Nutrition (Sensitive) Programme and Policy Officer

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

14 August 2026-23:59-GMT+01:00 Central European Time (Rome)

WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.

ABOUT WFP

The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity, for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

At WFP, people are at the heart of everything we do and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse, committed, skilled, and high performing teams, selected on merit, operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment, living WFP’s values (Integrity, Collaboration, Commitment, Humanity, and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves.

To learn more about WFP, visit our website: and follow us on social media to keep up with our latest news: YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok.

WHY JOIN WFP?

• WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.
• WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse, and multicultural working environment.
• WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training, accreditation, coaching, mentorship, and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities.
• A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe.
• We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of this vacancy announcement).

JOB TITLE: Nutrition (Sensitive) Programme and Policy Officer

TYPE OF CONTRACT: International consultant

UNIT/DIVISION: Nutrition, School Meals, and Social Protection (PRGS), Programme Division

DUTY STATION: Rome, Italy (HQ)

DURATION: 4 months (09 Sept - 31 December 2026)

BACKGROUND:
In 2024, WFP released a Nutrition Strategy committing to providing immediate nutrition assistance in emergencies while also addressing the root causes of malnutrition enabling communities to access nutritious foods for health, productivity, and resilience. This strategy reinforces WFP’s vital role in tackling malnutrition and improving diets, particularly for at-risk populations.

The strategy emphasizes increased government investments in nutrition-sensitive social protection, food, and health systems as integral to sustained dietary improvements and malnutrition reduction.
It also highlights the importance of leveraging WFP programmatic expertise and partnerships to scale up proven approaches for increasing healthy food availability.

The WFP Strategic Plan 2025-2029 reaffirms WFP’s commitment to integrating nutrition across its 3 strategic objectives, explicitly positioning nutrition as a core component of emergency response and a critical enabler for resilience building, human capacity development and national and local systems strengthening.

In line with the WFP Strategy and to support the implementation of the WFP Nutrition Strategy, Nutrition and Food Quality Service needs to develop innovative corporate initiatives, tools and guidance to ensure that WFP staff and stakeholders recognise the importance of and are empowered to design implement and monitor the integration of nutrition and HIV/TB across its operations. In addition, there is a need for building the capacity of countries to find long‑term solutions and contribute to the broader policy dialogue and support national systems.

OBJECTIVE:

Support the Nutrition and Food Quality Service to enhance country capacity to adequately integrate nutrition across systems and programmes, with a specific focus on household food assistance, social protection as well as school-based programming ensuring that no one is left behind.

ACCOUNTABILITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Under these terms of reference, the consultant will assist in the implementation of the work carried out in the Nutrition and Food Quality service as follows:

Under the Nutrition Sensitive social protection workstream

• Lead coordination with PPG-S (SBP and SP teams) to develop joint advocacy materials and technical tools, including the roll out of the nutrition-sensitive business case for NSSP, and training materials on NSSP.
• Coordinate with PPG-S and the partnership teams to engage with International Financial Institutions (IFIs), including the World Bank to advance nutrition-sensitive social protection.
• Identify opportunities to test and disseminate the nutrition-sensitive shock-responsive social protection capacity assessment tool. Expand the toolkit to facilitate country offices’ utilization of these materials.
• Contribute to evidence generation and lessons learned initiatives around nutrition and social protection support, including HIV considerations.
• Coordinate with PPG-S (SBP team) for the revision of the Quick Guide for nutritious School Meals and advance the work on the nutritional adequacy of school meals by providing COs technical support and tools
  Nutrition and HIV integration workstream
• Develop and update corporate guidance and tools to support country offices in integrating nutrition and HIV into programming and systems, including efforts to advance the work on cash estimation for nutrition.
• Support formulation and review of Country Strategic Plans and Budget revisions to mainstream nutrition and HIV across relevant programmes.
• Support the establishment and the functioning of the technical working group on nutritional adequacy, including efforts to strengthening CSP and other corporate processes and guidance to systematically reflect nutritional adequacy as well as build evidence around it
• Work with Fortification team to strengthen linkages between demand/supply for healthy diets, focusing on fortification.
• Support global initiatives, fora and networks in integrating nutrition and HIV into social protection, including developing workplans, preparation of sessions, attending conference calls and meetings, and representing WFP.

DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT:

1. Learning products to support nutrition integration into CSP portfolio developed including the use of cash and fortified products
2. Updated Quick Guide for School Meals and CO supported in uptake of nutritional adequacy for WFP‑led school meal programmes.
3. Country offices supported in the CSP process to analyse their GFA rations and guidance developed to facilitate its application.
4. A functional Technical Working Group on Nutritional adequacy established

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education: Master’s degree in nutrition, public health, or any other relevant field.

Experience: Extensive experience in coordination and implementation of nutrition and HIV operations, including in emergency settings. At least 8-year experience with UN agencies or/and NGOs.

Knowledge and Skills: Understanding of UN, UNAIDS and cluster response; Knowledge and ability to interpret literature and analysis of nutrition and HIV operations, including in emergency settings; Strong interpersonal skills: ability to liaise with a wide range of people at different levels and across different cultures and to act with credibility and diplomacy;
Self‑motivated and able to work with a high degree of autonomy, strong time management skills ; Ability to manage and coordinate efforts from multiple stakeholders for common and purpose.

Languages: Strong writing skills and verbal fluency in English, a second language desirable

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

WFP Leadership Framework guides to the common standards of behavior that guide HOW we work together to accomplish our mission.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

WFP is committed to supporting individuals with disabilities by providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process. If you require a reasonable accommodation, please contact: Visualizzare la mail su click.jobroute.io

NO FEE DISCLAIMER

The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.

All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of the authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.