Cost-Benefit Analysis Consultant (When Actually Employed - International Consultant)

World Food Programme • Lebanon, PA

15d • Remote

About The Position

Assisting more than 115.5 million people in 120 + countries each year, the World Food Program (WFP) is the leading humanitarian organization saving lives and changing lives, delivering food assistance in emergencies, and helping individuals and communities find life-changing solutions to the multiple challenges they face in building better futures. In conflict situations, we bring relief to exhausted populations and use food assistance to build pathways to peace and stability – work for which WFP was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020.
WFP Lebanon provides cash assistance to Syrian refugees and in-kind assistance to vulnerable Lebanese, while supporting the Government in strengthening social safety nets. WFP supports resilience-building activities, and its school meals programme improves nutrition and school attendance. Since October 2023, WFP has provided food and cash assistance to people affected by the conflict and has scaled up its food assistance including the distribution of daily meals following the recent escalation.
Micronutrient deficiencies, particularly iron, zinc, folic acid and vitamin B12, are a public health concern in Lebanon. Micronutrient deficiencies, also known as “hidden hunger”, silently cause long-term health impacts that are often irreversible. According to the most recent nutrition survey LIMA2023, chronic malnutrition, mainly caused by micronutrient deficiencies, has doubled since 2021, with 14% stunting prevalence. Fortifying wheat used in bread production could be an effective strategy to enhance micronutrient intake, particularly benefiting the most vulnerable households and resource-limited communities in Lebanon. Bread remains a staple food in Lebanon, with average consumption at approximately 288 grams per person per day, even amid rising poverty levels. To date, fortification of wheat flour has never been implemented in Lebanon, with no national regulations mandating it. Following previous work done on the wheat value chain and the evaluation of the feasibility of wheat flour fortification for bread production in 2022, the World Food Program (WFP) sees fortification as an opportunity to contribute to the prevention of a further deterioration of the nutritional status of the population. In this context, WFP implemented a pilot production of fortified bread to test the bread value chain and acceptability of fortified bread among school-age children. In parallel, WFP seeks to conduct a comprehensive Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) as part of a longer-term collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) in Lebanon to allow a better understanding of the multi-layer impact of the intervention on the health and economy indicators thus paving the road towards an advocacy for the implementation of a national fortification program. To support this important work, WFP is seeking to recruit a Cost-Benefit Analysis Consultant, on When Actually Employed basis, to contribute to the planning and the implementation of a cost-benefit analysis study for the flour fortification in Lebanon. The consultant will report to the Head of Nutrition and work in close collaboration with the Research Assessment and Monitoring unit.

Requirements

• Education: Advanced university degree in one of the following disciplines: Public Health and Nutrition, Health Economy, or equivalent combination of education and work experience.
• Experience: A minimum of 10 years of relevant post-graduate professional work experience in public health and nutrition, and the economy in developing countries
• Demonstrated experience in fortification cost-benefit analysis (CBA) studies, preferably related to wheat flour fortification, for nutrition or public health programmes.
• Language: Fluency in both oral and written communication in English and Arabic.
• Strong understanding of nutrition, flour fortification and micronutrient intervention programs and their relation to productivity and national economies
• Ability to coordinate and collaborate with key actors in public health and the economy relevant to flour fortification
• Experience working in low and middle-income countries
• Excellent analytical, modelling, and report writing skills in the field of nutrition/public health and economy
• Experience in qualitative data collection and analysis
• Ability to conduct work independently
• Excellent interpersonal skills

Nice To Haves

• Knowledge of French language is desirable.

Responsibilities

• The consultant will be responsible for carrying out a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis of wheat flour fortification, evaluating its economic viability, health outcomes, and implementation feasibility. This will include looking at the potential impacts of fortifying only pita bread flour or fortifying all wheat flour in the country.
• Completing a desk review to understand the current health and nutrition situation in Lebanon and reflect on fortification needs, and the relevant indicators to be assessed in the study.
• Providing preliminary suggestions for indicator list for review and finalization.
• Identifying cost components throughout the wheat flour supply chain, including production, distribution, capacity building, monitoring and regulatory compliance.
• Estimating benefits of selected micronutrients fortification on disease burden, healthcare costs, and economic productivity.
• Mapping data sources and collaborating with stakeholders to gather relevant supply chain, economic and health data. Virtual and in-person meetings will be needed to facilitate access to unpublished data.
• Consulting with stakeholders to reach a consensus on assumptions for unavailable/outdated data.
• Ensuring thorough documentation of sources (including contact information), assumptions, and methodology.
• Generating the analysis showing the cost-benefit of flour fortification in Lebanon.
• Preparing a detailed report with findings, assumptions, limitations, and actionable recommendations to be presented to WFP management and the government.

Benefits

• WFP offers a competitive benefits package including salary, medical and life insurances, provision of breastfeeding rooms for new parents, and various wellness platforms.
• WFP Lebanon offers flexible working hours schedule upon prior approval.
• Our premises are accessible, and we are committed to accommodate to any required reasonable accessible needs to remove barriers in the workplace.

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees