Social Protection & Cash Transfer Specialist

CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST - VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT: 2202686

Social Protection & Cash Transfer Specialist

Job Posting: 27/Sep/2022

Closure Date: 12/Oct/2022, 4:59:00 AM

Organizational Unit: FAVIE - FAO Representation in Vietnam

Job Type: Non-staff opportunities

Type of Requisition: Consultant / PSA (Personal Services Agreement)

Grade Level: N/A

Primary Location: Viet Nam

Duration: 11 months (with possibility of extension)

Post Number: N/A

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device

• FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture.
• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply;
• Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAO's values
• FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination??
• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality

Organizational Setting

Anticipatory action (AA) and shock-responsive social protection (SRSP) are two concepts that continue to gain increased global attention and investment, as governments and non-government actors alike look for scalable and sustainable ways to support populations cope with both covariate and idiosyncratic shocks. Anticipatory action and SRSP are innovative approaches designed to protect families, their lives, well-being, livelihoods and assets ahead of a hazard. Acting before a disaster is crucial – it can safeguard lives and livelihoods, build resilience to future shocks, and ease pressure on strained humanitarian resources. Similarly, leveraging social protection systems and the delivery chains of their programmes allows for the provision of effective, efficient and timely assistance to at-risk and/or affected populations.

As part of the FAO & DG-ECHO Pilot Programmatic Partnership (PPP) “Increasing capacities and scale for anticipatory action including through social protection systems”, FAO Viet Nam is scaling up its capacities to support governments to explore options to link anticipatory action approaches with Viet Nam’s social protection system. The Social Protection and Cash Transfer Specialist will act as the technical focal point on the social protection and cash-related components of the project, ensuring the delivery of the FAO Country Office’s project workplan, in coordination with government and non-government partners and stakeholders.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall supervision of the AFAOR (Programme) in Viet Nam, daily supervision of Programme Officer and in close collaboration with the Project LTO, the social protection and cash transfer specialist will be responsible for the following tasks and responsibilities.

Technical Focus 

Support the implementation and technical quality of integrating shock-responsive social protection (SRSP) with anticipatory action (AA) approaches and activities, including through cash transfer modalities, at the country level in Viet Nam.

Tasks and responsibilities

The Social Protection & Cash Transfer Specialist will:

Identify the main entry points to link the national social protection system to Anticipatory Action

• Support the validation, finalisation and dissemination of the SP-AA Feasibility Assessment initiated in year 1 of the project, aimed at identifying the social protection programmes and delivery chain features fit to deliver anticipatory action ahead of shocks. 
• Develop a technical roadmap to create key linkages between the national social protection system and anticipatory action focusing on creating an enabling policy environment and supporting government adoption of shock-responsive social protection and anticipatory action approaches, e.g., through existing social assistance and emergency response programmes. 
• Manage and deliver capacity development events on shock-responsive social protection as a modality to channel anticipatory action (including through cash transfers). 
• Support efforts to institutionalise shock-responsive social protection and anticipatory action with key government, development and humanitarian partners, including by facilitating policy dialogue. 
• Strengthen partnerships and inter-agency efforts on shock-responsive social protection and anticipatory action. 
• Support efforts to engage donors and new partners on the shock-responsive social protection and anticipatory action agenda.

Coordinate cash transfer activities 

• Lead the preparedness, planning, coordination and implementation of cash transfer activities (e.g., Unconditional Cash Transfers, Cash for Work, Cash+, etc.) ensuring high operational standards and compliance with FAO rules and regulations;
• Develop and implement a cash preparedness roadmap to ensure that FAO will be ready to deliver cash transfers as per the plan as soon as an AA protocol will be triggered, including but not limited to feasibility assessments, capacity development and training, selection and registration of beneficiaries, selection of modalities and delivery mechanisms, value and frequency of cash transfers, identification and contracting of service providers (including financial service providers), etc.
• Explore the feasibility of multiple programmatic and operational options for FAO to deliver cash transfers through the existing social protection system in Viet Nam and develop relevant Letters of Agreements as needed. 
• Develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for cash transfers based on the project’s AA plan and ensure training (possibly including simulations), awareness raising and ownership of the SOPs amongst internal and external stakeholders. 
• Liaise with and coordinate efforts of relevant internal stakeholders (programme, technical experts, procurement, finance-administration, budget holder, data management, MEAL, etc.) for cash transfer preparedness and implementation. 
• Identify and implement recommendations to enhance the timeliness, effectiveness and impact of cash transfer interventions at all phases of the project cycle. 
• Participate in and support multi-stakeholder coordination and partnership mechanisms on cash transfers, anticipatory action and shock-responsive social protection approaches, and liaise with key stakeholders (government and humanitarian/development actors) to ensure complementarity with other sectors/clusters/interventions. 
• Share regular information and provide timely reporting on the progress, achievements, impact, cost-effectiveness, and/or challenges and bottlenecks of implementation of cash transfer interventions with recommendations to improve quality, impact and timeliness.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in one or more of the following: social protection, social policy, law, rural development, development studies, humanitarian action or equivalent
• Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in the field of social protection, cash and voucher assistance and/or rural development, including experience in project management, monitoring and evaluation and capacity development
• Working knowledge (level C) of English and Vietnamese, and limited knowledge (level B) of one of the other FAO languages for COF. For PSA, working knowledge of English and Vietnamese is required.

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus

• Teamwork

• Communication

• Building Effective Relationships

• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

• Work experience in more than one location or area of work 
• Excellent organizational skills; 
• Good written communication skills, including in emergency settings; 
• Demonstrated ability to analyse problems, make appropriate recommendations, effective decisions, including in emergency settings; 
• Strong foundation in programme formulation, planning, implementation, management and evaluation. 
• Knowledge of social protection, cash transfers, rural development and agriculture context in Viet Nam preferred. 
• Previous experience in the region is an asset.

Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

HOW TO APPLY

• To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, and language skills

• Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile

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

• Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work, character, education, military and police records to ascertain any and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications

• Incomplete applications will not be considered

• Personal information provided on your application may be shared within FAO and with other companies acting on FAO’s behalf to provide employment support services such as pre-screening of applications, assessment tests, background checks and other related services. You will be asked to provide your consent before submitting your application. You may withdraw consent at any time, by withdrawing your application, in such case FAO will no longer be able to consider your application

• Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered

• Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile

• We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.

If you need help, or have queries, please contact: [email protected]

FAO IS A NON-SMOKING ENVIRONMENT

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