SSA Consultant- Climate- Resilient Livelihoods & Food Systems Expert

Organizational Context

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the world's largest humanitarian organization, dedicated to saving lives in emergencies and building pathways to peace and prosperity. WFP utilizes food assistance to support people recovering from conflict, disasters, and the impacts of climate change. We are committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and high-performing workforce.

Job Purpose

The Climate-Resilient Livelihoods & Food Systems Expert will play a crucial role in WFP India's Country Strategic Plan (CSP) Review (2023-2027). This role involves conducting in-depth landscape and context analysis of India's food security and nutrition sector, with a specific focus on climate resilience, livelihood diversification, and sustainable food systems. The expert will assess WFP's technical assistance, particularly interventions targeting smallholder farmers and climate-smart practices, and examine the integration of climate risk analysis and adaptive capacity building within program design. The objective is to generate evidence-based insights and strategic recommendations to inform the formulation of WFP's next CSP (2028-2032), identifying emerging risks, opportunities, and policy shifts to strengthen climate-resilient interventions and partnerships.

Responsibilities

The Climate Resilient Livelihoods & Food Systems Expert will provide crucial analytical support for the World Food Programme's Country Strategic Plan (CSP) review in India. This role involves developing methodological designs, work plans, and analytical frameworks in consultation with the CSP Task Force. A key responsibility is conducting landscape analyses and offering technical insights on climate resilience, livelihood diversification, sustainable food systems, and community-level adaptation. The expert will critically assess WFP's technical assistance to the Indian government, focusing on interventions for smallholder farmers, value chain strengthening, climate-smart practices, and grassroots innovations. This includes examining the integration of climate risk analysis, adaptive capacity building, and sustainable natural resource management within program design and implementation, as well as evaluating WFP's contribution to institutional and community capacity building for climate adaptation. The role also entails identifying emerging risks, opportunities, and policy shifts, supporting stakeholder consultations with various government bodies, technical agencies, research institutions, and development partners. Furthermore, the expert will engage in horizon scanning for global trends and best practices, prepare thematic inputs for the External Review Report, and provide technical support for synthesizing findings and formulating recommendations for future CSPs, particularly concerning partnerships, innovation, and scalability. Ensuring adherence to ethical standards and quality assurance is also paramount.

Work Experience

Requires 10-12 years of relevant experience in climate-resilient livelihoods, food systems, agriculture, or climate adaptation programming. Must have a strong technical understanding of India's climate, livelihoods, food systems, and agriculture policy landscape, including national and state-level initiatives. Demonstrated experience in designing, reviewing, evaluating, and analyzing climate-resilience or livelihood-focused development programs, preferably at a national or large-scale level, is essential.

Skills

Climate Resilience, Food Systems Analysis, Livelihoods Diversification, Sustainable Agriculture, Community Adaptation, Natural Resource Management, Policy Analysis, Stakeholder Consultation, Programmatic Review, Data Analysis, Report Writing, Project Management, Cross-cultural Communication, Team Collaboration, Problem-Solving

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