DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS11 November 2025-23:59-GMT+03:00 Eastern European Time (Syria) (Damascus)
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).
JOB TITLE: Food Technologist NOA
TYPE OF CONTRACT: Fixed Term
UNIT/DIVISION: Supply Chain
DUTY STATION (City, Country): Damascus, Syria
DURATION: 12 months, renewable
BACKGROUND:
As Syria navigates a new chapter marked by historic opportunities and enduring challenges, the scale of humanitarian needs remains overwhelming. Today, more than 70 percent of Syriaโs population continues to depend on some form of humanitarian assistance. Over half of the population is grappling with food insecurity, with nearly 3 million people facing severe food insecurity. Around 7 million people remain displaced internally, while more than 4 million are refugees in neighboring countries. Since December 2024, hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced Syrians have begun returning to their areas of origin. Many more plan to return and will require vital support as they reintegrate.
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the largest humanitarian agency operating in Syria since 1964 and is uniquely positioned to support Syrian communities in their recovery through its expansive reach and scale. WFPโs interventions prioritize emergency relief and resilience-building efforts focused on the most severely food insecure populations. Additionally, WFP is a key actor in the countryโs social protection sector also plays a vital role in strengthening Syriaโs social safety-net systems.
Operating under its 2022-2026 Interim Country Strategic Plan (ICSP), WFP addresses the growing food and nutrition needs livelihood, resilience and early recovery, and reviving food systems, in close collaboration with the Syrian government, humanitarian and development stakeholders.
JOB PURPOSE:
Based in the Syria Country Office within the Supply Chain unit, under the direct supervision of the Supply Chain Officer and overall supervision of the Head of Supply Chain, this role centrally manages food safety and quality (FSQ) matters for all WFP offices in Syria, supervising the FSQ team in-country and field-office focal points. It contributes to WFPโs FSQ agenda by delivering evidence-based recommendations to reduce losses and safety issues, enabling rapid-response tools and investigations to capture lessons learned, and ensuring compliance across FSQ activities. The role also develops and aligns FSQ protocols with procurement/supply chain strategy, builds capacity through training, and fosters cross-functional collaboration, with potential supervision of junior staff.
ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES (not all inclusive):
- Prepare accurate and timely reports that inform food risk assessment and management, and contribute to a WFP wide view of food technology activities, enabling informed decision making and consistency of information presented to stakeholders.
- Provide expert advice for WFP staff, partners and governments, supporting country operations to build the capacity of the local food and food control systems. This may include the capacity of food production, laboratory testing, inspection and setting national standards.
- Work with suppliers to verify that food supplier agreements are carried out with proper quality management systems through tools like traceability, appropriate sampling and required documentation are maintained. Contribute to the supplier management assessment through analysis of their performance in terms of delivering quality that meets WFP specifications
- Prepare evidenced based recommendations for senior staff on control measures to combat and reduce food commodity losses and food quality and safety issues.
- Prepare evidenced based recommendations for senior staff on tools to enable rapid response to situations with food safety concerns.
- In the event of food safety incidents, lead investigation exercises to enable lessons learned to be documented and shared, to reduce re-occurrence of the incident.
- Lead project teams on the food safety and quality aspects of food assistance programs, ensuring compliance with WFP food and safety regulations.
- Work with inspection companies to employ appropriate scopes of work and ensure efficient implementation of quality control processes for timely delivery of goods for local and cross border operations.
- Contribute towards the development and/or implementation of protocols and tools relating to food safety and quality issues, ensuring alignment with WFP procurement and supply chain strategy, policies and plans.
- Lead the capacity building of WFP staff and partners for efficient and effective delivery of food assistance to beneficiaries (e.g. through the design and review of training materials).
- Identify and build productive relationships with supply chain and programme colleagues and staff within the area of assignment to support an integrated approach to food assistance.
- Guide, coach, and supervise staff within specialized sub-team; serve as a referral point and support them with complex analyses and queries. Drive capacity-building initiatives to enhance development, high-performing and engaged team. Reinforce team cohesion and nurture harmonious and respectful workplace within sub-team and overall unit and office.
- Other as required.
QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:
Education:
Advanced university degree in Food Technology, Health Sciences, Food Control, Nutrition or other related field, or First University degree with additional years of related work experience and/or training/courses.
Experience:
With a masterโs degree: At least one (1) years of professional experience, or a bachelorโs degree with at least three (3) years of experience in operational food safety and quality management in factory settings or large supply chain operations. Excluding laboratory experience.
Knowledge & Skills:
Having knowledge and skills in food safety and quality management systems, quality assurance. Preference in having experience in supply chain operations, wheat flour and oil processing, canned food processing.
Languages:
Fluency in both oral and written communication in Arabic and English.
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.