WFP Volunteer (Food Security Analyst)

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

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).

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

The Food Security and Nutrition Analysis (PGRF) Service, Geospatial and Intelligence Unit (PGRFG), seeks to fill a Food Security Analyst position, based at the Headquarters of the United Nations World Food Programme in Rome, Italy.
The PGRF Service in WFP HQ leads WFP’s food security analysis and vulnerability monitoring, supporting a large network of analysts in regional offices and country offices. Food security analysis is a cornerstone of the organization’s work. It provides WFP, governments and partners with the essential information to identify populations in need and target the most appropriate type and scale of interventions as well as the necessary knowledge to inform policy decisions and advocacy efforts. Analyses span emergency assessments, in-depth household surveys, spatial analysis, early warning information, economic and market trends analyses and food security monitoring. In this domain, the Intelligence team is responsible for defining data and analysis code management processes, as well as managing the IT solutions that enable replication of these processes on many different contexts. Solutions designed by the Intelligence team optimize the use of the data collected and integrated in an ecosystem with built-in interoperability at each step of the statistical business process, from planning of surveys to final dissemination of results.

Researching and analyzing global and local socio-economic contexts, relevant data and their influence on food security is a critical part of the PGR Division’s work. PGR-FG supports methodological reviews to carry out such analysis. In particular, the unit supports country-level assessments and develops novel methodologies to underpin these assessments and inform WFP operations; maintains global databases, undertakes analysis and publishes interactive reports.

The PGRF Service has developed a standard set of surveys to get information from vulnerable populations, assisted communities and to monitor WFP activities using aclassification of questions and answers. This classification, known as the Codebook, has been implemented in a tool designed to support survey creation for data collection in ODK-based applications, known as Survey Designer. This Codebook is further used by PGR units and other WFP business units to analytical processes, ensuring predictability in the creation of food security related algorithms.
As part of their University curricular internship, the incumbent volunteer will have access to unique primary household data owned by WFP and representing the food security situation in a country of interest. This Household-level cross-section data will be used in econometric models for studying the effects of WFP interventions and other exogenous events. In doing so, the volunteer will work on harmonizing the dataset and analysis with the existing Codebook and highlight gaps where present.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Under the supervision of the PGRFG Lead Statistician, and in close coordination with an highly specialized research fellow, during their University curricular internship, the volunteer will be responsible for the following:

1. Support in reviewing XLS-based questionnaires used for country level data collection in relation to the Codebook.
2. Provide feedback and liaise with product managers of the WFP-owned data management and analytics IT solutions for features and stability improvements.
3. Support the creation and revision of analytical codes in Python, R, SPSS or STATA based on the variables naming convention of the Codebook and the country level questionnaires.
4. Support data analysis, by directly working on existing country office data or contributing to the refinement of corporate statistical approaches.
5. Carry out any other tasks when required.

DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT:

The key outputs produced by the volunteer are expected to be:

1. A brief report on system feedback collected during the assignment.
2. Analytical scripts for indicators calculated in clean, publishable format.
3. Presentations, guidance and other training material related to one operational-research application of the dataset(s) accessed.
4. A report or equivalent write-up qualified for the completion of the University curricular internship.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education: BS in Statistics, Mathematics, Economics or other relevant degree.

Experience:
• Graduate-level experience in conducting statistical or econometric analysis in R, STATA or Python
• Experience in data collection and surveys is desirable

Competencies:
• Well organized and detail-oriented
• Enthusiastic about working with a diverse population of people of different national and cultural backgrounds, particularly valuing respectfulness and inclusively leveraging everyone's talents

Knowledge & Skills:
•Knowledge and proficiency with Excel; R, Stata, or Python

• Problem-solving attitude and creativity
• Ability to work as part of a team

Languages:
• Fluent written and spoken English (level C)
• Working knowledge (level B) of French, Arabic or Spanish is an advantage

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:  [email protected]

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 recruitment system. We do not accept CVs or spontaneous applications by email.

• If you experience challenges while submitting your online application, please contact us at [email protected] for technical support only.

• Please note that applications sent to this email address cannot be considered.

• We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete, and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, language skills and UN Grade (if applicable).

• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.

• Kindly note the only documents you will need to submit at this time are your CV and Cover Letter

• Additional documents such as passport, recommendation letters, academic certificates, etc. may potentially be requested at a future time

• Only shortlisted candidates will be notified

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.