Consultant - Assignment on Food Systems Dialogues at UNDP

Additional Category: Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction
Post Level: National Consultant
Languages Required: English  
Starting Date: (date when the selected candidate is expected to start) 01-Jul-2021
Duration of Initial Contract: 30 Days
Expected Duration of Assignment: 30 Days
Employment Type: Contract

Background

• The United Nations Secretary-General Anto´nio Guterres is convening a Food Systems Summit as a precursor for a Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. The Summit will launch bold new actions to deliver progress on all 17 SDGs, each of which relies to some degree on healthier, more sustainable and equitable food systems. In Nigeria today, food systems are not optimally functioning; some are fragile, unsustainable and inequitable, as millions of people around the various States of the Federation, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have experienced even during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• As part of the preparatory processes for the Summit in September 2021, each UN member state is organizing National Food Systems Dialogues. The aim of National Food Systems Dialogues is to stimulate discussions and gather ideas from all stakeholders, and define pathways for the transformation of the Nigerian food systems for achieving zero hunger and improving food security and nutrition in particular. The dialogues will also stimulate the creation of more inclusive, sustainable and healthier food systems, encourage collaborative approach and enhance the achievement of all Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• In order to achieve the aforementioned, the Nigeria National Food System Dialogue process is organized at three levels: the Inception Dialogue - which aimed at identifying food systems challenges from multiple perspectives; the Exploratory Dialogues - which was held in the six geo-political zones to harness inputs from diverse stakeholders; and the Consolidatory Dialogues, aiming at exchanging views on the pathways towards sustainable national food systems.
• The inception and exploratory dialogues were successfully implemented in February and April 2021, respectively. The inception dialogue was implemented at national level in Abuja while twelve (12) exploratory dialogues were implemented in the six geo-political zones covering all States of Nigeria.
• The exploratory dialogues created an opportunity for engagement and intercommunication among broader set of food systems stakeholders including farmers, commodity associations, consumers, agro-industry actors, private sector, SMEs, etc. A situational analysis was conducted to characterize the food systems in each specific zone, and this report facilitated the discussions and provided basis for proper understanding of the food systems in the six geo-political zones of the country. Several other independent dialogues have been conducted and have widely been successful!
• The outcomes of the various national Food Systems Dialogues are currently being collated by the Food Systems Summit secretariat as valuable resources for governments, practitioners, researchers and change makers in the food systems. The synthesised reports/outcomes will then be made available for use by the different summit work streams BUT ALSO, will be used in developing pathways for sustainable and equitable food systems in the country resulting in (re) shaping the national pathways to food systems that are aligned with SDGs and suited for future needs.

Duties and Responsibilities

• The objective of this assignment is to review and analyze all the reports from all the dialogues held in Nigeria including the inception, exploratory and independent dialogues among other relevant documents harvested in the course of the implementation of the UN Food System dialogues in Nigeria. Working collaboratively/under the supervision of the National Convener of the Food Systems Summit in Nigeria, the consultant’s tasks will include:
  • Comprehensive desk review with emphasis on the Nigeria food systems;
  • Review all dialogues reports (inception, exploratory and independent dialogues), and other background reports/documents such as the food systems mapping report;
  • Identify approaches, strategies, actions and interventions proposed for prioritisation in addressing the identified food system gaps and challenges at the different levels /stages;
  • Based on the dialogues and in line with the Action Tracks, identify series of concrete actions and key messages suggested by stakeholders that can support the transformation of the Nigeria food systems
  • Identify and synthesize two transformative strategic plans for the Nigeria food systems to be implemented in the short term (3-5 years) and in the long term (5-10 years) including ideas, solutions, challenges and risks, partnerships and strategic action plans;
  • Undertake a stakeholder consultation to validate the report;
  • Perform any other task related to the consultancy as may be assigned by the Convenor;
  • Submission of report to the Convenor for comments;
  • Finalization of report.

Key Performance Indicators
Expected Outputs:
Deliverables:

• In close collaboration with the overall Country Team, the national consultants will deliver on the following outputs:

Deliverable 1:

• Identified transformative actions, practices and policies that will have the greatest impact on the achievement of the desired future and vision of the Nigeria food systems;

Required Completion Date:

• 1st July, 2021.

Deliverable 2:

• Outline the possible ways to assess progress towards the transformation of Nigeria food system to achieve sustainability and resilience as well as meeting the need of all.

Required Completion Date?:

• 10th July, 2021

Deliverable 3:

• A report on the implementation of food systems dialogues processes

Required Completion Date:

• 5th July, 2021

Deliverable 4:

• A Comprehensive consolidated report on the short (3-5 years) and long (5-10 years) term action plans on the transformation of Nigeria food systems

Required Completion Date:

• 25th July, 2021

Deliverable 5:

• A summary PowerPoint presentation of the comprehensive consolidated report on the short (3-5 years) and long (5-10 years) term action plans on the transformation of Nigeria food systems5

Required Completion Date:

• 31st July, 2021

Competencies:

• While independent, the consultant may be part of local research institutions or think tanks. The two consultants will constitute the core team that will be responsible for synthesizing the national food systems reports; therefore should have been part of, and/or contributed to the ongoing food systems dialogues. The team will self-organize and divide tasks according to specific skills and competences of each of the team members.

The experts must all have the following transversal skills:

• Very good synthesis and analysis capacity of quantitative and qualitative data
• In accordance to the context, excellent English speaking and writing skills
• Good knowledge of national and international institutions working in the field of agricultural and food systems
• Good knowledge of the country's major challenges relating to food systems
• Interpersonal skills
• Feel comfortable with online meeting tools and other on-line co-working tools
• Experience in facilitating workshops would be a plus;
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills;
• Excellent organizational skills and good foundation in programme and project formulation, planning, implementation, management and evaluation.
• Excellent written and spoken communication skills;
• Proficient in English;
• Good working knowledge of a major local language is an added advantage;

Required Skills and Experience

Minimum Requirements:

• Advance University degree in Agriculture, Nutrition, Food Security, Food Systems, Agricultural Economics, Rural Development and any related discipline;
• Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in the agricultural/rural development sectors including working experience with Government, NGOs, UN and Donors agencies;
• Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of Nigeria Food Systems;
• Demonstrated previous working experience on similar assignments;
• Proven experience in developing country-level agricultural/food systems analysis reports;

Evaluation Criteria:

• Relevant academic qualifications (relevant degree, refer to list in the TOR) : (10 Marks)
• Relevant level of academic qualification (Bachelors, Masters, PhD, Post Graduate Diploma) - holder of master’s or higher degree scores: (15 Marks)
• Relevant Work Experience (Minimum 5 Years), the higher the better: (15 Marks)
• Relevant Employment History: Gov’t (7 points), UN (7 points), INGO (3 points), Donors (3 points); Other 2 Points maximum: (20 Marks)
• Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of Nigeria Food Systems: (10 Marks)
• Experience in writing developing country-level agricultural/food systems analysis reports (report quality and punctuality, publications record): (10 Marks)
• Previous working experience on similar assignment: (10 Marks)
• Other considerations: Languages, Gender (females have added advantage), etc: (10 Marks).