Programme Policy Officer (Poverty Graduation Technical Specialist / Team Leader)

About the role

The World Food Programme (WFP) is recruiting a Poverty Graduation Technical Specialist (national position, SC9) to act as Team Leader of WFP-supported activities under Output 2 of the Building Resilience and Reducing Rural Poverty Project (BRRRP). The project, led by the Lao government's Department of Rural Development and Poverty Reduction (DRD-PR) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment with the Asian Development Bank, pilots a gender-responsive, climate-resilient poverty graduation programme for at least 4,500 rural women across four districts. The post is based in DRD-PR and reports to WFP on implementation progress.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the WFP-supported activities under Output 2 and advise DRD-PR and the Ministry on poverty graduation, strengthening women's resilience to climate change
• Prepare the programme, oversee implementation, support training, and contribute to monitoring, documentation and knowledge management
• Oversee administrative aspects and day-to-day management of the pilot
• Integrate climate and disaster risk considerations into livelihood selection, training and life skills training, in line with the project's Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessments
• Guide the development of key knowledge products and share pilot experience with the government, ADB, civil society and partners
• Advise on partner-level agreements and monitor their implementation
• Work with the Gender and Social Development Specialist so that activities meet the needs of rural women
• Prepare reports and technical documents such as the operations manual, work plan, training modules and monitoring tools, and coordinate capacity-building training

Required profile

• Advanced university degree in international or community development, anthropology, sociology, gender studies, public policy, natural resources management, economics, political science, business management, disaster risk management or a related field; a degree or professional qualification in management is desired
• At least 5 years of professional experience in community development and poverty reduction, including climate change, disaster risk management and rural development, with at least 3 years in a management role
• At least 3 years designing, implementing and monitoring livelihood and economic inclusion interventions, including cash-plus and poverty graduation approaches, with a focus on household-based approaches, women's empowerment and climate resilience
• Solid understanding of the post-restructuring government structure and national and agriculture sector plans
• Fluency in Lao and excellent English; experience with climate resilience in Laos and with international organisations is highly desirable

Required skills

• Analytical, strategic thinking, problem-solving, decision-making and leadership skills
• Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills with government institutions and development partners

Applications are submitted only through the WFP online recruiting system, with a CV and cover letter; the deadline is 25 November 2026.