ph3bDEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS /b /h3 p10 September :59-GMT+01:00 Central European Time (Rome) /p h3bABOUT THE SCHOOL MEALS ACCELERATOR /b /h3 pSchool Meals Accelerator (the Accelerator) is the fifth and newest initiative under the School Meals Coalition, operating 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 and expertise from the right partners to deliver strategic technical assistance where it matters most. /p pThe Accelerator’s 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 Accelerator’s 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. /p pThe 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. /p pFor 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. /p h3About the School Meals Accelerator: /h3 pSchool 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. /p pThe Accelerator’s 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 Accelerator’s 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. /p pThe 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. /p pFor 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. /p h3Purpose of this role: /h3 pThis role is part of the Engagement Team of the Accelerator, which is responsible for ensuring that the Accelerator’s engagement at the political level continues to enable and facilitate its work, generating more support, tapping into diverse networks, and deepening relationships that can continue to create a favourable authorizing environment for the initiative. The Evidence, Monitoring Reporting Consultant strengthens SMA’s results, reporting, and adaptive learning functions. The postholder leads day‑to‑day monitoring and end‑to‑end reporting workflows—including donor reporting, periodic management reporting, annual and midterm reviews—and ensures information is accurate, timely, and aligned with SMA’s systemic learning-oriented approach rather than a traditional monitoring and evaluation role. A core part of the role is to lead value capture processes by systematically identifying, documenting, and synthesizing emerging patterns, system shifts, and learning from Accelerator country engagements. By curating evidence and translating it into clear decision‑ready system narratives, the consultant supports adaptive decision‑making, strengthens collective sense‑making, and ensures that SMA’s work reflects real system change. The role promotes disciplined monitoring of key performance indicators, systems‑oriented measurement, high‑quality reporting, and continuous learning across countries and workstreams, contributing to SMA’s mission of delivering credible insights, accountability, and system level influence. The postholder is also expected to coordinate closely with the School Meals Coalition Secretariat and other global initiatives to ensure aligned approaches, shared messaging, and coherent support to countries. /p h3Responsibilities /h3 olliEvidence Results Management /li /ol ul lipOperationalize and evolve the measurement framework (indicators, baselines, targets, milestones),



including systems‑oriented indicators that capture emergent change (patterns, norms, incentives, relationships) and maintaining reference sheets and data‑collection schedules with the SMC Data Monitoring Initiative. /p /li lipCollect, validate, and synthesize quantitative and qualitative data from SMA teams, governments, and partners; integrate stakeholder perspectives to surface weak signals and contextual factors that inform adaptation. /p /li lipMaintain trackers, dashboards, and evidence files for timely sense‑making; run routine monitoring cycles (monthly/quarterly/biannual), follow up on data calls, and conduct descriptive analyses to identify emerging patterns and anomalies. /p /li lipProduce short evidence products (summaries, visuals, tables) for reviews and briefings; document limitations, assumptions, and improvement actions to reinforce data quality, responsible evidence of use, and alignment with SMA’s systems‑informed narrative. /p /li /ul olliReporting /li /ol ul lipLead the preparation of major reporting products (Annual Report, Annual Plan, mid‑year and end‑of‑year updates), ensuring accuracy, coherence, and alignment with SMA’s measurement framework and systemic narrative. /p /li lipManage end‑to‑end reporting workflows, coordinating contributions across units, conducting quality assurance, maintaining version control, and stewarding internal review and clearance processes. /p /li lipDraft and integrate clear, compelling narrative content linking evidence, country examples, system behaviours, and partner contributions, generating a single coherent story across all reporting products. /p /li lipProduce and validate data annexes, indicator tables, visuals, and methodological notes, ensuring compliance with donor expectations, internal standards, and SMA’s visual and narrative identity. /p /li /ul olliValue Capture Systems Learning /li /ol ul lipIdentify and track emerging system shifts—including changes in norms, incentives, collaboration patterns, resource flows, and decision‑making processes—paying attention to weak signals and early indicators of change. /p /li lipDevelop light‑touch analytical and sense‑making products that synthesize what is changing in the system and why, translating insights into actionable guidance for leadership and country teams. /p /li lipDocument emergent learning from country engagement, surfacing positive deviances and leverage points, and supporting adaptive decisions and real‑time adjustments across workstreams. /p /li lipCurate continuous learning flows into reporting, leadership briefings, and strategy processes, strengthening collective sense‑making and embedding systems‑informed adaptation across SMA. /p /li /ul olliPeople Leadership, Ways of Working Culture /li /ol ul lipModel SMA’s systemic leadership mindsets by practicing inclusive engagement, constructive feedback, transparency, and cross‑team collaboration; reinforce shared standards, disciplined documentation, and coherent communication flows across dispersed teams and workstreams. /p /li lipDemonstrate strong political and cultural awareness in interactions with governments, partners, and colleagues, while upholding data protection, safeguarding, and “do‑no‑harm” principles across all evidence and reporting activities. /p /li /ul olliLearning, Continuous Improvement Knowledge /li /ol ul lipLead value‑capture and learning cycles by identifying emerging system shifts, patterns, and weak signals; synthesizing insights from monitoring data and qualitative inputs into accessible products (e.g., briefs, snapshots, learning notes) that inform strategic decisions and adaptation. /p /li lipFacilitate and embed collective sense‑making by supporting after‑action reviews, reflection sessions, and leadership discussions; maintain learning repositories, update tools and guidance, and translate complex system‑level learning into clear narratives and visuals for internal planning, reporting, and strategy processes. /p /li /ul h3Individual developmental expectations within the SMA Systemic Leadership Framework /h3 pThis role operates within the School Meals Accelerator’s 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 Consultant Level II role, the minimum expectation is: Reflective engagement with complexity : “Staff members 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”. 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. /p h3What the Systemic Leadership Framework Means for Your Recruitment and Role /h3 pAll roles in the School Meals Accelerator are expected to be enacted in line with the Systemic Leadership Framework. In 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. /p h3Qualifications: /h3 h3Education /h3 pAdvanced University degree in social sciences, statistics, development economics, performance management, monitoring and evaluation or other related fields; or First University degree with additional years of relevant work experience and/or training/courses. /p h3Experience /h3 ul lipAt least five years of progressively responsible experience in evidence, learning, monitoring, reporting, analytics, or research in international development, humanitarian, or public‑sector settings. /p /li lipDemonstrated international experience collaborating with diverse partners (governments, International Financial Institutions, UN agencies, civil society, private sector, academia) across regions and organizational levels. /p /li lipExperience applying systems‑informed evaluation or adaptive‑management approaches, including synthesizing qualitative and quantitative insights (patterns, themes, weak signals) to inform programme learning and adaptation. /p /li lipHands‑on experience with data collection, validation, and basic descriptive analysis, maintaining trackers/dashboards, and producing evidence summaries, visuals, or briefs for decision‑makers and non‑technical audiences. /p /li lipExperience managing or coordinating end‑to‑end reporting processes, including planning calendars, consolidating inputs, QA, visualization, drafting narrative sections, and ensuring coherent donor or corporate reporting outputs. /p /li /ul h3Knowledge Skills /h3 ul lipStrong data‑organization and quality‑management skills, including clean datasets, consistent definitions, clear documentation, and basic descriptive analysis. /p /li lipExcellent written communication, with the ability to translate data and system insights into concise narratives, tables, visuals, and evidence products for leadership and donors. /p /li lipAbility to capture system dynamics—including behavioural shifts, collaboration patterns, incentives, weak signals—and synthesize them into decision‑useful insights. /p /li lipFacilitation and sense‑making skills, including supporting reflection sessions, after‑action reviews, and learning discussions with diverse teams. /p /li lipSolid planning and coordination abilities, including workflow management, calendars, QA steps, version control, and timely follow‑up across multiple stakeholders. /p /li lipFamiliarity with monitoring frameworks and practical data‑collection methods (indicators, baselines, targets, milestones; surveys, templates, routine reporting), and proficiency with tools such as Excel/Sheets, PowerPoint, and collaboration platforms (e.g., SharePoint); awareness of data protection, safeguarding, and do‑no‑harm principles. /p /li /ul h3bLanguages /b /h3 pFluency in English (Level C) is required. Working knowledge (Level B) of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish). /p h3bREASONABLE ACCOMMODATION /b /h3 pThe 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. /p h3bNO FEE DISCLAIMER /b /h3 pThe 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. /p pPlease 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. /p h3bREMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION /b /h3 ul lipAll 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. /p /li lipWe 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. /p /li lipIf 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. /p /li lipAt 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. /p /li lipOnly shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the recruitment process. /p /li /ul h3bOUR WORK ENVIRONMENT /b /h3 pAs the School Meals Accelerator is generously hosted within the World Food Programme’s facilities and administrative systems, we agevolazioni from—and uphold—WFP’s strong commitment to integrity, inclusion, safety, and respect. /p pAll hiring decisions are based on role requirements, merits, and the strengths each candidate brings, including their alignment with the Accelerator’s core mindsets and behaviors as per its Systemic Leadership Framework. In line with WFP—our hosting organization—the 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. /p pLastly, 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. /p /p #J-18808-Ljbffr

📌 School Meals Accelerator Evaluation, Monitoring & Reporting Consultant (Roma)
🏢 World Food Programme
📍 Roma