Head of the School Meals Coalition Secretariat

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: 9 February 2025-23:59-GMT+01:00 Central European Time (Rome)

WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.

ABOUT WFP

The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity, for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

At WFP, people are at the heart of everything we do and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse, committed, skilled, and high performing teams, selected on merit, operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment, living WFP's values (Integrity, Collaboration, Commitment, Humanity, and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves.

To learn more about WFP, visit our website:

WHY JOIN WFP?

• WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.
• WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse, and multicultural working environment.
• WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training, accreditation, coaching, mentorship, and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities.
• A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe.
• We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of this vacancy announcement).

In 2021, the governments of Finland and France, together with more than 40 countries, launched the School Meals Coalition at the Food Systems Summit. Brazil joined as the third co-chair in 2023. Now recognized as one of the most successful multilateral initiatives of recent times, the School Meals Coalition is a network of governments and partners at multiple levels (regional and national) and different sectors (food systems, climate) and has more than 100 country members, 130 partners, and five initiatives. The goal of the Coalition is to ensure that every child receives a meal in school by 2030. It is governed by a Task force of 12 member states which guides decisions on strategic direction for the entire Coalition. The Taskforce identified WFP as the secretariat of the School Meals Coalition.

As the Secretariat of the Coalition, WFP is expected to provide the thought leadership for this area of work globally, position the initiative at the highest levels including in G7 and G20 discussions, and support coordinate and connect the entire membership of this multistakeholder Coalition, with the ultimate objective of helping individual countries move forward with their own national school meals programmes. The Secretariat team works out of WFP Headquarters in Rome connecting with a vast network of allies and supporters worldwide.

THE ROLE

Reporting to the Director of School Meals and Social Protection, the Head of the School Meals Coalition Secretariat leads a team of about 20 staff members which supports all the countries and partners of the Coalition, including academia, NGOs, civil society organizations, think tanks, UN agencies, and others.

The Head of the Secretariat oversees the complex work of managing the Coalition and its different components. This includes ensuring that governments are participating and connecting in different ways, engaging them in discussions, motivating them to issue domestic commitments to the Coalition, and connecting them with partners that can help to implement those commitments. It also means supporting and empowering countries or regional entities such as the African Union in taking leadership on the topic of school meals, helping them organize and lead local, regional or global events and create local networks.

The Secretariat oversees all the global and local events organized using the Coalition’s brand while ensuring communication is flowing through the Coalition and its members at all times. The position requires high level political skills and judgement to negotiate the complexities of governments, civil society, partners, initiatives, and UN system collaboration. The role also requires deep experience in advocacy and communications that leverages global platforms and processes. Finally, demonstrated experience conceiving and organizing high level events to support broad mobilization around an issue while driving policy change and action at regional and national levels is required. The role requires experience and preferably training in public speaking, including with media.

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

• Oversee the strategic and operational coordination of the Secretariat, ensuring the Coalition's membership and initiatives are effectively positioned to advance the global school meals agenda.
• Lead high level political negotiations with governments and partners to secure political support, engagement, and investments for school meal programs and the Coalition's sustainability.
• Drive resource mobilization efforts to sustain the Secretariat's operations and promote global investment in school meal programs.
• Align the Coalition’s objectives with WFP’s priorities, ensuring complementarity, and provide guidance to WFP staff on distinguishing between the Coalition’s mandate and WFP’s organizational goals.
• Support the Coalition's co-chairs (Finland and France) by ensuring their Ministries of Foreign Affairs are well prepared and equipped to represent the Coalition at the highest levels.
• Facilitate connections across the Coalition’s ecosystem, identifying opportunities at global, regional, and national levels to advance its objectives and foster partnerships with governments and key stakeholders.
• Maintain and strengthen relationships with Coalition leaders, including the Task Force countries and champions, to leverage their influence in advancing the Coalition’s agenda.
• Oversee the organization and execution of high-level events annually, ensuring impactful engagement with presidential or ministerial level attendees.
• Develop and execute advocacy and communication strategies to raise awareness and support for school meals and build a conducive environment for the Coalition’s success.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Education: Advanced university degree in Public Policy, International Development, Political Science, Social Sciences, Business Administration, or other relevant field, or first university degree with two additional years of related work experience.

Desired experiences for entry into the role:

• Minimum 11 years or progressively responsible experience in leading large-scale, high profile, international partnerships, coalitions, or multi-stakeholder initiatives.
• Proven experience in high-level political negotiations and stakeholder engagement, particularly with governments, international organizations, and non-governmental actors.
• Strong track record in resource mobilization, including securing multi-year investments from diverse funding sources.
• Demonstrated experience in managing complex teams and coordinating across diverse and dispersed networks or ecosystems.
• Experience in advocacy and communication strategy development, including organizing large, high-profile events.
• Solid grasp of key concepts in systems thinking and adaptive leadership, with the ability to explain and apply them independently in most scenarios.
• Strong leadership and management skills to inspire diverse stakeholders and align them toward shared goals.
• Exceptional skills in building partnerships, navigating complex power dynamics, and securing political buy-in.
• Ability to integrate multiple agendas into actionable plans and address challenges using strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication, including public speaking, media experience, and high-level representation.
• Openness to testing ideas in uncertain environments.
• Experience working effectively in diverse, multicultural settings.

Language: Fluency (level C) in English language. Intermediate knowledge (level B) of a second official UN language: Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish, and/or Portuguese (a WFP working language).

MORE ABOUT YOU

You have:

• Deep knowledge and expertise on the global school meals landscape, its connections to food systems and climate action, and interrelationships with the education and health sectors.
• Knowledge of global and regional platforms used to drive political and policy outcomes and/or convene diverse stakeholders around a shared agenda, such as the G7, G20, African Day of School Feeding, COP, UN General Assembly and High Level Political Forum, School Meals Coalition Ministerial Meetings.
• Knowledge of social change and sustainable development project management, high-level partnerships, stakeholder engagement, policy advocacy and communications campaigns.
• Knowledge of the UN system, its functions, and coordination mechanisms is highly desirable.
• Willingness and ability to travel frequently to represent the Coalition globally.

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

WFP Leadership Framework guides to the common standards of behavior that guide HOW we work together to accomplish our mission.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

WFP is dedicated to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our recruitment process is inclusively crafted to welcome candidates of all backgrounds, celebrating diversity and ensuring a respectful environment for all. We aim for an accessible and fair recruitment journey. Should you need any reasonable accommodations or have accessibility concerns, please reach out to us confidentially at Our DEI team is here to ensure your full participation in our recruitment process.

NO FEE DISCLAIMER

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REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

• We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete, and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, language skills and UN Grade (if applicable).
• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.
• Please make sure you upload your professional CV in the English language.
• Kindly note the only documents you will need to submit at this time are your CV and Cover Letter.
• Additional documents such as passport, recommendation letters, academic certificates, etc. may potentially be requested at a future time.
• Please contact us at in case you face any challenges with submitting your application.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

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.