ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT
WFP partners with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Government and key stakeholders to implement an integrated resilience-building approach that strengthens the self-reliance of communities with intersecting vulnerabilities through three interconnected strategies:

Rural Infrastructure and Climate Adaptation. WFP engages communities in creating critical agricultural infrastructure—including farm-to-market roads, irrigation canals, reforestation sites, soil conservation structures, and water harvesting systems—while developing post-harvest facilities that reduce losses and enhance market access for smallholder farmers and fisherfolk.

Value Chain Integration and Market Linkages. WFP facilitates the formation and capacity strengthening of farmer and fisher associations and cooperatives, connecting them to institutional markets including the Home- Grown School Feeding (HGSF) Programme and other sustainable procurement opportunities.

Nutrition-Sensitive School Feeding. WFP provides safe, diverse, and nutritious hot meals to primary-aged schoolchildren, sourced locally from smallholder farmers to create a sustainable demand-supply relationship that simultaneously addresses child nutrition and smallholder livelihoods.

Gender, Protection, and Inclusion (GPI) form the foundation of WFP’s programming approach across all interventions. GPI ensures that the most vulnerable and marginalized populations—including women, persons  with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples, and conflict-affected communities—have equitable access to resources, decision-making processes, and programme benefits. By intentionally addressing power imbalances, preventing harm, and dismantling barriers to participation, GPI transforms these interventions from simply reaching communities to fundamentally strengthening their agency and resilience. This means designing infrastructure that accommodates diverse needs, ensuring women’s leadership in cooperatives, sourcing from farmers regardless of ability or ethnicity, and creating school environments where all children can safely access nutritious meals. Without this intentional GPI lens, programmes risk perpetuating existing inequalities rather than building truly inclusive and sustainable food systems.

JOB PURPOSE
To operationalize this transformative approach across all programming, WFP requires a dedicated Programme Policy Officer for Gender, Protection, and Inclusion who will serve as the technical lead for mainstreaming GPI principles across the integrated resilience portfolio in BARMM, in close collaboration and coordination with the central office. This position is essential to translate WFP’s institutional commitments into tangible programme outcomes, ensuring that gender analysis, protection risk assessments, and inclusion strategies are systematically integrated from programme design through implementation and monitoring.

The holder will provide technical guidance to field office teams, strengthen staff and partner capacity on GPI standards, support the development of accountability mechanisms, and ensure that WFP’s interventions consistently reach and empower the most marginalized populations in BARMM. By embedding GPI expertise at the programme level, this role ensures that resilience-building efforts genuinely transform—rather than reinforce—existing power structures and inequalities.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Under the delegated authority and within the assigned unit, the Programme Policy Officer (Gender, Protection, and Inclusion) will report to the Head of Integrated Resilience in the Cotabato Field Office, with overall guidance and support from the Head of Field Office. The Officer will also coordinate and collaborate with the National Officer for Social and Behaviour Change & Gender, Protection, and Inclusion in the Manila Country Office.

The role requires expertise in gender analysis, protection mainstreaming, and disability and social inclusion frameworks, with the ability to develop practical tools and guidance that can be applied by programme staff and partners across diverse humanitarian and development contexts throughout BARMM. Responsibilities include:

• Lead the integration of gender, protection, and inclusion (GPI) across Cotabato Field Office programmes, ensuring alignment with WFP policies, Government frameworks, and BARMM context.

• Ensure coordinated programming and alignment with other country office and sub-office initiatives to advance CSP outcomes.

• Contribute to the development and implementation of projects, plans, and processes integrating GPI, ensuring coordination with relevant units and alignment with wider programme policies and guidance.

• Support implementation of the Gender Equality, Social and Disability Inclusion (GEDSI) and the Community Engagement for Accountability to Affected Populations (CEA) action plans and maintain field level GPI quality assurance and monitoring.

• Support programme teams in developing gender-transformative approaches that actively challenge and address gender inequalities rather than simply accounting for gender differences.

• Conduct GPI-related assessments and contribute to evidence generation, data analysis, and programme recommendations.

• Design and deliver training, coaching and capacity-strengthening activities for WFP staff, cooperating partners, government counterparts, community members, and local authorities on protection, gender, and inclusion issues.

• Strengthen accountability to affected populations through safe, accessible feedback mechanisms and inclusive community engagement.

• Serve as Field Office Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) Focal Point, supporting awareness-raising, reporting pathways, and partner compliance.

• Represent WFP in GPI-related coordination platforms and maintain partnerships with Government, NGOs, and other stakeholders.

• Support documentation, reporting, knowledge products, and contributions to donor and resource mobilization materials.

• Perform additional tasks as required to support programme objectives and organizational priorities.

DELIVERABLES

• GPI Strategy and Action Plans: Contextualized BARMM-specific implementation plans for GEDSI and CEA/AAP with clear milestones, indicators, and accountability mechanisms

• Protection Risk Analysis and Gender Assessment Reports: Comprehensive assessments identifying context-specific risks, barriers, and opportunities for GPI integration across field office programming

• GPI Technical Guidance Package: Practical tools, checklists, templates, and job aids for programme staff and partners to operationalize GPI mainstreaming in daily work

• Capacity Building Materials and Training Reports: Training modules, facilitator guides, and documentation of all capacity strengthening activities conducted with staff, partners, and stakeholders

• GPI Data Analysis and Programmatic Recommendations: Analytical reports based on disaggregated data with actionable recommendations for improving GPI outcomes

• Community Feedback Analysis: Synthesis of protection-related complaints and feedback with trends, response actions, and systemic recommendations

• PSEA Implementation Reports: Documentation of PSEA awareness activities, incident reporting protocols, and compliance monitoring results

• Inter-Agency Coordination Documentation: Meeting reports, joint work plans, and WFP contributions to inter-agency GPI strategies and assessments

• Knowledge Products, Case Studies, and Progress Reports: Good practice documentation, lessons learned reports, and evidence of GPI impact for internal learning and external communications

ESSENTIAL MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:

Education:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s) or first university degree (Bachelor’s) in Gender Studies, Social Work, International Relations, Development Studies, Social Sciences, Humanitarian Action, or similar specializations

• Specialized training or coursework in gender, protection, or inclusion is preferred

Experience:
Experience (Minimum Requirements):

• With a Master’s degree: At least one (1) year of relevant professional experience.

• With a Bachelor’s degree: At least three (3) years of relevant professional experience.

• Both levels must include: A minimum of two (2) years of relevant experience in development work.

Additional/Desired Experience:

• At least eight (8) years of progressive experience in development work, including a miniumum of four (4) years in gender equality, protection, disability inclusion, and social inclusion, and minimum two (2) years in project management

• Demonstrated expertise in gender analysis, protection mainstreaming, and disability and social inclusion frameworks

• Experience building partnerships with government agencies and civil society organizations

• Proven experience in conducting protection risk assessments and inclusion audits in humanitarian or development contexts

• Knowledge of gender-transformative approaches and community-based protection programming

• Proven experience in designing and delivering GPI capacity building programs for diverse audiences

• Experience developing practical tools and guidance materials that operationalize GPI principles

• Understanding of socio-cultural dynamics in Muslim Mindanao and familiarity with Indigenous Peoples’ rights

• Knowledge of Philippine and/or BARMM government policies related to gender equality, social protection, and disability inclusion

• Ability to analyze disaggregated data and translate findings into programmatic recommendations

• Proven experience in inter-agency coordination mechanisms such as protection clusters or

• gender working groups.

Language:

• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and Filipino (Tagalog)

• Knowledge of local languages spoken in BARMM is an asset

COMPENSATION PACKAGE OVERVIEW:

• Remuneration will be in accordance with WFP’s salary scale and will be communicated during the offer stage.

• Medical coverage, extendable to eligible dependents.

• Leave benefits.