In Jordan, the projected increase in temperature, decrease in average rainfall with extreme climate risks such as droughts, heatwaves and flash foods are expected to further deteriorate the natural resources base and weaken agricultural productivity and production in Jordan. Accordingly, within the framework of the new Country Strategic Plan 2023-27, WFP will provide integrated support to enable climate change adaptation and more resilient livelihoods for smallholder farmers and pastoralist communities and work towards minimizing the negative impact of climate change on natural resources and the overall food security of the country. In parallel, WFP will establish long-term partnerships with relevant national institutions, including the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Water and Irrigation and the National Center for Security and Crisis Management in order to strengthen the sustainable management of natural resources through climate resilient agricultural production, water conservation, rangeland rehabilitation and improved access to climate information and data.

Subsequently, WFP Jordan intends to hire a Climate Adaptation Programme Policy Officer to lead the design and implementation of integrated climate change adaptation actions. In particular, the National Officer focus will be on the following areas:

1. the adaptive capacity of vulnerable farmers and pastoral communities, with a focus on women, youth and refugees.
2. enhancing the agricultural productivity and profitability of smallholder farmers and pastoralists especially women, youth and refugees.
3. community led rangeland rehabilitation initiatives.
4. innovative climate-smart technologies and infrastructure investment especially for efficient water use.
5. livelihood diversification using market systems development approach.
6. Increasing access to equitable finance for climate adaptation
7. enabling access to relevant climate data and information;

The selected candidate will be functioning as Activity 5 Manager (Provide tailored climate adaptive support to smallholder farmers, pastoral communities and institutions responsible for natural resources management.) She/he will report to the Team leader responsible for the Climate and Disaster Risk Reduction portfolio within Programme Unit.

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

Within delegated authority, the Natural Resources Management Programme Policy Officer will be responsible for the following duties:

1. Oversee and leading the development of technical direction for WFP Jordan interventions, with a focus on natural resources management and climate change adaptation actions, ensuring high impact activities are delivered in accordance with project workplans.
2. Provide climate-related advice and inputs into the implementation of WFP Jordan Country Strategic Plan (CSP) 2023-2027 and government policy/programme activities as and when appropriate.
3. Promote WFP Jordan’s value proposition in terms of integrated climate change adaptation actions and their relation to food security.
4. In consultation with various stakeholders, identify, design, and implement appropriate integrated activities for WFP’s climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction portfolios.
5. Identify a range of financing opportunities and contribute to the development of concept notes and proposals for bilateral and multi-lateral resources including from the Green Climate Fund, Adaptation Fund.
6. Work with Jordanian financial institutions that can leverage domestic finance to support building a more resilient agri-food system in Jordan.
7. Develop robust relationships and serve as a critical liaison between WFP and key government partners across a range of ministries and agencies particularly in respect to those mentioned in the above section.
8. Support implementation of activities that help government to build or enhance its climate data and systems, improve inter agency coordination and build capacity of key government users to interpret and utilize climate information and data.
9. Strengthen the connection between WFP’s climate change adaptation actions and other organizations’ projects and initiatives to optimize complementarity, convergence, and capacities in order to ultimately maximize the impact of interventions.
10. Contribute to monitoring, evaluation, learning, data management and reporting, in close collaboration with the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit, in order to measure the medium to long-term benefits of any future intervention, with a focus on sustainable impact.
11. Document and share best practices to support the advocacy of climate action and the replication and scale of successful climate interventions. This includes developing clear information products that speak to the rationale of climate risk management and/or adaptation, showcasing WFP and partner work, and adopting various communication formats to target different audiences with these products.
12. Liaise with project implementing partners and undertake visits to monitor quality of project activities in order to ensure that progress is made against set targets and within the timeframe while validating compliance of partners with WFP’s policies, criteria and procedures.
13. Actively work on integrating youth, gender and social inclusion strategies to promote gender equality and social and youth inclusion for integrated climate change adaptation programming.
14. Provide technical support and guidance to relevant WFP staff, coordinate, supervise and ultimately assure the quality of the work of Activity 5 that will be ultimately implemented by dedicated WFP Field Office staff and Cooperating Partners.
15. Actively contribute to national inter-agency processes and working groups related to natural resources management, climate change and livelihoods to ensure collaboration and alignment among agencies and national authorities.
16. Prepare evidence-based and story-telling reports and communication materials, conduct briefings on initiatives and projects, and organize after-action reviews and document lessons learnt and best practices in integrated climate change adaptation interventions.
17. Perform other related duties as required.