Information Manager for Food Security Cluster

Job Purpose

The Information Manager for Food Security Cluster (FSC) reports to the FSC Coordinator and will play a vital role in collecting, analyzing, and sharing information that is important for the cluster stakeholders to make informed (evidence based) strategic decisions on: the needs of affected populations; the prioritization of areas according to Food Security indicators; where there is a need for Food Security actors and to what degree; what are the key gaps in activity and need; what capacity (human, material, financial) exists to be used in support of the identified prioritised response needs.

The Information Manager for FSC therefore supports the FSC Coordinator by assisting the cluster with data and information it requires to make programmatic decisions. As such, the Information Manager (IM) needs to be able to liaise and communicate with many different types of people and agencies and act as a ‘bridge’ between Food Security decision makers and technical IM staff.

Fundamental to the job is the ability to present information in a way that is easily understood by the cluster members. Sometimes this is through graphic means, such as mapping but also through tables, charts, and narrative writing. Other times it involves discussing the information directly with the decision makers to make important interpretations on the findings.

The scope of this job is established in line with the Emergency Response Priorities of coordination, assessment, and time-critical interventions.

FAO’s Mission and FAO in Emergencies

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is committed to achieving food security for all by making sure people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives.

FAO plays a critical role in preparing for and responding to emergency needs arising from both slow and sudden onset natural disasters, food chain emergencies, socio-economic crises, nuclear emergencies, protracted crises and violent conflicts that threaten agriculture, food and nutrition security and/or food safety. FAO’s work in emergencies focuses on reducing people’s vulnerability to hazards before, during and after disasters through risk assessment, risk reduction, emergency response and rehabilitation. Learn more about the Organization’s work in emergencies by visiting our website athttp://www.fao.org/emergencies.

Key Functions and responsibilities

The Information Manager for FSC will:

· report to the FSC Coordinator and respond to the Cluster Membership’s needs for information;

· provide IM services to cluster for key decision making. These services will include data collection, collation, analysis, dissemination processes relevant to the needs of the cluster; this may require building additional and appropriate capacity through the training of additional staff and managing, organizing, and conducting these activities;

• proactively gather information from other clusters/organizations/military which may be of use to the Food Security Cluster for informing decisions, including movement of population, potential camp locations, road networks;

· identify secondary data and information resources prior to deployment for rapid onset emergency response;

· as appropriate, assist in the design of Food Security data collection forms, ensuring that the purpose and use of all data collected is clear, questions are simple, clear, and easily collectable, highlighting where potential problems might arise; organize and manage the data input and initial analysis and presentation of data for the Food Security Cluster;

· create contact directories of Food Security humanitarian partners;

· maintain and update the Who does What Where When (4W) database and derivative products, such as maps;

· identify needs and gaps for the sector; facilitate and agree boundaries / benchmarks to enable prioritization within the sector;

· prepare an inventory of relevant common Cluster/Sector data sets, including population data disaggregated by age and sex;

· develop simple, user-friendly emergency Food Security monitoring reporting formats in consultation with the local authorities, providers of Food Security assistance and other key stakeholders;

· collect data on the humanitarian requirements and contributions (financial, material, human, as appropriate);

· create maps of 4W, Food Security Gaps per location;

· prepare mapping of Food Security resources, needs and gaps as requested (support may be available by OCHA);

· liaise with OCHA and IM Focal Points in other clusters, share information as appropriate, identify and gather information from other clusters which can inform Food Security response and preparedness decisions;

· perform other duties as required.

Key Performance Indicators

Expected Outputs:

· IM services to cluster for key decision making provided and information gathered from other clusters/organizations/military;

· assisted in the design of Food Security data collection forms; data input and initial analysis and presentation of data for the Food Security Cluster analyzed and managed;

· databases and derivative products, such as maps, maintained and updated;

· needs and gaps for the sector identified;

· inventory of relevant common Cluster/Sector data sets, including population data disaggregated by age and sex prepared;

· emergency Food Security monitoring reporting formats developed;

· mapping of Food Security resources, needs and gaps prepared.

Emergency Response Competency Indicators

All emergency response personnel are expected to exhibit the following emergency competencies:

Values

· commitment to FAO emergency preparedness and response;

· respect affected populations by recognizing their culture, customs, rights, aspirations and fundamental dignity and accounting for their needs and capacities in developing and managing emergency response activities;

· respect and promote integrity and transparency; and

· adhere to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, operational independence and impartiality.

Core Competencies:

· maintain a results focus on the timely delivery of emergency response programme objectives;

· ensure inclusiveness and open communication when working with team members, partners and affected populations;

· promote a culture of information sharing and learning for continuous improvement with team members, partners and stakeholders;

· shared responsibility and demonstrated responsiveness to challenges faced by the team or any member of the team;

· actively engage with partners and promote collaboration while upholding and reinforcing the scope of the humanitarian mission and UN principles;

· demonstrate flexibility and resilience in changing and challenging emergency context;

· take responsibility for own actions and well-being;

· work effectively in a chaotic and unpredictable environment with limited amenities and support systems; and

· make decisions under pressure and in the absence of complete information and instruction.

Position Specific Competencies:

· ability to undertake research under potentially difficult and sensitive conditions;

· awareness of potential sensitivity of information in the context of FAO’s emergency response and ability to differentiate between information for internal versus external audiences Job Requirements Skills:

All emergency response personnel should have the following:

• excellent organizational skills;
• good written communication skills, including in emergency settings;
• demonstrated ability to analyze problems, make appropriate recommendations, effective decisions, including in emergency settings;

· strong foundation in programme formulation, planning, implementation, management and evaluation.

Additionally, the Emergency Information Manager will possess:

· excellent computer/word processing skills; solid knowledge of Excel is essential; MS Access, ArcGIS or other mapping software would be an asset;

· Information Technology and networking skills; website management skills would be an asset;

· Assessment, Survey, and Monitoring and Evaluation expertise;

· Excellent research, data storage, management and analysis skills, including ability to present information and data in different forms (tables, charts, graphs, text)

Minimum Requirements:

· University degree in a discipline relevant to the mandate of the Organization; preferably, the degree should be in a relevant field or discipline such as Food Security, Agriculture, Geographic Sciences, Humanitarian Affairs, Political Science, Information Technology, Information Systems, Engineering, Architecture, or Communications;

· Minimum of 5 years of proven knowledge and experience in working in humanitarian emergency – experience in the field in emergency context is preferred; ability to analyze and articulate the information management requirements of complex situations;

· Working knowledge of English. Good knowledge of Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish, according to the country of assignment.

Working knowledge of French would be an asset.

[1] FAO. 2014. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations: About FAO. (http://www.fao.org/about/en/)

How to apply:

To apply, visit the iRecruitment website at http://www.fao.org/employment/irecruitment-access/en/ and complete the on-line application. Only applications received through iRecruitment will be considered.

Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your iRecruitment online profile. We strongly recommend that you ensure that the information is accurate and complete including employment record, academic qualifications and language skills.

Vacancies will be removed from iRecruitment at 23:59 Central European Time (CET) on the deadline for applications date. We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date. If you need help, or have queries, please contact: iRecruitment@fao.org