DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS24 July 2025-23:59-GMT+07:00 Indochina Time (Phnom Penh)
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The World Food Programme is the worldโs 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.
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WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.
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JOB TITLE: Programme Policy Officer โ School Feeding
TYPE OF CONTRACT: International Consultant CST II, Regular
UNIT/DIVISION: Programme
DUTY STATION (City, Country/Homebased): Phnom Penh, Cambodia
DURATION: 11 monthsABOUT WFP
The World Food Programme is the worldโs 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.
At WFP, people are at the heart of everything we do and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse, committed, skilled, and high performing teams, selected on merit, operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment, living WFP's values (Integrity, Collaboration, Commitment, Humanity, and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:
WFP Cambodiaโs Country Strategic Plan (CSP) contributes to the Cambodian Governmentโs development efforts in the areas of social protection, climate and disaster risk management and food security and nutrition. Central to its Cambodia CSP, WFP has been working with the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) to implement school feeding since 1999 through the provision of hot, nutritious meals in schools and cash/food scholarships to vulnerable primary and pre-primary school children. From 1999 to 2022, this social assistance programme has benefited over two million school children with much work already done to transition school feeding to a nationally managed and funded programme. The programme currently reaches over 300,000 children in Cambodia and has an increasing focus on supporting the scale up of the Governmentโs school feeding programme as WFP gradually hands over programmes to the Government.As WFP transitions to a more technical assistance and systems strengthening role in school feeding, WFP is seeking to recruit a dynamic and experienced Consultant โ Technical Assistance Lead for School Feeding to lead the strategic thinking and execution of WFPโs technical assistance to the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP). A key focus of the role will be to ensure that systems, processes and guidelines are in place to enable national and sub-national stakeholders to guide, implement, manage and monitor school feeding in Cambodia, and that WFP staff are well equipped to support the Government in this transition. In addition, the officer will be responsible for overseeing donor-funded school feeding projects, ensuring alignment with national priorities and coherence across different funding streams.
ACCOUNTABILITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Under the supervision of the Programme Policy Officer โ School Feeding Team Lead, the incumbent will:- Contribute to formulation of WFP-wide programme policies in line with both organisational strategy and the practical realities of operating in the field; or translate programme policy into Regional/Country level practices. Developing programme guidance and implementation modalities and operations, to ensure a clear and strong connection between HQ and field operations.
- Provide advice and support to COs on moderately complex issues to clarify ambiguities and ensure that policy and programme operations are consistent with WFP policies, Executive Board decisions, and other relevant guidance.
- Provide technical advice or mobilise technical expertise on programme and policy issues including assessment and analysis, the choice of objectives, activities, transfer modalities and appropriate food products, the deployment and testing of innovative approaches and the development of strategies to support government efforts to reduce hunger and malnutrition.
- Assist counterparts in governments and other partners in identifying where food assistance can be usefully employed and provide support and technical expertise for the planning, formulation and implementation of moderately complex food assistance programmes to strengthen government and community ownership and effectiveness of food security and nutrition programmes at national and sub-national levels.
- Establish and maintain operational partnerships to identify opportunities for collaborative approaches and initiatives that improve assistance packages and support advocacy work.
- Enhance WFPโs leadership status in forums relating to area of specialism, for example food security, nutrition, livelihoods, resilience or engagement in humanitarian, transition and development contexts through direct participation, briefings, information products and other materials.
- Manage operational research and evidence building on issues relevant to food assistance.
- Manage the preparation and dissemination of timely analytical and critical reports, publications, and a variety of information products or proposals for internal or external use.
- Contribute to resources mobilisations efforts for WFP projects, including clearly articulating the need for food assistance and related programme opportunities, and follow up on the resource situation of projects including commodity and cash availability, seeking advice from senior colleagues where necessary.
- Advice and support the development of functional training in areas of expertise to enhance the capacity of WFP staff and partner to design and deliver effective food assistance programmes.
- Lead, motivate and develop a team of staff to enable high performance.
- Ensure the best use of assigned financial resources for achievement of set objectives within a moderate budget.
- Contribute to Country Office Emergency Preparedness i.e. early warning, risk analysis, and contingency planning in order to respond to humanitarian crises and needs.
- Other as required.
SPECIFIC JOB REQUIREMENTS:
1. Lead Technical Assistance and Systems Strengthening for School Feeding:
- Lead WFPโs work on strengthening the NHGSFP to ensure efficiency, sustainability, and alignment with the Governmentโs social assistance, education and health and nutrition objectives and policies.
- Work with WFPโs Research, Assessment and Monitoring (RAM) team to provide technical assistance to the Government on a monitoring and evaluation framework linked to school-based food and nutrition programmes.
- Work closely with research institutions, monitoring and evaluation experts, and data collection agencies to generate robust evidence on the program's impact (e.g., Impact Evaluation of the national school feeding program).
- Liaise with country office, local research institutions, academia, RBB and HQ and connection with the School Meals Coalition peer-to-peer community of new research and best practices to ensure that school-based programmes in Cambodia benefit from new learning, tools and models.
- Lead WFPโs work to support the MoEYS and key stakeholders to operationalize the School Feeding Policy and the Policy Action Plan.
- Work with relevant stakeholders to identify capacity gaps and opportunities, and lead capacity assessments and plans to address these.
- Advise the WFP school feeding team on coordinating collaboration with government partners, including various departments within MoEYS, relevant ministries, development partners (DPs) and other key stakeholders to establish and enhance national school feeding coordination and management structures, lessons learnt from national programme implementation, and the emerging roles and responsibilities of various actors in the social assistance sector.
- Lead the conceptualization of research and evidence generation initiatives linked to technical assistance. Additionally, facilitate discussions within WFP and with the Government on action needed based on this evidence, and subsequently to national capacity strengthening priorities.
- Contribute to building and maintaining relationships with external partners including government, donors (especially, KOICA and USDA), UN, NGOs and other DPs in support of programme strategy, implementation, enhanced coordination and resource mobilization.
- Promote representation in relevant events on school-based programme-related themes (and broader education or social protection fora as relevant), ensuring that the school feeding programmes, policies and frameworks are well elaborated and represented.
- Provide oversight to ensure compliance with donor and corporate requirements (e.g., USDA, KOICA), ensuring that responsible team members carry out timely donor reporting, mission support, and other related tasks.
2. Capacity Strengthening and Operational Shift:
- Encourage and mentor WFP staff, facilitating a mindset shift from direct implementation to a consultative and advisory role. This includes fostering an understanding of new approaches and strategic priorities, fundamentally altering traditional practices. Draw on best practices from other countries and organizations as relevant.
- Utilize expertise in project management, policy processes, and stakeholder engagement to build a cohesive, capable team adept in providing technical assistance.
- Other as required.
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DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE:
- At least six (6) years of postgraduate professional experience in Social Sciences, International Affairs, Economics, Nutrition/Health, Agriculture, Environmental Science, or other field relevant to international development.
- Demonstrated experience in technical assistance, policy advice, and capacity strengthening with governments, preferably in more than one country and with more than one organization.
- Proven track record in leading teams through significant operational transitions, particularly in the context of development programs.
- Demonstrated knowledge and experience of project management, including design, planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting processes and procedures gained through technical training and/or work experience.
- A solid understanding of development processes and implementing programmes related to food security and nutrition, education and/or social protection.
- Demonstrated experience in writing reports, proposals and other related documents for internal and external audiences.
- Experience in training and coaching teams.
- Has engaged in strategic programme/policy processes to inform programme design and implementation.
- Experience with monitoring and evaluation and learning systems, tools and processes.
- Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to communicate and negotiate effectively across different cultural contexts.
- Experience working with different types of stakeholders (government, UN, research bodies, external experts) at national and sub-national levels.
- Experience working with and reporting to USDA or KOICA funded programmes in a WFP or partner capacity.
- Experience communicating with donors directly and managing donor-funded projects and programme
- Experience liaising with regional officer and headquarters more broadly.
- Experience in working in a small country/area office programme team or a component of a country office programme portfolio.
- Experience utilizing computers, including Microsoft Office package (e.g. Word, Excel) and other standard software packages and systems.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Education:
Advanced University degree in Social Science, International Affairs, Economics, Public Administration, Nutrition/Health or another field relevant to international development assistance, or First University Degree with additional years of related work experience and/or trainings/courses.Language: Fluency (level C) in English language and fluency (level C) in Korean language.
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REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION
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REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION
We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete, and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, language skills and UN Grade (if applicable).
Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.
Please make sure you upload your professional CV in the English language
Kindly note the only documents you will need to submit at this time are your CV and Cover Letter
Additional documents such as passport, recommendation letters, academic certificates, etc. may potentially be requested at a future time
Please contact us at global.hrerecruitment@wfp.org in case you face any challenges with submitting your application
Only shortlisted candidates will be notified
All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.