DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS2 December 2025-23:59-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 worldโs 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: https://www.wfp.org 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).
ABOUT THE SCHOOL MEALS ACCELERATOR
The School Meals Accelerator (the Accelerator) is a new initiative under the School Meals Coalition, launching in 2026 to support low- and lower-middle-income countries in scaling up and strengthening their national school meal programs. It responds directly to growing government demand for strategic, high-quality technical assistance that ensures long-term sustainability. SMA builds on the momentum of the Coalition, which has mobilized over 110 countries and 140 partners around the school meals agenda, with more than 60 countries making formal national commitments.
Hosted by WFP and supported by a diverse network of partners, the Accelerator will provide demand-led, country-driven support across three core pillars: national program design, partnership alignment, and learning and knowledge. Its goal is to unlock the full potential of school meal programs by enhancing design, scaling investment, and fostering cross-sector collaboration across education, health, agriculture, and food systems. The Accelerator aims to help countries reach an additional 100 million children by 2030 with healthy and nutritious meals in school.
Joining the Accelerator team means being part of a bold, systems-focused effort to drive lasting change. Itโs an opportunity to work alongside governments and partners to co-create solutions, strengthen national capacity, and help shape the future of school meals as a strategic investment in children, communities, and inclusive development.THE ROLE
The Programme Policy Officer will be based in the central structure of the Accelerator and lead the technical assistance team, act as key liaison to country teams and will play a central role in operationalizing the Acceleratorโs country support model. They will enable country teams to support governments in designing, implementing, and sustaining national school meals programmes through tailored technical assistance. By aligning global partners, networks, tools, and expertise with national priorities, the Officer will lead efforts to improve the quality and expand the reach of government-led school meals programmes. The goal is to build resilient, locally owned ecosystems that can thrive beyond external support.
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive, within delegated authority):
Lead the Rome-based technical assistance team and coordinate with country teams to implement and iterate the country support model of the Accelerator.
Provide hands on coaching and support to the Acceleratorโs country teams and a range of partners, including WFP Country Offices, to support government priorities for achieving national school health and nutrition commitments. This includes through daily or weekly touchpoints, feedback sessions, development of toolkits and designing access to training and development opportunities.
Support the design and implementation of technical assistance plans through participatory, nationally driven processes that engage broad range of partners from multiple sectors.
Co-develop and refine operational tools, templates, and standards for the Acceleratorโs processes. Ensure tools and methodologies are context-sensitive and continuously improved based on country-level feedback.
Identify and work with partners, mapping partner capacities, know-how and tools that might be deployed to specific countries and ensure partners are connecting with each other and with countries to continue growing the school meals network.
Provide technical advice or mobilise technical expertise, on a wide range of programme and policy issues including assessment and analysis, the choice of objectives, activities, the deployment and testing of innovative approaches and the development of strategies to support government efforts to achieve national commitments in school health and nutrition. Foster government-led coordination and strategic alignment across sectors to strengthen enabling systems for school meals.
Support timely, demand-driven delivery of strategic technical assistance in targeted countries while embedding sustainable systems for collaboration, learning, and accountability. Promote adaptive implementation by encouraging experimentation, learning, and iteration with country teams and stakeholders.
Develop and nurture strong partnerships to enable coordinated, multisectoral support for governments. Focus on fostering collaboration, aligning technical assistance with country priorities, and creating mechanisms that leverage diverse expertise and resources to deliver integrated solutions for school meals programmes. Facilitate inclusive, multi-stakeholder dialogues and peer learning to build institutional capacity and long-term sustainability.
Generate strategic insights and diagnostics to adapt strategies to evolving country contexts and priorities. Surface country-level insights to inform global learning and collaboration within the Stakeholder Assembly and broader ecosystem.
Advice and support the development of functional training in areas of expertise to enhance the capacity of the Accelerator, national stakeholders and partners to design and deliver demand-driven support to Governments, as well as develop and nurture strong partner ecosystems in targeted countries. Apply systems thinking in daily work and support country teams in adopting systems approaches and mindsets.
Lead, motivate and develop the Technical Assistance Cell team to enable professional grown and high performance.
Ensure the best use of assigned financial resources for achievement of set objectives within a significant budget.
Champion diversity, equity, and inclusion by creating a workplace culture that values different perspectives, ensures equal opportunities, and supports an environment of mutual respect and belonging.
Other as required.
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
Education: Advanced University degree in Public Policy, International Development, Education, Food Systems, or related field, or First University Degree with additional years of related work experience.Experience: Minimum 8 years of relevant professional work experience in design and implementation of school meals programme with substantial focus on provision of technical assistance to Governments and strategy development.
Experience in international organizations/companies and /or outside of home country.Language: Fluency (level C) in English language. Intermediate knowledge (level B) of a second official UN language: Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish, and/or Portuguese (a WFP working language).
MORE ABOUT YOU:
You bring exceptional skills in building partnerships, navigating complex power dynamics, and securing political buy-in.
You have experience supporting and guiding governments in designing and implementing school meals programmes within broader education, health, and food systems.
You have facilitated inclusive policy dialogue and governance processes involving governments and diverse partners.
You are able to translate research and global insights into actionable strategies and tools for country implementation.
You have demonstrated experience in managing complex teams and coordinating across diverse and dispersed networks or ecosystems.
You are able to integrate multiple agendas into actionable plans and address challenges using strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
You have solid grasp of key concepts in systems thinking and adaptive leadership, with the ability to explain and apply them independently in most scenarios.
You are open to testing ideas in uncertain environments.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
This is an International Professional position, open to candidates of all nationalities.
The selected candidate will be appointed on a fixed-term contract for an initial period of two years, with the possibility of renewal based on operational requirements, performance, and the availability of funding. The probationary period will be one year.
This position is open to both internal and external applicants. For candidates currently employed at WFP on a Fixed-Term Contract, specific return rights will be in place and will be shared if your candidacy is short listed.
WFP offers an attractive compensation and benefits package in line with ICSC standards (http://icsc.un.org) including basic salary, post adjustment, relocation entitlement, visa, travel and shipment allowances, 30 daysโ annual leave, home leave, an education grant for dependent children, a pension plan, and medical insurance.
The selected candidate will be required to relocate to Rome, Italy to take up this assignment.
WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK
WFP Leadership Framework guides to the common standards of behavior that guide HOW we work together to accomplish our mission.
Click here to access WFP Leadership Framework
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: global.inclusion@wfp.org
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.
REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION
We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete, and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, language skills and UN Grade (if applicable).
Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.
Please make sure you upload your professional CV in the English language
Kindly note the only documents you will need to submit at this time are your CV and Cover Letter
Additional documents such as passport, recommendation letters, academic certificates, etc. may potentially be requested at a future time
Please contact us at global.hrerecruitment@wfp.org in case you face any challenges with submitting your application
Only shortlisted candidates will be notified
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 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.