Value Chains and Food System Expert Consultant Level II – WFP
Job Description
| Organization | United Nations World Food Programme |
| Job Title | Value Chains and Food System Expert Consultant Level II |
| Requisition ID | 162221 |
| Location | Sudan – Khartoum |
| Posted Date | 5th May 2022 |
| Closing date | 15th May 2022 |
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 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
Education:
University degree in one of the following disciplines: agricultural economics, economics, agronomy, development studies or other related fields.
Experience:
At least 3 years of postgraduate professional experience, specifically in agriculture, food value chain analysis, rural development, and development projects in the field of smallholder agricultural market support
Languages:
Excellent written and spoken English. Knowledge of Arabic
ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT
Over the years, WFP has steadily increased the share of food procurement that it carries out locally. In 2019, 31 percent of WFP’s total food purchases (1.07 million MT) were bought locally with an increased percentage of commodities purchased in developing countries and in the country where they were grown. By injecting cash into local economies, local and regional food procurement, including pro-smallholder procurement, can significantly strengthen smallholders’ livelihoods and the sustainability of food systems, particularly when it is associated with activities that support value chain actors. Hence, the Local and Regional Food Procurement Policy (“Policy”) was developed and formally approved by in 2019, which triggered the implementation phase, that has since then been co-led by the Programme and Policy and Supply Chain divisions at HQ. The implementation of the Policy is underpinned by eight basic components that require the development of new systems, tools and methodologies. One of these components focuses on value chain assessment of target crops to understand their initial conditions as a first step that will steer the development of subsequent decisions and activities. The Policy will be deployed in a phased manner in the course of the following years. During the initial phase, pilot projects will be organized in selected countries for tests and adjustments as the development of the policy implementation components evolve. Sudan is one of the selected pilot countries where a interim methodology developed for value chain analysis will be tested, and which results, jointly with development objectives identified, will guide the selection of appropriate and context-specific contract modalities and programmatic interventions. .
JOB PURPOSE
WFP buys food commodities from Sudan to cover its operation needs in the country and neighboring countries in the region. During 2019 and 2020, more than 90% of WFP local purchases in Sudan corresponded to sorghum. Even though the production comes from individual farmers of various scales, WFP procures sorghum from large traders and the government. There are no direct contracts with smallholder farmers (SHF) or farmers’ organizations. Given that WFP injects significant amounts of cash in the local economy, it is important to determine how this value is distributed along the value chain and how much do farmers benefited from it. Hence, in the context of the development and implementation of the Policy and under the overall supervision of the CO Procurment Unit , the consultant will provide technical support (in coordination with the staff from the country office) on smallholders, procurement and food systems work supporting the implementation of the methodology developed to analyze different value chains in Sudan, such as sorghum, sesame and ground nutes. This methodology seeks to determine how margins are distributed among value chain actors (particularly SHF); identify prevailing bottlenecks that may prevent actors from fully benefiting from local food procurement, and determine whether the inefficiencies identified can be addressed either through procurement (use of pro-SHF contract modalities) and/or programmatic chain interventions implemented by WFP and partners. After the value chain analysis are completed, the support of the consult will be key during the development of intervention plans, as well as to foster partnership to execute these initiatives. WFP Sudan Programme (SO3) has plan to conduct PHL value chain analysis for all PHL targeted area (11 states) in which already planned for 5 states in Darfur, and 3 states in Kordofan in 2021 with the purpose of supporting the inclusion of the private sector into the market of hermetic bag. It will be also beneficial if the consultant can support in order to find ways for better collaboration between procurement and programme to support Small scale farmers and the revised components to be integrated into the workplan. Small holder farmers linkages with market is different in each states, and linkage between Small farmers with big farmers/traders should also be highlighted.
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)
- Provide technical support to the implementation of the methodology developed to analyze sorghum and other food value chains of interest in Sudan, including data collection, registration and analysis;
- Contribute to the identification of aggregation system in place and implementation of potential interventions to address some of the inefficiencies identified in the value chain analysis of target crops of interest, acting as link between Procurement and Programme, farmers group structure and its capacity gaps;
- Support team members on activities related to the value chain analysis methodology to ensure that deliverables are made within the agreed terms;
- Within the specific area of responsibility, prepare reports and data analysis and make recommendations to supervisors;
- Liaise with internal counterparts in the Sudan Country Office to enable effective collaboration, implementation and monitoring of ongoing activities related to value chain analysis;
- Identify, establish and foster operational local partnerships to implement collaborative initiatives that will contribute to address some of the inefficiencies identified in the target value chains
- Follow-up action plan with clear actions, owners and timelines;
- Other duties as required
FUNCTIONAL CAPABILITIES
- Knowledge of food value chains, smallholder agricultural support and food systems
- Ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor own work plan
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Contract Duration: 3Months
Duty Station: Khartoum
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS
Open : 5th May 2022
Close: 15th May 2022
