SADC Anticipatory Action and Emergency Officer

Job Posting Organization:
The World Food Programme (WFP) is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, established to save lives in emergencies and to use food assistance as a means to build pathways to peace, stability, and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters, and the impacts of climate change. WFP operates globally, with a mission centered around the core values of Integrity, Collaboration, Commitment, Humanity, and Inclusion. The organization is committed to diversity and equal employment opportunities, encouraging qualified candidates from various backgrounds to apply. WFP has received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020, highlighting its significant contributions to humanitarian efforts. The organization invests in the personal and professional development of its employees through various training and mentorship programs, and it offers opportunities for internal mobility across its global offices.

Job Overview:
The SADC Anticipatory Action and Emergency Officer will play a crucial role in strengthening and institutionalizing a regional anticipatory action and early response system within the Southern African Development Community (SADC). This position will be hosted by WFP on behalf of the Inter-agency Project Team, which includes FAO and IFRC. The officer will provide advisory support to the SADC Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Unit and collaborate closely with the SADC Secretariat and the SADC Humanitarian and Emergency Operations Centre (SHOC) Secretariat. The role requires a strategic approach to integrate anticipatory action programming into regional planning and decision-making processes, ensuring alignment with national systems and broader disaster risk management strategies. The officer will also be responsible for developing frameworks, providing technical assistance, and facilitating operational coordination to enhance regional preparedness and response capabilities.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Support the institutionalization of Anticipatory Action Programming within the SADC region and the Regional Anticipatory Action Working Group (RAAWG) as the formal technical advisory body to the DRR Unit on Anticipatory Action (AA) and Early Response.
• Collaborate with RAAWG to develop a regional AA framework, including Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and minimum standards, ensuring alignment with national AA systems and implementation by National Anticipatory Action Working Groups (NAAWGs).
• Ensure that the AA framework is integrated into SADC’s regional planning and decision-making processes and harmonized with broader DRR strategies.
• Strengthen regional integration by leveraging Member States’ data and planning inputs to inform regional analysis and decision-making, ensuring coherence between national and regional AA systems.
• Support the integration of AA into regional contingency planning/disaster preparedness and response planning processes to enable multi-risk analysis and timely AA and early response, in coordination with Member States, R-ERT, and partners.
• Contribute to the development and maintenance of regional knowledge products, tools, and systems that support AA implementation and learning.
• Facilitate information exchange and data-sharing platforms to coordinate lessons learned and inform policy development.
• Support SADC in building strategic partnerships with governments, institutions, regional bodies, and development partners to strengthen AA, early action, and preparedness at both regional and national levels.
• Contribute to the development of proposals and action plans to foster and enhance existing and new partnerships.

Required Qualifications:

• Post-graduate degree (Masters) in disaster risk management, environment and climate change management, development planning, rural and urban planning, environmental management, international development, or another relevant field.
• A first-level university degree plus additional experience may be accepted.
• Minimum of five (5) years of professional experience in humanitarian response, disaster risk management systems, or emergency management.

Educational Background:
Candidates must possess a post-graduate degree (Masters) in a relevant field such as disaster risk management, environmental management, or international development. Alternatively, a first-level university degree combined with additional relevant experience may be considered sufficient for this role.

Experience:
The position requires a minimum of five (5) years of professional experience in areas related to humanitarian response, disaster risk management systems, or emergency management. This experience should demonstrate a strong understanding of the complexities involved in disaster preparedness and response, as well as the ability to work effectively in a multi-stakeholder environment.

Languages:
Fluency in English is mandatory, as it is the primary language of communication within the organization. Knowledge of additional languages relevant to the SADC region would be considered an asset, enhancing the candidate's ability to engage with diverse stakeholders and partners.

Additional Notes:
This position is full-time and will be based in Gaborone, Botswana. The role is part of a collaborative effort involving multiple organizations, including WFP, FAO, and IFRC, and focuses on enhancing regional disaster preparedness and response capabilities. The compensation package is attractive and includes various benefits, which can be found in the Terms and Conditions section of the vacancy announcement. WFP is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities throughout the recruitment process.