Overview
The Policy and Programme Officer - School Meals Team Lead and CLTF Coordinator will lead the School Meals team in Kenya, coordinate the transition towards School Feeding 2.0, and oversee the implementation of the Changing Lives Transformation Fund (CLTF) initiative.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead School Meals Programme implementation, providing strategic coordination for Kenya’s transition to School Feeding 2.0 and technical support to high-level engagement.
- Oversee the full School Meals Programme (SMP) portfolio, ensuring strategic alignment, quality implementation, compliance, and effective grant and budget management.
- Lead and supervise the SMP team, drive innovation, and integrate climate resilience, gender, protection and digitalization across programme design and delivery.
- Oversee the implementation of Climate‑Resilient Home‑Grown School Meals projects and ensure coherent field‑level implementation.
- Steer evidence generation, reporting, and knowledge‑sharing across country, regional and global school meals networks.
- Lead overall coordination and oversight of CLTF implementation in Kenya, ensuring coherent delivery across units and field offices, and effective grant and reporting management.
- Oversee the implementation of the Changing Lives Project in support of refugee transition.
- Drive joint planning with the Partnerships team to mobilize catalytic funding and advance advocacy efforts.
- Oversee implementation of the evidence and learning agenda.
- Represent WFP Kenya Country Office at technical level in UN and other partners planning and programming discussions.
- Make strategic contributions to key programme priorities, including developing adaptive social protection and climate-resilient initiatives and proposals.
- Coordinate lessons learnt exercises and contribute to the organization of high-level advocacy events.
- Identify opportunities to improve policy, plans, programme design, implementation and effectiveness.
- Take the lead in drafting selected projects and funding proposals.
- Provide technical support to the development of next Country Strategic Plan.
- Contribute to shaping and implementing the Climate Resilient and Inclusive Food Systems flagship programme.
- Act as Officer in Charge for the Strategic Outcome 3 team and undertake deputy head of outcome duties, as needed.
- Undertake any other task within areas of technical expertise, as required and assigned.
Required Experience
- At least ten years of professional experience in international development, with strong field exposure.
- Combination of policy experience (Headquarters) and field experience in middle-income countries on climate-resilient food systems and adaptive social protection and safety nets.
- Solid understanding of strategic pathways towards transitioning refugees and vulnerable communities to self-reliance, and how safety nets can promote transition.
- At least 7 years of relevant experience in facilitating country capacity strengthening initiatives to change lives processes and leading work across social protection, safety nets and resilient food systems in middle-income country settings, including through delivery of technical assistance and system strengthening activities.
- Prior working experience on resilience building and social protection issues with the three Rome-Based UN Agencies is an asset.
- Familiarity with Kenya’s political context in social protection and safety nets, resilience building, and refugee transition is an asset.
- Relevant experience in engaging donors on innovative financing opportunities to attract catalytic funding for changing lives.
- Prior working experience implementing environmental and social safeguards, including Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) for indigenous peoples.
- Experience designing and undertaking community participatory processes and M&E for project development and implementation of resilience and social protection programmes, including with focus on women, youth and small ethnic communities/ indigenous peoples.
Qualifications
Advanced university degree in International Affairs, Economics, Social Sciences, or other field relevant to international development assistance
