School Meals Accelerator Senior Advisor Systems Evaluation, Learning and Technical Assistance

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

ABOUT THE SCHOOL MEALS ACCELERATOR

School Meals Accelerator (the Accelerator) is the fifth and newest initiative underthe School Meals Coalitiondesigned to support governments to scale and strengthen their national school meal programmes and turn their ambitions into real impact. Acting as a network catalyst and convenor the Accelerator mobilizes resources andexpertisefrom the right partners to deliver strategic technicalassistancewhere it matters most.

The Accelerators mission: unlock the full potential of national school meal programs by improving design scaling investment and fostering collaboration across education health and food systems. It embraces a systems-thinking approach adapts to country priorities and thrives in deep collaboration among global regional and local actors. The Accelerators ambition: to help low- and lower-middle-income countries reach anadditional100 million children by 2030 making school meals a cornerstone of human capital development and a global standard of care.

The Acceleratoroperatesin conditions of high complexity. Because itoperatesas a network facilitator rather than a traditional organization its work spans multiple countriesorganisationsand institutional logics andseeksto support system-level change rather than the delivery of predefined solutions.

For this reason the Accelerator has adopted a systemic leadership approach which accepts that pathways to change are non-linear and progress depends on learningadaptationand collaboration across boundaries. Working in this way places ongoing demands on those involved and requires leaders whoare able towork productively with uncertainty difference and incomplete authority whilemaintainingaccountability for results. Joining the Accelerator team therefore means being part of a first-of-its-kind development enterprise: a systems-focused effort to drive lasting country-led change that requires a willingness to learn adapt and be shaped by the work as it evolves.

JOB TITLE:

Senior Advisor: Systems Evaluation Learning and Technical Assistance

TYPE OF CONTRACT:

International Consultant/When Actually Employed (CST Level IV)

UNIT/DIVISION:

School Meals Accelerator

DUTY STATION (City Country):

Remote

DURATION:

WAE between March 2026 and February 2027 (220 days in total)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The School Meals Accelerator is a new initiative of the School Meals Coalition that supports governments to scale and strengthen national school meals programmes through catalytic technical assistance multisectoral partnerships and knowledge generation. It is designed to be governmentled and demanddriven focusing on adaptive collaborative approaches that unlock systemic change and durable capacity at national level.

The School Health and Nutrition Technical Assistance Facility (SHNTAF) financed by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) implemented since August 2024 has been piloting facilitative partnershipbased technical assistance in five countries. The SMA will build on and carry forward the methods relationships and learning emerging from SHNTAFparticularly around how TA catalyzes systemlevel change in coordination capacity and enabling behaviours.

This role is designed as a senior advisory function that supports not only the SHN-TAF review cycle but also the evolution of the School Meals Accelerators system-oriented learning measurement and country engagement approach over time and ongoing strategic advice to strengthen Cambodias national school health and nutrition system.

OBJECTIVE and ACCOUNTABILITIES

The Senior Advisor will provide senior strategic advisory leadership to evidence generation for GPE-financed SHN-TAF review with broader system-level learning this capacity the Senior Advisor will provide strategic leadership expert direction and high-level quality assurance for the SHN-TAF Mid-Term Review (Stage 2) and the design and oversight of the Endline Review (Stage 3). In parallel to the global systems evaluation and learning mandate the Senior Advisor will provideembedded senior advisory supportto WFP Cambodia during a critical phase of transition toward nationally owned school feeding systems.

In close collaboration with the School Meals Accelerator WFP Country Offices and government counterparts the Senior Advisor will exercise the following accountabilities:

Senior stewardship of the GPE financed SHN-TAF Review

The GPE SHN-TAF Review is distinctive in that it brings a systemsoriented approach to evaluation exploring not only what SHNTAF is delivering but how it is shaping the behaviours capacities partnerships and enabling conditions of national school health and nutrition systems over time. This approach mirrors the broader way of working of the School Meals Accelerator which emphasises learning adaptation and systemic change rather than linear attribution. Because it requires navigating complexity interpreting system inclinations and applying advanced methods such as contribution analysis and qualitative rubrics the review demands seniorlevel expertise to guide the process ensure methodological rigour and translate systemlevel insights into actionable recommendations for both SHNTAF and the Accelerator.

• Provide senior strategic leadership and methodological stewardship for the SHN-TAF Mid-Term Review (Stage 2) and Endline Review (Stage 3) ensuring the review is credible coherent and strategically relevant.
• Shape the strategic framing of the Mid-Term and Endline Review ensuring alignment with WFP priorities government evidence needs and the systems-change orientation of the School Meals Accelerator.
• Guide the application of a systems-evaluation lens focusing on capacities partnerships behaviours and enabling conditions.
• Ensure methodological coherence proportionality and rigour across five countries providing senior-level quality assurance from question framing through to interpretation of findings.
• Safeguard comparability and credibility of evidence over time while allowing for adaptive context-appropriate approaches.
• Guide and mentor teams involved in the review
  • Provide strategic direction and light coaching to TAF country coordinators Country Offices and staff involved in data collection sensemaking and learning.
  • Strengthen internal capacity for systemsoriented evaluation ensuring transfer of knowledge tools and practices that will benefit SMA and future WFP work.

Exercise expert judgement in analysing systemlevel change

• Use senior evaluative expertise to interpret complex nonlinear change processes in national systems distinguishing between activitylevel progress and shifts in coordination leadership institutional capability and behaviours.
• Assess the plausibility of SHNTAFs contribution to emerging system changes applying seasoned judgement to triangulate diverse evidence sources.

Lead highlevel engagement and cultivate strategic alignment

• Engage senior government representatives WFP leadership key partners and TAF coordinators to anchor the review in national priorities and deepen ownership.
• Strengthen linkages between SHNTAF and the School Meals Accelerator by translating findings into clear strategic implications for future technical assistance partnerships and governance.

Shape forwardlooking recommendations and strategic insights

• Develop highquality actionable insights that inform course correction for the remainder of SHNTAF implementation and guide the School Meals Accelerators country engagement model measurement approach and learning agenda.
• Identify strategic opportunities gaps and risks that should shape the future direction of WFPs support to governmentled school health and nutrition systems.

• Design facilitate and contribute to highlevel learning events briefings and presentations ensuring clear communication of insights to internal and external audiences.

This senior leadership role requires an individual with deep systemsevaluation expertise advanced experience in complex multicountry reviews and the ability to operate at the highest strategic levels within WFP and government systems.

Senior Advisor to Cambodias national School Health and Nutrition System

In parallel to the global systems evaluation and learning mandate the Senior Advisor will provideembedded senior advisory supportto WFP Cambodia during a critical phase of transition toward nationally owned school feeding systems.

Cambodia represents one of the most advanced and policy-anchored transition cases within WFPs school feeding portfolio following the adoption of the National School Feeding Policy () and the shift from direct implementation toward government-led systems supported through strategic technical assistance.

Within this context the Senior Advisor will:

• Providesenior-level strategic advisory guidanceto WFP Cambodia and key government counterparts on the governance coherence and prioritization of the school feeding technical assistance portfolio.
• Support theoperationalization of policy into systems advising on sequencing institutional arrangements financing pathways and the evolving role of WFP as convener system steward and technical enabler.
• Exercise expert judgement in interpreting system-level progress risks and trade-offs emerging from Cambodias transition experience complementing formal evaluation processes.
• Ensure that insights from Cambodias transition aresystematically synthesized and fed into the SHN-TAF review Stage 3 design and the School Meals Accelerators future country engagement and learning agenda.
• Strengthen alignment between country-level advisory practice and global systems-oriented approaches to technical assistance evaluation and learning.

This embedded advisory role will be delivered in a manner consistent with the Senior Advisors CST-IV mandate focusing on strategic judgement coherence and system-level learning rather than task-level implementation.

This work focuses on senior advisory support to Cambodias nationally led school health and nutrition system with a particular emphasis on the transition and sustainability of the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education:

Advanced University degree in Development Studies Economics Nutrition Agriculture Environmental Science Climate Change Social Sciences or other relevant disciplines.

Experience:

• 1520 years leading complex multicountry evaluations in governmentled systems (education/health/nutrition/social protection) including contribution analysis and mixedmethods designs.
• Demonstrated excellence in systems evaluation/learning (e.g. developmental evaluation) including design and use of qualitative rubrics/maturity models and structured triangulation.
• Strong record working with/within UN/WFP and senior government counterparts; ability to facilitate learning and alignment across complex partnerships
• Proven ability to translate findings into adaptive decisions and program design implications; experience embedding light lowburden data capture into country processes and events
• Mastery of systems thinking partnership & coordination analysis capacity development frameworks learning and adaptation assessment; advanced qualitative methods with practical use of monitoring/engagement data for triangulation.
• Experience in organizing participatory processes engaging in multi-sectoral processes and policy dialogues and coordinating with a wide variety of stakeholders.
• Previous experience in country regional and global level reviews is essential to this role.

Languages:

Fluency (level C) in English language.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

The School Meals Accelerator is committed to ensuring an inclusive accessible and supportive recruitment process for all candidates. If you require a reasonable accommodation at any stage of the recruitment process please reach out to: . We will be happy to assist you.

NO FEE DISCLAIMER

The School Meals Accelerator does not charge any fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application processing training interviewing testing or any other). If you receive a solicitation requesting payment please disregard it.

Please note that emblems logos names and addresses may be misused for fraudulent purposes. We encourage you to exercise particular caution when submitting personal information online.

REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

• All applications must be submitted exclusively through our online recruiting system. We do not consider CVs or applications sent by email LinkedIn or any other channel.

• We strongly recommend that your Workday profile is accurate and complete and that all sections are filled in including your employment history academic qualifications language skills and UN grade (if applicable). Once your profile is completed please apply and submit your application.

• If you experience technical issues while submitting your application you may contact us at . Please note that this email is only for technical issues with an application - unsolicited applications or documents sent to this inbox will not receive a reply.

• At the application stage the only required documents are your CV and Cover Letter. Additional documents (passport certificates recommendation letters etc.) may be requested later in the process.

• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the recruitment process.

OUR WORK ENVIRONMENT

As the School Meals Accelerator is generously hosted within the World Food Programmes facilities and administrative systems we benefit fromand upholdWFPs strong commitment to integrity inclusion safety and respect.

All hiring decisions are based on role requirements merits and the strengths each candidate brings including their alignment with the Accelerators core mindsets and behaviors as per its Systemic Leadership line with WFPour hosting organizationthe Accelerator is committed to fostering an inclusive respectful and safe work environment free from discrimination harassment abuse of authority and any form of sexual exploitation or abuse. As part of this commitment all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Lastly 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.