Programme Policy Officer - Home Grown School Meals (SSA8)

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

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ABOUT WFP

The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity, for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

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WHY JOIN WFP? 

• WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

• WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse, and multicultural working environment.

• WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training, accreditation, coaching, mentorship, and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities.

• A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe.

• We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of this vacancy announcement).

BACKGROUND

In July 2023, the World Food Programme (WFP) Zambia commenced a new five-year Country Strategic Plan (CSP), informed by and aligned with national and United Nations priorities and global commitments under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It embraces the Government’s long-term Vision 2030; aligns with 16 key strategic areas of the 8th National Development Plan (NDP8); and contributes to the joint Zambia-United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF).

WFP Zambia’s integrated and pragmatic CSP shifts away from unsustainable localized and micro-level interventions, to embrace more effective advocacy and engagement with national policies, systems, and programmes to achieve national impact on SDG2. Given the Government’s commitment to budgetary support for nutrition, social protection, and agriculture, despite the constraints in the country’s fiscal position, WFP’s overarching strategy seeks to strengthen the government’s capacities to meet its national priorities through stronger systems, expertise, and resources for implementation. This means a decisive shift of WFP’s country positioning towards the provision of innovative, sustainable, upstream technical assistance to support nationally owned solutions.

Advancing the global WFP Strategic Plan (2022-2025), the CSP addresses both SDG2 and SDG17, and WFP’s Strategic Results 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. WFP will implement seven activities to achieve five Strategic Outcomes (SO) under the CSP.  These SOs include: (SO1) responding to crises and shocks ensuring that crisis-affected people, including refugees, are able to meet their urgent food and nutrition needs; (SO2) addressing the root causes of malnutrition; (SO3) building the resilience, enabling environment and market access for smallholder farmers, especially women; (SO4) supporting government institutions to provide social protection systems (including home grown school meals) and disaster preparedness and response; and (SO5) improving access to supply chain services for humanitarian and development actors.

JOB PURPOSE AND REPORTING

WFP has been a key partner to the Ministry of Education by providing technical assistance to implement the national Home-Grown School Meals (HGSM) programme, which is one of the government’s social protection programmes and the country’s largest food-based safety net aimed at alleviating hunger among school going children, improving educational and nutrition outcomes, and increasing incomes among smallholder farmers. The HGSM programme is currently implemented in 70 districts covering all 10 provinces, reaching approximately 2.3 million learners in more than 3,300 schools. The government plans to expand the HGSM programme to all 116 districts in 2025.

To sustain the gains achieved to date, promote full national ownership, strengthen capacities and systems as well as institutionalize key processes within the Ministry of Education and across sectors, WFP seeks to recruit a national officer to support these efforts in line with the 2023-2028 joint work plan between the Ministry of Education and WFP. The national officer will be embedded in the School Health and Nutrition (SHN) Directorate at the Ministry of Education, spending a proportion of their time at the Ministry of Education and reporting to the Director, School Health and Nutrition, whilst also spending a proportion of their time at the WFP Country Office as part of the SO4 team.

The successful candidate will be tasked with the following:

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

Policy support and coordination

• Support revision and update of key HGSM documents such as strategies, policies, and guidelines to enable the Ministry of Education to effectively design, implement and manage the HGSM programme.
• Support the strengthening of inter-sectoral coordination between the Ministry of Education and key ministries/institutions and partners to achieve synergies and impact across education, agriculture, health, nutrition and social protection sectors. This includes the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprise Development, National Food and Nutrition Commission, and other relevant government institutions as well as cooperating partners, United Nations agencies and NGOs at the national, province and district levels.
• Support the Ministry of Education to participate in regional, continental and global networks and platforms, including the School Meals Coalition, Africa Day of School Feeding, and Global Child Nutrition Forum to exchange lessons and best practices as well as raise the visibility of Zambia’s HGSM programme.

Programme management and monitoring

• Support the Ministry of Education to develop the annual budget for the HGSM programme, ensuring that the funds are strategically allocated resulting in efficient disbursement to provinces and districts to enhance programme implementation.
• Support strengthened linkages between the HGSM programme with smallholder farmers, co-operatives and aggregation networks to institutionalize local procurement, including refinement of procurement guidelines and processes for districts and schools.
• Support and facilitate the implementation of demonstrations of school gardening, energy efficient cook stoves and other initiatives in selected schools and/or districts to foster ownership and replicability by the Ministry of Education.
• Support nutrition integration in the HGSM programme ensuring alignment with broader national goals, policies and guidelines.
• Support routine monitoring of the HGSM programme to ensure adherence to implementation protocols resulting in achievement of target outcomes of effective implementation.

Capacity and system strengthening support

• Support in designing and rolling out capacity-strengthening initiatives (e.g., training for teachers, district officers, etc.) for HGSM programme implementation and institutionalization.
• Assist in the roll-out of digital applications (e.g., Food Tracking System) to ensure accurate, complete, and up-to-date information for effective decision making and reporting at national, provincial and district levels resulting in efficient HGSM programme management.
• Support capacity strengthening initiatives targeting Ministry Education staff in developing proposals to support internal resource mobilization and advocacy efforts.

Knowledge management and advocacy

• Liaise with internal counterparts to support development of an effective monitoring and tracking system for the HGSM programme by the Ministry of Education.
• Support the Ministry of Education to conduct assessments, studies, and evaluations to generate evidence and document best practices to inform implementation and improvements of the HGSM programme.

DESIRED EXPERIENCE FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE:

• Five (5) years post graduate experience in project management and/or management of capacity building activities. Experience implementing similar programmes is an added advantage. 
• Proven ability to coordinate and manage capacity building and communication activities in partnership with government, UN, NGOs and other stakeholders. 
• Computer skills in word processing and spreadsheet applications (MS Word, Excel).
• Ability to collaborate with and deliver as part of a team and maintain effective work relationships with counterparts.
• Demonstrated ability to plan, manage and organize work in a resourceful way to achieve set objectives.

STANDARD MINIMUM ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS:

Education: Advanced degree in social policy, development studies, nutrition, other social sciences, and project management or related qualifications.

Language: Fluency in both oral and written communication in English.

Qualified female applicants and individuals with disabilities are especially encouraged to apply.

Only applicable to Zambian Nationals.

Due Date: 26th December 2024

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REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

WFP is dedicated to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our recruitment process is inclusively crafted to welcome candidates of all backgrounds, celebrating diversity and ensuring a respectful environment for all. We aim for an accessible and fair recruitment journey. Should you need any reasonable accommodations or have accessibility concerns, please reach out to us confidentially at global.inclusion@wfp.org. Our DEI team is here to ensure your full participation in our recruitment process.

NO FEE DISCLAIMER

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REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

• We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete, and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, language skills and UN Grade (if applicable).

• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.

• Please make sure you upload your professional CV in the English language

• Kindly note the only documents you will need to submit at this time are your CV and Cover Letter

• Additional documents such as passport, recommendation letters, academic certificates, etc. may potentially be requested at a future time

• Please contact us at global.hrerecruitment@wfp.org in case you face any challenges with submitting your application

• Only shortlisted candidates will be notified

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.