Field Assistant - School Meal Programme (SC4)

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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.

BACKGROUND

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.

In emergencies, WFP gets food to where it is needed, saving the lives of victims of war, civil conflict and natural disasters. After an emergency, WFP uses food to help communities rebuild their shattered lives. Present in nearly 80 countries, the organization has the global footprint, deep field presence and local knowledge and relationships necessary to provide access to nutritious food and contribute to the lasting solutions, especially in many of the world’s most remote and fragile areas. In Sri Lanka. a lower-middle-income country, WFP is committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in tandem with sister UN Agencies and the government, and in particular, SDG 2, Zero Hunger.

Despite sound health indicators in Sri Lanka, in comparison to its South Asian neighbours, maternal, new born and child malnutrition continue to pose major challenges for the country, which is characterized by a high level of acute malnutrition, mild to moderate level of chronic malnutrition and widespread micronutrient deficiencies. Further compounding the issue is the increased prevalence of overweight and obesity, as the country undergoes a dramatic nutritional transition influenced by economic growth, urbanization and shifts in the quality and quantity of diets.

A WFP five-year Country Strategic Plan (CSP 2018-2022) was developed in consultation with the Government and other stakeholders and informed by contextual, gender and gap analyses, and recommendations from the 2017 National Strategic Review of Food Security and Nutrition towards Zero Hunger. It supports Sri Lanka’s national development vision with four major Strategic Outcomes:.

➢ Strategic outcome 1: Crisis-affected people have access to food all year round; ➢ Strategic outcome 2: School-age children in food-insecure areas have access to food all year round; ➢ Strategic outcome 3: Children under 5, adolescent girls and women of reproductive age have improved nutrition by 2025; and ➢ Strategic outcome 4: Vulnerable communities and smallholder farmers have strengthened livelihoods and resilience to shocks and stresses all year round.

The National School Meals Programme (SMP), originally launched by the Government of Sri Lanka in 1931, is considered as an educational as well as a social protection intervention to support equal access to education and learning opportunities. Currently, about 85% of primary school children benefit from this initiative. Whilst assisting the local smallholder farmers to develop their capacity for providing a reliable food supply, HGSF programmes are also expected to expand opportunities for smallholder farmers to gain access to markets and contribute to rural transformation. The focus of HGSF, therefore, is two-fold; creating a structured demand for and strategic procurement of locally produced food, and building synergies with complementary interventions in order to enable smallholder farmers to participate in school feeding programmes.

To support these efforts, WFP Sri Lanka is recruiting a WFP Field Assistant School Meal Programme, with sound experience and a sound educational background as detailed below.

JOB PURPOSE

To coordinate the implementation of the HGSF phase 1 project in Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Vavuniya Districts, WFP is seeking a competent Field Assistant School Meal Programme to be based in Colombo, transferable to one of the project districts. The Field Assistant School Meal Programme will facilitate project implementation, coordinate between partners and perform monitoring of the project activities through a nutrition-sensitive and gender-transformative approach. The Field Assistant School Meal Programme is under the direct supervision of the Programme Assistant School Meal Programme and the overall supervision of the Activity Manager School Meal Programme.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

1. Work closely with the WFP Nutrition Team in Country Office as well as relevant stakeholders in the district and DS Divisional/ Education Zonal levels to provide support on the HGSF pilot project activities under the Activity 2 and 3 of the current WFP Country Strategic Plan 2018-2022

2. Assist the Programme Assistant (SMP) in planning, implementation and monitoring of the project activities in the Districts;

3. Closely interact with the project beneficiaries and government staff of the respective District and Divisions to mobilize their participation and support in the planning, implementation and monitoring of the project activities;

4. Facilitate the selection of the schools and beneficiaries for the project activities.

5. Visit project locations, schools and beneficiaries and coordinate provision of the inputs

6. Organize trainings and awareness programmes to the beneficiaries/communities in the assigned DS division in collaboration with the local government partners;

7. Work closely with the beneficiaries and the schools to identify issues (technical, managerial & financial) and needs to progress with the activities and guide them to find suitable solutions;

8. Follow up strictly and ensure the successful implementation of activities according to the guidelines provided;

9. Reconciliation support - assisting for timely preparation and delivering of documents with required authentication.

10. Facilitate regular/as needed basis convening of the District and Divisional Project steering committees

11. Facilitate to organize workshops, trainings and exposure visits for the government staff and beneficiaries as needed

12. Collect data and maintain updated qualitative and quantitative information to assist the Programme Assistant for regular monitoring of the project activities and preparation of reports to WFP CO;

13. The Field assistant will perform the said tasks through extensive fieldwork with selected communities and other key stakeholders of the project area

14. Perform any other duties as instructed by the Programme Assistant.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS & LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

Education: Completion of secondary school education. NVQ level 4 or a post-secondary certificate in agriculture / construction related functional area is desirable. Language: Excellent oral and written communication skills in Sinhala and/or Tamil. Basic command in English would be an advantage.

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

• At least two years relevant working experience in the fields of Nutrition, agriculture, construction, livelihood development in the dry zone districts or equitant.
• Working experience/knowledge to guide the beneficiaries to implement poultry farming and home gardens;
• Working experience in development projects in the target areas;
• Familiar with rural development, participatory approaches, and environmental issues;
• Ability to conduct surveys and assessment among the community;

4Ps CORE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES

Purpose

• Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives: Helps teammates articulate WFP’s Strategic Objectives.
• Be a force for positive change: Suggests potential improvements to team’s work processes to supervisor.
• Make the mission inspiring to our team: Explains the impact of WFP activities in beneficiary communities to teammates.
• Make our mission visible in everyday actions: Articulates how own unit’s responsibilities will serve WFP’s mission.

People

• Look for ways to strengthen people's skills: Trains junior teammates on new skills and capabilities.
• Create an inclusive culture: Seeks opportunities to work with people from different backgrounds.
• Be a coach & provide constructive feedback: Serves as a peer coach for colleagues in same area of work.
• Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit: Tracks progress toward goals and shares this information on a regular basis with supervisor.

Performance

• Encourage innovation & creative solutions: Explores ways to consistently be more efficient and accurate in own areas of work and shares new methods of work with colleagues.
• Focus on getting results: Focuses on getting results and tracks trends in completion rates for own tasks to identify opportunities for efficiency.
• Make commitments and make good on commitments: Takes responsibility for own tasks and notifies supervisor as soon as possible of potential delays in meeting deadlines or commitments.
• Be Decisive: Independently decides what action to take when faced with critical choices in the workplace or in dangerous situations in the field.

Partnership

• Connect and share across WFP units: Suggests opportunities for partnering with other units to supervisor.
• Build strong external partnerships: Identifies opportunities to work with colleagues and partners in the field towards common goals.
• Be politically agile & adaptable: Develops an understanding of the value of WFP’s teams and external partners in fulfilling team’s goals and objectives.
• Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships: Aligns own activities with supervisor’s priorities to fulfill internal and external partner needs.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Initial contract will be for a period of six months.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

Tuesday, 02 February 2022

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Female applicants and qualified applicants from developing countries are especially encouraged to apply

WFP has zero tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status.

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.