๐ฉ Vacancy Announcement nยฐ: 832568
๐ข Job Title: Programme Policy Officer (School Feeding)
โจ Contract type and Grade: International Consultant CST level I
๐ง Duration: 11 months
โ Unit / Division: Programme Unit
๐ Duty Station: Abidjan, Cรดte dโIvoire
โฐ Closing date: 29 April 2024
WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.
WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles. Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis, and we are committed to promoting diversity and gender balance. Female Candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
ABOUT WFP
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), a highly prestigious, reputable & worldโs largest humanitarian organization, operates in more than 120 countries and territories, bringing life-saving assistance in emergencies, building pathways to peace, stability, and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change and supporting sustainable and resilient livelihoods for a world with zero hunger. At WFP, people are at the heart of everything we do, and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse, committed, skilled, and high-performing teams, selected on merit, operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment, living WFP's values (Integrity, Collaboration, Commitment, Humanity, and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves.
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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:
Cรดte dโIvoire is considered a low-middle-income country and ranks 171st of 188 countries in the Human Development Index. It is subject to pervasive food insecurity, malnutrition, and gender inequalities, which severely affect smallholder farmers as they struggle with issues of land access and frequent climate-related shocks. Cรดte dโIvoire has a population of 25 million people, of which 48.4 percent are female1 and 46 percent live below the poverty line. It is ranked 155th on the Gender Inequality Index.
WFPโs Strategic Plan for Cรดte dโIvoire (2019 โ 2025) focuses on capacity strengthening with a view to shifting WFP-led programmes to government and community ownership. At the core of this strategic approach is the sustainability of the national school meals programme, in which WFP assists 613 schools, or 10 percent of the schools covered by the programme, as a platform for promoting education, nutrition and gender equality and stimulating local food production and rural economies. The country strategic plan constitutes an opportunity to support smallholder farmers (SAMS), particularly women, in a holistic way and to diversify food consumption by introducing policies and practices to reduce post-harvest losses and promote sustainable access to markets. By applying the SAMS methodology, WFP aims to lay the foundations for a more robust economy that is less reliant on imports, offers better livelihood options for vulnerable populations and fosters resilient and sustainable national food systems.
The WFP school meals programme, funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) through the McGovern-Dole programme, is implemented in the West, North and North-East regions of Cรดte dโIvoire. The programme includes the provision of school meals and complementary services (promotion of handwashing, access to safe drinking water, literacy classes and support to smallholder farmer groups) to over 125,000 children in 613 primary schools, as well as upstream policy work to support Government strategies.
Sustainability is an important aspect of the programme and WFP is working closely with the Directorate of School Canteens, within the Ministry of Education, to improve institutional capacity for a gradual transfer of WFP-supported schools into the national school feeding programme, as well as a more comprehensive quality coverage of the government programme, in a sustainable manner.
Oversee WFP Cรดte dโIvoire school feeding programme, including the McGovern-Dole programme, contribute to policy formulation and provide technical advice and oversight on programme strategy, implementation and reporting for country office operations and Government programme.
The staff member will report to the Deputy Country Director/Head of Programme. S/he will supervise the staff needs to work closely with the Programme Officers and assistant, and will need to coordinate extensively with budget, finance, and monitoring and evaluation teams.
MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:
The Country Office (CO) is seeking an experienced international Consultant to oversee the school feeding activities and to support the transition of WFP-led programme to the government. The consultant will also be responsible for advising on government strategies and policies, with a view to transitioning to a home-grown school feeding, which will result in a more comprehensive coverage of school feeding at the national level, in a sustainable manner. This will entail strong programme analysis skills, experience in design and execution of interventions with main stakeholders (government, UN agencies, NGOs, communities, and beneficiaries). In addition to programme management, the Consultant will contribute to the development of the overall strategy and represent WFP at technical coordination fora at the capital and the field levels, building partnerships with key ministries, UN agencies and other development actors at all levels. Support for resource mobilization efforts will be essential to the scale-up agenda, requiring the Consultant to contribute to the development of funding proposals and donor reports.
Under the direct supervision of the Head of Programme, the Consultant will oversee the school feeding activities focusing on the following priorities: