UNOPS South Sudan Country Office is implementing on behalf of the Government of South Sudan, three social protection projects all funded by the WB.
South Sudan Safety Net Project (SSSNP)
The World Bank-funded South Sudan Safety Net Project (SSSNP) is a two-and-a-half-year US$ 40 million International Development Association (IDA) grant. It was approved by the WB Board of Executive Directors on 28 April 2020 and became effective on 6 May 2020. The SSSNP aims to build on the lessons of its predecessor project Safety Net and Skills Development Project (SNSDP), ‘to provide access to temporary income opportunities to selected poor and vulnerable households and strengthen safety net delivery tools’ in a COVID-sensitive, gender-sensitive, and conflict-sensitive manner in close coordination and collaboration with the Government and development partners.
Salient Features of the SSSNP consist of;
Emergency locust Response Project (ELRP)
The Emergency Locust Response (ELRP) is an initiative of the Govt. of the Republic of South Sudan. The project’s development objective (PDO) is to respond to the threat posed by the locust outbreak, and to strengthen systems for preparedness as well as to respond to the threat posed by the locust, protect and restore livelihoods and food security, and strengthen systems for preparedness. And thus this project is an emergency response project.
The project has 5 components, however, UNOPS ise contracted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS), to implement sub component 2.1. This sub-component will provide emergency direct income support, in the form of unconditional cash transfers, to about 26,000 locust affected households to protect against livelihood and asset loss and meet their urgent food needs, smooth consumption gaps and enhance purchasing power for basic commodities. MAFS is the implementing agency/primary recipient for ERLP and also provides oversight of the safety net system being established under SSSNP, so it can also help coordinate between the two projects along with UNOPS. Thus the ELRP will leverage a lot on the SSSNP.
Productive Safety Net for Socioeconomic Opportunities (SNSOP)
The proposed project is a US$129 million grant from the International Development Association (IDA) and will support four components, to be implemented over a 4 year period. The components are: (i) Cash Transfers and Complementary Social Measures; (ii) Provision of Economic Opportunities; (iii) Strengthened Institutional Capacity and Social Protection System; (iv) Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation, and Knowledge Generation.
The Project Development Objective (PDO) is to provide cash transfers and access to income generating opportunities and strengthen the National Safety Net Delivery System.
UNOPS will be contracted by MAFS to implement component 1 of the project. This component will provide cash assistance to poor and vulnerable households to meet immediate consumption gaps, while also supporting accompanying social measures to promote improved household awareness and investment in children’s human capital growth. Specifically, cash assistance will be provided through two modalities, namely Labor-Intensive Public Works (LIPW, sub-component 1.1) and Direct Income Support (DIS, sub-component 1.2), with special attention given to adjusting the design of these activities to promote linkages to enhanced social opportunities, as appropriate and feasible. Accompanying social measures will be mainstreamed across LIPW and DIS for delivering in-depth Cash “Plus” trainings and other measures targeted to eligible female beneficiaries to deepen their understanding and investments in relevant social areas for strengthened human capital development.
The Project Management Support - Senior Analyst shall report directly to the Senior Project Manager, and will monitor all aspects of the three projects progress and implementation, identify operational and financial problems and will assist in resolving them by taking appropriate action. S/He will provide support to the Senior Project Manager in all aspects of the project cycle with a focus on Project Acceptance, Project Implementation, Project Closure and Budget Management.