Job Detail

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. 

The hunger crisis in Afghanistan is unfolding at a rapid pace, with 15 million of 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 livelihoods.

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 programmes across the country, ensuring that the programme is delivered at the right scale and time, 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 programme through the monitoring of these hotspots to be able to support continued donor advocacy.

Job Purpose; 

The programme planning unit supports WFP Afghanistan’s programme operations by being the custodian of the implementation plan, operational plan and pivotal analysis that sparks action to address operational problems. The unit initiates the yearly programme planning; keeps the planning updated, and facilitates changes to the plan by actively liaising with key stakeholders, including supply chain, budget and programming, RAM, area offices and strategic objective staff, Deputy/Head of Programme to ensure a situationally shared up-to-date continuous planning reflecting food insecurity, malnutrition and school feeding related needs and WFP’s response. Moreover, the unit produces analyses and scenarios, monitors performance and reporting, and provides area offices with tailored support, including backstopping at the country office level to address cross-unit issues. 

This position requires someone with an understanding of strategic planning, coordination, and execution of programme operations to address the complex food insecurity and nutrition challenges in Afghanistan. In addition, experiences with spreadsheets, including Excel, Tableau, and DOTS (one of WFP’s corporate data management tools); analytics, as often the incumbent will be required to produce analytical tables, visualizations, narratives; data savviness, including preparing, analyzing and articulating in narrative form data insights. The incumbent will be required to work significantly with other units, at the country level and field and constantly act as a coms focal point inside the programme department by remaining aware and supporting relevant programme processes. 

Key Accountabilities; 

Under the supervision of the Programme Planning Head, the Programme Planning Officer will take responsibility for the completion of a range of planning and analysis processes and activities requiring cross-unit follow-ups. 

• Contribute to the preparation of the Implementation Plan (IP) / Operational Plan (OP) latest format / Needs Based Plan (NBP), in line with the IP/OP SOP; 
• Coordinate with cross-functional teams, including supply chain, Budget and programming and partnerships to maintain a dynamic and responsive planning process; 
• Contribute to scenario planning based on resources available, management requests, operational requirements, etc to optimize resource allocation and program impact;
• Regularly liaise with Area Offices and ensure FRNs are raised timely, as per IP/OP targets;
• Liaise with Area Offices, Strategic Outcome staff, and other country-level units (supply chain, budget and programming, donor relations, etc.) to keep the IP/OP/NBP up to date;
• Contribute to the digitization and analytical processes within corporate tools like DOTS, COMET, etc.;
• Contribute towards developing plans - in Microsoft Excel, Tableau, DOTS -  and processes, ensuring planning data availability and alignment with broader programme policies and guidelines;
• Develop food security, nutrition, markets, and resilience analysis using quantitative and qualitative tools and prepare timely planning reports on food assessment needs in line with broader programme policies, processes, and guidance to enable effective decision-making on the development of country strategy, policies, and programmes;
• Facilitate capacity building initiatives for WFP staff, partners, and national government, as needed, to prepare for and respond to food assistance needs, e.g., through analysis, planning, and troubleshooting; 
• Represent the programme planning unit in strategic meetings and forums, ensuring alignment and integration of programme objectives across various units;
• Perform other duties as required to support the programme’s goals.