VAM Officer (Economic & Market Analyst), NOB, Dhaka

Job Description

Title: VAM Officer (Economic & Market Analyst), NOB, Dhaka

Company Name: United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)

Vacancy: 1

Age: Na

Job Location: Dhaka

Salary: Negotiable

Experience:

• At least 7 years
• The applicants should have experience in the following business area(s): Development Agency

Completion of Advanced University Degree (Master’s or equivalent) is required. Education in Statistics, Economics, Political Science, Sociology, Public Policy or any relevant field is preferable including training in Econometrics and Statistics.

• At least 7 years
• The applicants should have experience in the following business area(s): Development Agency

• Experience: At least 7 years of overall experience, including 4 years of Professional Experience (managerial or supervisory) in areas related to Managing Analysis of Humanitarian Food Assistance Aid and Development Interventions, Market and Economic Research or other relevant fields. Within these 4 years of professional experience, a minimum of 3 years of experience must be after postgraduation.

• Language: Fluency in spoken and written both in English and Bangla language.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The VAM Officer (Economic and Market Analyst) will work under the supervision of the Head of the RAM Unit at the WFP Bangladesh Country Office. He/she will oversee day‑to‑day activities and provide end‑to‑end analytics—from price data collection, market analysis, and economic modeling to policy advice—to inform market‑based assistance, targeting, and early warning.

The role will involve regular engagement with local governments, UN agencies, and other partners; oversight of data collection activities; analysis of market and economic information; and the preparation of reports, briefs, and analytical papers. Specifically, the responsibilities of the VAM Officer (Economic and Market Analyst) will include the following elements:

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive, within delegated authority):

• Design and manage routine market price data collection, including sample frame development, tool design, enumerator training, and spot checks. Track key commodities, wage rates, transport costs, and seasonal availability, ensuring adequate geospatial coverage.
• Produce monthly market bulletins and ad hoc alerts for shocks (e.g., floods, cyclones, displacement, and policy changes). Lead market functionality assessments, including trader capacity, competition, supply routes, and inventory turnover.
• Provide inputs on the feasibility of food assistance modalities—Cash and Voucher vs. in kind—supported by vendor transaction analysis. Monitor transfer values using real time price data and conduct outlier checks.
• Manage data pipelines (mobile data collection using MoDA/ODK/KoBo, data cleaning, and validation rules). Develop simple dashboards and maps, maintain methodologies, and prepare Standard Operating Procedures for cash transfer calculations, major market assessments, and return on investment methods.
• Participate and engage in Cash & Markets Working Groups, government forums, clusters, and partner coordination platforms. Train field teams on market price assessments, data collection standards, and reporting.
• Analyze CPI, inflation, exchange rate movements, real wages, and terms of trade, and interpret their implications for food security and vulnerability.
• Build and update food basket costing and transfer value models (cash and in kind), including sensitivity analyses.
• Develop a market functionality index incorporating supply chain risks and the pass through of macroeconomic shocks to retail prices.
• Maintain price forecasting models, seasonality profiles, and scenario-based projections. Contribute to early warning bulletins and Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) projection analyses.
• Assess fiscal, monetary, and policy changes (e.g., subsidy reforms, tariffs, foreign exchange measures) and advise on their implications for WFP operations in Bangladesh.
• Produce cost efficiency and cost effectiveness comparisons for Cash and Voucher versus in kind response modalities and resilience and development interventions
• Oversee data pipelines for market prices, wage rates, remittances, partner data, and macroeconomic indicators, ensuring quality, completeness, and consistency.
• Perform any other tasks as assigned.

Grade: NOB

Type of contract: Fixed Term

Duration: 12 Months