Summary
Date Posted: Tuesday, November 10, 2020 , Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:
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.
ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT
The WFP Regional Bureau for Eastern and Central Africa (RBN) is based in Nairobi and provides strategic direction, technical guidance, resource mobilization and management support to WFP operations and activities in nine countries: Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan and Uganda.
JOB PURPOSE
WFP’s Strategic Plan (2017-2021) recognizes the pivotal role the organization can and should play in the global discussion on food systems to ensure that healthy diets are available to all, and that the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals can be achieved. Food systems in the East Africa/Horn of Africa region are stretched and have shown themselves to be highly vulnerable to shocks. They struggle to deliver adequate food security or affordable nutrition to the population. The projected increases in climactic shock events make traditional rain-fed agriculture an increasingly precarious food security strategy, whilst the conventional intensification of agriculture is neither feasible nor desirable, due to the resulting environmental degradation.
The Food Systems Summit in 2021 provides an opportunity highlight these issues and put focus on WFP’s food systems strategy. The COVID pandemic and the related response and recovery measures have highlighted the importance and fragility of food systems in the region. WFP East Africa regional office (RBN) is currently refining its food systems priorities, partnership engagement strategies, and related activities and interventions. The RBN requires additional support and expertise to align and oversee this effort, both as part of its preparatory work for the Summit, but also beyond the event, as part of its support and guidance to Country Offices in the region .

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)
• Reporting to the Regional Advisor for Climate Change Adaptation, Resilience and Gender Equality, and working in close coordination/collaboration with the Regional Head of Programme, other Regional Heads of Unit, Heads of Programme and Activity Managers in Country Offices, the consultant will be responsible for the following:
• Support each of the Country Offices to develop and implement their ‘Food System Engagement Roadmaps1’, liaising with HQ teams, external specialists and academia as needed. A component of these roadmaps will include required engagement in national Food System Summit dialogues.
• In collaboration with the regional partnership team and with programme and partnership offices in Country Offices, review and revise the existing ‘Partnership Action Plans2’ with respect to food systems priorities. A synthesis across the region of the partnership opportunities will also be required.
• Support and backstop Country Office teams in food systems-related activities, including value-chain analysis, strategy development, programme or policy design, etc. This will require, where needed, facilitating access to the relevant expertise, internally or externally, and maintaining regular contact with key counterparts at Country Office level.
• Support coordination across different RBN functional units (programme, logistics, procurement, etc.) to ensure that different food systems related initiatives are aligned and prioritized.
• Support the RBN management in the development and maintenance of relevant external partnerships (research institutions, other UN agencies, CG institutes, etc.) relevant to food systems.
• Lead the knowledge management and evidence generation activities, with respect to food systems, for the RBN.
• The consultant may be required to supervise a small technical team and provide related budget and HR management.
• Any other duties as required.

Job Skills: Not Specified

TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Contract Duration: 11 months

Education:
• Post-graduate university degree in food systems, agriculture, environmental sciences, climatology, earth sciences or related fields.

Experience
• Minimum of 5 years experience working in development and /or humanitarian action
• Experience overseeing studies, evaluations and assessments
• Strong understanding of food systems and climate change adaptation and climate risk management approaches at both global and national levels, including and how they affect food security and nutrition
• Experience with knowledge management tools and processes
• Prior experience with and understanding of WFP strategic planning processes is an advantage.
• Prior experience and expertise in any of the following areas is an advantage: value chain analysis and smallholder agriculture, nutrition, food policy, business development services / SMSEs, procurement & logistics.
• Strong interpersonal and coordination skills, ability to work in a team and to communicate clearly and diplomatically with a wide range of stakeholders from diverse backgrounds;
• Ability to plan and organize his/her work independently, efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results;
Languages: Working knowledge of English (proficiency/level C) and intermediate knowledge (intermediate/level B) of another UN official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish) is preferable.

Work Hours: 8

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