director and accompany him/her, when necessary.
•  Coordinate the follow up actions from the missions. Organize and coordinate the follow-up of ED, RD, and other high-level missions in the country.
•  Advise and assist the Country Director in promoting positive team dynamics and workplace culture.
•  Manage special projects and conduct research as and when required by the Country Director.
•  Perform other related duties and assignments as and when required by the Country Director.
•  Ensure that confidentiality on all subject matters is maintained as required.

Knowledge & Skills:

•  Strong planning, prioritization and organizational skills.
•  Strong interpersonal skills, with demonstrated ability to build and maintain strong relationships and negotiate to achieve objectives.
•  Strong oral and written communication skills.
•  Strong strategic, analytical, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to analyse and interpret information and develop talking points and key messages.
•  Knowledge of common business principles and processes and ability to quickly assimilate UN/WFP specific processes and systems.
•  Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and under pressure with tight deadlines, while maintaining calm and positive attitude for the benefit of maintaining positive team dynamics.
•  Strong sense of responsibility, confidentiality, and accountability.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Advanced university degree in Political Science, International Development, Development Studies, Economics, Journalism, International Relations, Social Sciences, Communications or other related field, or, First University degree with two years of related work experience and/or training/courses. Language: Fluency (level C) in written and verbal English. Intermediate knowledge (level B) of a second official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish, and/or WFP’s ulterior working language, Portuguese) will be considered as an asset.

Experience: At least five (5) years of postgraduate professional experience in a relevant field of work, with a background and interest in international humanitarian development. Preferred experience in a similar Special Assistant role, with direct exposure to the most senior layers in the organization, advanced writing and analytical skills and strong relationship management skills. Field experience will be considered an asset.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Please upload your professional CV in English in PDF format making sure to include thefollowing in terms of “Experience”:

•  Company/Organization name and scope of work of the organization
•  Exact Position Title
•  Contract type: part-time, full-time, volunteer, consultant, or freelancer
•  Start and End date of Employment for each position: From (dd/mm/yyyy) to (dd/mm/yyyy)
•  Responsibilities: To mention the main responsibilities that highlight your gained skills andexperience
•  A proof of your experience will be required in the final stage of recruitment.
•  Only shortlisted candidates will be invited to the next stage of the selection process.
•  Candidates must get an auto confirmation email once application is submitted.

HOW TO APPLY

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Internal candidate: https://performancemanager5.successfactors.eu/sf/jobreq?jobId=829525&company=C0000168410P

External candidate: https://router.job-listing.wfp.org/sfcareer/jobreqcareer?jobId=829525&company=C0000168410P

WFP has a zero-tolerance approach to conduct such as fraud, sexual exploitation and 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 will also be required to 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 requests for payment should be refused and reported to local law enforcement authorities for appropriate action.