Your privacy is important to usSchool Meals Accelerator () is the fifth and newest initiative under designed to support governments to scale and strengthen their national school meal programmes and turn their ambitions into real impact. Acting as a network catalyst and convenor, the Accelerator mobilizes resources and expertise from the right partners to deliver strategic technical assistance where it matters most. **Purpose of this role:**This role is part of the Engagement Team of the Accelerator, which The School Meals Accelerator is not designed for global advocacy (producing global events, campaigns and the like) and will mostly not be applying traditional mass communication strategies (website, social media, etc); it will rely on the School Meals Coalition and its Secretariat for those functions. Instead, it will be using more targeted, intentional communication avenues to reach specific stakeholders, strengthen relationships, and support key partners in the growing network it will be orchestrating. Therefore, this role about developing thoughtful narrative tools that can support strategic engagement, relationship building and thought leadership. It is about finding new ways of communicating the innovative nature of the Accelerator that can reach the intended audience in a strategic way. The postholder is also expected to coordinate closely with the School Meals Coalition Secretariat and other global initiatives to ensure aligned approaches, shared messaging, and coherent support to countries. **Responsibilities:**Develop and lead a coherent narrative approach for the Accelerator that draws on evidence, learning, and lived experience across SMA and its partners to help diverse stakeholders understand what the Accelerator is doing, how change is unfolding, and why it matters.Work with Accelerator colleagues to interpret complex ideas, system dynamics, and emerging learning, and translate these into clear, audience-appropriate narrative framing that supports strategic engagement, relationship-building, and leadership dialogue. Work closely with Accelerator team, partners and communities to build trusted relationships that enable the sharing of authentic stories and lived experience.Lead on event preparation and public engagement for the Accelerator, by collaborating with the School Meals Coalition ecosystem, including leading on narrative and messaging for Accelerator leadership and briefing materials. Model SMA's systemic leadership mindsets and foster a collaborative, psychologically safe culture where diverse perspectives, emerging insights, and lived experience meaningfully shape shared storytelling and narrative work.4) Learning, Continuous Improvement & KnowledgeBuild institutional memory by consolidating stories, examples, and system insights into accessible knowledge products, using feedback to refine messaging and support adaptive implementation across SMA teams and partners.**SMA Systemic Leadership Framework**, which sets out six shared leadership mindsets, core leadership practices and more systemically demanding practices, that guide how we work in complex, fast-changing environments. The Framework also describes "ways of engaging with complexity", which reflect how individuals make sense of and act in uncertain, interdependence situations. While developmental maturity and role seniority are independent, the SMA sets minimum developmental expectations by grade to support clarity and fairness in recruitment and early employment. For this **Consultancy level II role**, the minimum expectation is: This role operates within the School Meals Accelerator's systemic leadership approach. All SMA roles are expected to be enacted in line with the Staff members are increasingly able to step back from experience and notice their assumptions and reactions, often after the event. Reflection supports learning and adjustment over time, though it is not yet consistently available in the moment".**What the Systemic Leadership Framework Means for Your Recruitment and Role:**In ongoing work, the Framework provides a shared orientation to "how we work here" and supports individual and collective learning over time.Experience:* At least 5 years' experience in international development, strategic communications, journalism, community building, social impact storytelling, or policy advocacy is strongly valued; experience working with government‐led processes is a plus.* Demonstrated international experience collaborating with diverse partners (governments, International Financial Institutions, UN agencies, civil society, private sector, academia) across regions and organizational levels.* Experience shaping the narrative of early‐stage or systems‐change initiatives, translating complex ideas, government insights, and founder intent into clear, compelling, emotionally resonant stories.* Proven ability to use strategic storytelling for partnership‐building, crafting narrative materials and high‐quality content (speeches, briefs, strategy decks, case studies) that strengthen trust, alignment, and shared purpose.* Strong insight‐gathering and interviewing skills, able to distill perspectives from governments, communities, and technical teams, and adapt narratives in fast‐moving, ambiguous environments where strategy and positioning evolve.Knowledge and Skills:* Exceptional storytelling and writing skills, able to craft clear, emotionally resonant narratives from complex, systems‐level ideas.* Strong narrative‐framing and sense‐making ability — turning insights, interviews, and technical information into coherent story arcs.* Excellent stakeholder‐engagement and facilitation skills, including interviewing, co‐creation, and relationship‐centered communication.* Ability to produce high‐quality content across formats (briefs, speeches, decks, case studies) and collaborate effectively with designers or content creators.* Comfort working in fast‐moving, ambiguous environments, adapting and iterating narrative quickly as strategy or context evolves.* Familiarity with multimedia and digital communication workflows (storyboarding, basic production, content adaptation) to support intentional, targeted communication.Languages: **English mother‐tongue level is required for this role;** intermediate (level B) in a second official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish).All roles in the School Meals Accelerator are expected to be enacted in line with the Systemic Leadership Framework. In recruitment and selection, the Framework supports informed conversations about how candidates make sense of complexity, uncertainty and systemic change, alongside assessment of technical expertise and role fit.Qualifications:Education: Advanced university degree in Communications, Journalism, Media Studies, Marketing, International Relations, Social Sciences, or another relevant field; or a first university degree with additional years of relevant professional experience and/or advanced training.The School Meals Accelerator (SMA) works in conditions of high complexity, spanning multiple countries, organisations and institutional logics, and seeks to support They are not competencies or values statements, but shared ways of making sense of complex situations that shape leadership practice, particularly under pressure or uncertainty. **We see systems change as starting with us**: We notice and work with how our roles, assumptions and responses shape what becomes possible in the system. which are foundational practices expected of everyone working in the Accelerator, regardless of role or grade. They support effective participation in complex, multi-stakeholder environments. not which practices are permitted. They are descriptive rather than evaluative, are not tied mechanically to seniority or role, and are context-sensitive.**Reflective engagement** People are increasingly able to step back from experience#J-18808-Ljbffr