Overview of position

While the devastating effects of sudden onset crises like earthquakes can be observed more quickly & often galvanize timely resource mobilization, the impetus to react to slower onset crises, such as food & nutrition security crises, may not be as apparent, especially during the early stages of such events. Governments can take several decisions & actions ahead of time to enhance their ability to respond when crisis risks emerge. Early action to slow onset food security crises has been shown to save more lives & reduce the total cost of responses, generating average benefits of US$ 2.8 for every US$ 1 invested. The mandate of our client's Crisis Response Window (CRW) was extended in IDA19 to support earlier responses to slow onset crises, specifically disease outbreaks & food insecurity events that are at early stages of progression & have the potential to escalate into major crises. The CRW Early Response Financing (ERF) modality provides up to US$ 50 million per country per IDA cycle on IDA country terms. CRW early response financing is intended to support & incentivize resilience building as the provision of such resources will be linked to crisis preparedness efforts. Operations financed by the CRW are also expected to include, where feasible, components or features designed to help prevent future crises or mitigate their economic & social impact. Somalia has received approval from our clients Board of Executive Directors for its request of US$ 50 million from the CRW ERF to respond to worsening acute food security conditions as part of the Somalia Crisis Recovery Project (SCRP) . To date, the country has received US$100 million from the CRW ERF. All countries receiving support from the ERF are required to put in place Food Security Crisis Preparedness Plans (FSCPPs). The FSCPP is a living national & operational plan that explains how crisis risks are actively monitored & identified in a country & details step by step protocols for scaling up early action across government, humanitarian & development partners to prevent & mitigate future food security & nutrition crises. The FSCPP contains 3 interconnected elements, namely:

• Element 1: Operational arrangements for continuously monitoring & identifying food & nutrition security crises.

• Element 2: Operational arrangements for convening programmatic leads across government, humanitarian & development partners to assess emerging crisis risks & scale up early action as needed.

• Element 3: In the event of an emerging & major crisis, operational arrangements & protocols for convening senior officials to collectively recognize the crisis, help bridge operational & funding gaps & promote well coordinated & whole of aid responses.

The FSCPP is guided by several principles, namely:

• Government owned & led: Where possible, the government should be at the center of developing & managing the FSCPP across all relevant national & local institutions and agencies. Existing & relevant government systems should be leveraged fully & complemented, where needed. In contexts in which a government may have limited operational capacity to lead the FSCPP, these functions should be supported by the international community with responsibilities shared across humanitarian & development partners until the government’s capacity builds.

• Focused on major food & nutrition security crises: In any given year, a country may face numerous shocks affecting food & nutrition security, some of which may have localized & limited impacts while others can lead to widespread & severe impacts affecting many people across the country. The FSCPP is focused on these latter shocks which extend beyond & exacerbate existing chronic issues & threaten to lead to a major food & nutrition security crisis.

• Evidence-based: The FSCPP should be anchored by rigorous, well vetted & timely food & nutrition security information & data. Given the many drivers & shocks that can lead to a major food & nutrition security crisis, there is a need consolidate & analyze this disparate information as part of regular risk reporting to provide a comprehensive view of emerging & major risks. Where available, existing early warning systems such as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), Cadre Harmonisé & the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) provide a strong foundation for this analysis & identifying a potentially emerging & major crisis. Additionally, to complement these early warning systems & to help fill gaps between major reporting cycles, high frequency data & analysis produced by individual FNS partners & other sources (e.g., market surveillance information, verified news reporting, weather forecasts, hydromet systems, satellite imagery, etc.) should be consolidated regularly & integrated into FSCPP arrangements.

• Pre-arranged, operational & timely: The FSCPP moves beyond just risk monitoring activities & requires that 3 interlinked operational elements be in place. This includes operational arrangements for continuously monitoring & quickly identifying major food & nutrition security crises, operational arrangements for convening programmatic leads across government, humanitarian & development partners to assess emerging crisis risks & scale up early action & in the event a major crisis may be emerging, operational arrangements & protocols for convening senior officials to collectively recognize the crisis, bridge operational & funding gaps & promote well coordinated & holistic responses across government & its humanitarian & development partners.

• Holistic: Major food security crises extend beyond the response capacities of any single entity. If a major crisis is identified, activities should be scaled up quickly & coordinated across the fullness of government, humanitarian & development partners. Comprehensive responses should utilize the comparative advantages of all supporting partners to tackle immediate needs to protect lives & livelihoods & address underlying drivers to build greater resilience to future shocks.

• Do No Harm: The FSCPP should be underpinned by the principle of do no harm. This requires that the FSCPP carefully take into consideration country & local contexts & account for how responses may interact & affect existing economic, social & political dynamics. This principle is particularly important in Fragile & Conflict Affected Situations (FCS).

• Living: While the occurrence of major food & nutrition security crises can be reduced over time, especially as development goals are reached & resilience builds, it is impossible to completely eliminate the risk of all future crises. This is in part due to the numerous drivers & shocks that can lead to a major food security crisis. Crisis preparedness is a continuous activity requiring steadfast maintenance & investment so that operational arrangements are up to date & can be activated quickly to ensure timely responses to mitigate impacts. The FSCPP, therefore, serves as a living document that should be revisited & updated regularly to ensure it remains fit for this purpose. Additionally, the FSCPP serves as an efficient means of retaining institutional knowledge about food & nutrition security crisis operational arrangements. In this regard, the FSCPP serves as an important resource to agencies & supporting partners managing staff changes, helping to smooth transitions & promote continuity.

FSCPP development is a government led & owned process. Given the critical roles played by humanitarian & development partners supporting food security & nutrition crisis responses in many countries, the FSCPP also provides an opportunity for these stakeholders to contribute. Depending on the context, contributions from partners could range from participating in technical consultations & working group meetings to supporting the operationalization of the FSCPP in collaboration with government & other supporting partners. The Somalia Crisis Recovery Project supports the recovery of livelihoods & infrastructure in flood & drought affected areas & strengthens capacity for disaster preparedness nationwide. The project is overseen by a Project Steering Committee (PSC) composed of the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), Ministry of Finance (MOF) & the Ministry of Planning, Investment & Economic Development (MoPIED). The project is managed by a Project Implementation Unit (PIU) domiciled at the Ministry of Finance. At state level, the project is managed by State Project Teams (SPTs) housed within the state’s Ministry of Planning.

Role objectives

Our client is providing expedited technical assistance to support the Federal Government of Somalia in putting in place its Food Security Crisis Preparedness Plan. A Senior Consultant is sought who can support technical collaborations with government, external food security partners & various banking sectoral teams. The Senior Consultant, with guidance from the SCRP Task Team Leader (TTL), Agriculture & Food Global Practice Global Engagement team (AGF GE) of our client & the SCRP Project Implementation Unit (PIU) – in close collaboration with the FAO Emergency Response Unit – will help coordinate written technical inputs from our client & help organize technical (virtual) workshops / bilateral meetings with government & engaged partners.

An outline of the content to be captured by the Food Security Preparedness Crisis Plan is provided in Table 1.

The Senior Consultant’s primary role is to help organize & collect inputs across the various stakeholders & contributors to the FSCPP as outlined in Table 2 (specifically draft stage, steps 2 - 4) & to support its implementation during its 1st 9 months. 

Table 1: FSCPP – General considerations & guiding questions:

A. FSCPP objectives & priorities:

• The FSCPP should set out the objectives & priorities for mobilizing early action to prevent & mitigate future food & nutrition security crises.

Guiding question(s):

• Does the FSCPP clearly define its objectives & priorities for promoting early action to prevent & mitigate the impacts of future food & nutrition security crises in the country?

B. Operational arrangements:

• The FSCPP should detail the operational arrangements including specific roles & responsibilities of government agencies & food & nutrition security partners, timelines, protocols, etc. for monitoring food & nutrition security crisis risks, scaling up programmatic responses to prevent & mitigate food & nutrition security crisis conditions & escalating additional financing & programmatic needs to senior officials.

• Operational arrangements for monitoring & identifying food & nutrition security crisis risks.

• The FSCPP should detail the operational arrangements including specific roles & responsibilities of government agencies & food & nutrition security partners, timelines, protocols, etc.for monitoring food & nutrition security crisis risks for the country.

Guiding questions(s):

• Does the FSCPP identify the country’s major food & nutrition security crisis risks & drivers? Key factors to consider include acute shocks (extending beyond & exacerbating existing chronic issues) which severely impact one or multiple food & nutrition security dimensions, including food availability (e.g., imports, production, etc.), food access (e.g., food prices, incomes & remittances, etc.), food stability (e.g., market functionality, macro stability, climate, conflict, etc.) & food utilization & dietary quality (e.g., malnutrition, etc.). Framing the likelihood / frequency of a given food security driver occurring as well as the potential severity of its impacts can help prioritize the country’s risk monitoring efforts, especially in contexts where risk monitoring capacity is limited (see diagram below for an example). It is also helpful to integrate seasonal calendars as part of this analysis

• Does the FSCPP identify the country’s major food & nutrition security crisis risks & drivers? Key factors to consider include acute shocks (extending beyond & exacerbating existing chronic issues) which severely impact one or multiple food & nutrition security dimensions, including food availability (e.g., imports, production, etc.), food access (e.g., food prices, incomes & remittances, etc.), food stability (e.g., market functionality, macro stability, climate, conflict, etc.) & food utilization & dietary quality (e.g., malnutrition, etc.). Framing the likelihood / frequency of a given food security driver occurring as well as the potential severity of its impacts can help prioritize the country’s risk monitoring efforts, especially in contexts where risk monitoring capacity is limited (see diagram below for an example). It is also helpful to integrate seasonal calendars as part of this analysis.

• Does the FSCPP sufficiently explain the country’s official process for monitoring & reporting major food & nutrition security crisis risks & drivers in a consolidated & timely manner? Key considerations include identifying which government agencies & humanitarian & development partners (including specific focal points) are responsible for leading & supporting the process of monitoring, consolidating, verifying, publishing & disseminating risk related information & under what timeline & frequency. Additionally, critical data gaps which may hamper crisis risk monitoring & efforts & timelines to fill these gaps should be identified.

• Does the FSCPP clearly define what constitutes a major food & nutrition security crisis for the country & how such a preliminary determination is recognized & communicated as part of risk monitoring activities to relevant government ministries & food & nutrition security partners? Key considerations, for instance, include the process for assessing whether evidence demonstrates that the country is facing a major / acute shock(s) (extending beyond & exacerbating existing chronic issues), documenting the evolution of the acute crisis & assessing if the shock(s) are affecting multiple districts & / or governorates, threatening to push populations into more severe crisis, emergency & catastrophe/ f amine acute food insecurity conditions corresponding with IPC phases or other relevant food & nutrition security data.

Operational arrangements for scaling up programmatic responses to prevent & mitigate major food & nutrition security crisis conditions:

• The FSCPP should detail the operational arrangements including agency specific roles & responsibilities, timelines, protocols, etc. for scaling up programmatic responses to prevent & mitigate major food & nutrition security crisis conditions.

Guiding questions(s):

• Does the FSCPP specify a dedicated body or forum & timebound protocols for bringing together relevant food & nutrition security programmatic leads including across government (national & local), humanitarian & development partners, private sector partners (where relevant), etc. to review collectively updated food & nutrition security crisis risk analysis, assess existing capacities to respond & collaborate on enhancing the coordination of food & nutrition security responses in the country? Key considerations include defining members, when & where partners meet, their roles & responsibilities, etc. Areas of collaboration may include, for example working together to identify & map humanitarian & development interventions & prearrangements that can be used to prevent & mitigate the impacts of each major food & nutrition security shock the country faces, maintaining information about active & planned food & nutrition security projects & activities supported by respective organizations detailing what is being done, where the activities are located, the targeting criteria being used, the implementation & financing timeline, ongoing / planned collaborations with partners & the capacity to scale up in the event of an acute shock; etc. Additionally, links should be made, where possible & relevant, between these efforts & preparedness efforts for other crises, e.g., one health / health emergency plans, etc. 

• Does the FSCPP generally define potential response options to an emerging & major food & nutrition security crisis & targeting criteria that can be used to help guide interventions? Key considerations include specifying what criteria will be used to identify populations that will be targeted (& which populations may not be targeted) for crisis response activities (e.g., proxy means testing, etc.) & rationale as to why those criteria are being used.

• Does the FSCPP define pragmatic ways for enabling access to the most vulnerable populations especially pregnant women & young children as well as those experiencing displacement & / or are located in conflict affected areas to ensure food, nutrition & health responses reach these populations?

• Does the FSCPP detail additional / contingency financing potentially available to scale up responses to an emerging & major food & nutrition security crisis? The FSCPP should seek to maintain a list of contingency resources potentially available across partners, detailing information about the eligibility process for accessing such funds, how such funds might be used & limitations associated with these funds, the timeline for mobilizing such funds, & other related matters.

Operational arrangements for escalating additional financing & programmatic needs to senior officials:

• The FSCPP should detail the operational arrangements for escalating additional financing & programmatic needs to senior officials.

Guiding questions(s):

• Does the FSCPP specify a dedicated body or forum & timebound protocols for bringing together relevant & specified senior officials including across government, humanitarian & development partners, etc. to be briefed on emerging crisis risks & informed of major financing & programmatic gaps?

• Does the FSCPP specify protocols for senior officials to recognize emerging crisis risks formally & collectively (e.g., via joint statements) & to promote the mobilization of additional support, including by activating specific policies, programs & drawing upon contingency financing (where available)? 

• In the event a crisis is collectively recognized by senior officials, does the FSCPP specify how scaled up financing & action will be monitored & coordinated by senior officials to ensure a comprehensive & timely response across government, humanitarian & development partners?

C. FSCPP operational status & maintenance:

• The FSCPP should explain the state of its operationalization, confirm buy in & endorsement by key government agencies leading its various elements & support provided by partners & explain the process for reviewing & evaluating the performance of the FSCPP on a regular basis.

Guiding questions(s):

• Is the FSCPP fully operational & if not, what are the next steps & timeline for ensuring the plan becomes fully operational?

• Has the FSCPP been endorsed by government & shared with food & nutrition security partners leading programmatic responses in the country, where relevant, e.g., United Nations agencies, humanitarian & development partners, etc.?

• Does the FSCPP define the process for reviewing & evaluating the performance of the FSCPP on a regular basis? Generally, pertinent updates to the plan (e.g., updating focal points, reflecting changes in institutional structures & responsibilities, etc.) should be integrated on an ongoing basis (at a minimum of once per year) whereas more comprehensive performance evaluations should take place intermittently (at a minimum of once per 3 years). Given that the FSCPP is a living document, establishing indicators to help track FSCPP performance is an important consideration to help course correct & strengthen FSCPP arrangements over time.

Deliverables:

• Organize & facilitate technical workshop(s) held with government & FNS partners on FSCPP elements 1, 2 & 3.

• Hold bilateral / group consultations with relevant government & FNS partners on FSCPP to gather feedback & facilitate buy in.

• Work closely with FSCPP Senior Data Analyst to draft terms of reference for FSCPP element 1. 

• Lead the drafting of the terms of reference for FSCPP elements 2 & 3.

• FSCPP draft updated & finalized (integrating final terms of reference for FSCPP elements 1, 2 & 3).

• Organize & facilitate high level FSCPP launch event with government & FNS partners.

• Support the operational arrangements e.g. recurring deliverables under FSCPP elements 1, 2 & 3 once FSCPP is launched & live. 

Project reporting

• The selected candidate will report to the Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist (SAEU3) & the Economist (SAGGL) & will be expected to work closely with relevant members of our client's SCRP team.

• The selected candidate will be seconded to the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) Somalia Crisis Recovery Project (SCRP) to work closely with senior PIU officials & relevant government agencies & FNS partners, including the FAO Emergency Response Unit.

Qualification

Bachelor's in a relevant discipline (essential).

Sector experience

Minimum of 7 year/s of demonstrable relevant Civil Society & NGO’s experience (essential).

Geographical experience

Minimum of 5 year/s of experience in Africa (desirable).

Languages

Fluent in English (essential).

Key competencies

• Demonstrated exceptional contextual knowledge & analytical prowess of Somalia & the country’s FNS related risks.

• Strong grasp of FNS related institutional architecture in Somalia (federal & FMS relevant ministries & agencies & FNS partners (e.g. FEWS NET, FSNAU).

• In country presence strongly preferred, if not based in Somalia, demonstrated ability to leverage connections in Somalia & possess a vibrant network of FNS related contacts in the region.

• At least 7 years experience working with key FNS relevant agencies in the FGS & humanitarian & development FNS partners, including bilateral donors, UN agencies (FAO, OCHA, WFP, UNICEF), the NGO / CSO community & data analytics systems, e.g. FSNAU, FEWS NET, IPC, etc., in Somalia.

• In depth experience with programming, project planning & implementation of FNS responses, ideally in Somalia.

• Experience conducting multi stakeholder consultations such as organizing country level policy dialogue & / or technical (virtual) workshops.

• Experience in disaster risk financing, disaster response & risk profiling preferred.

• Creative thinker with the proven ability to think conceptually & accurately analyze diverse information from varied sources.

• Sound judgment, attention to detail & ability to convey complex messages succinctly.

• Excellent interpersonal skills with a proven ability to work well under minimum supervision & in close consultation with FGS officials.

• Excellent organizational skills, proven ability to perform multiple tasks, prioritize deliverables & work under pressure & tight deadlines with accuracy & professionalism.

• Excellent communication skills, including written & verbal skills in English & experience producing high quality written outputs.

Team management

This role has no team management responsibility.

Further information

• The consultant will be hired for an assignment of up to 150 working days (6 months), starting on July 1, 2023 & through end June 2024.

• The location of the consultancy will be based primarily in Mogadishu, Somalia.

• Qualified female candidates are encouraged to apply for this role.

Disclaimer: At no stage of the recruitment process will CTG ask candidates for a fee. This includes during the application stage, interview, assessment and training.