LAC-03

Organization title: World Food Programme Bolivia
Field Location: Rural Bolivia
Policy Location: La Paz, Bolivia and Washington, D.C.

DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION

World Food Programme annually supports over 500,000 people in Bolivia by providing assistance at the municipalities and communities most vulnerable to food insecurity. Together with the national counterparts, WFP carries out the following activities:

Food for development: WFP supports 50,000 poor rural households in depressed areas, to create and preserve community assets and thereby allow for a reduction in the risks they are exposed to and in their ability to respond to emergencies. The beneficiaries also develop their capacities by becoming literate and acquiring knowledge about topics such as production, citizenship and rights.

Food for education: Over 120,000 boys, girls, and teenagers receive nutritional feedings at childcare centres, rural primary schools and at centres caring for girls who live/work on the street.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The new CP 10596.0 has been approved by the Executive Board in February 2008. The CP is part of a national Common Country Assessment (CCA) and the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF). Three components include varying levels of direct food assistance and technical assistance: component 1 will be part of the government’s Zero Malnutrition National Programme and the National Programme for the Integrated Care of Children under Six, focusing on food-based interventions for children between 2 and 5 years of age, with support for children under 2 limited to technical assistance; component 2 will provide food assistance for primary schoolchildren and street children; and component 3 will provide government institutions with technical assistance in emergency preparedness and response. Additionally, as expressly requested by the Government, WFP is supporting the Ministry of Health to design the Zero Malnutrition Programme, and leading an interagency group to support its implementation.

The Government also requested WFP assistance to use the Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping (VAM) indicators and results as planning tools for social and economic strategies. WFP supported national and regional authorities in the formulation of contingency plans to create a multi-sector humanitarian needs assessment tool and to build capacities to assess food security in emergencies.

Country Office is also implementing the project “Generation of Capacities Aiming at the Sustainability of the School Feeding Programme” with a grant of Euro 2.5 million from the European Union. This three year project aims at developing local productive chains, reducing poverty and food insecurity through the promotion of agricultural production. It is envisioned that the School Feeding Programme will be able to absorb this local production.

Two components aim at providing nutritional feedings at childcare centres, rural primary schools and at centres caring for girls and boys who live/work on the street, reaching over 125,000 children from 2 to 14 years in the most food-insecure municipalities. Component 1 will be part of the government’s Zero Malnutrition National Programme and the National Programme for the Integrated Care of Children under 6, focusing on food-based interventions for children aged 2-5, with support for children under 2 limited to technical assistance; component 2 will provide food assistance for primary schoolchildren to improve their ability to concentrate and assimilate information, through alleviating short-term hunger. WFP will advocate for the establishment of gardens and small livestock development projects in schools.

FIELD PLACEMENT

The fellow will work under the direct supervision of the Head of the Programme Unit in the National Office in La Paz, who is also the focal point for school feeding. S/he will work in close collaboration with all WFP staff and of the counterpart located in the Departments of Santa Cruz, Chuquisaca and Potosí, who are involved in project implementation and spend approximately 75% of her/his time at these offices.

The overall goal of the Fellowship for the field placement is to strengthen the capacity of national and regional counterparts to plan, implement and evaluate programs to create the capacities in municipalities to manage and finance local school feeding programs and to expand the national school feeding program into the most vulnerable municipalities following the National School Feeding Law and WFP´s CP. Specific activities, among others, may include:

• Assist in the programming of food aid needs of the school feeding programme, draw up plans for its timely arrival in co-ordination with government and other donors, and monitor the implementation of these plans;
• Liaise with project implementing authorities and undertake visits to view project outputs and beneficiaries, inspect storage places and points where WFP commodities are received in the country, in order to ensure that progress is made in the achievement of project objectives;
• Assess training needs of government counterparts and municipalities officials and design and organize appropriate training, including workshops, seminars, study visits and general cooperation among participating schools and municipalities;
• Advise the Government on the handling, transport, storage and distribution of WFP commodities;
• Assist the Municipalities and local peasants associations in the production and further marketing of food to school feeding programs, whether or not financed by WFP;

POLICY PLACEMENT

The fellow will spend 50% of his/her time assisting the Bolivian Government’s Ministry of Education and Culture in order to consolidate the National School feeding Program through the application of the National School Feeding Law. The other 50% of the fellow’s time will be spent in Washington, D.C., where the fellow will demonstrate to policy makers and international organizations the real necessities of Bolivia in general and its school feeding program in particular.

The potential products in the first part (Ministry of Education in Bolivia) will be an action plan to “universalize” school feeding in the most vulnerable municipalities with their own resources including a timeframe and a Ministerial Resolution that will allow the execution of the Plan.

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

Academic:
University Degree with emphasis in one or more of the following disciplines: economics, agriculture, international affairs, business administration, social sciences. Development studies or a field relevant to international development assistance will be considered a plus.

Experience:
At least 2 year post graduate job related experience in development, administration or food aid support.

Critical factors:
Good analytical skills; resourcefulness, initiative, maturity of judgement, tact, negotiating skills; ability to communicate clearly both orally and in writing in Spansih; ability to work in a team, and establish effective working relations with persons of different national and cultural backgrounds; ability to cope with situations which may threaten health or safety; flexibility in accepting work assignments outside normal desk description.