Consultant – Liberia School Feeding Model Development – Liberia At Mercy Corps

Background:

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within.

Mercy Corps is in the startup phase of implementing the five-year $20 mil USAID-funded Incentivize Learning Activity. The program aims to address food security needs and incentivize school enrollment and ensure access to education for vulnerable and underserved school age children using a home-grown school feeding approach. The program will provide school meals, targeted financial incentives, engage communities and parents and conduct social and behavior change communication. The program will leverage local procurement through the development of school feeding models during the startup phase. An initial pilot in January 2024, will test school feeding models for refinement and scaling in Year 2 (September 2024).

Purpose:

The consultant will support desk research and the development of informed school feeding models for the program to pilot starting in January 2024. It is imperative that the models are well informed, capturing lessons learned from national, regional and global school feeding efforts, as well as taking into account the unique context in Liberia – both in terms of the education system but also supply chain and logistics that are crucial for home-grown school feeding efforts.

Consultant Activities:

1. Conduct thorough desk research on national, regional and global school feeding models, documenting good practices and failures to inform school feeding model development
2. Develop a field visit plan, which outlines key engagement to take place in Liberia
3. Conduct in-person research and engagement in Liberia:
   1. Field visits to schools in all six counties
   2. Engagement with key Ministry of Education and Ministry of Agriculture stakeholders
   3. Engagement with other school feeding implementers
   4. Engagement with other food security implementers
   5. Engagement with private sector actors working across potential value chains
   6. Engagement with Mercy Corps program team members
4. Design 3-5 school feeding models based on desk and in-person research

Consultant Deliverables:

1. Inception report including desk research, field visit plan and draft stakeholder map (see Annex 1)
2. Final report including school feeding models and stakeholder map (see Annex 2)

Timeframe / Schedule:

The consultancy will take place over 40 days from August to September 2023. A three-week field visit to Liberia is envisaged, but is flexible based on the proposed field visit plan.

The Consultant will report to:

Director of Programs, Mercy Corps Liberia

The Consultant will work closely with:

Chief of Party, Deputy Chief of Party, Program Team and supporting departments

Required Experience & Skills:

• 5+ years of experience working with school feeding or similar food security programs.
• Experience working in Liberia is required.
• Deep understanding of the Liberian context including how the Ministry of Education School Feeding Technical Division operates, supply chain and procurement realities, etc.
• Ability to conduct the work within the envisaged timeline.
• Knowledge and understanding of school feeding good practices.
• Experience working with other large-scale school feeding implementers such as WFP, Save the Children, Mary’s Meals, etc is preferred.

Application Instructions

To apply, upload a brief concept note (no more than 2 pages), CV and daily rate with your application. Mercy Corps will provide all in-country logistics including flights to and from Liberia from the consultant’s preferred departure location, in-country transportation, and accommodation. Mercy Corps will pay per diem to the consultant at a rate of $48 per day during travel to Liberia only.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives. We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity
We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics
Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our stakeholders and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC’s policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

Annex 1 – Inception Report template

1. Introduction to school feeding in Liberia
2. Overview of school feeding approaches in Liberia – lessons learned, successes and failures
3. Regional school feeding approaches – lessons learned, successes and failures
4. Global school feeding approaches – lessons learned, successes and failures
5. Field visit plan – detailed methodology and workplan for in-person engagement
6. Draft stakeholder map

Annex 2 – Final Report template

1. Introduction
2. Revised inception report sections incorporating additional information gathered during the field visit
   1. Introduction to school feeding in Liberia
   2. Overview of school feeding approaches in Liberia – lessons learned, successes and failures
   3. Regional school feeding approaches – lessons learned, successes and failures
   4. Global school feeding approaches – lessons learned, successes and failures
3. Final stakeholder map
4. Overview of implementation counties and context
5. School feeding Models
   1. Overview of the model
   2. Suggested activities to operationalize the model
   3. Key conditions for success of the model
   4. Potential risks and mitigation measures
6. Recommendations
7. Conclusion