Head of Engagement Team and Deputy Director (P5)

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

ABOUT THE SCHOOL MEALS ACCELERATOR

School Meals Accelerator (the Accelerator) is the fifth and newest initiative underthe School Meals Coalitionoperating as an independent initiative while being hosted by the World Food Programme (WFP). It is designed 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.

ABOUT THE SCHOOL MEALS ACCELERATOR

School Meals Accelerator (the Accelerator) is the fifth and newest initiative under the School Meals Coalition designed 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 and expertise from the right partners to deliver strategic technical assistance where 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 an additional 100 million children by 2030 making school meals a cornerstone of human capital development and a global standard of care.

The Accelerator operates in conditions of high complexity. Because it operates as a network facilitator rather than a traditional organization its work spans multiple countries organisations and institutional logics and seeks to 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 learning adaptation and collaboration across boundaries. Working in this way places ongoing demands on those involved and requires leaders who are able to work productively with uncertainty difference and incomplete authority while maintaining accountability 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.

PURPOSE OF THIS ROLE

The Head of Engagement Team is a senior role in the Accelerator reporting directly to the Director. The role leads and shapes the Accelerators political level engagement positions the initiative to unlock strategic support cultivates high value networks and strengthens the high level relationships required to sustain a favorable authorizing environment.

The postholder oversees and stewards the Accelerators Governance Committeepartnering with its Chair and members to enable meaningful cocreationand builds and maintains strategic relationships with the Chairs of the School Meals Coalition and its Secretariat as well as the Support Mechanism of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty and other priority stakeholders.

The role defines elevates and amplifies the Accelerators narrative and supports the Directors public positioning articulating results and impact while expressing the initiatives ethos and systemic way of working through innovative forms of storytelling. The postholder acts as Officer-in-Charge in the absence of the Directormaintainingcontinuity in decision-makingperformanceand accountability.

The postholder is also expected to align coordinate and synchronize efforts with the School Meals Coalition Secretariat and other global initiatives to ensure coherent approaches shared messaging and integrated support to countries.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive within delegated authority):

Strategic leadership and execution:

• Support the development and execution of the Accelerators strategy and annual plans in close partnership with the Director.

• Translate strategic direction into clear priorities objectives and resourcing plans while retaining flexibility to adapt in response to learning feedback and changing contexts.

• Support the Director in overseeing the execution of strategic decisions by establishing performance and qualityassurance mechanisms that enable timely coursecorrection while preserving learning experimentation and adaptive practice and ensuring coherence with WFP policies governance requirements and HQ processes.

• Serve as OfficerinCharge in the absence of the Director ensuring continuity of leadership decisionmaking risk management and external engagement.

Strategic engagement & Leadership Coordination:

• Lead and expand SMAs highlevel external engagement by positioning the Accelerator in priority political and institutional arenas and cultivating influential networks that reinforce SMAs authorizing environment.

• Advise the Director with timely political intelligence stakeholder analysis and strategic counsel to inform engagement priorities partnerships and external influence.

• Lead the consolidation of engagementrelated information flows across country technical and operational teams ensuring leadership receives wellsynthesized inputs on crosscutting priorities risks and emerging issues.

• Strengthen alignment across SMA by stewarding leadership routines decisionmaking rhythms and clear communication pathways that translate decisions into coordinated action.

Governance Stewardship & Institutional Coordination:

• Steward the effective functioning of SMAs Governance Committee by partnering with the Chair and members to shape strategic agendas surface tensions and frame choices around risks resources and systemwide implications.

• Translate insights from across SMA into decisionready framing that supports sound judgement in a complex systems context.

• Ensure governance discipline by clarifying roles and timelines tracking followthrough on decisions and strengthening governance routines documentation and review processes.

Strategic Narratives & Leadership Sense-Making:

• Shape and evolve the Accelerators overarching narrative so it conveys SMAs systemic ethos emerging impact and political relevance. Draw on insights from governance partnerships country engagement and internal processes to support shared understanding of how change is unfolding and why it matters.

• Strengthen and amplify the Directors leadership voice through strategic framing narrative arcs and messaging that communicate both progress and learning and work closely with storytelling and communications colleagues to ensure coherence across all publicfacing products and reinforcement of SMAs credibility strategic intent and distinctive way of working.

People Leadership Ways of Working & Culture:

• Model and champion SMAs systemic leadership mindsets demonstrating sound judgement political and cultural acuity and the ability to steward complex relationships and decisions across a multicountry institutional ecosystem.

• Cultivate and sustain a hightrust highperformance culture by promoting shared leadership standards embedding disciplined communication and predictable working rhythms and strengthening coordination across country operational technical and narrative teams.

Learning Continuous Improvement & Knowledge:

• Drive and institutionalize learning across SMAs leadership and engagement functions by capturing and synthesizing insights from governance processes external relationships and political engagement and feeding these into strategy delivery and institutional positioning.

• Embed reflective practice and continuous improvement by leading and contributing to after-action reviews leadership reflections and learning sessions and by codifying lessons into tools guidance and protocols that strengthen SMAs systemic leadership and engagement practices over time.

Individual developmental expectations within the SMA Systemic Leadership Framework

This role operates within the School Meals Accelerators systemic leadership approach. All SMA roles are expected to be enacted in line with the SMA Systemic Leadership Framework which sets out six shared leadership mindsets core leadership practices and more systemically demanding practices that guide how we work in complex fast-changing environments. The Framework also describes ways of engaging with complexity which reflect how individuals make sense of and act in uncertain interdependence situations.

While developmental maturity and role seniority are independent the SMA sets minimum developmental expectations by grade to support clarity and fairness in recruitment and early employment.

For this P5 role the minimum expectation is:

Intentional way of engaging with complexity: the staff member actively works with their assumptions emotions and roles as part of ongoing practice. They are better able to pause make deliberate choices about how to respond and adapt their actions in real time under conditions of uncertainty.

As set out in the Framework these expectations represent floors not ceilings. Ways of engaging with complexity are descriptive rather than evaluative are not tied mechanically to seniority or performance management and are used to support reflection learning and development over time rather than ranking or judgement.

What the Systemic Leadership Framework Means for Your Recruitment and Role

All roles in the School Meals Accelerator are expected to be enacted in line with the Systemic Leadership recruitment and selection the Framework supports informed conversations about how candidates make sense of complexity uncertainty and systemic change alongside assessment of technical expertise and role fit.

In ongoing work the Framework provides a shared orientation to how we work here and supports individual and collective learning over time.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Education: Advanced university degree in Public Administration International Development International Relations Organizational Development Business or Management Political Science Public Policy or another relevant field; or a first university degree with additional years of relevant professional experience and/or advanced training.

Experience:

• At least eleven years of progressively senior leadership experience advising or supporting highlevel officials in complex international political or multistakeholder environments shaping strategy informing decisionmaking and stewarding highstakes institutional relationships.

• Demonstrated international experience forging and sustaining collaboration with diverse partnersincluding governments International Financial Institutions UN agencies civil society private sector and academiaacross regions and organisational hierarchies.

• Proven experience leading highlevel political and institutional engagement including navigating sensitive contexts managing tensions and representing senior leadership with diplomacy judgement and contextual intelligence.

• Track record of shaping and strengthening governance bodies (e.g. steering committees advisory groups) including designing agendas synthesizing strategic inputs framing decisions and ensuring robust followthrough for senior actors.

• Substantial experience driving strategic communications and narrative development including crafting executive messages speeches and strategic materials that influence institutional partners donors and opinion leaders and enhance organisational positioning.

Knowledge & Skills:

• Exceptional communication and narrative crafting capability able to architect high impact messages strategic stories and speeches tailored to senior audiences political moments and system level dynamics.

• Strong strategic judgement and political acuity with the ability to interpret and anticipate complex institutional and political dynamics and advise senior leadership with clarity foresight and nuance.

• Advanced analytical and synthesis skills able to distil technical political and country level insights into crisp decision ready briefs that drive alignment illuminate tradeoffs and strengthen sound governance.

• Expertise in strategic communications storytelling and reputational risk management ensuring that messaging is coherent credible and aligned with SMAs systemic ethos and institutional identity.

• High level facilitation and coordination skills enabling effective leadership routines structured decision processes and disciplined follow through across diverse teams governance mechanisms and multi country constellations.

• Strong interpersonal diplomatic and relational intelligence able to build trust steward sensitive relationships and exercise mature judgement when engaging senior officials and navigating politically complex scenarios in line with SMAs systemic leadership approach.

Languages: Fluency (level C) in English; intermediate (level B) in a second official UN language (Arabic Chinese French Russian Spanish)

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

This is an International Professional position open to candidates of all nationalities.

The selected candidate will be appointed on a fixed-term contract for an initial period of two years with the possibility of renewal based on operational requirements performance and the availability of funding. The probationary period will be one year.

This position is open to both internal and external applicants. For candidates currently employed at WFP on a rotational Fixed-Term Contract acceptance of an offer with the School Meals Accelerator will be subject to the contractual terms outlined in Annex 3 (Staffing Management) under the Fixed-Term Contractual Modalities described in Section 1.1. This includes provisions related to return rights and other applicable conditions.

WFP offers an attractive compensation and benefits package in line with ICSC standards () including basic salary post adjustment relocation entitlement visa travel and shipment allowances 30 days annual leave home leave an education grant for dependent children a pension plan and medical insurance.

The selected candidate will be required to relocate to Rome Italy to take up this assignment.

ANNEX: OVERVIEW OF THE SMA SYSTEMIC LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

The School Meals Accelerator (SMA) works in conditions of high complexity spanning multiple countries organisations and institutional logics and seeks to support system-level change rather than the delivery of predefined solutions.

To support effective leadership in this context the SMA has articulated a Systemic Leadership Framework. The Framework provides a shared language and reference point for how leadership is understood and enacted across the organisation and is used across recruitment onboarding feedback and learning.

This annex provides a high-level overview of the content of the Framework.

Leadership mindsets

At the heart of the SMA Systemic Leadership Framework are six leadership mindsets.

These mindsets describe shared orientations that shape how situations are interpreted what is treated as data and what kinds of action feel legitimate or possible in system-level change work.

They are not competencies or values statements but shared ways of making sense of complex situations that shape leadership practice particularly under pressure or uncertainty.

The six SMA leadership mindsets are:

• We see systems change as starting with us: We notice and work with how our roles assumptions and responses shape what becomes possible in the system.

• We experiment our way forward: We use disciplined experimentation and learning to make progress in conditions of uncertainty.

• We put countries needs first: We orient our work around the priorities contexts and capacities of countries rather than organisational convenience or external agendas.

• We value different perspectives even when they clash: We work productively with difference tension and disagreement to support learning and systemic change.

• We teach and learn from one another: We treat learning as a shared ongoing responsibility and use everyday work as a source of individual and collective development.

• We are intentional about how and when we act not simply defaulting to urgency: We treat pace and timing as deliberate leadership choices choosing actions that support learning and lasting change rather than activity for its own sake.

The mindsets are mutually reinforcing rather than sequential. Effective systemic leadership involves working across all of them rather than privileging one at the expense of others.

Leadership practices

Within each mindset the Framework identifies leadership practices that describe observable ways of working how leadership shows up in action.

The Accelerator has 30 core leadership practices (5 per mindset) which are foundational practices expected of everyone working in the Accelerator regardless of role or grade. They support effective participation in complex multi-stakeholder environments.

Two broad categories of practice are described:

• Core leadership practices. These are foundational practices expected of everyone working in the Accelerator regardless of role or grade. They support effective participation in complex multi-stakeholder environments.

• More systemically demanding leadership practices. These practices place greater demands on attention reflexivity and systemic awareness. They often involve working across boundaries engaging with power and conflict and staying in learning under conditions of ambiguity or risk.

The distinction is not hierarchical or prescriptive. It exists to make visible differences in demand not differences in worth permission or status.

Ways of engaging with complexity

The Framework also describes different ways of engaging with complexity drawing on adult development theory. Ways of engaging with complexity describe how leadership practices are enacted not which practices are permitted. They are descriptive rather than evaluative are not tied mechanically to seniority or role and are context-sensitive.

The Framework describes four broad ways of engaging with complexity:

• Habitual engagement. People tend to respond to situations through familiar roles routines and immediate reactions. What is felt or thought in the moment tends to drive action with limited separation between observation interpretation and response especially under pressure.

• Reflective engagement. People are increasingly able to step back from experience and notice their assumptions and reactions often after the event. Reflection supports learning and adjustment over time though it is not yet consistently available in the moment.

• Intentional engagement. People actively work with their assumptions emotions and roles as part of ongoing practice. They are better able to pause make deliberate choices about how to respond and adapt their actions in real time under conditions of uncertainty.

• Systemic engagement. People understand their actions as part of wider system dynamics shaped by relationships power history and context. They act with awareness of timing ripple effects and shared responsibility and are able to support learning and capacity beyond their own role.

These ways of engaging with complexity do not represent a linear progression or a single ideal endpoint. Individuals may operate in different ways in different situations. To support clarity and fairness the SMA sets minimum developmental expectations by grade which represent floors not ceilings.

What the Framework is used for

The SMA Systemic Leadership Framework is:

• a shared developmental reference for leadership practice;

• a basis for reflection feedback and learning;

• a way of embedding systemic leadership expectations into everyday work.

It is not:

• a competency framework;

• a performance rating system;

• a leadership pipeline;

• a tool for ranking or scoring individuals.

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.