Career Opportunities: Programme Assistant (Home Grown School feeding), SC 5 (831886)
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ABOUT WFP
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.
POSITION DETAILS
Job Title: Programme Assistant (SC5) – School Feeding
Type of Contract: Service Contract, Level 5
Unit/ Division: SO2 School Feeding
Duty Station: Kigali, Rwanda
Duration: 12 Months renewable upon satisfactory performance and availability of funds
Application Deadline: 18th March 2024
ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the world’s largest humanitarian agency, fighting hunger worldwide. WFP Rwanda works in partnership with the Government and other stakeholders through the direct implementation of integrated programmes targeting the most vulnerable people and will progressively shift towards building national capacity to formulate, manage and implement programmes for achieving zero hunger. In implementing its activities, WFP will bridge the humanitarian–development nexus and leverage its extensive experience and the contributions it has made in Rwanda over many decades in order to achieve five strategic outcomes:
- Refugees and returnees in Rwanda have access to adequate and nutritious food at all times.
- Vulnerable populations in food-insecure communities and areas have improved access to adequate and nutritious food all year.
- Children under 5, adolescents and pregnant and nursing women and girls in Rwanda have improved access to nutritious foods and services that enable them to meet their nutrition needs all year.
- Smallholder farmers, especially women, have increased marketable surplus and access to agricultural markets through efficient supply chains by 2030.
- The Government of Rwanda and the humanitarian community is provided with adequate, timely, cost-efficient and agile supply chain services and expertise necessary to effectively respond to emergency crisis.
Under Strategic Outcome 2, WFP provides home-grown school feeding in food insecure areas in Rwanda and acts as a key technical partner of the Government of Rwanda in developing and expanding the national school feeding programme. This position of the School Feeding Programme Associate will be part of the school feeding team and is based in the Country Office in Kigali, Rwanda and contributes to the effective and efficient design and implementation of school feeding activities – WFP-implemented school feeding and technical assistance to Government – under Strategic Outcome 2.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNEMENT
Under the Home-Grown School Feeding programme, WFP provides daily school meals to approximately 30,000 primary students in in three districts (Gasabo, Kayonza, Burera). In addition to school meals, WFP works with key partners World Vision and Gardens for Health International to provide a complementary school health and nutrition package to schools including water and sanitation, improved infrastructure, school gardens and nutrition, food safety and storage and improved literacy, with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources to implement the programme including smallholder farmer linkages to the school feeding market, and the Rwanda Biomedical Center to support deworming activities. This position supports the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme in general, as well as the activities in Gasabo district in particular.
COUNTRY CONTEXT AND RESPONSE
In Rwanda, the Government implements a National School Feeding Programme that covers 4 million children and that the WFP Home-Grown School Feeding Programme seeks to support.There has been a growing demand for WFP to support the Government of Rwanda in the development and capacity strengthening for the national programme. As a result, there is an increasing need for internal coordination across functional areas in WFP (e.g. nutrition, social protection and resilience, smallholder farmer, M&E, gender, and supply chain) to ensure the organization delivers well-planned, integrated school feeding support to the Government.
JOB PURPOSE
To deliver against the above, the Country Office is seeking a School Feeding Programme Assistant (SC5) to perform specialized and/or standardized processes and activities under the school feeding portfolio. The incumbent will operate under the direct supervision of the Programme Police Officer- School Feeding Programme Manager and the technical supervision of the School Feeding Programme Officer (SC8). The incumbent will be responsible for carrying out the following tasks and responsibilities:
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES
- Perform specialized and/or standardised processes and activities relating to the school feeding portfolio, supporting alignment with wider programme policies and guidelines.
- Provide project oversight to support partnership management, following established school feeding targets and WFP’s policies and procedures.
- Compile data and support analysis and preparation of reports relevant to the school feeding portfolio in order to support decision-making.
- Support field level monitoring of implementation of programme outputs and outcomes and reporting in programme schools in Gasabo district.
- Perform accurate, timely recording of data related to the implementation of school feeding activities, following corporate school feeding M&E guidelines.
- Work and exchange information with internal counterparts to support effective collaboration, implementation and monitoring of ongoing school feeding activities.
- Support communication and collaboration with external school feeding stakeholders.
- Act as a point of contact for resolution of general school feeding queries.
- Other as required.
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
Education:
First University degree in Education, Nutrition, Project Management, Agriculture, International Development, International Relations, Sociology, or other fields relevant to school feeding.
Experience:
Has minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in humanitarian or development programme management or implementation.
Knowledge & Skills:
- Has facilitated communication with technical teams (i.e. nutrition, VAM, etc.).
- Has contributed to implementation of development or humanitarian programmes.
- Has observed or assisted with policy discussions.
- Has experience in education.
- Familiarity with Agenda 2030 and respective targets – particularly SDG2, SDG4 and SDG5 – and how the work of WFP can contribute to achieving them;
- Basic understanding of technical and theoretical concepts pertinent to school feeding;
- Strong knowledge of key national and regional contexts and issues;
- Quantitative and qualitative analytical skills; and basic quantitative data skills
- Ability to produce high-quality written outputs in English.
- Understanding of basic principles of stakeholder engagement with government and other counterparts at the national or local level.
- Appetite for exploring and experimenting with new ideas and approaches.
- Ability to work independently in a timely and organised manner;
- Ability to work as part of a team, participating in open dialogues and valuing diverse opinions of others, regardless of gender, culture, background, experience, or country assignment.
- Moderate to proficient computer literacy.
Languages:
Fluency in both oral and written communication in English
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Applications open for Rwanda Nationals only.
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS
18th March 2024
WFP has a zero-tolerance approach to conduct such as fraud, sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to WFP’s standards of conduct and will therefore undergo rigorous background verification internally or through third parties. Selected candidates will also be required to provide additional information as part of the verification exercise. Misrepresentation of information provided during the recruitment process may lead to disqualification or termination of employment
WFP will not request payment at any stage of the recruitment process including at the offer stage. Any requests for payment should be refused and reported to local law enforcement authorities for appropriate action.
