Part-time consultant – Animal Protein Analysis (WAE Level 2) at WFP – World Food Programme: (Deadline 2 April 2024)

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ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes. Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

POSITION DETAILS

Title of Post: Programme Policy Officer (Animal Protein Study)
Type of Contract: International Consultant (WAE), Level 2

Unit/ Division: Programme/School Based Programme
Duty Station: Remote
Duration: 6 months

Application deadline: 02 April 2024

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

School feeding programmes have great potential to improve and diversify local production, while also ensuring access to nutritious and diverse diets for children at a critical age of growth and development. School feeding programmes in low- and middle-income countries generally struggle to include animal source protein in the menus.

At the same time, the consumption of animal source protein, including dairy, eggs, and meat, is strongly associated with child stunting and nutrition outcomes. Among the key barriers to this consumption in low- and middle-income countries include the high prices of these protein sources along with challenges in production, marketing and trade, and thus more investment is needed. At the same time, this investment needs to balance environmental considerations as livestock is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions.

The Government of Rwanda Launched the National School Feeding Programme in 2021, building on the Comprehensive National School Feeding Policy approved in 2019. The programme provides daily school meals to 3.8 million children in government pre-primary, primary and secondary schools. The menu, and its “base meal” that was developed in consultation with the World Food Programme (WFP), seeks to provide healthy and nutritious meals that are feasible in light of seasonal, price and local market dynamics, and makes provisions for the inclusion of animal source protein. The inclusion of animal source protein is particularly important to boost the meal content in terms of calcium, iron and vitamin B12, which are important nutrients for all children but particularly adolescents. In fact, meeting the micronutrient needs of adolescents, in particular, is not feasible without these animal source foods or supplementation.

The main barrier to including meat, fish, milk and eggs in the meals that schools currently serve is budgetary: the per child allocation for the programme is currently limited albeit the national budget allocation has an upward trend. In addition to cost, there are other challenges, which include cold/cool chain and storage and kitchen facility limitations at school level, amongst others. Furthermore, the environmental impact will need further examination.

Rwanda is putting place national targets and measures to strengthen these value chains. For instance, the national Livestock Masterplan targets a major increase in meat consumption. The agenda is ambitious, as the country has some of the lowest per capita protein consumption in the world. According to EICV 5, the main national household survey, per capita consumption of animal protein stands at 7.9 kg of meat, 59 liters of milk, and 0.63kg of eggs (13 eggs) per person per year. Consumption of chicken and eggs are much higher for high-income households, whereas pork consumption goes down with income level. In a related fashion, chicken and egg consumption is higher in urban than rural areas, while rural areas tend to consume slightly more pork meat. Existing analyses note that the value chains are challenged by low and fluctuating production levels and availability, and consequently fluctuating and high prices, as well as food safety and quality concerns that need attention. For specific value chains such as small fish, identified constraints include lack of innovation and equipment, poor processing practices and infrastructure, and lack of market information.

There is existing research in Rwanda on the various animal source protein value chains; however, none of these studies synthesise information on how these value chains could link to the school feeding programme in a cost-effective way, in a holistic manner that looks at all the possible animal source protein options.

PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

WFP is engaging a consultant for the development of a report that will synthesize existing data and knowledge on animal protein in Rwanda to provide a comprehensive analysis on the cost and feasibility of adding specific animal proteins (priority value chains of egg, fish, milk, secondary priority beef, goat, chicken) into school menus in the context of the National School Feeding Programme. The analysis should comprise cost, feasibility, operational and environmental analysis. The cost analysis should not just look at the cost of the food purchase but also on the associated costs.

This report will be used to support the Ministry of Education and other key ministries engaged in school feeding, such as The Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Trade and Industry, to explore and put in place investment towards increasing animal protein in school meals for the benefit of nutrition of the programme participants, in line with the objectives of the National School Feeding Policy.
In detail, the study should explore the following factors in the analysis:

• availability and cost of the animal sourced protein
• location (regional based cost and availability variations, including urban/rural differences)
• school types (boarding school vs day schools)
• level of education (which animal protein is “cost effective” based on grade level – pre-primary compared to primary or secondary considering that pre-primary consumes less).
• food storage and handling (what are the costs and capital investment required to be able to properly store animal protein)
• food preparation (are there any additional kitchen utensils/tools/equipment needed for preparing animal protein if so, what are the cost implications)
• procurement (what are the cost implications of buying in bulk vs buying for just the day since many schools don’t have cold rooms to store animal sourced protein in bulk.)
• staffing: (what are the cost implications on staffing needs, if any, when animal protein is added to the menu?)
• innovations/food packaging that could cut costs

This activity will be informed by several study reports available on animal proteins, as well as recently completed analyses by WFP and the Government, which include:

• National School Feeding Market Assessment (2022): provides information on availability and prices based on regions of all commodities within the school feeding menu and food basket
• National School Feeding Survey (2022): provides national information on school feeding implementation status and challenges in government schools
• School Feeding Cookbook (draft, 2022): collection of recipes based on local Rwandan foods, with some recipes containing animal protein.

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the direct supervision of the School Feeding manager, he/she will ensure the following tasks:

1. Compile a detailed report synthesizing existing data and knowledge on animal protein in Rwanda, evaluating the feasibility of including priority animal proteins (egg, fish, milk) and secondary priority proteins (beef, goat, chicken) in school menus, and provide a comprehensive analysis of the cost and feasibility of adding specific animal proteins to school menus.
2. Come up with a separate document outlining the detailed cost analysis associated with incorporating specific animal proteins, including breakdowns of food purchase costs and associated expenses.
3. Highlight the cost-effectiveness of adding animal proteins based on the level of education, with specific considerations for pre-primary, primary, and secondary schools as well as detailing the costs and capital investments required for proper storage of animal proteins, considering variations in food storage infrastructure at different school levels.
4. Assess the environmental impact of including specific animal proteins in school meals, providing insights into sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions.

DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

Qualifications & Experience required:
• Advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) Public Health, Human Nutrition, Food Science and Technology, Biostatistics, or other relevant nutrition and health disciplines.
• Strong technical expertise in research around animal protein in the context of school meals
• At least five years of professional experience in analyzing qualitative and quantitative data.
• Excellent IT skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Knowledge of Rwanda’s school meals, socio-economic context, including local and regional actors, will be an added advantage.

Capabilities:
Standard Corporate capabilities apply.

Language:
Working knowledge (proficiency level C) of English

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Qualified females are encouraged to apply

This position is open for international candidates only.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

02 April 2024

WFP has a zero-tolerance approach to conduct such as fraud, sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to WFP’s standards of conduct and will therefore undergo rigorous background verification internally or through third parties. Selected candidates will also be required to provide additional information as part of the verification exercise. Misrepresentation of information provided during the recruitment process may lead to disqualification or termination of employment

WFP will not request payment at any stage of the recruitment process including at the offer stage. Any requests for payment should be refused and reported to local law enforcement authorities for appropriate action.

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