Senior Officer, Food Security and Livelihoods Full-Time

Background

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, with 190 member National Societies. As part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, our work is guided by seven fundamental principles; humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality.

Organizational Context

The Secretariat’s headquarters is organized into four main Business Groups in Geneva, and five Business Groups in the field, namely; Americas (Panama City); Africa (Nairobi); Asia/Pacific (Kuala Lumpur); Europe (Budapest); Middle East and North Africa (Beirut). The Africa Regional Office is organized in Country Cluster Support Teams (CCST) covering the National Societies in Eastern Africa, Indian Ocean Islands and Djibouti, Southern Africa, West Coast, Sahel and Central Africa as well as Country Offices in Sudan, Republic of South Sudan, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Niger and Central Africa. The Southern Africa Country Cluster office supports 9 South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique, Eswatini, Lesotho, Botswana, Zambia, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Mozambique was hit by two category 4 tropical cyclones (Idai and Kenneth) in one season. Mozambique National Disaster Management Institute (INGC) indicated that 1.5 million people were affected, including more than 140,000 people displaced – many sheltered across 139 evacuation centres, spontaneous settings and makeshift shelters at peak emergency moment. Some 603 people have been confirmed dead as a result of the cyclone, according to the most recent reports issued by INGC. At the same time, more than 1,600 people were injured, and more than 230,000 houses were damaged and destroyed. Tropical Cyclone Idai has also affected Mozambique’s food security and livelihoods in the long term, due to extensive damage to standing crops immediately before the harvest season due in the months of March-April as well as loss of seeds and tools . The entire southern Africa region has been facing the effects of the ongoing El Niño with below-average cumulative rainfall and abnormally high temperatures for the 2018/19 season. The whole southern Africa region has suffered from sustained drought in recent years. Nearly one month later, cyclone Kenneth has hit Northern Mozambique’s coastal province of Cabo Delgado. The cyclone Kenneth has left destructions of houses, standing crops and key installations. The assessment report indicates that over 37,000 houses either have been damaged or destroyed. IFRC has revised Emergency Appeal to assist households affected by cyclone Kenneth. IFRC has launched an Emergency Appeal on 19 March for CHF 31 million which was revised on 06 May for CHF 32 million to assist 172,500 people affected by cyclones Idain and Kenneth for 24 months. The Emergency Appeal operation focuses on shelter, livelihoods and basic needs, health, WATSAN, protection, gender and Inclusion and Disaster Risk Reduction and national society capacity strengthening in emergency.

Job Purpose

Under the technical supervision and guidance of Food Security and Livelihoods (FSL) Delegate and in collaboration with Cruz Vermelha de Moçambique (CVM), the Senior Officer, Food Security and Livelihoods will be responsible for the technical implementation, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the food security and livelihoods intervention in Tete Province, to achieve programme objectives with the targeted communities affected by Cyclone Idai. The job aims to respond to immediate needs of identified communities and contribute to increase their self-reliance through a variety of activities related to basic needs assistance supporting food security, replacement of productive assets, identification and support of income generating activities, loan and saving groups and community projects aiming to protect and support livelihoods.

In agreement with line manager, the job holder will plan and supervise the project, ensuring activities are implemented to a high standard in a timely and professional manner. She/he will also provide technical guidance to staff and volunteers reporting to him/her.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

The job holder will be responsible for the following duties:

• Contribute to increase the food security of targeted households and the self-reliance of communities through the improvement of productivity, income generating activities and market and financial access;
• Be responsible for the technical implementation, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the overall livelihoods components of the programme;
• Work with the management team to plan and effectively deliver all the Food security and livelihoods (FSL) project intervention in a timely manner according to the agreed IFRC’s food security and livelihoods action plan, to best practices and to all internal policies and SOPs to recover agricultural livelihoods, replace lost or damaged assets, restart crop production, improve livestock management and productivity, restore livelihoods of fisherfolk communities, create saving and loan groups, protect livelihoods, support IGA’s;
• Ensure efficient and transparent use of resources in accordance with internal standards and controls ;
• Participate in context analysis and assessments required to assess needs, rank vulnerability, measure food insecurity and design gender-sensitive responses to meet them considering the special needs of women and the vulnerable groups;
• Identify, select and register individuals and households taking into consideration the priority to support vulnerable households affected by the disaster;
• Contribute to the development of new tools and ToR and ensure that all tools and guidelines designed for project activities are in place and used properly;
• Manage/Lead the food security and livelihoods teams, including volunteers by designing detailed project work plans with clear division of responsibilities amongst team members, establishing clear objectives and monitoring progress and performance;
• Provide technical advice, backstopping and training to field officer, field supervisors and volunteers on the implementation of sound technical packages that strengthen the capacities and self-reliance of farmers, fisherfolks, vulnerable groups and rural and peri urban communities;
• Plan and ensure monitoring visits including baselines surveys and Post-distribution Monitoring systems;
• Ensure quality data collection and management for project targeting and monitoring and follow up on indicator progress and achievements;
• Develop and maintain appropriate databases and records for monitoring and evaluating the success of project interventions;
• Ensure that team members produce relevant weekly reports and prepare timely, high quality reports on project interventions as required to inform on the results, constraints and achievements;
• Supervise and monitor the compliance with protocols, agreements and contracts established within the projects;
• Promote an open and supportive environment for team members;
• Analyse the needs in capacity building within the team and propose relevant capacity building plans;
• Maintain and develop collaborative relationships with different stakeholders at provincial, district and local level (Direçao Provincial de Agricultura, Servicio distrital de Atividades Economicas, Provincial/District Government, NGOs and other partners operating in the Province and in the District) with active listening skills and problem-solving attitude;
• Work in collaboration with the CVM Provincial, district and local branches staff and volunteers;
• Represent the IFRC/CVM in meetings of Food Security and Livelihoods Sector and other meetings in which it is entrusted by her/his superiors;
• Ensure that cross-cutting protection concerns are considered for all planned interventions;
• Ensure participation of the community in the implementation of programme and that complaint mechanisms are in place and used efficiently;
• Provide a response in Food Security and Livelihoods component in case of emergencies in the Province (Floods, Cyclones, droughts, etc.);
• Identify areas where improvements can be made to increase impact, identifying and incorporating lessons learned in programme design;
• Assist other activities related to FSL as needed.

Education

• University degree or higher in Project management, Rural Development, Agriculture and Fisheries, Environment, Business management or related areas;
• Relevant educational and/or professional background in livelihoods projects (farming,  fisheries, agri-entrepreneurship, caisse de resilience, vocational training, IGA’s, cooperatives) Livelihoods or/and Livelihood Sustainable Framework training
  Cash transfer programming training

Experience

• Minimum 3 years of professional experience in the implementation of agricultural or rural development programmes, support to farmers groups or farmers field schools, identification and support to IGA’s, business development, market based interventions;
• Experience in emergency response, recovery and resilience building with a humanitarian or development organisation;
• Experience in creation and capacity development of farming/ fishing communities and/or CBO’s in good agronomic/ fishing practices, field schools, cooperatives, farming associations, IGA’s;
• Experience in project management including project planning and monitoring, tracking project progress and achievements;
• Experience with budget planning and expenditures monitoring;
• Experience in qualitative and quantitative data collection;
• Proven experience in supervising, managing and supporting staff;
• Experience in gender-sensitive livelihoods programming;
• Experience in CTP (cash transfer programmes) and markets assessments;
• Ability and proven experience in transferring knowledge and skills through formal and informal training of staff and volunteers;
• Experience of working and coordinating with other stakeholders, local governmental authorities, partners, food suppliers, traders;
• Experience in communicating effectively with target population affected by disasters;
• Experience of working for the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement (preferred)

Knowledge, skills and languages

• Strong planning and coordination skills in an autonomous way;
• Good understanding of project cycle management, including M&E, reporting and budget management;
• Problem solving and decision making in the area of responsibility;
• Knowledge of Food security and nutrition national policies,  HEA / IPC assessment approaches, vulnerability analysis;
• Knowledge of rural and peri urban context in Sofala Province;
• Knowledge of climate-smart agricultural practices / Disaster Risk Reduction;
• Advanced computer skills ( Outlook, Internet, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc.);
• Knowledge of open source data collection tools (KoBo, ODK…);
• Strong communication and facilitation skills;
• Strong commitment to team work and ability to work with teams of volunteers;
• Demonstrated ability to multi-task and work under pressure;
• Willingness and ability to cope with frequent travels to the field locations;
• Fluently spoken and written Portuguese;
• Working level in spoken and written English;
• Knowledge of languages spoken in Sofala Province

Competencies and values

• Communication;
• Collaboration and Teamwork;
• Judgement and Decision Making;
• National Society and Customer Relations;
• Creativity and Innovation;
• Building Trust

Comments

The Federation is an equal opportunity employer.