Economic Empowerment Officer

The Economic Empowerment Officer will provide strategic, technical, and operational leadership for the implementation, coordination, government capacity strengthening and learning agenda of the Economic Empowerment Pathways (EEP) pilot in Iraq. The role involves working with government institutions and partners to ensure alignment, coordination, and smooth implementation of pilot activities, as well as supporting capacity strengthening and documentation for government ownership and scale-up.

Responsibilities

• Oversee quality delivery of all EEP pilot activities across planning and implementation phases by coordinating with relevant WFP teams (including field office staff), cooperating partner(s), and stakeholders.
• Supervise field-level implementation teams and coordinate closely with social workers, agricultural extension workers and local partners.
• Coordinate with SPA to ensure regular meeting of the Project Oversight Team (POT) and ensure proper documentation and follow up of agreed-upon actions.
• Ensure gender-responsive and youth-inclusive delivery in line with the pilot’s design.
• Coordinate with SPA to ensure regular meeting of the Technical Working Group (TWG) and provide the Secretariat function.
• Lead day-to-day engagement with government counterparts including at MoLSA, SPA, MoA and MoP at the central and field levels.
• Support engagement with sectoral stakeholders including World Bank, GIZ, ILO, private sector, among others.
• Lead engagement with MoLSA and SPA to strengthen institutional capacity for economic empowerment programming, including supporting the development and leading the implementation of the capacity strengthening plan.
• Facilitate alignment and integration of pilot activities within government platforms (i.e. Mihan) and oversee the enhancement of government systems as part of the pilot, in coordination with relevant technical staff.
• Oversee the cooperating partner’s support provided to government field-level staff and ensure a gradual transfer of responsibilities over the course of the pilot.
• Ensure a gradual handover of systems and responsibilities, in line with the capacity strengthening plan, to government institutions.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen government capacity strengthening and provide strategic recommendations to the Head of Social Protection, as appropriate.
• Ensure that the pilot implementation is aligned with the research and learning agenda, respecting the design and implementation of the pilot’s learning and evidence agenda, including coordinating with the Field Coordinator, Head of Social Protection, RAM and CLTF teams at the central and field levels.
• Ensure that WFP-led monitoring activities are completed in a timely and high-quality manner in close coordination with Field Office and RAM teams.
• Document and communicate lessons learned of the pilot, ensuring that these are properly highlighted in knowledge management products.
• Lead the development of an EEP manual and EEP scale up roadmap to be handed over to the government as key knowledge management documents at the end of the pilot.
• Lead the development of knowledge management documents including a case study of the pilot.
• Organize knowledge dissemination and closure engagement and events for pilot activities engaging GOI and other relevant stakeholders.
• Contribute to policy dialogue with GOI through the TWI on scale up considerations and evidence for scale up, including contributing to alignment and joint advocacy with key sectoral partners like GIZ, ILO and WB.
• Under the guidance of the Head of Social Protection, maintain strong oversight over budget planning, utilization, and reporting in line with donor requirements.
• Ensure compliance with WFP and partner procedures and standards.
• Manage risks and ensure timely mitigation actions.

Requirements

• Advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Economics, Development Economics, Public Policy, Social Protection, Labor Economics, or a related field
• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in social protection, livelihoods, economic empowerment programming, labor market interventions, or private sector engagement.
• Demonstrated previous experience working on either the design, implementation or evaluation of livelihoods or employment programmes in complex settings.
• Strong experience working with Iraqi government institutions, particularly MoLSA/SPA.
• Proven experience implementing institutional capacity strengthening programmes with government institutions, focusing on strengthening government systems and human resource capacities.
• Experience developing training materials/manuals and delivering Trainings of Trainers (TOTs) on economic empowerment, livelihoods or employment-related topics.
• Familiarity with social research methodologies and experience managing programmes with robust evaluation components.
• Proven track record in multi-stakeholder coordination including with UN agencies, IFIs, donors, and government counterparts.
• Familiarity with Iraqi context.
• Understanding of Agenda 2030 and respective targets – particularly SDG1, SDG2 and SDG17 - and how the work of WFP can contribute to achieving them.
• Understanding of WFP’s mandate, Country Strategic Planning process, intervention modalities, programme and project lifecycle tools, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation desirable.
• Knowledge of current thinking and developments in the field of social protection and economic empowerment.
• Knowledge of key national and regional contexts and issues.
• Problem solving and decision-making skills.
• Ability to develop and maintain relationships with a variety of stakeholders, conveying an informed and professional demeanour toward internal and external partners and stakeholders.
• Ability to work independently in a timely and organised manner.
• Ability to work as part of a team, participating in open dialogues and valuing diverse opinions of others, regardless of gender, culture, background, experience, or country assignment.
• Strong writing skills with the ability to author reports, briefs and policy papers.
• Proficient computer literacy.
• Fluency (oral and written) in English and Arabic is required.

Skills

• Economic Empowerment Programmes
• Social Protection Policies
• Livelihoods Programme Design
• Employment Program Evaluation
• Labor Market Interventions
• Private Sector Engagement
• Government Capacity Building
• Training of Trainers Workshops
• Training Material Development
• Social Research Methodologies
• Program Evaluation
• Stakeholder Coordination
• UN Agency Coordination
• Donor Coordination
• Policy Paper Writing
• Report Writing
• Project Lifecycle Management
• Computer Literacy
• Social protection knowledge
• Knowledge of Economic Empowerment
• Familiarity with Iraqi Context

Languages

English, Arabic