Senior Associate, Humanitarian Access

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 to ensure that no one goes hungry, and it is recognized for its commitment to diversity and equal employment opportunities. WFP has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020, highlighting its significant contributions to humanitarian efforts worldwide. The organization emphasizes a healthy and inclusive work environment, where employees are encouraged to develop their skills and careers through various training and mentorship programs. WFP has a presence in numerous countries, working with local partners and communities to deliver effective humanitarian assistance.

Job Overview:
The Senior Associate, Humanitarian Access will play a crucial role in the development, implementation, and monitoring of WFP's humanitarian access strategy, particularly in hard-to-reach areas in Northern and Central Mali. This position requires the individual to establish and maintain credible networks with government actors, community leaders, humanitarian partners, and other relevant stakeholders to facilitate access to affected populations. The role involves supporting or leading humanitarian dialogues and negotiations to secure safe and unhindered access in accordance with humanitarian principles. The Senior Associate will also contribute to enhancing the understanding of WFP's role and work among local partners and community organizations, ensuring that humanitarian assistance reaches those in need in a timely and appropriate manner. This position is vital for promoting operations based on needs, humanitarian principles, and community acceptance, while also supporting the capacity building of WFP staff and partners on humanitarian access and negotiation strategies.

Duties and Responsibilities:
The Senior Associate will be responsible for the following duties:

• Contribute to the development, implementation, and monitoring of WFP's humanitarian access strategy in hard-to-reach areas, particularly in Northern and Central Mali.
• Develop and maintain a credible network of contacts with government, community, humanitarian actors, and other relevant interlocutors to facilitate access to affected populations.
• Support or lead humanitarian dialogues and negotiations to obtain, maintain, and secure safe and unhindered access in line with humanitarian principles.
• Facilitate the safe passage of humanitarian cargo, including through deconfliction mechanisms and coordination with armed forces and relevant structures.
• Establish a systematic mechanism for monitoring, analyzing, and reporting on humanitarian access to support evidence-based advocacy at local, national, regional, and headquarters levels.
• Conduct contextual analyses, actor mapping, and preliminary assessments to guide operational decisions regarding the opening, maintaining, or adapting interventions.
• Promote needs-based operations, humanitarian principles, conflict sensitivity, the 'do no harm' principle, and community acceptance.
• Support operations to ensure timely, appropriate, and principled humanitarian assistance to populations affected by crises.
• Contribute to coordination with OCHA, humanitarian partners, and WFP's internal mechanisms, including the internal advisory group on humanitarian access, to share analyses, experiences, and best practices. 1
• Participate in capacity building for WFP staff and partners on humanitarian access, negotiations, deconfliction, access risk management, and humanitarian principles.

Required Qualifications:
The ideal candidate for this position should possess a university degree in social sciences, law, or a related field. Additionally, candidates must have at least five years of progressively responsible experience in managing humanitarian programs, particularly in community engagement. Experience working in humanitarian operations and conflict zones is essential. Specific experience in humanitarian access, security" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #007bff !important;">security" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #007bff !important;">field security, mediation, or conflict management is highly desirable. Candidates should demonstrate strong collaboration skills with humanitarian actors, local authorities, armed forces, and other relevant stakeholders, as well as a solid understanding of the UN system's mandates, intervention modes, and communication channels in humanitarian and international development contexts.

Educational Background:
Candidates must hold a university degree in social sciences, law, or a related field. This educational background is crucial for understanding the complexities of humanitarian access and the legal frameworks that govern humanitarian operations.

Experience:
Candidates should have a minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in humanitarian program management, with a focus on community engagement. Experience in humanitarian operations and conflict zones is required, along with specific experience in humanitarian access, field security, mediation, or conflict management, particularly in Northern Mali or similar contexts.

Languages:
Fluency in French is mandatory, given the operational context in Mali. Proficiency in English is also desirable, as it may facilitate communication with international partners and stakeholders. Knowledge of local languages spoken in Mali would be an asset, enhancing engagement with affected communities.

Additional Notes:
This position is full-time and is based in Bamako, Mali. The role may involve travel to remote and challenging areas within the country. WFP offers an attractive compensation package, which includes various benefits and opportunities for professional development. The organization is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities throughout the recruitment process. All applications must be submitted through WFP's online recruiting system, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for the next stage of the recruitment process.