Dear colleagues,
Please see below a vacancy that may be of interest for you..
In the framework of the EU/FAO partnership program FIRST, FAO is looking for a senior consultant in Food Security and Nutrition Policy, to support the Haut Commissariat au 3N in Niger for a duration of 5 months (ToR attached).
We are expecting the submission of interested candidates by May 27th. Those interested may submit their expression of interest to Mohamed Ag Bendech (mohamed.agbendech@fao.org) , cc : Johanna Jelensperger (Johanna.Jelensperger@fao.org).
Many thanks,
CONTEXT
FIRST: Food and Nutrition Security Impact, Resilience, Sustainability and Transformation (FIRST) is a FAO and the European Union partnership programme with the purpose of providing a policy assistance mechanism for improved food security and nutrition and sustainable agriculture. FIRST is designed to strengthen the enabling environment for food security and nutrition and sustainable agriculture in a number of selected priority countries, with a particular focus on:
(i) Sectoral and cross-sectoral policy and programme frameworks for Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA), with a particular focus on the contribution that sustainable agriculture can make to Food and Nutrition Security (FSN) now and in the future;
(ii) Human and organizational capacities for FNSSA;
(iii) Inclusive and evidence-based governance and stakeholder coordination mechanisms for FNSSA.
FIRST will provide policy assistance and capacity development support to relevant national government institutions and (sub)-regional organizations involved in supporting FNSSA policy and governance work in the selected target countries.
Niger FNSSA policy context: Niger has initiated since 2011 the 3N “les Nigériens Nourrissent les Nigériens”, its hunger free and food and nutrition security framework, with strong political commitment. The 3N was operationalized through an Investment Program 2012-2015 which resulted in encouraging outcomes in terms of improvement of agricultural performance, poverty reduction, and improvement of food security. The assessment of the Investment plan revealed that some areas such as nutrition received less attention during the implementation phase. Based on that, the country has started the elaboration of the Action Plan 2016-2020 within the framework of the 3N, process which is led by the Haut-Commissariat-3N, the institution in charge of the coordination of the 3N. In 2015, the country validated its “Politique Nationale de Sécurité Nutritionelle” (2016-2025) and is now preparing its Action Plan 2016-2020 which will be embedded in the overall Action Plan of the 3N.
OBJECTIVES of the TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
It is in this context, and given FAO’s experience in nutrition, food security and sustainable policy work, and in particular in supporting nutrition and food systems policy and programming, that the Government of Niger is asking for this short-term expertise policy assistance in the domain of nutrition-sensitive agriculture and food systems domain with the main objective to (i) support the government in the finalization of the multi-sectoral nutrition action plan, ensuring a good incorporation of nutrition-sensitive agriculture and food systems priorities, and (ii) support the government in the integration and alignment with the different components of the 3N Investment Plan 2016-2020 (in terms of design, budgeting, implementation, monitoring and evaluation); (iii) strengthen multi-sectoral coordination for Nutrition, and in particular the capacities of the rural development actors. .
CONSULTANT’S TASKS
Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Niger and direct technical guidance of the Senior Nutrition Officer, FAO RAF, and FIRST Manager, the consultant will work, in close collaboration with FAO Staff in Niger, the European Union Delegation in Niger and close collaboration with the I3N Secretariat and other international and national actors (e.g. SUN, REACH, UN agencies, Civil Society, etc.), the consultant will undertake the following tasks:
• Exploit the results of the assessment of the Investment Plan 2012-2015, to deepen the inventory on nutrition and clarify the major issues
• Take stock and map the current situation in terms of enabling the environment for nutrition sensitive agriculture and food systems (based on recent stock taking exercises in the context of the Malabo Declaration and FAO Regional Initiative on Zero Hunger)
• Provide technical assistance and capacity development support for mainstreaming of nutrition-sensitive agriculture and food systems considerations in the Action Plan 2016-2020 of the National Nutrition Security Policy 2016-2025
• Provide technical assistance to the HC-3N for mainstreaming nutrition during the development of the 3N Action Plan 2016-2020, in terms of design, budgeting, implementation, capacity development, coordination, monitoring and evaluation
• Analyse and provide recommendations for strengthening multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder coordination for Nutrition at the national and decentralised level, looking in particular at the engagement and contribution of agriculture / rural development stakeholders
• Ensure linkages with relevant food security and nutrition global and regional frameworks, and domestication in the 3N processes, based on country priorities (e.g. AGIR, Malabo Declaration, ICN2, SDGs, SUN/REACH, etc.)
• Elaborate an “end of assignment” report
Expected results:
• Technical assistance provided for mainstreaming of nutrition into the overall process of the elaboration of the Action Plan 2016-2020 of the 3N
• Technical assistance provided for mainstreaming of nutrition-sensitive agriculture and food systems in the Action Plan 2016-2020 of the National Nutrition Security Policy 2016-2025
• Support multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder platforms for Nutrition
• “End of assignment” report elaborated and submitted
REQUIRED COMPETENTCIES
Academic qualifications
High level diploma (minimum masters level) in food and nutrition security or any related areas
Technical competencies and experience required
• Extensive experience (at least 7 years) in elaboration of food and nutrition security policies/action plans/programs
• Strong knowledge in analysing nutrition and food systems policy issues and trade-offs
• Strong knowledge in planning of nutrition-sensitive agriculture and food systems interventions
• Perfect knowledge of food and nutrition security environment in Sahel countries. Knowledge of Niger’s environment will be considered an asset
• Good knowledge of the Food Security and Nutrition institutions and regional/sub-regional and global frameworks
• Ability to work under tight time limit
• Excellent writing skills
• Fluent in French
• Knowledgeable in ICT use