Yemen: Livelihoods and Food Security Specialist

Apr 29, 2024 | Norwegian Refugee Council
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The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is an independent humanitarian organisation helping people forced to flee. We work in crises across more than 31 countries, providing emergencies and long-term assistance to millions of people every year. We stand up for people forced to flee, advocating their rights. NORCAP, our global provider of expertise, helps improve international and local ability to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from crises. NRC also runs the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre in Geneva, a global leader in reporting on and advocating for people displaced within their own country.

Job Description

Your purpose as the LFS Specialist is technical development of the LFS Core Competency, strategic direction, and quality assurance.  The LFS Specialist is responsible for mentoring, training, and capacity building of staff within livelihoods, food security, and markets technical capacity.  The position will provide technical guidance to integrated programming, utilizing market-based approaches, working with shelter, WaSH, education, addressing multi-sectoral needs.

Specific responsibilities

  1. Lead development of the Yemen’s Livelihoods and Food Security (LFS) Core Competency Strategy including theories of change, contributions to and other integrated programming initiatives.
  2. Contribute to the review of NRC Yemen Country Programme Strategy.
  3. Provide technical leadership to the CMG & Area programmes in line with the country CC strategies. 
  4. Support the consideration and inclusion of CVA and MBA within (and across) NRC core competency responses, where appropriate. The LFS Specialist will not be accountable for CVA programming undertaken by other CCs (WASH, Shelter and Education, for example). The Specialist will be an advisory resource (especially when designing Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance), with other CC Specialists responsible for their CVA and MBAs programming.
  5. Develop Programme SOPs for assessments, targeting, verification, distribution, and monitoring for both cash and voucher, and in-kind LFS modalities.
  6. Lead the design of quality and appropriate Concept Notes and Proposals for fundraising to donors, for both emergency and medium/long term programming, ensuring integrated approaches where relevant.
  7. Lead all LFS assessments and response analyses, together with other CCs, and advise the Country Programme in appropriate and relevant actions required. 
  8. Ensure quality implementation of LFS initiatives appropriate to the context through field support, capacity building, development of tools and also participating in M&E activities to develop an effective system for addressing beneficiary feedback and complaints related to LFS assistance.
  9. Working in close collaboration with the other Core Competencies Specialists / Coordinators and Thematic Advisers to identify synergies and/or integration through the PCM.
  10. Provision of technical advice at field level and advising the Country Director, Head of Programme, Area Managers and Project Coordinators on technical strategy, approaches and best practices on LFS
  11. Scoping, facilitating and encouraging innovative approaches to programming in the country office, including collaboration with other countries in the region where relevant.
  12. Write and review relevant reports, ensuring these are of high quality and technically accuracy.
  13. Undertake reporting and documentation of relevant experiences and actively participate in M&E activities through the PCM, including a regular review of M&E data via the GORS platform. 
  14. Assist in recruitment of Livelihoods & Food Security CC staff together with HR and Area Managers and develop and implement a capacity development strategy for them.
  15. Lead on monitoring and analysis of policy issues affecting the LFS sector and advising the management and policy & advocacy team on key message formation.
  16. Represent NRC’s LFS CC in sector specific coordination platforms and in any other meetings as requested by the line manager.
  17. Proactively engage in processes with external stakeholders (incl. donors, working groups, consortia) to pre-position NRC for funding opportunities, to scale up high impact interventions as well as piloting of innovations and dissemination of best practice.
  18. Develop robust risk analysis, risk mitigation/management plans, risk monitoring systems and maintain up-to-date risk register on MBA in collaboration with relevant CC, protection, and support and security colleagues. 
  19. Ensure a technical capacity building approach and concrete plans are in place for PMs and PCs.

Please download the detailed job description to learn more about the position. 

What you will bring

  • Minimum 7 years of experience within Livelihood and Food Security area of work in a humanitarian/ recovery context, preferable with displacement affected communities
  • International exposure in capacity of LFS in a country other than that of one's nationality is highly preferred
  • Experience from working in complex and volatile contexts
  • LFS Core competency expertise (Food assistance, food and agriculture systems, business, entrepreneurship and employment )
  • Documented results related to the position’s responsibilities
  • Knowledge about own leadership skills/profile
  • Fluency in English, both written and verbal 

Context/specific skills, knowledge and experience:

  • Political and cultural awareness
  • Context knowledge and/or prior experience in the Middle East region is an asset  
  • Experience working in a similar position or role in similar contexts is an asset.
  • Experience with both Humanitarian and Development work, and the transition between the two ends of the spectrum would be an asset.
  • Solid experience in leading livelihoods and food security assessments particularly in protracted crises is required
  • Experience of leading multi-sectoral market assessments and analyzing the findings will be an asset
  • Experience in designing and implementing innovative market-driven income-generation activities in both urban and rural contexts.
  • Strong experience in resilience programming including natural resource management and nutrition sensitive programming is required
  • Experience working in financial inclusion, including small business support, value chain analysis, private sector engagement, M4P approaches and savings groups will be an asset
  • Experience establishing innovative partnerships with external actors
  • Excellent engagement and representation skills at all levels both internally and externally is required.

What NRC offers

Female candidates are strongly encouraged to join NRC's work culture that empowers every employee to share ideas and take responsibility: NRC thinks outside the box. It encourages ideas and give responsibility to all employees at all levels, to help solve the complex issues that are faced. You will have many opportunities to be heard and take the initiative

  • Duty station: Sana’a, Yemen
  • Starting monthly fee of NOK 57,744 
  • Travel: 50%