PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT
Building on successful implementation in previous years, the WFP’s Country Strategic Plan 2023-27 focuses on the institutionalization and sustainability of an optimized national school meals model through policy support, advocacy, direct technical assistance and horizontal mutual exchanges and learning from other countries in the region, leveraging the WFP-supported school nutrition unit within the Ministry of Education and Science and Ministry of Health. WFP support in school feeding, therefore, largely focuses on capacity strengthening towards the transition to full national ownership. As the transition process continues, the Government, with the support of WFP and other partners, explores and adopts alternative options and models while seeking to identify the most sustainable and cost-efficient approach.
WFP supports a farm-to-school linkage model, Home-Grown School Feeding (HGSF), which facilitates local procurement from local farmers to supply fresh, safe and nutritious food to students. To reinforce this transition process, activities of school feeding at a decentralized level continued to promote the fullest capacity building and system change for HGSF, by supporting smallholder farmers/cooperatives in terms of skills, techniques, tools, and management, as well as monitoring and reporting. It is aligned with WFP’s strategy - smallholder agricultural market support (SAMS) strategy, which outlines WFP support for smallholder farmers with clear capacity building and market linkages.
Within this framework, WFP, in partnership with KOICA, implements the project “Establishment of a Sustainable Environment for Enhancing Health and Nutrition in Schools through the Home-Grown School Feeding (HGSF) Programme in the Kyrgyz Republic (2025–2028)”. The project aims to enhance the capacity of schools, smallholder farmers, cooperatives and Self-help groups (SHGs), establish productive school gardens, and strengthen farm-to-school linkages to promote food security, nutrition, and rural livelihoods.
The Senior Programme Associate (HGSF expert) focuses on increasing smallholder farmers’ capacities and engagement for improved access to both public and private markets through planet-friendly agricultural practices and tools as well as strategic, policy and operational engagement with the government and partners, and link their products to school meals to improve health and education of students, increase the income of smallholders, stimulate the local economy, and consequently contribute to food security and nutrition of the Kyrgyz Republic. In particular, the HGSF expert will play a key role in the planning, coordination, implementation, and reporting of HGSF-related agricultural activities under the KOICA-funded project and other agriculture related initiatives. The incumbent will ensure smooth execution of project deliverables related to cooperative/SHG capacity building, school garden development, demonstration farm management, and market integration of smallholders into the national school meals system.
Supervision: The Senior Programme Associate will be directly supervised by the Outcome 4 Manager and under the general supervision of the Head of Programme
For more information and to apply please follow the link: Job Openings at WFP