A. Technical Leadership, HGSF Scaling, and Institutional Transition

• Strategic ICSP Alignment: Provide overarching technical leadership for WFP Yemen's school feeding portfolio, managing the strategic pivot from emergency in-kind distributions to nutrition-sensitive, shock-responsive Home-Grown School Feeding (HGSF) and Healthy Kitchen delivery models.
• National Handover Framework: Architect and guide the execution of the operational and fiscal transition roadmap to systematically transfer field implementation, data management, and operational incentive costs from WFP direct funding onto the national MoE civil service payroll and budget lines.
• Agrifood Value-Chain Integration: Provide expert guidance on establishing community-based local procurement networks and institutional market linkages. This involves connecting smallholder farmer cooperatives, particularly female-led producer groups, directly to school feeding kitchens to tackle local economic vulnerabilities.
• Standards & Quality Control: Formulate and enforce strict standard operating procedures (SOPs), food safety and quality management protocols, nutrition-sensitive menu guidelines, and localized supply chain tracking tools for the expanded Healthy Kitchen platforms.
• Inter-Ministerial Coordination: Manage and facilitate high-level coordination committees across the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Public Health and Population (MoPHP), Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MOSAL), and local governorate authorities to secure institutional alignment on transition milestones.
• Social Behavior Change: Oversee the design and deployment of integrated, nutrition-sensitive Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) toolkits targeting students, local school boards, parents, and catering staff to maximize community ownership.

B. Evidence Generation, Macro-Fiscal Policy, and Innovative Financing

• Investment Case Development: Lead the production of high-level policy briefs, multi-sectoral investment cases, and analytical evidence products to demonstrate the socio-economic return on investment of school meals to senior government stakeholders, international financial institutions (IFIs), and bilateral donors.
• Value-for-Money Analysis: Design and oversee comprehensive Value for Money (VfM) tracking, fiscal cost-effectiveness studies, and rapid diagnostic assessments to optimize institutional delivery systems during the transition phase.
• Resource Mobilization: Identify, design, and pursue complementary and innovative financing streams to support long-term programmatic sustainability, specifically leveraging co-financing models, the GPE Multiplier Grant, and global thematic funds.
• SABER Policy Modernization: Drive the finalization, high-level endorsement, and operationalization of the Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER) school feeding tool, utilizing its diagnostic findings to support national legislative and regulatory policy development.

C. Global Coalitions, South-South Cooperation, and Knowledge Governance

• School Meals Coalition Integration: Act as WFP s primary technical adviser to the Ministry of Education to support Yemen s high-level commitments within the global School Meals Coalition, ensuring national targets are met and showcased globally.
• South-South Knowledge Exchanges: Design, fundraise for, and execute targeted South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) initiatives and study visits. These will link Yemeni ministry officials with regional and international institutional counterparts experienced in executing successful sovereign HGSF transition and payroll absorption roadmaps.
• Contextualized Learning Management: Systematically translate global best practices, technical innovations, and inter-agency evaluation lessons into highly contextualized operational manuals tailored to Yemen s unique dual-governance and economic setup.

D. Institutional Capacity Strengthening and Workforce Mentorship

• Systems Capacity Assessment: Design and implement a comprehensive capacity diagnostics tool to identify technical, financial, and digital data-tracking gaps within the MoE infrastructure and WFP national staff cohorts.
• Workforce Development Strategy: Roll out a structured institutional capacity-strengthening curriculum, incorporating targeted masterclasses, operational simulation workshops, and strategic planning clinics to prepare state counterparts for programmatic handover.
• Direct Technical Mentorship: Deliver daily on-the-job technical coaching, strategic mentoring, and programmatic oversight to national Programme Policy Officers, fostering elite knowledge transfer and solidifying a sustainable pool of local technical expertise.

DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT:

• ICSP HGSF Scaling Plan Approved: Operational plan, local sourcing guidelines, and Healthy Kitchen voucher workflows finalized and integrated into Country Office supply chain structures.
• MoE Fiscal Handover Roadmap Formulated: A time-bound, phased transition protocol mapping out the baseline administrative and incentive cost absorption onto national budget frameworks.
• National Capacity Strengthening Curriculum Executed: Documented technical modules and completed training cycles for MoE personnel and WFP national officers delivered and evaluated.
• SABER Assessment & Policy Brief Pack Concluded: Finalized system diagnostic reports and donor investment cases packaged for high-level resource mobilization.
• Nutrition-Sensitive SBCC Toolkit Developed: Contextualized Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) operational tools and packages targeting students, caregivers, teachers, and communities.
• South-South Knowledge Exchange Framework Completed: Formulated strategy and identification notes mapping out target technical institutions, study visits, and workshops for peer-learning modules.
• Yemen School Meals Coalition Commitment Package Packaged: Strategic and technical reporting materials ensuring all global coalition parameters and commitments are fully met and documented for the Ministry.

Desired Candidate Profile

STANDARD MINIMUM ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Education: Advanced University Degree (master's or equivalent) in Social Protection, Public Policy, Education, Nutrition, Food Systems, International Development, Public Health, Economics, or a related human development field.
• Experiences: Minimum of Seven (7) years of progressive international experience leading large-scale school feeding or social protection safety nets, with a proven track record in designing HGSF value chains and navigating fragile, conflict-affected contexts.
• Institutional Expertise: Demonstrated capability working directly with central government ministries (Education and Finance) to manage structural systems-strengthening transitions, operational handovers, and national policy architectures.
• Analytical & Fiscal Track Record: Extensive background leading multi-sectoral evidence generation, authoring investment cases, executing Value for Money (VfM) metrics, and orchestrating resource mobilization campaigns for institutional development.
• Workforce Capacity Development: Proven skill in running formal capacity-building architectures, technical coaching frameworks, and professional mentoring tracks for national counterpart networks.
• Technical Competencies: Elite mastery of nutrition-sensitive safety net designs, community-based procurement, and corporate accountability frameworks. Strong political acumen to navigate complex dual-banking systems and fragmented regulatory governance, with top-tier analytical drafting capabilities.
• Language: Fluency (level C) in English language, knowledge of Arabic is an asset.