Programme Policy Officer for Social Protection and School Meals SC9

-Support Country Offices (COs) to define and set strategic direction school meals engagement as part of wider national social protection and safety nets schemes:

Support COs in their formulation of Country Strategic Plans (CSP) and programme strategy, in close coordination with relevant CO colleagues, relevant Regional Bureau thematic units, and HQ counterparts, ensuring alignment with corporate policies/strategies and regional guidance.

Support COs in developing the strategic direction and positioning of CO engagement vis-à-vis national social protection and school meals schemes.

Support CO efforts to engage with and take forward existing and future commitments made by host governments under the School Meals Coalition (SMC)

2-Provide technical support on social protection capacity strengthening:

Provide technical support to CO colleagues including through field missions and Temporary Duty travel (TDYs), as relevant, fostering integration of social protection and school meals programme thinking with the work of other relevant technical teams (cash based transfers, nutrition, emergency preparedness and response planning, TEC…) liaising with relevant CO, Regional Bureau and Headquarters focal points as required.

Contribute to the school meals "digital innovation" workstream, including (but not limited to) joint EMIS systems development with UNESCO/UNICEF and governments.

Support capacity building of Country Office staff and government counterparts in efforts to strengthen social protection and school meals programming.

3-Support CO and RBC efforts at research and knowledge management in the area of school meals:

Support efforts to research and analyze policy and operational challenges of social protection and school meals programmes across the region and in support of RBC and Country Office colleagues, to inform policies, programmes and related activities.

Contribute to the development and coordination of case studies, research, operational information, advocacy documents and other knowledge management products, support the organization of external presentations and events showcasing WFP experience and learning, and promote effective information-sharing and exchange.

Provide comments and contribute to the content of various CO and regional reports, including to strategically position school meals operations along with their multidimensional benefits;

Support knowledge exchange efforts on school meals and social protection practices across the region and globally.

4-Support COs with their partnership development with government, UN, International Financial Institutions, and other development partners:

Support the identification, development and management of potential collaborative partnerships including with other UN agencies (e.g. UNICEF and UNESCO, linking to the Education cluster), International Financial Institutions, government and regional entities, and academia;

Specifically on private sector (PS) partnerships, work with the RB focal point to ensure that PS prospects interested in school meals have up to date information on the school based programmes in the region and latest innovative projects which can appeal to the private sector - this can take the form of regular updates and/or the development of sector specific value propositions.

Support relevant COs in their policy dialogue on social protection and school meals with host governments and development partners, including their efforts to develop their stakeholder engagement plans, positioning and advocacy messages;

Support COs to strengthen the integration of school meals in the different Education Cluster/Local Education Group strategies/plans and education-related funds, Initiatives and Programmes such as SDG4 Arab Region, Education Cannot Wait (ECW), Global Partnership for Education (GPE), No Lost Generation (NLG), Life Skills and Citizenship Education (LSCE), etc;

Contribute to the preparation of proposals, progress and analytical reports, presentations, briefs, visibility material and information products corporately and for donors.

Liaise with other functional sections and units to ensure effective internal collaboration.

Support RBC and CO participation in relevant regional events in collaboration with other UN agencies and regional actors, through presentations, case studies, talking points, etc;.

5-Oversight: Undertake oversight of programmatic activities as required.

6-Perform other duties as required.

Skills

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Post-graduate degree (master's degree or higher) in International Affairs, Economics, Nutrition/Health, Agriculture, Environmental Science, Social Sciences or another field relevant to international development assistance.