DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS1 April 2025-23:59-GMT+05:30 India Standard Time (Kolkata)
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).
WFP encourages female candidates and people with disabilities to apply
WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles. Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis. We are committed to promoting diversity and the principle of equal employment opportunity for all our employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of religion or belief, ethnic or social background, gender, and disability.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
This vacancy is open to Indian National only.
This vacancy is open to internal and external candidates.
Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.
A Written test will be used for Screening Candidates.
Only recommended candidates will be retained on roster for a period of two years and may be considered for similar positions from roster.
The salary for this position is INR 1,50,000/- per month and medical benefits as per WFPโs plan. All tax liability for payments from this contract are to be borne by the subscriber.VACANCY DETAILS
Job Title: SSA Consultant (School Meals)
Grade: Level 7
Type of Contract: Special Services Agreement
Duration: 4 Months
Reporting To: Programme Policy Officer (Nutrition)
Duty Station: Work From Home and travel as required
Date of Publication: 18 March 2025
Deadline of Application: 01 April 2025
JOB PURPOSE:
The consultant under the overall guidance of the Head of the Nutrition and School Feeding Unit and the direct supervision of the Programme Policy Officersโ Nutrition and School feeding based in Chandigarh and Delhi will be responsible for the following
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive, nor exhaustive)
Map the availability of local food commodities
- Understand the agricultural production and availability of vegetables, fruits all through the year in the different regions/ districts.
- Understand the availability at the district level FCI go downs and acceptability of millets all round the year
- Travel to the different regions/ districts as required.
- Probe into the milk availability at the school level and its acceptability within school children.
Designing of district specific menus
- Designing district specific weekly menus that meet the dietary and caloric requirements as per the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and PM POSHAN guidelines. The proposed menus should ensure that the meals are rich in protein, vitamins, and other essential nutrients for the physical and cognitive development of children.
- Incorporating local and seasonal foods - Utilizing locally available and seasonal ingredients to enhance the nutritional value, freshness, and cost-effectiveness of the meals.
- Diverse and culturally acceptable menus: Creating a variety of meal plans that reflect the local food culture of Haryana, keeping in mind childrenโs taste preferences to improve meal acceptance and reduce food wastage.
- Design age-appropriate menus that cater to diverse nutritional requirements of different age groups under PM POSHAN.
- Cost-Effectiveness and Sustainability - Developing menus that are economically viable within the budgetary provisions of the scheme while maximizing nutritional benefits.
- Compliance with government guidelines: Ensuring that the menu design aligns with PM POSHAN guidelines, state-level policies, and any other regulatory frameworks specific to Haryana.
Standardized recipe development:
- Create standardized recipes based on the district specific menus with detailed ingredient lists, preparation steps, and portion sizes for consistency in meal quality and nutritional content.
- Create standardized recipes for each menu item, including detailed preparation methods and portion sizes.
- Develop easy-to-follow training manuals and guidelines for recipe preparation and menu execution
- Ensure recipes are simple, scalable, and practical for implementation in school kitchens and centralized kitchens.
- While designing menu and recipes, ensure that the local availability of fortified foods has been factored in.
Other Responsibilities
- Desk review of guidelines, circulars etc. issued by Centra, State Governments and other relevant government organizations.
- Collection of information from State Govt. / districts based on pre-defined questionnaire.
- Analysis of the secondary data collected from State / district.
- Consultation with nutrition experts in the state if required.
- Comprehensive weekly menu plans for different districts
- Detailed, standardized recipes for each meal item.
- Cost analysis report of menu items within PM POSHAN budget provision.
- Standardized recipe booklet with preparation guidelines and portion sizes.
STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
EDUCATION
Advance university degree in Nutrition, Public health, Management, Dietetics, or a related field.
EXPERIENCE
- 7 years of progressively responsible work experience preferably in the development sector in partnership with the government/UN agency/INGO Experience on working with nutrition or school based programme and preparation of such large-scale reports.
- Experience in cost analysis, recipe standardization, and menu design.
- Experience in development of nutritional and innovative recipes, and nutritional content analysis of the developed recipes
LANGUAGE
Fluency in spoken and written English and Hindi.
KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS:
- Excellent interpersonal skills required, including strong professional communication ability;
- Advocacy and networking skills with a broad range of stakeholders particularly government, academia etc.
- Excellent report writing skills
- Advanced computer skills with proficiency in Windows, Microsoft office;
- Knowledge of UN system would be an asset in particular WFP programmes is an advantage.
- Ability to work collaboratively with a diverse team of nutrition and food security experts.
- Ability to integrate cultural and regional food preferences into nutritional planning.
- Proficiency in tools for cost analysis and recipe documentation
CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS
- Ability to engage effectively with a wide range of actors from government, private sector and civil society.
- Solid planning and problem-solving skills and action oriented.
- Ability to work under tight deadlines and simultaneously manage multiple tasks in an autonomous manner.
- Maturity, initiative, courtesy, tact and ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
- Ability to handle any other additional tasks as requested by the supervisor.
HOW TO APPLY
To be considered, interested candidates are invited to apply via (https://www.wfp.org/careers/job-openings). Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
WFP will not request payment at any stage of the recruitment process including at the offer stage. Any requests for payment should be refused and reported to local law enforcement authorities for appropriate action.
ABOUT WFP
The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes. Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need.
PROJECT BACKGROUND
The World Food Programme (WFP) is the food-aid arm of the United Nations and is committed to fighting hunger worldwide. WFP has been operational in India since 1963; however, the nature of support extended by WFP in India has evolved over a period of time from providing food to a more catalytic role in reducing vulnerability and eliminating food insecurity and malnutrition through technical assistance. WFP focusses on enhancing the systemic efficiency and nutritional effectiveness of the various food-based safety nets in support of the efforts of the Government of India and in partnership with the State governments. The role of the WFP Nutrition and School feeding unit in India is focussed on improving the nutritional effectiveness of the food-based safety nets including Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN).
In order to support the Government of Haryana in its efforts to address the nutritional needs of school-aged children, WFP is collaborating with the Department of School Education (DoSE) in the state through different school feeding interventions in Government and Government aided schools in the state.
In view of implementation scale and growing importance of PM POSHAN as nutritional support to school children and considering the food habits and availability of food items in different districts, it may be prudent to design district specific menu and recipes in a manner that different and varied foods are provided on different days. In this background, WFP India has planned to provide technical assistance to state government for developing district level weekly menu based on PM POSHAN food and nutrition norms, local taste/preferences and availability of vegetables, millets etc. The districts wise recipes developed will be compiled in the form of a recipe booklet. To conduct this exercise, WFP will hire the services of a consultant
WFP has a zero-tolerance approach to conduct such as fraud, sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to WFPโs standards of conduct and will therefore undergo rigorous background verification internally or through third parties. Selected candidates will also be required to provide additional information as part of the verification exercise. Misrepresentation of information provided during the recruitment process may lead to disqualification or termination of employment.
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.