Strategic Technical Advisor (STA) on Knowledge and Learning Management – Iraq 9 views

Position Information

• VA No.: WFP/VA26/84
• Position Title: Strategic Technical Advisor (STA) on Knowledge and Learning Management
• Duty Station: Remote (home-based)
• Duration: : Contract Start date: 21.06.2026, Contract end date: 20.03.2027 Deliverables-based contract
• Contract Type: Consultancy
• Vacancy Date of Issue: 03 June 2026
• Vacancy Closure Date: 17 June 2026
• National or International consultancy: National

This vacancy is announced by WFP Iraq through Stars Orbit Consultants and Management Development (SOC). SOC is a sub-contractor for WFP Iraq, assisting the programme in implementing their activities through HR and contract management of consultants working in their support.

To review the full Terms of Reference (TOR), please follow link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mveYtDPIgUBcruz4jiHgjoG1JQfjs01Q/view?usp=drive_link

Organisational and Country Context

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the world’s largest humanitarian organisation, dedicated to saving lives in emergencies and promoting sustainable recovery for populations affected by conflict, disasters, and climate change. In Iraq, WFP supports the development and strengthening of the social protection system by partnering with the government to advance skills development, food security, social assistance, social insurance, and the resilience of vulnerable populations. For further details, visit our webpages at wfp.org/countries/Iraq and ar.wfp.org/countries/Iraq.

WFP has adopted a robust and proactive approach to social protection, as outlined in its 2021 Corporate Strategy for Support to Social Protection. This approach is a key pillar of WFP’s ‘changing lives’ agenda, prominently featured in the Strategic Plan for 2022-2025.

Social protection, as a rapidly expanding priority area, is now central to WFP’s work across all regions and in more than 98 countries, including Iraq, underscoring its critical importance at both national and global levels. In 2023, WFP supported nationally led social protection systems and programmes in 98 countries across all operational regions, up from 88 in 2022. This growth reflects WFP’s commitment to strengthening social protection as a core pillar of its global strategy to achieve Zero Hunger under Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG2).

Iraq has an extensive social protection system, with social expenditure increasing from 23.7% of the Government of Iraq’s spending in 2019 to 26.9% in 2023. The system is anchored by the Public Distribution System (PDS), one of the world’s largest food assistance programmes, which reaches approximately 96% of the Iraqi population—one of the highest coverage rates globally. In addition, the Social Safety Net (SSN) and the

Persons with Disabilities Programme (PwD) provide income and service support to some of the most vulnerable groups. However, fiscal space remains constrained.

The Federal Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) have committed to undertaking comprehensive reforms of their social protection system to support inclusion and equity, foster capacity-driven empowerment, bolster economic opportunity and security, and ensure sustainability and adaptability. To this end, they have established a partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP), the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), under the European Union—supported UN Joint Programme “Leveraging Effective Response and Accelerating Reform for Social Protection in Iraq.”

The Joint Programme is structured around broad outcome areas aimed at contributing to the reduction of poverty and vulnerability in Iraq through an inclusive, shock-responsive, child-, gender-, and disability-sensitive social protection system. These overarching outcomes are operationalised through a set of activities led and implemented by each participating agency according to its areas of expertise, with the ultimate objective of achieving the Programme’s shared goals.

As part of this partnership, WFP provides technical and operational advisory to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of Iraq’s social protection policies and programmes. Its services cover key areas including food security and nutrition, social inclusion, shock- responsive and adaptive social protection, school feeding, economic empowerment pathways for social safety net beneficiaries, and digitalisation. Through these efforts, WFP supports the development and operationalisation of major reforms aimed at strengthening the national social protection system, including Iraq’s first single registry, school meals policy, and national social protection system, as well as the modelling and piloting of economic empowerment pathways.

Purpose of the Assignment

As part of its responsibilities, WFP leads the Knowledge and Learning Management (KLM) activities of the overall Joint Programme, focusing on capturing overarching trends, lessons learned, and programme contributions. In this context, the JP’s KLM function supports the generation, internalisation, analysis, and dissemination of knowledge on social protection. This includes both capturing and organising knowledge internally, as well as sharing evidence, insights, and expertise externally to strengthen operational effectiveness and advance strategic objectives. Through this process, continuous internal and external learning is generated, fostering engagement, institutional improvement, and advocacy for social protection system reform.

In light of the above, the Joint Programme (JP) seeks to engage a Knowledge and Learning Management Consultant to support the development of knowledge products related to both the Joint Programme and WFP’s social protection activities in Iraq.

Scope of Work

Key Roles and Responsibilities:

The KLM consultant will work on two types of deliverables: 1) KLM products covering the Joint Programme overall and 2) KLM products focusing on WFP-led activities, as follows:

KLM Products for the Joint Programme

1.Ten-page summary report on evidence generated by the JP and its linkages to the six dimensions of effective and inclusive social protection

• Review evidence generated throughout the JP by the 3 agencies, with a strong emphasis on identifying linkages across studies and their implications for Iraq’s social protection system.
• Identify key findings, trends, and policy recommendations emerging from the evidence base.
• Include a visual mapping of how evidence products align with the six dimensions of effective and inclusive social protection.
• Develop an executive summary to clearly present the visual framework.

2. Booklet on national capacity-building efforts under the JP

• Develop a booklet documenting how JP activities have contributed to strengthening government capacity across four areas: Evidence and Strategy (governance), Social Assistance, Social Security, and Digital Transformation.
• Include both outputs (i.e. number of trainings, number of participants, and profiles of participants) as well as outcomes (skills developed, systems developed or enhanced, proven government leadership of key workstreams).

Include 2-3 boxes highlighting key government institutions to highlight capacity- building outcomes and key lessons learned, including a picture and quotes from a respondent in each institution.

3. Development of a policy brief on the JP’s key advocacy topic

• Produce policy briefs (2-3 pages) addressing the JP’s priority advocacy topic (likely the need to reform social protection law 11), summarising achievements to date and identifying remaining priorities.
• Update it on a as-needed basis in line with strategic engagements (i.e. Parliament, Ministers)

4. Establish a repository of key JP documents

• Define the scope and structure of a repository for public dissemination of JP materials within the UN Iraq website.
• Develop a tagging and classification system.

5. Social media content and blog/website articles

• Curate quarterly social media content developed by the three participating agencies.
• Develop an annual blog or website article focusing on a key topic, in coordination with the relevant agency leading on that area.

6. Update JP fact sheets

• Update the JP fact sheet on a needs basis to ensure accuracy, coherence, and alignment with programme developments.

7. Maintain and update the internal database of the JP activities

• Quarterly update an internal database of all JP activities and outputs. KLM Products for WFP Activities:

8. Development of 6 case studies (10 pages each)

• Develop case studies capturing programme experiences and lessons learned across the full policy cycle, from design to implementation.
• Focus on documenting processes, experiences, and lessons learned from key programme areas
• Incorporate a human-interest dimension through interviews and photography, capturing the perspectives of beneficiaries and social workers.
• The case studies will focus on the following topics:
  • Economic Empowerment Pathways
  • Digital Transformation
  • Shock-Responsive Social Protection
  • School Meals
  • Nutrition-Sensitive Social Protection
  • WFP Iraq’s Approach to Country Capacity Strengthening

All deliverables must be approved by either the Joint Programme (WFP, UNICEF, ILO and EU) in the case of JP products, or WFP in the case of WFP-specific products. Final deliverables must be fully designed and ready for public dissemination. Deliverables must be in English, Arabic and Kurdish. While WFP will manage translation, all design responsibilities fall under this TOR. All deliverables will be reported directly to Ananda Paez (Head of Social Protection, WFP, who will coordinate their review with Saif Altaooz (Communications Officer, WFP).

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in Communications, Journalism, Media and Communications, Graphic Design, Knowledge Management, Public Relations, Development Communications, International Development, Social Sciences, or a related field.

Experiences:

• Minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible professional experience in knowledge management, communications, learning, research, public information, programme documentation, or content development within international development, humanitarian, or public sector contexts.
• Demonstrated experience developing high-quality knowledge and learning products, including policy briefs, case studies, analytical reports, evidence syntheses, advocacy products, human-interest stories, newsletters, fact sheets, and other dissemination materials for technical and non-technical audiences.
• Proven experience in publication design and visual communication, including the production of dissemination-ready reports, booklets, presentations, infographics, social media products, and other communication materials.
• Strong analytical and synthesis skills, with demonstrated ability to review complex evidence, identify trends and lessons learned, and translate technical information into clear, engaging, and accessible products for strategic engagement and advocacy.
• Experience supporting communications and visibility efforts, including development of social media content, website/blog articles, fact sheets, and public-facing advocacy materials.
• Demonstrated experience coordinating across multiple stakeholders and institutions, including government counterparts, UN agencies, donors, and technical teams.
• Experience designing and managing knowledge repositories, databases, classification systems, or digital knowledge-sharing platforms is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated ability to integrate storytelling and human-interest approaches into technical knowledge products, including coordination of interviews, photography, and beneficiary-focused content.
• Previous experience supporting social protection, poverty reduction, livelihoods, food security, resilience, governance, or public policy programmes is strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with concepts related to social protection, economic empowerment, digital transformation, school feeding, nutrition-sensitive programming, and shock-responsive approaches is considered an asset.
• Demonstrated ability to independently manage multiple deliverables under tight timelines while maintaining high quality standards and responsiveness to feedback.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Proficiency in graphic design and layout software (e.g. Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Canva or equivalent) is required.
• Strong computer skills, including proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and collaborative digital platforms.

Language:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English are required.
• Working knowledge of Arabic and/or Kurdish is highly desirable.