Strategic Social Protection Consultant

July 7, 2021July 26, 2021DushanbeTajikistan

World Food Programme (WFP) About

Founded in 1961 and assisting 80 million people in around 80 countries each year, the World Food Programme (WFP) is the leading humanitarian organization fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. WFP’s efforts focus on emergency assistance, relief and rehabilitation, development aid and special operations. Two-thirds of its work is in conflict-affected countries where people are three times more likely to be undernourished than those living in countries without conflict. In emergencies, WFP is often first on the scene, providing food assistance to the victims of war, civil conflict, drought, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, crop failures and natural disasters. When the emergency subsides, WFP helps communities rebuild shattered lives and livelihoods. WFP also works to strengthen the resilience of people and communities affected by protracted crises by applying a development lens in its humanitarian response. WFP is the largest humanitarian organisation implementing school feeding programmes worldwide and has been doing so for over 50 years. Each year, WFP provides school meals to between 20 and 25 million children across 63 countries, often in the hardest-to-reach areas.

Job Description

WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles. Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis, and we are committed to promoting diversity and gender balance.

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.

BACKGROUND

Social protection is an increasingly popular strategy for governments to reduce extreme poverty, hunger and inequality. Virtually every country in the world has at least one social protection scheme in place. Yet, four billion people in this world – in particular the poorest – are not covered by any form of social protection. As a global leader in fighting hunger and malnutrition worldwide, often in very difficult contexts, the World Food Programme (WFP) is increasingly called upon by governments to help implement or strengthen their social protection systems. As WFP embraces an approach of working through and strengthening national systems, WFP can truly aspire to help countries make measurable contributions to the Zero Hunger goal (SDG2) as well as the reduction of poverty and the expansion of social protection floors. Social protection, according to WFP In simplest terms, social protection can be understood as a set of policies, programmes and instruments that aim to create and/or uphold a certain societally agreed level of wellbeing for people throughout their life-cycle, by: 1. Protecting people from deprivation, by providing relief in times of shocks and stresses; 2. Preventing deprivation by averting and managing shocks and stresses; 3. Promoting human capital development to strengthen the resilience of people, households, communities and countries. Social protection schemes are usually classified as one of four categories: social transfers (e.g. cash transfers, in-kind transfers, school feeding programmes, public works programmes), social insurance (e.g. pensions, crop or livestock insurance, disability allowance), social care (e.g. child protection services or family support services), active labour market policies, or access to essential health care. WFP’s approach to social protection WFP has been implementing various safety nets for many years, but the growing demand to support national social protection systems creates opportunities of a different type and scale. Through its extensive and deep field presence, WFP brings a solid understanding of context, beneficiary needs and local conditions (the policy problem); and operational know-how and regular contact with a wide range of actors who are key in the design and implementation of social protection schemes (the solution). WFP can support all three layers of a social protection system: 1) overarching system architecture; 2) programmes; and 3) delivery systems.

Country context The Executive Board approved the WFP Tajikistan Country Strategic Plan (CSP) 2019–2024 that focuses on four Strategic Outcomes (SO): Strategic outcome 1: Food-insecure vulnerable people, including primary schoolchildren, in targeted districts meet their basic food requirements by 2024. Strategic outcome 2: Vulnerable groups, especially children aged 6–59 months and pregnant and lactating women and girls, in districts where the national integrated management of acute malnutrition protocol is being rolled out have reduced levels of malnutrition by 2024. Strategic outcome 3: Targeted food-insecure communities in areas vulnerable to climate change have increased their resilience to shocks by 2024. Strategic outcome 4: Government institutions at the central and decentralized levels have strengthened capacities to target, design and implement effective security" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #007bff !important;">security" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #007bff !important;">food security and nutrition strategies by 2024. The Tajikistan CO is now developing its second generation CSP which is designed to align to the new United Nations cooperation framework to commence in 2023.One of the thematic areas under consideration in the new generation CSP is expanding and developing the social protection portfolio. WFP is committed to providing technical and financial assistance to national governments and counterparts in the development of integrated social protection strategies by collaborating with other UN agencies and development partners. WFP, through its activities has the experience and knowledge to support the Government in setting up relevant policies and enhancing the potential of the national counterparts to implement effective social protection measures. For successful implementation of the social protection system, the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan has adopted a Law on State Social Insurance in 1997. Amendments were made in 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2008. The legislation of Republic of Tajikistan on State Social Insurance is based on the Constitution and consists of normative legal acts of Republic of Tajikistan, and international legal acts recognized by the Government. WFP will closely work with relevant UN agencies and the government of Tajikistan for social protection sector.Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Republic of Tajikistan is the central executive body of the Republic of Tajikistan responsible for the development and implementation of a unified state policy and regulation of legal norms in social protection sector of the population

PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The main purpose of this assignment is to improve design and positioning of WFP CO’s social protection interventions within current and future CSP cycle. Through this scoping study, the CO aims to be better equipped and knowledgeable to answer the following questions: 1. How to better package and position our current activities (FFA/FFT/CBT activities) under the umbrella of social protection, addressing different vulnerabilities with the most effective tools. This will include suggestions on the design (transfer size, seasonality, duration, targeting, type of projects, provision of NFIs, handover strategy), linkages with national social protection floor and major programmes. 2. Positioning of School Meals Optimisation within the larger social protection sector. 3. WFP Tajikistan role and opportunities within promotion of the shock-responsive social protection (SRSP) as an efficient way of reducing risks (including economic, disaster and climate shocks), especially based on pandemic lessons learnt; exploring linkages with disaster risk management; and exploring diverse aspects and potential financing for SRSP 4. Targeting and monitoring of the various social assistance interventions, as the main concern of the development partners – a need further accentuated by the COVID-19 crisis. What can be WFP’s offer and role in the context of the country to provide further institutional assistance to the Government to improve these aspects. 5. Look at possibilities of the inclusion of children under two years and PLWG on the government targeted social assistance (TSA) scheme focusing on the impact on the improvement of their nutritional status 6. What kind of other technical assistance can CO propose to social protection sector?

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

Under the direct supervision of the Head of Program, the Consultant will undertake the following tasks: • Review all existing researches, evaluations, legislation related to social protection; • Review (desk review, interviews, meetings with Government and development partners) WFP CO’s safety net interventions, i.e. the social contract project, FFA/FFT/CBT, GCF project proposal, SFP • Develop a clear theory of change for CO’s social protection activities; • Develop internal social protection position paper; • Provide specific recommendations, ideas, tools, as relevant on the above-mentioned questions of interest; • Conduct consultations with the development partners in Tajikistan as relevant, on assessing the opportunities for collaborative activities and policy interventions. Assist in developing the joint UN position paper on social protection – identify and outline WFP’s role in joint positioning. • Provide report and presentation of the conducted work. DELIVERABLES:

TOC : August 2021 (10 working days)
Internal SP position paper: August 2021 (10 working days)
Scoping study report with all recommendations and answers to the questions outlined in current TOR: September 2021 (15 working days)
Presentation of the results: September 2021 (5 working days)

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Advanced University Degree with experience in one or more of the following disciplines: Social Science, Environmental Sciences, International Development, Rural Development, Communications, Public Policy, Public Administration, Gender Studies, or relevant field to social protection. Experience: • At least 10 years of professional experience in international development; • At least 8 years of experience designing or managing social protection programmes in developing countries; • Experience working in Central Asian or CIS region is an asset; • Has worked with government agencies and gained experience across the policy cycle; • Has direct experience working across various programme types relevant to social protection (e.g. cash-transfer programmes, school feeding, public works / food assistance for assets, insurance programmes). Knowledge & Skills: • Strong analytical skills, report writing skills and communication capacity (both written and oral) are essential. • Understanding of Agenda 2030 and respective targets – particularly SDG1, SDG2 and SDG17 - and how the work of WFP can contribute to achieving them; • Understanding of WFP’s mandate, Country Strategic Planning process, intervention modalities, programme and project lifecycle tools, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation desirable. • Knowledge of current thinking and developments in the field of social protection and public policy; • Knowledge of current thinking and developments in country capacity strengthening and effective knowledge transfer models, concepts and principles; • Knowledge of key national and regional contexts and issues; • Demonstrated ability to produce high-quality written outputs; • Ability to work independently in a timely and organised manner. Languages: English-fluent and knowledge of Russian is an asset.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Type Of Contract: Regular CST Contract Duration: 40 working days Duty Station: Home-based with possible in-country mission

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

25 July 2021

Female applicants, individuals with disabilities and qualified applicants from developing countries are especially encouraged to apply WFP has zero tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status. 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.

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