Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping (VAM) Officer

About United Nations-World Food Programme (UN-WFP)

Job Summary

WFP in a UN agency working to provide food to people who are unable to produce or obtain enough food for themselves and their families. In Afghanistan, WFP provides food to people affected by natural disasters and conflict, as well as to people who are chronically food insecure.


In Afghanistan, WFP has been transitioning from providing in-kind food assistance to providing more and more cash based transfers (cash or vouchers), which people can use to buy food themselves on local markets. However, before deciding to provide cash or vouchers, WFP must carry out an analysis of local markets, to ensure that they are functioning well-enough for this. More specifically, WFP’s market analysis seeks to answer the following questions:

Can local markets support a WFP cash or voucher operation (e.g. will traders be able to respond to increased demand created by the injection of cash or vouchers in the local economy?)

Will WFP cash or voucher operation have a negative impact on local markets and the local population – including, but not limited to, WFP’s beneficiaries (e.g. will they cause inflation/ price increases, security issues, distort normal supply routes?)

To what extent do various vulnerable population groups (IDPs, refugees/ returnees, people affected by climate shocks) have access to food markets, and how does this vary seasonally?

With the ongoing security situation in the country, in addition to recurrent natural disasters such as floods and droughts, WFP Afghanistan is increasingly faced with emergency situations to which the organization needs to very quickly assess how many people need food assistance, where they are located, and what type of assistance they need.

Emergency food security assessments are therefore becoming increasingly important to design well-targeted and timely WFP operations. While market analysis is required in both emergency and non-emergency (protracted relief/ recovery) contexts, there is therefore also a particular need to strengthen WFP’s capacity in emergency market assessments.

Duties & Responsibilities

To contribute to the VAM evidence base that supports food security and nutrition policies and programmes (e.g. needs assessment and situation analyses, programme design, targeting, cost effectiveness, and operational efficiency).
1. Contribute to the development of VAM projects and activities, plans and processes, ensuring alignment with wider WFP policies and guidance.
2. Support the development of systems and tools for the monitoring and assessment of food assistance needs in line with innovative methodologies and best practice.
3. Support the development of food security and vulnerability analysis and the preparation of timely reports on food assessment needs in line with wider VAM policies, processes and guidance to enable effective decision-making on the development of country strategy, policies and programmes.
4. Provide assistance on the coordination of data gathering and monitoring systems ensuring that rigorous quality standards are maintained.
5. Liaise with implementing partners (internal and external) to monitor ongoing projects, ensuring effective collaboration, timeliness and efficiency and highlight potential risks to project delivery.
6. Support the capacity building of WFP staff, partners and national government to conduct vulnerability analysis to effectively inform preparedness and response activities.
7. Provide support to relevant partners that are focusing on food security and nutrition issues to enable sharing of experience, lessons learned and best practice.
8. Guide and supervise more junior staff, acting as a point of referral and supporting them with analysis and queries.
9. Act in an assigned emergency response capacity as required to meet emergency food assistance needs.
10. Other as required.

OTHER SPECIFIC JOB REQUIREMENTS
1. Emergency food security assessments


Design and carry out emergency food security assessments, to inform the design and targeting of WFP’s emergency operations – working in close collaboration with the focal point for WFP’s phone-based data collection system (mVAM). Specific tasks will include:

Designing data collection questionnaires

Designing sampling frame

Managing data collection in (through close collaboration with WFP’s field offices)

Carrying out data analysis

Producing reports/bulletins to report the findings of the analysis. Particular focus should be placed on ensuring that reports are concise, visual (good use of maps, graphs, charts, and tables), and present clear operational recommendations to inform WFP programmes.

Coordinate closely with other UN agencies, NGO and government partners on the design and implementation of these assessments – and take the lead as appropriate.

2. Market analysis

Design data collection tools and methods for market assessments and market monitoring (for both emergency and protracted relief/ recovery contexts), to inform WFP’s cash based transfers operations (i.e. distribution of cash or vouchers) - working in close collaboration with the mVAM Programme Officer and the Cash Based Transfers team. Specific tasks will include:

Designing data collection questionnaires – including questions related to protection and women’s access to markets.

Designing sampling frame

Managing data collection in (through close collaboration with WFP’s field offices)

Carrying out data analysis

Producing reports/bulletins to report the findings of the analysis. Particular focus should be placed on ensuring that reports are concise, visual (good use of maps, graphs, charts, and tables), and present clear operational recommendations to inform WFP programmes.

Coordinate closely with other UN agencies, NGO and government partners on the design and implementation of these assessments – and take the lead as appropriate.

3. National price monitoring system

Produce weekly, monthly and special market price reports/bulletins by compiling the price information collected by WFP field offices.

Continue supporting the Ministry of Agriculture to collect price data through the call centre established with WFP support.

Manage the transition from WFP data collection to government data collection, once the Ministry’s system is well-established.

4. Build capacity amongst partners (UN, NGOs, government) and WFP staff (especially in the field offices) in market analysis

5. Participate actively in WFP Afghanistan’s Cash Based Transfers Working Group and in the Interagency Cash and Vouchers Working Group.

Job Requirements

Education: Advanced University degree in Economics, Food Security, Statistics, Data Science, Public Health/Nutrition, Geography or other related field, or First University degree with additional years of related work experience and/or training/courses.

Language: Fluency (level C) in English language and in Dari and/or Pashto

Good knowledge of statistics and data analysis - including familiarity with at least one analytical software.


Some experience with data visualization (making graphs, charts, infographics)

Good English writing skills and ability to write reports to present findings of data analysis.

Good computer literacy (including Microsoft Office suite – Word, Excel, Power Point, Access).

Courtesy, tact and ability to work effectively with people of different national and cultural backgrounds. Ability to maintain accurate and precise records.

Ability to handle a large volume of work quickly and accurately under time constraints.

At least two years of working experience in data analysis – preferably in the development/ humanitarian sector

Submission Guideline

Afghan Nationals meeting the essential qualifications of the position are invited to apply by submitting a letter of interest and CV and/or P11. Please copy the following link and past it in your internet browser to submit your online application through the WFP E-recruitment system portal.

https://career012.successfactors.eu/sfcareer/jobreqcareer?jobId=3682&company=C0000168410P&username;=

Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply

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