Regional and Country Support Officer

Your privacy is important to us**DATE LIMITE DE CANDIDATURE**11 April :59-UTC+01:00 heure d’Europe centrale (Rome)*WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.***ABOUT WFP** 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.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. To learn more about WFP, visit our website: and follow us on social media to keep up with our latest news: , , , , , . **JOB TITLE:** Regional and Country Support Officer**TYPE OF CONTRACT:** Consultancy Level II**UNIT/DIVISION:** School Meals, Social Protection and Nutrition Service (PRGS)/ Programme Division**DUTY STATION (City, Country):** Rome, Italy**DURATION:** 11 months**BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:**For more than 60 years, WFP has been the leading organization in supporting countries with their school meals programmes, which are widely prevalent throughout the world. In 2020, WFP launched a 10-year strategy for school meals. WFP advocates for the universal adoption of school meals programmes as a safety net that helps increase children’s access to education and learning opportunities and strengthens their health and nutrition.In 2021, WFP efforts to assist countries to establish and maintain nationally owned programmes as well as implementing school meals programmes were taken to the next level with the launch of the School Meals Coalition at the Food Systems Summit. WFP hosts the Secretariat of the School Meals Coalition, which has continuously grown to reach over 110 country members and more than 150 partners committed to ensuring that every child has access to a healthy meal in school. Today, five regional and sub-regional bodies are also members of the Coalition – the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the European Commission, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Organization of the Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).The Coalition encourages countries to develop national commitments that lay out measurable goals for improving the quality and scale of national school meals programmes, and to connect to the its five Initiatives. More than 65 countries have submitted national commitments. The Coalition has also gained significant momentum at the regional level. Regional bodies and networks across Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean have demonstrated how regional networks enable countries to learn from one another, tackle shared challenges, and advocate collectively for school meals through regional dialogues.The School Meals Coalition Secretariat, in the School Meals, Social Protection and Nutrition Service, is seeking a Regional and Country Dialogue Officer to support regional efforts and facilitate connections, peer-to-peer exchange and learning between countries of a specific region and across regions. The consultant will also provide support to governments in the development and implementation of their national commitments, on request and in coordination with the school meals programme team.**ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:**Under the supervision of the School Meals Coalition Secretariat Coordinator, and working closely with WFP Global Headquarter teams and Country Offices, the main responsibilities include:* Develop activities that support regional networks and initiatives, in coordination with WFP Country and Regional offices and with Government stakeholders when required. This includes + Leading discussions with selected regional bodies that are members of the Coalition and WFP’s regional and country offices on strategies to increase the opportunities for engagement and peer-to-peer learning between countries in particular regions, providing technical guidance and support to the activities of the regional networks; + Acting as the main focal point in the SMC Secretariat for selected regional bodies and networks; + Identifying potential regional champions that could be cultivated and motivated to continue supporting the Coalition’s agenda.* Collaborate with stakeholders, including governments and partners, to ensure successful regional dialogue/event outcomes; steer the content and the design of event dynamics ensuring objectives of increasing the potential for learning, experience-sharing, and agenda-setting are met; acting as main focal point for and coordinating efforts with WFP Regional Bureaus and Country Offices, as relevant. This includes providing inputs to concept note and agenda, facilitating connections and stakeholder engagement, and drafting session briefers and talking points for envisioned speakers as required.* Support Regional and Country Offices in planning, coordination, and execution of regional events and dialogues, as required. This includes, as relevant + Drafting Save-the-Date/invitations and advise on possible invitees, as relevant. + Supporting WFP Offices in the management of event logistics, including venue selection, and onsite event operations. + Developing and managing event budget allocated by the Secretariat, ensuring cost-effective solutions without compromising quality. + Coordinate with relevant Advocacy and Communication colleagues on all advocacy and communication plans and materials. These include key messaging, branding and production of outcome documents. + Gathering information and intelligence on each regional dialogue/event for reporting and strategic purposes. This includes the full list of participants (with an analysis of country and partner participation and level), the documents and outcomes coming out of the event and the general report of the event.* Develop and document tools and good practices to support WFP Offices and other relevant stakeholders in the organisation and facilitation of regional dialogues and peer to peer learning and exchange. This includes a toolkit to guide relevant stakeholders and inform the work of the Coalition Secretariat, including ToRs, templates, timelines, to do lists, communication tools, and good practices/lessons learned from past events.* Support the integration of regional agendas in the Ministerial Meetings of the School Meals Coalition (Global meetings and Task Force meetings) and other engagement opportunities, providing inputs to the agenda, and ensuring the outcomes/issues raised in regional events/forums are reflected in global meetings.* Support countries develop and revise commitments to the School Meals Coalition based on policy and SABER consultation processes, linked to transition to national ownership of school meals programmes.* Performing any other duties in support of the regional networks.**DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT:**Deliverables to include:* Coordinated regional dialogues/events successfully organized every year.* Good practices in advancing country and regional peer to peer learning and exchange are captured and disseminated.* Outcomes disseminated in a timely manner.* Global events/efforts informed by regional events/forums, networks and dynamics.* Contribute to a tracker to follow up on initiatives
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