Post-Harvest Loss Reduction Expert Lazio

Post-Harvest Loss Reduction Expert
Roma
Lazio, Lazio

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**Job Title**:Post-Harvest Loss Reduction (PHL) Expert

**Type of Contract**:Consultant

**Division: PRO/PROR-F - **Programme and Humanitarian Development / Food Systems and Smallholder Support Unit

**Duty Station (City, Country)**: Rome HQ, Italy

**Duration**:11 months

**BACKGROUND**:

The Food Systems and Smallholder Support Unit produces normative guidance and provides technical support to WFP Country Offices and Regional Bureaux embracing food systems approaches and implementing Smallholder Agricultural Market Support programmes, including Post-Harvest Loss (PHL) reduction initiatives.

The Food Systems and Smallholder Support Unit is part of the Resilience and Food Systems Service (PROR) that provides normative guidance and operational support to WFP Regional Bureaus and Country Offices in the design and implementation of programmatic interventions in the area of resilient food systems.

In addition to its support to field operations, the unit coordinates strategic partnerships and dialogues with other UN Agencies, in particular the Rome-based Agencies, and external partners, the private sector, foundations, research institutions, academia and various actors along the food value chain, entailing a mutually beneficial exchange of expertise to meet the needs of beneficiaries and to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

**PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT**:

The post-harvest loss reduction work (PHL) has been a priority for WFP for over a decade and PHL is a core component of WFP's Smallholder Agricultural Market Support (SAMS) programmatic activity.

WFP ran a global post-harvest knowledge and operations Center (KNOC) - from 2016 to 2019 - that promoted a "zero food loss initiative" through provision of hermetic storage facilities to smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, essentially for grains and pulses.

Post-harvest management is also one of the main pillars of a new partnership between the Mastercard Foundation (MCF) and WFP which aims to cultivate a thriving and sustainable agri-food system that empowers smallholder farmers with reduction in PHL and increased access to market that will create employment opportunities for young people, particularly young women.

The project, implemented in 8 WFP Country Offices, will foster work on PHL including through the provision of training, facilitation of access to post-harvest handling equipment and awareness raising.

WFP is currently aiming to leverage on its experience to develop a sound and operational positioning and guidance package for PHL solutions for WFP Country Offices, relevant for the different contexts in which WFP is operating.

This package will cover a variety of value chains relevant for WFP's SAMS and related programming work to restore, rebuild or strengthen food systems and enhance their resilience in the face of shocks and stressors.

As such, the package of PHL guidance will expand beyond grains and staples in surplus producing areas and include these commodities as well as others such as perishable products, dairy products, etc. , in the areas where WFP undertakes its programmes, and including the abovementioned MCF programme.

WFP has recently initiated the development of this guidance package, starting with the development of a PHL module to complement WFP's corporate value chain analysis methodology.

Under the direct supervision of the Policy and Programme Officer in charge of SAMS and PHL and in close collaboration with other PROR-F/L and other divisions, the incumbent will be responsible for the development of normative guidance as well as strengthening partnerships, improving knowledge management, generating evidence and scaling up funding for PHL - all aimed at creating scalable business models for countries where WFP operates, including the countries covered by the MCF programme.

**MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES / RESPONSIBILITIES (not all-inclusive)**:

- Lead the PHL workstream within PRORF, including the development of a framework for action, related pathways and a tangible workplan for the PHL activities of the unit.

- Lead the development and refinement of hands-on assessment and implementation guidance material for PHL relevant for the different contexts in which WFP operates, in particular different types of geographical regions, value chains, crops & produce.

The guidance should be framed as part of WFP's Smallholder Agricultural Market Support framework and encompass a value chain approach, proposing PHL reduction solutions at different points along the value chain

- Support the inclusion of PHL activities in the framework of integrated packages that promotes livelihoods and resilience strengthening in the second generation of WF