Food Security and Nutrition Junior Consultant Consultant – WFP jobs in Italy

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.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Advanced University degree in Nutrition, Food Security, Public Health, Epidemiology, Development Studies, Public and Social Policy, Sociology, Anthropology, Political Science, International Relations, Management and/or Economics.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The World Food Programme is 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 2022, WFP supported a record 158 million food insecure people, well above the 128 million beneficiaries reached in 2021. However, as many as 828 million people go to bed hungry every night, and the number of people facing acute food insecurity is projected to persist for 345 million in 2023. In the context of ‘poly-crisis’ world and the subsequent complex challenge of achieving Zero Hunger (SDG 2), it is more pertinent that ever to implement and scale up social protection policies and instruments that address poverty, inequality and/or vulnerability and can help reduce food insecurity and malnutrition, and vice versa.

Social protection is an increasingly relevant strategy for governments to reduce extreme poverty, as well as various forms of hunger and inequality. Virtually every country in the world has at least one social protection scheme in place, and 3.7 billion people are already covered by some type of social protection programme. Yet 53% of the global population (4.1 billion people) still lacks adequate social protection. As a global leader in fighting hunger and malnutrition worldwide, often in very difficult contexts, WFP is increasingly called upon by governments to support national social protection systems and programmes. We work with governments and partners to extend the coverage, comprehensiveness, adequacy, and quality of social protection, with the aim of ensuring that more people have access to strong national social protection systems that help them to meet their food security, nutrition and associated essential needs; and manage the risks and shocks they face. In 2022, WFP partnered with governments in 88 countries to support national social protection, making this an integral part of WFP’s activities in most of the countries where it operates.

JOB PURPOSE

Coordinated efforts for social protection for food-security and nutrition outcomes directly align with the WFP Strategy for Support to Social Protection, which articulates the organization’s approach to social protection and offers a coordinating framework, placing ‘Social Protection that helps people meet their food security, nutrition, and associated essential needs’ as its 1st priority and key pathway for impact. This is premised on WFP’s recognition of the linkages between food insecurity, malnutrition, poverty, inequality and other forms of deprivation, and hence the organization’s open approach to supporting national social protection programmes that are food security and nutrition-specific, food security and nutrition-sensitive, as well as those that that aim to reduce multidimensional poverty broadly in contexts where food insecurity and malnutrition are a major concern, even when a food security or nutrition lens is not directly applied.

In this context, this expression of interest aims to identify a qualified individual to support this growing area of work. The Social Protection for Food Security and Nutrition Consultant will provide technical research and analysis support to WFP’s initiatives within this topic, help document and disseminate key learnings, and contribute to the management of communications and partnerships efforts dedicated towards enhancing WFP’s visibility within this area of work. Please note that this is a remote consultancy posting, and remuneration will be commensurate with the candidate’s qualifications, experience, and skills.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

• Analyzing social protection data to update key facts and figures, facilitating a better understanding of global trends, issues, and policy efforts in social protection.
• Conducting research on policy and operational issues related to social protection for food security and nutrition (FSN) outcomes.
• Supporting the Global Food Crisis grant funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation by researching ways to increase access to fortified foods for social assistance recipients in South Asia.
• Identifying sustainable solutions for the supply and demand of fortified complementary foods for children aged 6 to 23 months in West Africa, documenting and promoting dissemination across WFP and external networks.
• Aiding in the advancement of WFP’s food security and nutrition-sensitive agenda through the Mind the Gap publication series alongside the Fill the Nutrient Gap/Nutrition team(s) at various levels.
• Documenting WFP’s efforts in nutrition-sensitive social protection, leveraging organizational experiences and lessons learned at national, regional, and global levels.
• Developing concept notes and proposals for research and partnerships focused on social protection for FSN outcomes.
• Facilitating inter-agency coordination for initiatives like the USP2030 Global Partnership, UN Food Systems Summit (FSS), and the g7+ coalition, to underscore social protection’s role in enhancing FSN outcomes.

4Ps CORE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES

Purpose

• Aligns personal goals with WFP’s strategic objectives, adapting to changes and linking individual contributions to the broader mission. Communicates how personal goals support WFP’s operations.

People

• Engages in self-assessment for growth, embracing diverse perspectives with respect and equality. Actively seeks feedback and coaching to enhance skills and contributes positively to team goals under challenging circumstances.

Partnership

• Adapts to the working styles of internal teams and external partners, understanding their needs and demonstrating WFP’s value as a partner with professionalism.

Performance

• Open to new ideas and approaches, delivering results on time and accurately. Upholds commitments despite changing priorities and makes informed decisions in uncertain situations.

FUNCTIONAL CAPABILITIES

• Technical knowledge of social protection, different national schemes and how UN agencies contribute to the design, implementation or enhancement of these systems
• Familiarity with key debates and approaches in food security and nutrition and in social protection
• General understanding of the global hunger and malnutrition situation, WFP as an organization, and how WFP is addressing food insecurity and malnutrition
• Knowledge of the different forms of malnutrition, challenges in current approaches to addressing malnutrition, and how nutritional needs and vulnerabilities differ across the life cyle and according to intersecting inequalities.

OTHER SPECIFIC JOB REQUIREMENTS

Ability to travel and/or relocate

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

o    Understanding and interest in different social protection definitions, approaches and key policy considerations
o    Experience undertaking qualitative research, with a proven command of different research methodologies
o    Excellent communication skills and proven ability in creative-, systems- and/or design-thinking is an asset
o    Excellent command of English; Working knowledge of a second UN language would be an asset.
o    Excellent writing skills in English and other languages
o    Proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook)
o    Proficiency in MS Publisher, In Design and/or Photoshop is highly desirable.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Junior Consultant Level II

11 months

Home based/remote work

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

23 February 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.