SSA Consultant CSP Team Lead

Job Title: SSA Consultant CSP (Team Lead)

Type of Contract: Special Services Agreement

Duration: 7 Months from start date of the contract

Reporting To: Deputy Country Director

Duty Station: New Delhi

Date of Publication: 20 May 2026

Deadline of Application: 02 June 2026

The Country Strategic Plan (CSP) Review (2023–2027) provides a comprehensive assessment of WFP India Country Office (CO) strategy and programmatic activities over the period. It aims to generate evidence, insights, and strategic direction to inform decision-making and the formulation of the next CSP (2028–2032).

Specifically, the review will:

• Undertake a landscape and context analysis of the food security and nutrition sector in India;
• Assess the CSP 2023–2027, including programmatic performance and partnerships with the Government of India and State Governments;
• Generate independent, impartial evidence and strategic learnings from programme implementation to inform future strategic direction.
• Identify opportunities and potential for resource mobilization from diverse funding sources.

The review will include both internal and external components. The internal component will focus on performance analysis of the current CSP, while an external review will focus on the landscape analysis including funding landscape, which will be led by a team of consultants (one Team Leader and three subject matter experts), each contracted individually. For more details,please access the detailed TOR here. [link removed]

To guide and coordinate this process, the India CO will establish a CSP Task Force responsible for overseeing the implementation of the CSP review.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (Not all inclusive) 

Team Leader will work under the overall guidance of the CO CSP Task Force Lead. The team leader will be responsible for the overall management of the landscape review process to ensure timely and quality submissions of the review outcomes. This position will also be part of the selection process of the three external consultants and their management, and will periodically report the progress to the WFP management / Task force, along with the specific responsibilities mentioned below:

• Develop a detailed methodological design, work plan and analytical framework, in consultation with CO CSP task force, and submit it as part of the inception report for CO management approval.
• Conduct comprehensive landscape analysis that shall include, but not limited to, country context analysis, sectoral analysis, detailed stakeholder mapping, CO’s interventions and its contributions to food security and nutrition in India and would draw strategic insights and vision for WFP India CO.
• Identify emerging risks and opportunities through horizon scanning, map key structural shifts driving these changes, first and second-order implications, and the priority development issues/ opportunities, analysis of relevance, competitive advantage, expected impacts, past successes from India and some other relevant countries, and state-level mapping of ongoing and future potential, based on key parameters relevant to the CO.
• Undertake stakeholder consultations with, but not limited to, CO senior management, central and state government officials (3-4 priority states based on the state prioritization), other key actors in the sector including NGOs, other development partners, academia, UN agencies under relevant Outcome Groups of the UNSDCF, and the relevant officials of the UN Country Team as required.
• Undertake study on the Centre of Excellence (COE) prospects which will include (inter alia) key priority areas for the CO in alignment with WFP HQ’s new strategic plan and priorities, other countries which may align with WFP’s plan for south-south-cooperation and framework for India, identify common strategic intervention areas between the GOI and the WFP’s planned COE while considering the strengths of the WFP India CO and global team, etc.
• Assess funding prospects and funding potential for the CO, including but not limited to government, private sector, corporates, HNIs, institutional donors, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), other donors, etc., and to understand the alignment between the CO’s strengths and the emerging areas of interest among donors.
• Assess potential fundraising from GOI for WFP headquarters (HQ) to strengthen India’s role in global food and nutrition security and humanitarian initiatives.
• Gauge opportunity to further strengthen foodgrain procurement partnership with GOI, including existing partnerships and future potential.
• Assist the CO CSP task force team to integrate the insights and findings from the external review and the internal review by working closely with the CO CSP task force team.
• Prepare high quality presentations for sectoral and high-level consultations.
• Facilitate different sectoral consultations and high-level consultation and provide insights and perspectives to the discussions.
• Finalize the CSP review deliverables in guidance of the CO CSP task force. 
• S/he shall be responsible for safeguarding and ensuring ethics and adhering to quality at all stages of the review as required. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring informed consent, protecting privacy, confidentiality and anonymity of participants, etc.
• Provide support for any other relevant tasks for the CSP review as informed by CO CSP task force leader and as mentioned above in the TOR.

• The selected consultant is expected to closely engage with CO CSP task force team and keep them updated via emails and meetings (as required). Key deliverables for the assignment include:
• Inception Report: Detailed methodology, tools, and workplan; Refined review framework; Stakeholder engagement plan with timelines
• External Review Report:  Insights from Landscape review and stakeholder consultations,
• Presentations for Sectoral and High-Level consultations
• The payments would be made after approval of the deliverables for each of the milestones by CO task team leader. The reimbursement of travel costs will be as per the WFP rules after completion of the travel and submission of the claims verified by the CO CSP Task force leader.
• The consultant will be required to undertake at least trips to 2-3 states for meeting the state level stakeholders. The travel will be arranged by WFP and the travel costs would be borne by WFP over and above the lumpsum professional fee. The travel entitlements will be as per the guidelines applicable for SSA consultants.  

Milestone 1 – Final inception report – 20%

Milestone 2 – Draft External Review Report – 30%

Milestone 3 – Presentations for Sectoral and High-Level consultations – 20%

Milestone 4 – Final external review report and presentation after incorporating feedback – 30%

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Advanced university degree (master’s or higher) in Development Economics, Public Policy, Public Finance, International Development, Social Sciences, or a related field. Additional training or demonstrated expertise in climate finance, food systems, nutrition, social protection, or development financing is desirable.

• Proven track record of minimum 15-20 years in leading or contributing to strategic and corporate reviews, evaluations, landscape analyses, and organisational or country‑level strategy assessments, preferably aligned with UNEG and OECD‑DAC evaluation criteria.
• Extensive experience working with the UN system, with strong preference for prior engagement with WFP, including familiarity with CSPs, strategic planning, programme modalities, results frameworks, funding architecture, and partnerships.
• In‑depth understanding of India’s development landscape, including public institutions, policy processes, and major programmes related to food security, nutrition, social protection, livelihoods, gender, and climate resilience.
• Strong knowledge of Government of India food security and nutrition frameworks and schemes (e.g., TPDS, PM POSHAN, ICDS, fortification initiatives) and international support mechanisms linked to these systems.
• Ability to undertake horizon scanning and strategic foresight, including identification of emerging risks, opportunities, structural shifts, and their programmatic and funding implications.
• Strong analytical and synthesis skills, with demonstrated ability to translate complex qualitative and quantitative evidence into strategic insights, scenarios, and actionable recommendations.
• Significant experience in high‑level stakeholder engagement and consultations with senior government officials (central and state), donors, private sector, academia, UN agencies, and civil society.
• Demonstrated experience in leading multi‑disciplinary teams, coordinating complex assignments, and managing multiple stakeholders and deliverables.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, including preparation of high‑quality analytical reports, senior‑level briefs, and strategic presentations.
• Proficiency in Windows and MS Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

LANGUAGE

Fluent oral and written communication skills in English and Hindi.

To be considered, interested candidates are invited to apply via (https://www.wfp.org/careers/job-openings [link removed]). Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

WFP will not request payment at any stage of the recruitment process including at the offer stage. Any requests for payment should be refused and reported to local law enforcement authorities for appropriate action.