Programme Policy Officer at World Food Programme (WFP)

QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE AND COMPETENCIES

• University Degree in one or more of the following disciplines: Agriculture/Agronomy, Horticulture, Agriculture Economics, Agribusiness, Agricultural Extension, Agricultural Education, Food Science and Technology and equivalent qualification from a recognized institution.
• Served in comparable and relevant position in the public service or private sector with an International Organisation for at least five (5) years.
• Extensive knowledge of local food market systems in Kenya. Knowledge and experience in public food procurement and supply chain management will be an added advantage.
• Demonstrated experience in project planning and management, implementing agricultural market projects, creating market opportunities for smallholder farmers and market analysis.
• Possess excellent communication skills with ability with people from different cultural settings and organisations.
• Good knowledge of key functions of the Ministries of Agriculture, Livestock, Water and irrigation, Ministry of Health – Nutrition and Food Safety Divisions, National and County governments and other related including social services.
• Skills and experience in strategic and policy engagement with both national and county governments.
• Advanced analytical skills, resourcefulness, maturity of judgement, negotiating skills and ability to communicate effectively in written and spoken English.

BACKGROUND

Background

Since 1980, WFP and the Ministry of Education have jointly implemented a school meals program targeting the most food-insecure districts with the lowest enrolment and completion rates and high gender disparities – including all primary schools in the marginalized arid and semi-arid lands of Kenya and in the informal settlements of Nairobi. WFP and the Government of Kenya are currently giving a hot lunch to 1.5 million children attending school across the country each day of the school term.

In 2009, the Government of Kenya started a national home grown school meals programme (HGSMP) to provide a meal to children at school; to support education achievements while also stimulating local agricultural production through purchase of food from smallholder farmers and local food suppliers.

After more than three decades of joint WFP-Government programming, the transition of school feeding activities to Government ownership is underway and due to be completed by January 2019. WFP supports the hand-over process.

The Government funded HGSMP covers all the semi-arid counties that are largely inhabited by smallholder farmers; and it is progressively expanding into the arid counties. Beginning in January 2018, the Government of Kenya will expand the HGSMP to Baringo and West Pokot sub-countries.

JOB PURPOSE

Local and Regional Food Aid Procurement Project

With financial support from the United States of Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other donors, WFP has committed to support the Government of Kenya’s effort to sustainably expand the national home-grown school feeding programme (HGSMP) into the arid lands while stimulating local economic development through the procurement of food from local structured markets, strengthening local and regional food market systems, improving access to culturally-acceptable foods and connecting them to the home-grown school meals program’ and to improve systems for assuring the safety and quality of food for feeding programmes. This will entail the following:

• Assessment and Mapping of Local Food Systems and Value Chains

WFP will support the government to conduct market assessments of local value chains in Baringo and West Pokot sub-counties, where the Government of Kenya will start providing cash transfers to schools under the Home Grown School Meals Program (HGSMP) in January 2018. These market assessments will map the production and supply capacity of local traders and farmers to schools, and the market assessments will be used to estimate the cash transfer rates that the government should use when transitioning schools to the HGSMP.

WFP will support the government to conduct value chain analyses to identify and map locally produced commodities and local agricultural production that are well-positioned to participate in the structured demand markets created by the HGSMP. Building upon the Cash Transfers to Schools (CTS) market assessments, the value chain analyses will focus on the availability, costs and future potential of local, nutritious, and culturally-acceptable food to become part of the HGSMP food basket. The assessments will also consider the local availability of drought-tolerant crops in order to inform the development of diverse menus under the HGSMP.

• Capacity Building for National and County Institutions

WFP will support the development of the Government of Kenya’s national implementation strategy to guide direct local procurement from smallholder farmers by government institutions, such as schools, the National Youth Service, hospitals and the Kenya Police Service. WFP, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (MOALF) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), have obtained consensus from the Ministries of Education, Health, Interior, Labour and Social Protection, Devolution and Planning, as well as the Kenya Dairy Board, and the National Cereals and Produce Board, to support procurement from smallholder farmers and agricultural processors by developing an implementation strategy, which will be first implemented in Turkana, Baringo and West Pokot, before a national roll-out.

JOB PURPOSE

• Capacity Strengthening for Local Suppliers and Traders

WFP will train local farmer organizations, suppliers and traders in Baringo and West Pokot on the key requirements for becoming suppliers to the HGSMP, including eligibility criteria for suppliers, procurement procedures for schools, food quality assurance, and post‐harvest handling.

WFP will partner with the Ministry of Education (MOE), MOALF, and Ministry of Health (MOH) to conduct market linkage forums in Baringo and West Pokot, which will provide an opportunity for potential suppliers to interact with school meals procurement committees. Market linkage forums will increase awareness, promote transparency during the procurement process, and provide school meals procurement committees with the opportunity to coordinate with suppliers to adjust the HGSMP food basket based on locally-available products.

• Procure Locally-Produced, Drought-Tolerant Crops

WFP will pilot the local procurement of sorghum and cowpeas for schools in Turkana. WFP will procure these locally-produced, drought-tolerant crops using Forward Delivery Contracts (FDCs) and direct contracts issued to six farmer organizations in Turkana County. The farmer organizations have received technical support on cultivating sorghum and cowpeas, and using FDC and direct contract mechanisms through WFP activities supported by other ongoing projects. The locally-procured sorghum and cowpeas will diversify the existing food basket, by replacing a portion of the bulgur wheat and green split peas for two days per week (20 days per term) for two school-terms in 2018.

• Strengthen Systems for ensuring School Meals Food Safety and Quality

WFP is currently working with the government to develop a National School Meals Food Safety and Quality guideline and to roll out related activities in five arid counties. WFP will continue work with the Ministries of Education, Health and Agriculture to finalise and roll out the national guideline, and with county governments to implement the guideline.

WFP is seeking to recruit a programme policy officer (Agribusiness and Markets) to manage the four market components of the Local and Regional Procurement (LRP) project and ensure effective and timely implementation of the same.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

Accountability

Under the overall supervision of the Head of WFP Resilient Livelihoods and Nutrition Unit and Direct Supervision of the Programme Policy Officer (Market Access and Linkages), the incumbent will work closely with the Country Capacity Strengthening Unit and the Nutrition team to ensure that the market component of the Local and Regional Food Aid Procurement project is implemented efficiently and effectively.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities

• Ensure that the market components of the LRP project are well synchronised with the nutrition and feeding components. Specific duties under each of the components include

a) Assessment and Mapping of Local Food Systems and Value Chains

• Develop detailed terms of reference for market and value chain assessments. The office will develop the terms of reference in close collaboration with the Country Capacity Strengthening, Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping units, the Nutrition team and relevant field office staff.
• Review the methodology and tools proposed by the Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping Unit for the assessments and mapping.
• Review assessment reports, coordinate provision inputs from other units and field offices (including county and relevant national government officers).

b) Capacity Building for National and County Institutions

• Establish working relationships with relevant officials at the Ministry of Agriculture Livestock and Fisheries on ongoing efforts to develop a policy, legal and implementation framework for linking smallholder farmers to public procurement.
• Support the process of developing an implementation strategy for government institutions to buy food from smallholder farmers.

c) Capacity Strengthening for Local Suppliers to supply the Home Grown School Meals Programme

• Ensure that the curriculum for training local suppliers (traders and farmer organisations) addresses the capacity gaps.
• Monitor effectiveness of local suppliers in the HGSMP procurement process, identify weaknesses and propose solutions.

d) Procure Locally-Produced, Drought-Tolerant Crops

• In collaboration with Turkana Field Office and procurement unit, ensure that the procurement plan for sorghum and cowpeas is implemented.
• In collaboration with the CCS (School Meals) team ensure schools are well informed and prepared to receive, handle, cook and consume the additional food basket items.

e) Strengthen Systems for ensuring School Meals Food Safety and Quality

• In collaboration with WFP Regional Bureau, the CCS (School Meals) and Markets teams, relevant national and county government ministries coordinate the process of finalising the National School Meals Food Safety and Quality Guideline.
• Represent WFP Kenya in the National Food Quality and Safety Committee to ensure that the Food Safety and Quality for schools integrated in the committee’s agenda.
• Ensure that proposed feedback mechanisms on Food Safety and Quality for schools work efficiently.
• Develop and update project work plans, monitor implementation to check for quality of delivery, timeliness and effectiveness and efficiency.
• Draft inputs for donor and WFP standard project reports and periodic project report updates.
• Participate in project evaluation processes – baseline and end line surveys and reporting