Job Vacancy @ World Food Programme (WFP) – Programme Policy Officer – School Feeding

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.

JOB TITLE:

Programme Policy Officer (School Feeding)

TYPE OF CONTRACT:

Service Contract SC10 (NOC Equivalent)

UNIT/DIVISION:

Programme Unit

DUTY STATION (City, Country):

Freetown, Sierra Leone

DURATION:

6 months (renewable)

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes. Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

School feeding programmes are used in many countries to promote education, health and agriculture. They also serve as an incentive for parents to send and keep their children in school while simultaneously improving children’s ability to focus on learning instead of their hunger. School feeding is therefore the largest social protection/safety net in the world.

In a context of widespread poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition, school feeding has been an important safety net in Sierra Leone since independence, ensuring that many children can participate in primary education, and receive a daily minimum healthy diet.

At the core of new National School Feeding Policy (endorsed by parliament in May 2021) is the wish to pursue a home-grown model. This is expressed in the policy ‘s vision of a sustainable school feeding programme that ensures nutritious and healthy meals to primary schoolchildren in Sierra Leone, using to the largest extent possible food produced and processed by local, smallholder producers, and implemented entirely by national actors and agents. To align to the new policy, collaboration between WFP’s School Feeding and the Asset Creation and Livelihood teams is actualising the vision of Home-Grown School Feeding.

The school feeding programme is a national flagship initiative under the leadership of the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) and the National School Feeding Secretariat. WFP is one of four main implementing partners of the National School Feeding Programme covering 5 districts during the 2022/23 academic year. WFP’s school feeding programme reaches over 1,000 primary schools and provides a daily hot meal for over 200,000 children.

JOB PURPOSE

To design and manage programmes of moderate size or complexity that effectively meet food assistance needs, or contribute to policy formulation and/or provide technical advice or oversight on programme strategy and implementation.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

Under the direct supervision of the Head of Programme, the incumbent will ensure effective and quality implementation of WFP and the Government’s school feeding programme, specifically through the following duties:

•  Lead, plan, monitor and coordinate the implementation of school feeding in close collaboration with other WFP units including programme (Asset Creation and Livelihood and nutrition teams), Research, Assessment and Monitoring, budgeting and programming, logistics, and procurement.
•  Sustain and strengthen close and effective partnerships with MBSSE and the National School Feeding Secretariat at national, regional and district-levels through regular and results-oriented engagements.
•  Effectively and inclusively manage the school feeding team, and efficiently delegate tasks and responsibilities to staff that play to their strengths and optimize project implementation.
•  Work in close partnership with the Heads of Sub Office and school feeding sub office staff to ensure effective oversight of school feeding at the field-level and collaborative working with government counterparts and development partners.
•  Ensure close and structured coordination and collaboration with other school feeding partners to promote a culture of learning and cooperation.
•  Closely monitor school feeding budgets, expenditures and food pipeline, ensuring the best use of resources to achieve objectives within a moderate budget.
•  In close collaboration with the Asset Creation and Livelihood and nutrition teams, lead the design and implementation of WFP’s Home-Grown School Feeding Programme in Sierra Leone, and ensure objectives are met, food safety and quality standards are adhered to, linkages with small holder farmers are maximized, gender and environmental considerations are adhered to;
•  Advise and support the development of functional training in areas of expertise to enhance the capacity of WFP staff and partners to effectively design and deliver the school feeding programme
•  Keep up to date on corporate and regional campaigns and alliances and proactively advocate for these in Sierra Leone including developing guidance and implementation modalities and operations, to ensure a clear and strong connection with the mandate.
•  Establish and maintain operational partnerships with school feeding and other development partners to achieve a collaborative implementation approach and build inter-linkages with other complementary initiatives to maximise the impact of school feeding.
•  Systematically produce quality documentation to track the implementation of the school feeding programme so WFP’s experience contributes to building sectoral knowledge and best practices.
•  In collaboration with the Research, Assessment and Monitoring unit, ensure robust implementation of the monitoring framework and that indicators tracked are aligned with national priorities.
•  Lead the preparation timely and quality analytical reports, publications, and information products, and work closely with the Communications and Partnerships team for effective dissemination.
•  Lead the development of funding proposals to secure sustainable resourcing of the school feeding programme.
•  Ensure food quality control and compliance with nutrition, food safety and quality standards including national and international standards to minimize risks to health, and injury,
•  Develop training material for schools’ staff and volunteer cooks to fully implement school feeding guidelines storing food and preparing the meals.
•  Lead, motivate and develop a team of staff to enable high performance.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Advanced degree in social sciences, education, Development Economics or relevant field or First University degree with additional years of related work experience and/or training courses.

Experience: Six years relevant professional experience in Programme design and management preferably with some experience in School Feeding and cash-based activities or local procurement components.

Knowledge & Skills: Proven capacity to provide tailored technical support to on home grown school feeding programme design and implementation.

Proven capacity to produce high quality guidance, training material and written reports.

Capacity to represent the Country Office in meetings and strategic engagements with partners.

Ability to think creatively and strategically, ability to work autonomously

Capacity to work in a multi-cultural environment, excellent writing skills, project management.

Strong networking skills

Languages: Fluency (level C) English.

4Ps CORE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES

Purpose

•  Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives : Utilizes understanding of WFP’s Strategic Objectives to communicate linkages to team objectives and work.
•  Be a force for positive change : Proactively identifies and develops new methods or improvements for self and immediate team to address work challenges within own work area.
•  Make the mission inspiring to our team : Identifies opportunities to further align individual contributions with WFP’s mission of making an impact on local communities.
•  Make our mission visible in everyday actions : Helps colleagues to see the link between their individual tasks and the contributions of their unit’s goals to the broader context of WFP’s mission.

People

•  Look for ways to strengthen people's skills : Is able to identify, support and encourage focused on-the-job learning opportunities to address gaps between current skillsets and needed future skillsets for WFP.
•  Create an inclusive culture : Recognizes the contributions of teammates, and encourages contributions from culturally different team mates to recognise the value of diversity above and beyond just including it in programming for beneficiaries.
•  Be a coach & provide constructive feedback : Provides and solicits ongoing constructive feedback on strengths and development opportunities to help develop individual skills, whilst also helping others identify areas for improvement.
•  Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit : Sets clear targets for self and others to focus team efforts in ambiguous situations (e.g., unprecedented issues and/or scenarios)

Performance

•  Encourage innovation & creative solutions : Thinks beyond team’s conventional approaches to formulate creative methods for delivering food aid and assistance to beneficiaries.
•  Focus on getting results : Maintains focus on achieving individual results in the face of obstacles such as volatile or fragile environments and/or organizational roadblocks.
•  Make commitments and make good on commitments : Takes personal accountability for upholding and delivering upon team’s commitments and provides assurance to stakeholders.
•  Be Decisive : Demonstrates ability to adjust to team’s plans and priorities to optimize outcomes in light of evolving directives, while also responding quickly in high-pressure environments, such as in emergency settings.

Partnership

•  Connect and share across WFP units : Demonstrates an understanding of when and how to tactfully engage other units in conversations on impact, timing, or planning
•  Build strong external partnerships : Networks regularly with key external partners using formal and informal opportunities to understand each partner’s unique value proposition, and to build and strengthen relationships
•  Be politically agile & adaptable : Demonstrates ability to adapt engagement approach in the context of evolving partner circumstances and expectations
•  Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships : Demonstrates ability to articulate to internal and external audiences the value that individual contributions and immediate teams bring to partnerships.

FUNCTIONAL CAPABILITIES

Capability Name

Description of the behaviour expected for the proficiency level

Programme Lifecycle & Food Assistance

Displays ability to identify the main hunger problem at the national or subnational level to design and implement context-specific programmes that integrate complex analysis and the full range of food assistance tools.

Transfer Modalities (Food, Cash, Voucher)

Demonstrates the ability to design, implement, monitor and provide oversight over effective and efficient programmes deploying different transfer modalities.

Broad Knowledge of Specialized areas (i.e. Nutrition, VAM, etc.)

Demonstrates the ability to interpret basic data in the context of WFP specialised fields to contribute to technical programme design, implementation and monitoring.

Emergency Programming

Displays ability to translate understanding of programme principles in emergencies and protracted conflict situations into relevant, effective, and context specific approaches

Strategic Policy Engagement w/ Government

Develops thorough recommendations using multiple inputs (e.g., government counsel, research, own experience) to strengthen national or subnational entities and government owned food and nutrition security programmes..

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

•  Has experience working across the Program portfolio including School Feeding.
•  Has led a Sub Office or a small country/area office programme team or a component of a country office programme portfolio.
•  Has engaged in policy discussions and provided input into policy decisions.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Position open to Sierra Leone Nationals only

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

WFP offers a competitive compensation package which will be determined by the contract type and selected candidate’s qualifications and experience.

Please visit the following websites for detailed information on working with WFP.

http://www.wfp.org Click on: “Our work” and “Countries” to learn more about WFP’s operations

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

12 August 2022

All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.

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