Consultant – Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Education

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT WFP/24/12
Title: Consultant – Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Education
Type of Contract: Special Service Agreement (SSA) – 11 months
Duty Station: Nairobi, MoE HQ (Jogoo House)
Date of Issue: 2nd August 2012
Closing date of Application: 16th August 2012

Background
The Government of Kenya (GOK) has collaborated with the World Food Programme and other partners since 1980 to implement the National School Meals Programme in arid, semi-arid districts as well as selected schools in the unplanned urban settlements in Kenya. The support includes a daily hot lunch for children in pre-primary and primary schools and an additional early morning snack for those attending classes in Early Childhood Development Centres (ECDCs) in selected districts. Over the years, the programme has acted as a safety net, offering such benefits as education, health, nutrition and income transfer to poor children and households. Evidence from joint GOK/WFP monitoring results show that due to high poverty levels in most of the districts, the lunch provided at school is the only nutritious meal most children have in a day. Consequently, the meals serve not only as safety net but also as an incentive for children from poor household to enrol, attend and complete school.

After many years of implementation, WFP and MOE agreed to transition the Regular School Meals Programme to a more locally sustainable School Meals Programme dubbed “Home Grown School Meals Programme (HGSMP)”. In January 2009, MOE launched the Home Grown School Meals Programme (HGSMP), an initiative of the New Partnership for Africa’s development (NEPAD) aimed at  the transition to nationally owned School Meals Programmes and linkage of school feeding to local production and markets. The HGSMP also presents a major shift from the in-kind food donations provided by WFP under the Regular School Meals Programme (RSMP) to direct cash transfers to schools.

Technical Support Approach and Objectives
The technical support has been designed in line with the ongoing transition from RSFP to HGSFP which aims to support the Kenya Government to gradually reduce reliance on external funding and to transition to a nationally owned and funded school feeding programme. The proposed technical support is aimed at Strengthening the overall coordination and management capacity of the SHMN Unit and quality of implementation of the National School Health, Nutrition and Meals programme, foster stronger linkages to local food production and food security, Strengthen governance and accountability and knowledge management.

Accountabilities:
Under the overall supervision by the Director Basic Education and in collaboration with the Head School Health, Nutrition and Meals (SHNM) unit, the incumbent will strengthen the capacity of the National School Health, Nutrition and Meals (SHNM) Programme in Kenya. The incumbent will work closely with the SHNM Technical Committee, comprising representatives from the Ministries of Agriculture, Northern Kenya and other Arid Lands, Public Health and Sanitation, Water and Irrigation, PCD, WFP, SNV, VVOB and other partners. In particular, s/he will perform the following  tasks:
 Strengthen coordination between MOE and key Government Ministries responsible for school health, nutrition, water, agriculture, other partners and make recommendations on how the collaboration could be further strengthened to ensure a sustainable SHNM Programme.
 Undertake in-depth analysis of skills required by the Ministry of Education’s (unit dedicated to National School Meals Programme) and recommend actions to support the HGSFP in the following areas: (i) food procurement; (ii) food specifications and quality; (iii) storage and handling; (iv) logistics; (v) monitoring and evaluation; (vi) Advocacy; and (vi) donor and government reporting requirements.
 Support the MOE HGSM core team to identify and prioritize areas that require further technical assistance.
 Dialogue with key policy makers and development partners on strategies to enhance results achievement in the Government led HGSMP.
 Coordinate training of Ministry of Education staff at the National, County, district, school level and parents representatives in close collaboration with the School Health, Nutrition and Meals (SHNM) unit and other partners.
 Strengthen the capacity of the School Health, Nutrition and Meals (SHNM) unit to adequately plan budget for the School Meals Programme and respond to programme needs
 Assist in costing of a national School Meals Programme, including costing of individual food components of the standard programme presenting food costs, recurrent costs separately and making recommendations based on the findings, as well as identifying the detailed breakdown of activities, processes and commodities requiring costing.
 Develop and implement joint Monitoring and Evaluations plans to programme site with a view to addressing issues affecting successful implementation of School Meals programmes
 Work in close collaboration with the M&E specialist to improve data management at the Ministry of Education
 Facilitate the planning of the impact evaluation of the HGSMP and support the evaluation team, including the formulation of a concept paper for the proposed HGSM Programme impact assessment/evaluation study.
 Strengthen governance and accountability of the programme.

Qualifications, Experience, Critical Success Factors and Language:
 Postgraduate degree in social sciences, preferably in Economics, Education, International Affairs, Development Studies, Business Administration or a field relevant to international development assistance.
 At least five years of experience in education, development or other related field. Experience with education related projects is desirable.
 Good interpersonal, strong analytical, team-building skills; proven ability to work in a multi-cultural team; good computer and writing skills.
 Experience in managing multiple parties in an International context while liaising with people at all levels and across different cultures
 Strong Project Management skills, including cost and impact analysis and feasibility studies.
 Ability to influence others, and to act with credibility, tact and diplomacy. Good negotiation skills.
 Capacity for skills transfer in the development of specific partnerships and ability to communicate relevant results and networking.

Expected Deliverables
 Regular coordination meetings held and progress reports on the status of programme implementation based on the agreed joint work plan developed by the SHNM Technical Committee members.
 A detailed capacity & skills analysis with proposed interventions, in view of capacity gaps at the National, County and District level.
 A comprehensive training plan prepared in close collaboration with School Health, Nutrition and Meals Unit to address identified needs.
 A trained core training team to undertake training activities at the County, District and Divisional Levels.
 A concept paper prepared to guide the planned impact evaluation of HGSMP.
 A detailed and easy to use guideline on costing of a National School Feeding Programme that feeds into the government’s planning and budgeting cycles.

Expected Outcomes of the Technical Assistance Support
 Enhanced Government capacity to plan and budget for the national school feeding programme;
 Strengthened Government capacity at national, county, district and school level to implement and manage the school feeding programme.

Qualified candidates nationals meeting the above qualifications are required to submit a covering letter quoting Vacancy Announcement No. WFP/24/12 with their updated Curriculum Vitae, copies of certificates and name, title and e-mail address of three referees. Candidates should also complete a Personal History form (P.11) available on the following link – http://www.unon.org/docs/P11.doc. All documents should be sent in an envelope which must be marked:

CONFIDENTIAL
WFP/24/12 and sent to:-
Human Resources Officer
World Food Programme
P.O. Box 44482
NAIROBI 00100

 OR deliver to Office B-120, UN Complex, Gigiri.

WFP is an equal opportunity employer and does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process.