POSITION DETAILS
Position Title: Programme Policy Officer – Post-Harvest Management (PHM)
No of openings : 1
Contract Type : Service Contract (SC)
Position grade: SC-8
Unit/Division: Smallholder Agriculture Market Support – SAMS (SO4)
Duration: 12 months, with possibility of extension
Duty Station : Kigali
Closing Date: 5 April 2023
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.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT
In a world where we produce enough food to feed everyone, 690 million people – one in nine – still go to bed on an empty stomach each night. Even more – one in three – suffer from some form of malnutrition. Many of those hungry are small-holder farmers (SHFs) who produce 70% of the global food supply and yet they remain the most vulnerable to food insecurity – hunger and poverty. Helping raise their incomes and improve their livelihoods holds the key to building sustainable food systems, advancing food security and achieving Zero Hunger.
Overall, smallholders lack access to productive inputs and financing. Post-harvest management (PHM), including handling during harvesting, transporting, drying; and storage etc., is often inadequate: crops are exposed to mold, rot, and pests. Approximately one-third of the world’s available food for human consumption (approximately 1.3. billion tones) is either lost or wasted, i.e., it is spoilt or thrown away before it ever reaches a plate. Recovering food loss on-farm and immediately following harvest can boost the income of smallholder farmers by 15%, increasing prosperity and permitting increased consumer spending in emerging economies.
In Rwanda, more than 30 percent of the harvests are lost in the weeks following the harvest, due to poor crop handling and ineffective household storage which leads to higher risk of post-harvest contamination of the crops, and food poisoning. Because of this, farmers are often forced to sell their crops immediately after harvest, at low prices, and only to buy food at much higher prices. This traps them and their families in poverty. It prevents them from growing their income, and from providing food, medicine, and education to their children. It also means that staple foods are not available consistently in the market, contributing further to market price fluctuations.
WFP Rwanda is implementing the ‘Shora Neza’ Project under which PHM is one of three key pillars:
- Market Access: Increase smallholder farmer incomes by connecting them to premium public and private markets
- Post-harvest Management: Improve quality and reduce post-harvest losses through the promotion of a vibrant, youth-led market for small-scale post-harvest equipment and the associated distribution network for it.
- Access to Finance: Catalyze investments in the food sector (with a focus on youth-led MSMEs) through the creation of a blended financing facility for MSMEs.
Moreover, in November 2022, WFP received new funding from the Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF) to respond to the unprecedented hunger crisis in East Africa through adapting and scaling proven interventions serving smallholder farming communities in Uganda and Rwanda. Recognising that post-harvest loss and management represents a key opportunity to unlock food systems transformation and economic growth; a key approach in Rwanda is to significantly scale up support to promote private sector engagement to sustainably reduce post-harvest loss in line with the Government’s Post-Harvest Management Strategy. The PHM component of the project complements plans to scale up conservation agriculture and the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme.
The ultimate vision is to support the establishment and development of a thriving, demand-led market for post-harvest equipment, knowledge and innovation that particularly benefits youth and women in Rwanda. WFP is uniquely positioned, given its links with the private sector, to ensure that policy is translated into action that brings in the private sector in a substantive way, leading to more sustainable outcomes.
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)
The Programme Policy Officer, will work under the direct supervision of the Strategic Outcome 4 (SO4) Manager, will implement and coordinate activities related to PHM. Specifically, will be responsible for the following duties:
- Contribute to Shora Neza’s key pillar on PHM. Work closely with a network of project supported Farmer Service Centers (FSCs) and ensure they serve as a hub for various agricultural services and technologies, help in reducing transaction costs for farmers and improving their productivity and income through provision of products and services that are tailored to the needs of smallholder farmers.
- Identify solutions, tech or non-tech, for locally identified problem statements focused on post-harvest loss reduction, e.g., to increase shelf lifetime, reduce harvest losses, avoid aflatoxin contamination, enhance nutritional alternatives, enable affordable financial services, etc.;
- Recommend suitable and tailored marketing and distribution strategies to meet the demand and improve the supply by identifying the appropriate partnerships.
- Conduct a capacity needs assessment in order to recommend the adequate capacity (by WFP and all relevant stakeholders) to implement the market-based model.
- Conduct or facilitate studies/analysis to indicate the potential to generate and sustain enough demand for the market, as well as the key conditions to incentivize the supply side taking into consideration previous studies including “market assessment of small-scale post-harvest handling and storage (PHHS) equipment”;
- Contribute to the implementation of WFP Rwanda’s PHM engagement plan under NNF funded “Scaling up Homegrown School Feeding and Smallholder Farmer Support in Rwanda in response to global food crises” program; and
- Ensure evidence generation of the process that would inform replication and scale up beyond the initial pilot.
ADDITIONAL TASKS
- Provide technical guidance and capacity building trainings, including material design, on the model for implementing partners and local institutions.
- Supervise and monitor PHM activities by conducting regular visits to project sites and recommend best practices for project improvements;
- Develop or identify suitable post-harvest handling resources/information from other actors like FAO, MADER and research institutes that can benefit the farming communities.
- Conduct awareness raising on program objectives and procedures, interaction with programme stakeholders (such as Government and other WFP partners, as well as within WFP units);
- Follow up data gathering and monitoring systems ensuring that rigorous quality standards are maintained. Includes research and analysis of policy and operational issues to support activities, as well as carry out frequent field missions to targeted districts and assess programme outputs; and draft regular monitoring report on status of implementation and progress and contribute to the data analysis.
- Prepare technical documents necessary for the execution of the project in coordination with the project team and in accordance with the approved plans;
- Conduct value chain assessment to identify gaps and develop recommendations on how to improve the selected value chains and maximize the impact;
- Participate actively in existing initiatives and forums in connection with PHL and aflatoxin control
- Develop knowledge management products for information and use within WFP and by value chain actors.
- Perform other functions that, within their specialty, are required.
QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:
Education: Degree in Agriculture, Rural development, Agribusiness, Food Science or related fields. Degree in project and business management would be an asset.
Experience:
At least 3 years of extensive experience in designing and managing business and/or projects that focus on market system, including value chain development. Experience in developing solutions targeted to small-holder farmers in rural/remote areas, would be an added value. Proven track record in providing technical and/or business solutions to Smallholder Farmers, with experience implementing or advising on PHLM models.
Additional desired experience: Field work experience with community engagement, smallholder farmers, agricultural production, as well as postharvest loss reduction; smallholder farmers marketing support; Demonstrated ability to work effectively with a wide range of partners with varying interests and priorities; Exposure to the agricultural marketing environment in Rwanda and strong knowledge Rwanda and different agriculture institutions including in government and private sector.
Knowledge & Skills:
Possess excellent communication and writing skills. Ability to work independently in a timely and organised manner; Flexibility and adaptability to shifting goal posts and evolving client needs. Ability to conduct research and analyse data; Ability to create business plans with actionable objectives; Strong computer skills; Networking skills to liaise with business partners and clients; Knowledge of marketing and advertising strategies; Sales experience; Experience working in a start-up or with new business development. Willingness to explore and experiment with new ideas and approaches in own work
Languages:
Working knowledge (proficiency/Level C) of English is required; Fluency in Kinyarwanda is essential. Knowledge of French would be an additional asset.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
This position is open to Rwandan Nationals
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS
5 April 2023
.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.
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