Senior Social Protection Specialist, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (EC3)

Senior Social Protection Specialist, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
World Bank Worbek House Africa Avenue, Bole Road Woreda 17, Kebele 19,House # 402/3 Addis Ababa

Background / General description

INTRODUCTION

In 2005, the Government of Ethiopia together with the support of Development Partners, designed and commenced implementation of a Food Security Program, which included a Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) as well as complementary programming to strengthen local livelihoods. PSNP is now in its third phase, and the Government its Development Partners are in the process of preparing the next phase of the program, which will start implementation in 2015.

Donor arrangements

Since the commencement of the PSNP in 2005, approximately ten donors have harmonized around the program, and have aligned their investments behind the Government owned program. Donors have recommitted to continue these efforts, in line with global commitments around Aid and Development Effectiveness. The Donors meet every 2 weeks (as a Donor Working Group) to discuss on-going issues in the PSNP and Household Asset Building Program (HABP), and to ensure harmonization of positions. The agenda for this meeting frequently covers strategic, policy and operational details.

The donor working group and donor chair are supported by a Donor Coordination Team (DCT). At the outset of the PSNP program in 2006, donors created the DCT to ensure that PSNP support would be as coordinated and harmonized as possible. The DCT has evolved significantly since its inception and is now seen as high-performing unit important to the success of the PSNP program.

The DCT's function is fourfold

The DCT provides the core analytical work informing donor-Government dialogue. This includes monitoring the implementation of the program's main principles, key commitments, as well as collaborating with relevant sector technical experts/groups to ensure a tight link between financing and results. This would include coordinating the external assessment which is being contracted out by the DCT.The DCT provides advice, training, and hands-on technical assistance to the Government on a range of operational matters, including financial reporting, auditing, procurement, and monitoring and evaluation.The DCT takes primary responsibility for collaborating with the Government in planning all of the regular joint activities in the program, including 6-monthly joint supervision missions.The DCT works to harmonize donors' policy and practice positions viz-a-vis their interface with the Government of Ethiopia.

Duties and Accountabilities

OBJECTIVES OF THE SENIOR SOCIAL PROTECTION/LIVELIHOODS SPECIALIST

Currently, livelihoods support is extended to PSNP families through the Household Assets Building Program (HABP). The HABP is one of the four components of the Government of Ethiopia's (GoE) Food Security Program (FSP), which together were designed to move households into food security. The FSP states that graduation out of food insecurity requires more than just involvement in the PSNP. HABP provides credit & other necessary services to chronically food insecure (CFI) households. The program is currently operating in 255 CFI woredas within six regional states. Technical assistance for HABP has been extended through the development partners' funded capacity building arrangement as part of the PSNP.

The fourth phase of the PSNP sees a transition from a separate Household Assets Building Program (HABP) to a more integrated approach to livelihoods support under the PSNP. Building on lessons from the HABP and other livelihoods support programs in Ethiopia including the Agriculture Growth Program, as well as global lessons from CGAP and others the PSNP will facilitate access to technical and financial livelihoods support services and household savings promotion through three different avenues

(i) on-farm income generation for crops and livestock,

(ii) off-farm income generating activities,

(iii) and/or links to labor/employment.

This will entail stronger links to extension services for client households, including on-farm extension, mentoring and coaching in business and technical skills training for diversification into off-farm activities, entrepreneurship, and linkages to employment services. The program will also support improved access to appropriate financial services such as voluntary savings promotion, livelihoods transfers and linking households to micro-level financial institutions. The program will support linkages to micro-finance institutions, but will not directly deliver credit to clients. It will also introduce livelihoods transfers as grants. The focus on women and youth is also expected to be strengthened in this phase of the PSNP.

To that end the livelihoods specialist is the focal person for this work on the DCT and is expected to lead implementation support for improvement of the HABP/livelihoods component performance with day to day tasks including

Providing technical and management support to improve PSNP and HABP planning, M&E, joint reviews, impact study etc, which requires playing a lead role in drafting and reviewing key studies funded by the DCT and reviewing reports from the Government of Ethiopia,Providing technical and management support to improve coordination and communication function with government (federal and regions)Working as a focal person for and representing the DCT on the various technical committees and taskforces related to livelihoods and providing technical support in different forms through participation in review of documents (e.g. impact studies/ assessments, consultancy reports), training for regions and Woredas, joint field visits, etc.Leading HABP Donor Support Working Group, which is established to provide technical direction to Donor Working Group (DWG)Analyzing the issues that influence the implementation performance of HABP/livelihoods componentSupporting improvements in harmonization and linkages between PSNP/HABP, Pastoralist Community Development Project III , Agricultural Growth Program, and other pastoral development programsOther duties as required

Selection Criteria

This position will be a local hire. It requires an individual with exceptional maturity, judgment and diplomatic skills, and the ability to work well with teams within the Bank, donor partners, and with senior government officials.

Key requirements for this position are

A master's degree or equivalent in a relevant discipline (economics, public policy, social policy, or a related field);At least eight years of relevant work experience and previous experience with government or donor/multi-lateral development agency projects (with specific experience in social protection);Demonstrated expertise in policy dialogue, social protection, livelihoods and/or safety nets;Strong knowledge of development, political, social and cultural issues in Ethiopia;Excellent English writing and speaking ability;Function well independently and have the ability to professionally represent the DWG and DCT, handle multiple tasks, meet changing priorities and deliver high-quality analysis and work on-time;Proven capacity to interact effectively with a range of stakeholders within and outside their institution; andExperience in successfully working as a member of a multi-professional and multi-cultural team.

REQUIRED COMPETENCIES

The Senior Social Protection Specialist should also have the following relevant competencies

Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena - Translates technical and cross-country knowledge into practical applications and contributions to country and sector strategies; interacts with clients at the policy level.Policy Dialogue Skills - Anticipates needs and requests in the field and conducts independent policy discussions with representatives of the government and non-government partners.Social Protection Knowledge and Experience - Has experience working on economic, institutional, and policy issues related to social protection, in different social and development contexts. Has expertise in one or more of the following: Safety nets, Social Insurance, and/or Labor.Livelihoods Knowledge and Experience: Has experience working on economic, institutional, implementation and policy issues related to livelihoods in different contexts, particularly pastoral/agricultural livelihoods programming. This experience could be gained from working for donor agencies, multilaterals, NGOs or the private sectorIntegrative Skills - Understands relevant cross-sectoral areas how they are interrelated; able to undertake cross-sectoral work.Client Orientation - Maintains client relationships in the face of conflicting demands or directions and provides evidence-based advice and solutions based on sound diagnosis and knowledge.Drive for Results - Identifies the needed resources to accomplish results involving multiple stakeholders and finds solutions to obstacles affecting key deliverables.Teamwork (Collaboration) and Inclusion - Shows leadership in ensuring the team stays organized and focused, and actively seeks and considers diverse ideas and approaches.Knowledge, Learning and Communication - Leads in the sharing of best practice, trends, knowledge and lessons learned across units and with clients and partners, articulating ideas verbally and in writing in a clear and compelling way across audiences of varied levels.Business Judgment and Analytical Decision Making - Gathers inputs, assesses risk, considers impact and articulates benefits of decisions for internal and external stakeholders over the long term.

REPORTING ARRANGEMENTS

The Senior Social Protection Specialist will be based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as a member of the Donor Coordination Team. H/she will be managed by the Social Protection and Labor Global Practice Manager for Eastern and Southern Africa, based in HQ, and will work on a day-to-day basis with the Donor Coordination Team, Development Partners to the PSNP and the Government of Ethiopia. Day-to-Day reporting will be to the Donor Coordination Team Lead in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

DURATION OF CONTRACT

The position is subject to local recruitment. It is an Extended Term Consultancy with an initial duration of one year and the possibility of renewal for an additional year for a total duration of two years.

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