Knowledge Management Consultant

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, color, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status, physical or mental disability.

Job Title: Knowledge Management Officer

Type of Contract: Regular Consultant (level II)

Division: School-based Programmes

Duty Station (City, Country): Rome HQ, Italy

Duration: 11 months

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the leading organization fighting hunger worldwide, working with communities to improve nutrition, build resilience and address the growing challenges posed by climate change and rising inequality.

For more than 50 years, WFP has been the leading organization in supporting countries with their school feeding programmes, which are widely prevalent throughout the world. Almost every country in the world has a national school feeding programme, making it the most widespread safety net. The interventions reach an estimated 368 million children and adolescents globally. Of these, WFP supports about 16 million children annually and also provides technical assistance to governments ensuring the sustainability and effectiveness of government investments.

To strengthen its global support for school feeding, WFP has established a new School-Based Programmes Service (SBP) within the Programme and Policy Development Department at its Headquarters in Rome. The School-Based Programmes Service will support WFP’s engagement in school feeding across four workstreams identified in WFP’s new School Feeding Strategy 2020-2030:

1. Generating and sharing knowledge and best practices globally

2. Increasing the investment in school feeding

3. Acting in partnership to improve and advocate for school health and nutrition

4. Strengthening programmatic approaches in key areas

Purpose of the assignment

This consultancy is related to workstream 1 of the Strategy, described above: “generating and sharing knowledge and best practices globally”. The Knowledge Management Officer will help generate and share credible, relevant, and salient knowledge, while managing relevant platforms as a critical pillar in the execution of the School Feeding strategy 2020-2030. This role will play a crucial role in filling the knowledge gaps currently present in School Health and Nutrition, capturing the said knowledge, and ensuring its impact on future programmes. S/He will report to the Head of the Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) Unit

As Knowledge Management Officer in the school-based programmes team you will gain experience in the humanitarian and development sector by working and contributing to a multidisciplinary team. You will support improving evidence for school-based programmes and support the roll out of the school feeding strategy.

Through your "hands on" and "make it happen" attitude and by sharing your own thoughts and ideas with the team, you will contribute significantly to advancing school feeding programmes worldwide and ensuring that every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential and thrive.

ACCOUNTABITLITIES / RESPONSIBILITIES:

You will work under the direct supervision of the Head of Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) Unit in the School Based Programmes Division.

• Develop a Knowledge Management (KM) Work Plan in alignment with the approved SBP knowledge management priorities, Regional Bureau Implementation Plans and WFP HQ KM strategy.

• Lead the roll-out of a coordinated, and systematic approach to identifying, capturing and promoting the School Based Programmes evidence and knowledge management priorities.

  1. Support Regional Bureaus, Country Offices and SBP and WFP HQ units in developing, reviewing and disseminating knowledge products (e.g., best practices, case studies, research and evaluation findings, etc. via WFP channels to foster learning and knowledge exchange
  2. Provide comments and ensure quality control to knowledge products and provide guidance on types of knowledge products best suited for each audience.
  3. Support dissemination of School Health and Nutrition evidence at the global level.
  4. Offer helpdesk support to the field, including South- South Triangular Cooperation; provide one-to-one support to WFP regional bureaus and country offices for the Research and Policy unit’s KM tools and processes as needed.

• Manage the SBP knowledge management site and support the setting up and management of the SBP knowledge management collaboration platform/team site/Yammer for Workstream 1, includes knowledge sharing platforms (WFPgo, wfp.org and SharePoint repositories) to ensure materials are up to date and easily accessible.

• Support field colleagues in finalizing their regional implementation plans, specifically advising on the knowledge management and research workstream.
• Support development of materials for capacity building: Workshops, including Thought Leadership events, learning and training sessions, and online training packages.
• Serve as key contributor to the planning, drafting and coordination of the development of WFPs flagship State of School Feeding Worldwide publication series
• Serve as MERL unit’s focal point/coordinator in the WFP Program Guidance Manual and knowledge management working group, coordinated by the PRO division.
• Support Communities of Practice of the School Health and Nutrition Research Consortium Communities of Practice (to be determined)
• In coordination with head of unit/supervisor, draft talking points and briefing notes to support senior management.
• Support preparation for and documentation of the WFP Executive Board meetings.
• Liaise with other SBP units to cover key knowledge management events as needed.
• In coordination with other SBP units, gather, organize and prepare accurate and latest information on COVID-19 and school meals globally, and transform this into knowledge products to be used and disseminated to different internal and external audiences (incl. advocacy for school reopening, learning continuity and recovery etc.).
• Serve as a member of SBP's knowledge hub on COVID-19 by maintaining and strengthening exchanges within SBP, the Country Offices and Regional Bureaus, KM focal points in other divisions in WFP as well as those in the other Regional Bureaus, Country Offices, HQ and key partners (e.g. UNESCO, UNICEF).
• Support research function in the team (support in data collection, analysis and presentations covering both quantitative and qualitative aspects, including the development of an online survey tool for the Global School Health and Nutrition Database).

• For the Rockefeller project specifically:

  1. Design and implementation of the SBP Knowledge Management (KM) Work Plan for the Rockefeller Grant in alignment with the approved SBP knowledge management priorities, Regional Bureau Implementation Plans and WFP HQ KM strategy.
  2. Support and provide guidance on the development, maintenance, management, and dissemination and regular update of quality content on the regional, external and internal, knowledge collaboration platforms
• • Work closely with KM School Feeding Programme Focal Points – SBP Knowledge, Advocacy and Communications Teams to identify, develop, standardized, and package content to be shared on the WFP and SBP collaboration platforms;
  • Search, identify and capture high quality, easy to understand information on Components 1-4 of the Rockefeller grant, specifically regarding policy advice and their practical application and propose ways of communicating them to the SBP partners;
  • Liaise with KM COs focal points to identify and promote knowledge products and use them to write stories for the collaboration platforms;
  • Solicit contributions for the collaboration platforms from CO KM Focal Points, substantive practices and COs in the region, editing such contributions and produce the final copies to be disseminated via identified channels;
  • Encourage the use of analytical thinking and agile processes for decision-making, interaction with internal teams, and collaboration with external partners.

1. 3. Support SBP teams in development of knowledge management tools

• • Contribute to innovative knowledge management solutions and support their implementation.
  • Maintain on-line databases to promote use of multimedia in content management system. Support maintenance and further development of various databases as needed.

1. 4. Coordination with and contribution to integrated SBP knowledge management tools

• • Perform the quality assurance over the content, functionalities and structures of the SBP’s collaboration platforms;
  • Serve as Knowledge Product Focal Point to advice and support Country Offices in the region with publishing approved knowledge products on WFP websites, as required;
  • Advise on WFP editorial and branding guidelines and related resources.

1. 5. Provide programme support to SBP in day-to-day project management, including but not limited to support WS1a priority and work plan; budget management; administrative and procurement management

• Any other business as required.

DELIVERABLES QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

(Please refer to previous section.)

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education: Master’s degree in international affairs, social or behavioural sciences, economics, business administration, business analytics, or other relevant fields.

Experience: Minimum 6 years of relevant professional experience

Knowledge and Skills:

• Familiarity with knowledge management theories, concepts, approaches and methodologies relevant and applicable to work of the Organization.
• Proven ability to implement and sustain a state of the art knowledge management strategy that is aligned to the needs and priorities of the organization.
• Ability to identify issues, analyse and participate in the resolution of issues/problems.
• Ability to conduct data collection using various methods.
• Conceptual analytical and evaluative skills to conduct independent research and analysis, including familiarity with and experience in the use of various research sources, including electronic sources on the Internet, intranet and other databases.
• Ability to apply judgment in the context of assignments given, plan own work, manage conflicting priorities, develop clear goals consistent with agreed strategies.
• Ability to deliver results, demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results.
• Good interpersonal skills and ability to work in multicultural settings and ability to establish and maintain productive partnerships with stakeholders.
• Proven communication skills (written and oral); excellent writer and able to draft high-quality documents in English quickly.
• Ability to work independently, with minimal supervision and has initiative to propose or initiate activities to the benefit of the team and of WFP.
• Knowledge of WFP's 2020-2030 School Feeding Strategy and WFP school feeding programmes is required.
• Proficiency with Excel, Word and PowerPoint and exposure to WFP systems and excellent information technology skills (Microsoft Office Package, SharePoint, Teams)

Languages:

Fluency (level C) in English language. Knowledge of Spanish, French or Arabic a strong asset.

Terms and Conditions

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: 18 August 2023

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.