Programme Policy Officer - Gender Protection & AAP at World Food Programme

Damascus, Damascus Governorate, Syria -

Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

19 Sep, 26

Salary

0.0

Posted On

21 Jun, 26

Experience

5 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Skills

Accountability To Affected Populations, Gender Mainstreaming, Protection Analysis, Disability Inclusion, Programme Management Cycle, Community Feedback Mechanisms, Strategic Planning, Capacity Building, Inter-agency Coordination, Risk Assessment, Technical Writing, Team Management, Humanitarian Principles, PSEA, Analytical Skills, Stakeholder Engagement

Industry

Non-profit Organizations

Description

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS 25 June 2026-23:59-GMT+03:00 Eastern European Time (Damascus) 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. ABOUT WFP The World Food Programme is the world’s 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. At WFP, people are at the heart of everything we do and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse, committed, skilled, and high performing teams, selected on merit, operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment, living WFP's values (Integrity, Collaboration, Commitment, Humanity, and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves. To learn more about WFP, visit our website: https://www.wfp.org and follow us on social media to keep up with our latest news: YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok. 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). PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT: WFP Syria provides food, nutrition and livelihoods assistance to people in need with operations across the country in government controlled and non-controlled areas. Integrating protection, gender and AAP and related cross-cutting issues, based on WFP policies and guidelines, continues to be a priority and essential in the evolving context. Recently, the interim Country Strategic Plan (i-CSP) got extended until end 2025 with a focus on both crisis response and resilience building. The key programmatic activities under crisis response are emergency food assistance and school meals activities. The key resilience building activities are livelihoods and early recovery, strengthening of national social safety nets and malnutrition prevention and treatment activities. WFP Syria will soon design a new interim Country Strategic Plan (i-CSP) 2026-2027. Under the new generation i-CSP, in line with the priorities and strategies of the Government of Syria, WFP intends to facilitate gender, protection and AAP responsive programming of nutrition and food security interventions. Focusing on information provision, consultation and strong complaints and feedback mechanisms supports, WFP aims to have accountability to the populations it serves. In addition, these activities support the understanding of the context and identification of protection risks that need to be addressed to ensure that WFP activities are contributing to the safety, dignity and integrity of affected populations and ensuring that WFP assistance is accessible impartially to those in need. ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES: WFP Syria is hiring a Programme Policy Officer to lead on the integration of accountability to affected people (AAP) and humanitarian principles in WFP programmes. The Programme Policy Officer will also take the lead on the mainstreaming and integration of WFP's Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment (GEWE), Protection and Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP), inclusion (disability) across WFP's operations in Syria. Under the direct supervision of the deputy head of programme and the direction of the head of Programme in Syria, and with technical support from the Gender and Protection Units in the organization , the Programme Policy Officer will lead on the operationalization of relevant WFP policy and strategic frameworks, such as the Protection and Accountability Policy (2020), Gender Policy (2022), the Disability Inclusion Road Map (2020-2022), and the Community Engagement for AAP Strategy (2022-2026), at the country office level. Considering the breadth of WFP's commitments and the need to operationalize them across the country’s office operations in a volatile and complex environment, WFP Syria needs a practitioner who is able to operate with a high degree of independence, has subject matter expertise and can carry out technical and strategic support tasks with limited supervision. This will be done by providing timely specialized support to senior management and guiding teams for the implementation of different policies' components, ensuring close external coordination with relevant actors and inter-agency coordination fora, and ensuring timely communication and liaison with relevant counterparts at the regional and global level. SCOPE OF WORK Support WFP Syria to ensure that programmes are based on context and risk analysis that consider the needs, capacities, vulnerabilities and other important characteristics such as age, gender, and (dis)ability, of affected populations receiving assistance. This will be done by conducting protection analysis for each WFP’s programme and working with programme staff to integrate protection and AAP throughout the programme management cycle (design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation). Coordinate knowledge management, information and analysis to ensure integrated protection and disability inclusion, AAP, and gender-sensitive data collection, analysis, monitoring, reporting and decision-making such as on the integrated cross-cutting context analysis and risk assessment (ICARA). Provide strategic and technical advice for the integration of WFP’s relevant policies and related humanitarian and human rights normative frameworks across WFP operations in the Syrian context. Conduct protection and gender analysis aimed at providing solid evidence to inform vulnerability-based and inclusive response across the programmatic cycle. Develop Community Engagement for AAP strategy/action plan. Develop Protection and Gender action plans. Manage the Protection, Gender & AAP team providing coaching and guidance as required and to ensure appropriate development and enable high performance. Liaise closely with other teams to ensure cross-functional synergies. Ensure affected communities are meaningfully engaged across the programme cycle and inclusive two-way communication with communities’ mechanisms are available, including by ensuring Community Feedback Mechanisms (CFM) are established and respect WFP's minimum requirements. Coordinate all of WFP’s complaints and feedback mechanisms (CFM) with the support of WFP CFM and AAP teams, ensuring that WFP’s policies and strategies on AAP and protection are well-reflected, all CFMs are coordinated, and supplement each other without duplicating efforts. Develop and update risk matrix and mitigation responses including programme adjustments, advocacy measures, partnership building and coordination enhancement activities, etc. Support programme management in Country and field-Offices to ensure strong institutional commitment and leadership for gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE) and protection mainstreaming across programming and operations. Provide advice and support on the integration of gender and protection in the formulation of country level WFP-specific and interagency strategic documents and programmes. Support programme staff in the integration of AAP, disability inclusion, gender and protection throughout the programme management cycle (design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation), and in needs assessment frameworks as appropriate, including the adaptation of tools, collection, analysis and reporting processes to ensure that different beneficiary needs are identified and met. Build the capacity of programme staff and cooperating partners to integrate and mainstream disability inclusion across the operation, including both programmes and support functions. Design and support the implementation of gender and protection capacity development initiatives, undertaking training and building the capacity of staff on protection analysis, response development and integration of these areas in WFP’s work. Lead on the Gender Equality Certification Programme (GECP), which is a systematic and practical means through which WFP can fulfil its gender commitments. Represent WFP in all relevant inter-agency gender, food security sector, protection, and AAP coordination mechanisms, PSEA and coordinating and strengthening the link between WFP’s internal work on gender, protection and AAP and its interagency role as a partner and peer within the humanitarian system; including coordination and support to develop harmonized approaches with other protection, gender and AAP work across the sector. Work with head of programme to ensure adequate allocation of human and financial resources, supporting the mobilisation of resources to implement Action Plans. Support, together with CO and PSEA designated focal points, the existing organisational commitments and efforts to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA). QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: Education: Advanced university degree in one of the following disciplines: Gender studies, social sciences, international relations, Human rights, Political science, development economics, or another related field such as international development, Agriculture and Rural development, or Nutrition, relevant to WFP’s work. Or First University degree with two additional years of experience. Experience: At least 6 years of postgraduate professional experience in addressing accountability to affected population, protection, disability inclusion and gender issues in humanitarian context, of which at least 3 years have been spent working in a humanitarian crisis context, emergency assistance and food security with UN agencies and NGOs in the field. Has gained valuable experience working on accountability to affected population integration and mainstreaming into programme. Has gained valuable experience working directly on protection integration or protection mainstreaming, gender equality and women empowerment, disability inclusion, and accountability to affected populations. Has participated in undertaking capacity building of colleagues or partner organisations and/or delivering training. Has experience in establishing and maintaining multi-sectoral collaborations, partnerships, and networks. Has valuable experience managing large multi-functional teams, covering: AAP including CFM and call centres, disability inclusion, protection and gender. Previous experience with UN or WFP, and knowledge of the UN or WFP operations is preferred. Knowledge & Skills: Strong analytical and writing skills, including the ability to write in an engaging and informative manner, and conceptualize and clearly synthesize information. Ability to facilitate consultations and technical discussions. Initiative, enthusiasm, and flexibility with excellent interpersonal skills and team spirit. Proficiency in Windows, MS Office (Word, Excel, Power point, Outlook). Ability to work in a multicultural environment and balance competing priorities and deadlines. Proficiency in English is required. Arabic is an asset. Languages: Fluency (Level C) in verbal and written English. Knowledge of Arabic desirable WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK WFP Leadership Framework guides to the common standards of behavior that guide HOW we work together to accomplish our mission. Click here to access WFP Leadership Framework REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION WFP is committed to supporting individuals with disabilities by providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process. If you require a reasonable accommodation, please contact: global.inclusion@wfp.org NO FEE DISCLAIMER The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web. REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION All applications must be submitted exclusively through our online recruiting system. We do not consider CVs or applications sent by email, LinkedIn, or any other channel. We strongly recommend that your Workday profile is accurate and complete, and that all sections are filled in, including your employment history, academic qualifications, language skills, and UN grade (if applicable). Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application. If you experience technical issues while submitting your application, you may contact us at global.hrerecruitment@wfp.org. Please note that this email is only for technical issues with an application - unsolicited applications or documents sent to this inbox will not receive a reply. At the application stage, the only required documents are your CV and Cover Letter. Additional documents (passport, certificates, recommendation letters, etc.) may be requested later in the process. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the recruitment process. All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks. No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service. If you used to have an account on our previous platform, please note that you will need to create a new account for future applications. However, this change will not affect any ongoing recruitment processes. To ensure that WFP is able to deliver on its mandate, a range of contract types exist depending on the duration and nature of work. Find out more here. These guidelines are here to help you use AI tools responsibly throughout WFP’s recruitment process. We also want to be transparent about how we use AI on our side. Curious? Find out more here. Our greatest strength is the people working around the world providing access to nutritious food and promoting lasting solutions to those we serve. WFP provides its staff with meaningful and impactful careers, continuous learning and training, and a multicultural and stimulating work environment. 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, physical or mental disability. The United Nations World Food Programme is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. We are the world’s 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. Read more about WFP’s history here, and WFP’s mission here Want to hear what it’s like working for WFP? Check out our newsletter highlighting the career stories of our passionate staff here: Pathway to WFP | LinkedIn Integrity, collaboration, commitment, humanity, inclusion. These values inspire everything we do every day, allowing us to work towards a world with zero hunger. You can read more about the values here. Our behaviour guides us in how we accomplish our mission. All WFP employees are expected to demonstrate the standards of behaviour described in the WFP Leadership Framework. Learn more about the WFP Leadership Framework here. WFP is aware of fictitious employment offers being circulated via email or originating from online job boards. Many of these schemes consist of an alleged offer of employment or contract with WFP in return for the payment of fees or providing personal or banking information. Read more.

Responsibilities

Lead the integration of Accountability to Affected People (AAP), gender equality, protection, and disability inclusion across WFP operations in Syria. This includes developing action plans, managing the Protection, Gender & AAP team, and coordinating community feedback mechanisms.