Economic Empowerment Officer - SC8 - Baghdad, Iraq

Organizational Context

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the world's largest humanitarian organization, dedicated to saving lives and building peace in emergencies. WFP uses food assistance to create pathways to peace, stability, and prosperity for communities recovering from conflict, disasters, and climate change impacts. WFP is committed to diversity and inclusion, fostering a work environment where all employees can thrive and contribute to its mission.

Job Purpose

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. This role involves working closely with government institutions and partners to ensure the smooth execution of pilot activities, aligning with WFP's mandate to transition populations from humanitarian dependence to sustainable livelihoods. The officer will play a critical role in building the capacity of Iraqi government entities, particularly the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA) and the Social Protection Authority (SPA), to manage integrated economic empowerment programs. Key responsibilities include overseeing the quality delivery of pilot activities, coordinating with stakeholders, supporting government systems strengthening, and ensuring the pilot's alignment with its research and learning agenda to generate evidence for future government-led scale-up.

Responsibilities

The Economic Empowerment Officer will play a crucial role in implementing and coordinating an Economic Empowerment Pathways (EEP) pilot program in Iraq, targeting beneficiaries of the Social Safety Net (SSN). This initiative, supported by the World Food Programme (WFP) and funded by the Changing Lives Transformation Fund (CLTF) and an EU Joint Programme, aims to transition vulnerable households from humanitarian dependence to sustainable livelihoods. The officer's responsibilities include overseeing the quality delivery of pilot activities, from planning to implementation, and coordinating with WFP teams, cooperating partners, and stakeholders. A key aspect of the role involves strengthening the capacity of Iraqi government institutions, particularly the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA) and the Social Protection Authority (SPA), to manage integrated economic empowerment programs. This includes developing and implementing capacity strengthening plans and facilitating the integration of pilot activities within government platforms. The officer will also lead day-to-day engagement with government counterparts and sectoral stakeholders, ensuring gender-responsive and youth-inclusive program delivery. Furthermore, the role involves leading the design and implementation of the pilot’s learning and evidence agenda, documenting lessons learned, and ensuring timely and high-quality monitoring activities. The ultimate goal is to generate evidence that informs a government-led, national scale-up of economic empowerment initiatives, fostering self-reliance and reducing long-term dependency on social assistance.

Work Experience

Requires at least 5 years of progressive experience in social protection, livelihoods, economic empowerment, labor market interventions, or private sector engagement. Must have prior experience designing, implementing, or evaluating livelihoods or employment programs in complex settings. Strong experience working with Iraqi government institutions, particularly MoLSA/SPA, and proven experience in implementing institutional capacity strengthening programs with government bodies are essential.

Skills

Project Management, Stakeholder Coordination, Capacity Building, Program Implementation, Research and Learning, Economic Empowerment, Social Protection Systems, Gender-Responsive Programming, Youth Inclusion, Monitoring and Evaluation

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