DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS31 July 2025-23:59-GMT+05:30 India Standard Time (Kolkata)
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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.
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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 starting salary for this position will be 1,50,000 and final compensation will be based on the experience and qualification. Medical benefits as per WFPโs plan. All tax liability for payments from this contract are to be borne by the subscriberVACANCY DETAILS
Job Title: SSA Consultant (School Nutrition Garden Mapping)
Grade: Level 7
Type of Contract: Special Services Agreement
Duration: 5 Months
Reporting To: Programme Policy Officer (School Meals)
Duty Station: Work from Home, with Travel as required
Date of Publication: 17 July 2025
Deadline of Application: 31 July 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 Officers (School Feeding) will be responsible for the following
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive, nor exhaustive)
- Map the status of School Kitchen (Nutrition) Garden implemented across all States/UTs including coverage of schools, production, management, capacity building and sustainability (including community engagement).
- Understand the modalities for procurement and distribution of seeds of fruits and vegetables for setting up kitchen gardens
- Analyze the effectiveness of School Kitchen (Nutrition) Garden both as an educational tool as well as means to add nutritional value to school meals.
- Analyze the enabling and limiting factors affecting implementation.
- Identify scalable models, innovations, and best practices based on well thought through criterion.
- Propose a roadmap for strengthening of this initiative and integration of School Kitchen (Nutrition) Garden within school curriculum with a broader view of food system.
To fulfil the above, the Consultant is expected to undertake:
- Conduct Desk Review
- Review existing documents, guidelines, state reports, and monitoring data on SNG implementation.
- Study relevant convergence models with ministries (e.g., Agriculture, Rural Development, Education, and Horticulture).
- Collect data
- Design tools and collect primary data from States/UTs through phone calls/ emails and travel as feasible.
- Analyse and document
- Assess the state specific coverage, functionality, and diversity of SNGs
- Document best practices, challenges, and community participation models.
- Areas of convergence and resource mobilization.
- Propose policy recommendations and propose strategic roadmap
- Develop a strategic framework for expansion and sustainability of SNGs.
- Recommend policy and operational measures for integration with school education and nutrition.
- Prepare and submit draft and final report to WFP
- Travel to States as may be required
STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
EDUCATION
Advance university degree in Agriculture, Public Policy, Nutrition, Social Sciences, or related disciplines.
EXPERIENCE
10 years of progressively responsible work experience preferably in the development sector in partnership with the government/UN agency/INGO. Experience of working with nutrition or school-based programme and familiarity with the PM POSHAN scheme and school-level interventions is highly desirable
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 including government, private sector, academia etc.
- Strong analytical, coordination, and 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.
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.
WFP in India is providing technical support to the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN) to improve the nutritional effectiveness of the scheme through different interventions in a pilot to scale approach in several states.
Establishment of school kitchen gardens (nutri-gardens) or SNGs are encouraged by the Ministry of Education to primarily enhance the diversity of school meals. This initiative is supported through various schemes and policies and the implementation has been largely left to the States and UTs. Despite its potential, the implementation of SNG varies significantly across states and schools. WFP has been piloting school kitchen gardens in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana for past few years. These pilot projects have demonstrated positive impacts both in terms of nutrition education and value add to existing school meals and have also been scaled up across states with government ownership and funding support.
In this background, WFP will undertake a nation-wide mapping exercise of School Kitchen (Nutrition) Garden across the country, to identify best practices, gaps and challenges which will help design pilots and inform future scale-up of the initiative. The study will look into various aspects of the kitchen gardens, including production, management and sustainability (including community engagement), and its effectiveness both as an educational tool as well as means to add nutritional value to school meals. 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.
- Conduct Desk Review