Consultant- School Feeding Manager

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme is the winner of the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize. We are 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. In Lao PDR, WFP supports the government in providing school lunches for primary students, counters malnutrition with targeted food support to the most vulnerable, and helps communities build resilient lives with sustainable livelihood options.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

School feeding and school-based programmes have been a key focus for the Laos Country Office since it established an office in 2002 and Strategic Outcome 1 (school feeding) remains the largest outcome area under the CSP (2022-2026). The Country Office is currently managing two concurrent USDA McGovern-Dole awards, the FY 17 award (October 2017 – February 2023) and FY 20 award (October 2020 – September 2025).

Since supporting the establishment of the Government’s National School Meals Programme (NSMP) in the early 2010s, WFP has been providing financial and technical assistance to the Government to expand and strengthen the NSMP, ensuring that pre-primary and primary school students in the Government’s priority districts receive school meals. While the CO continues to manage direct implementation of programmes in 700+ schools, WFP’s capacity strengthening / technical assistance work to the Government and communities continues to grow.

In particular, following the successful handover and integration to the NSPM of WFP-supported school feeding programmes at 1,430 schools, the Country Office is currently designing a long-term “transition strategy” to guide its future engagement with the Government of Lao PDR, including the identification of remaining capacity gaps, plans for targeted technical assistance initiatives, timelines and milestones for successive rounds of handover, etc.

There are increasing demands arising out of two concurrent McGovern-Dole awards and the intensive engagement required around transition planning. However, the Country Office does not currently have sufficient capacity and thus has identified the need to employ an International Consultant.

The Consultant will serve as the SO 1 (school feeding) manager and will be responsible for the overall management of the school feeding team, and lead the development of a “transition framework” in coordination with experts hired through WFP’s Regional Bureau in Bangkok (RBB).

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

1. Manage the Country Office school feeding (SO 1) team, consisting of an NOC Government Partnerships Officer, four NOB Programme Policy Officers, an international consultant and a G6 Programme Associate, ensuring a common goal, coordinated and clear communication to field offices, support units and management, and the smooth running of operations.
2. Coordinate WFP’s school feeding programme operations (both to WFP-supported schools as well as those under the NSMP) to ensure strengthened and sustainable school feeding programmes.
3. Lead / coordinate the development of a “transition framework” for the Country Office, in collaboration with external experts; this will include a Handover Plan to be signed with the Government, as well as engagement with the Government on other school feeding-related commitments.
4. Oversee the planning and tracking of programme quality and progress, including the implementation of oversight and evaluation-related actions, strong programme documentation and the identification of gaps and potential solutions.
5. 5. Lead WFP’s school feeding operational and strategic partnerships – including with the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) and the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) – to ensure cohesive and coordinated support to the NSMP.

Key Accountabilities

6. Engage with WFP’s regional bureau and HQ on initiatives and guidance to ensure that school-based programmes in Lao PDR benefit from new learning, tools and models.

7. Oversee compliance with USDA and other donor and corporate requirements, including regular donor reporting and communication.

8. Manage the enhancement of WFP’s school-based programmes through the integration of gender, AAP, disability and other cross-cutting themes.

9. Coordinate and participate in regular field missions to provide oversight and support to school feeding operations in the field.

10. Represent WFP during meetings with partners to contribute to technical discussions, exchange of knowledge and experiences, and identify areas for potential collaboration.

11. Support the professional development of team members, including in the area of country capacity strengthening and perform other tasks as required

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Masters/Advanced university degree in a relevant discipline: food security, nutrition, development studies, social sciences, economics, social safety nets or other field relevant to international development assistance.

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

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• At least 6 years of experience in managing development projects and teams, including for school feeding / school-based programmes; experience with the USDA McGovern-Dole programme is an asset.
• Good analytical, facilitation and negotiation skills;
• Ability to work in a team and establish effective working relations with persons of different cultural backgrounds;

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Duty Station: Vientiane, Laos

Contract type: Consultant- regular

Contract duration: 11 months (renewal)

Reporting: Head of Programme

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

Posting date: 30 March 2022

Closing date: 12 April 2022