Programme Policy Officer (Nutrition and Fortification), SCL9 at World Food Programme

Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Bagamati Province, Nepal -

Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

24 Jun, 26

Salary

0.0

Posted On

26 Mar, 26

Experience

2 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Skills

Technical Assistance, Social Protection, Food Fortification, Partnerships, Capacity Strengthening, Advocacy, Budget Implementation, Monitoring, Evaluation, Stakeholder Engagement, Diplomacy, Cultural Sensitivity, Analytical Skills, Writing Skills, Communication Skills, Statistical Software

Industry

Non-profit Organizations

Description

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS 8 April 2026-23:59-GMT+05:45 Nepal Time (Kathmandu) 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: 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. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT: The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) 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. Working in Nepal since 1963, WFP has extensive knowledge of the socio-economic context of Nepal as related to food and nutrition security, livelihood creation as well as logistics capacity and emergency response. At present, WFP Nepal operates across the country with tailored programming based on present and predicted needs. Being a trusted UN partner, WFP is uniquely well-placed to support the Government, as well as local communities to tackle the underlying factors causing malnutrition in all its forms. Since 2003, food fortification has been on WFP Nepal's agenda through the sourcing and provision of fortified blended nutritious foods such as the corn/wheat soya blend for distribution under the mother and child health and nutrition programme to prevent malnutrition. Since 2022, WFP has been playing a leading role in supporting the government in the production and distribution of fortified rice, as well as advocating for integration of large-scale food fortification in national policy and programmes. JOB PURPOSE The incumbent will lead WFP Nepal’s nutrition portfolio, including rice fortification and nutrition-sensitive social protection initiatives in line with WFP Nepal's Country Strategic Plan. TERMS AND CONDITION Position Title: Programme Policy Officer (Nutrition and Fortification) Contract Type: Service Contract (SC) Level: SC L9 Contract Duration: 12 months (renewable) Duty Station: Kathmandu, Nepal Date of Publication: 26.03.2026 Deadline of Application: 08.04.2026 WFP offers a competitive benefits package including salary plus CIGNA health insurance KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive, within delegated authority) Under the supervision of the Head of Programme the incumbent will have the following accountabilities: Technical Assistance: 1.Contribute to strengthen government capacity and facilitate integration of nutrition objectives into the national social protection frameworks, guidelines, standards, and programmes in line with government priorities and the WFP Nepal Country Strategic Plan. 2. Support evidence-based design, implementation, and monitoring of nutrition-sensitive social protection programmes including cash grants, school meals, maternal nutrition allowance, fortified rice subsidies. 3. Coordinate and lead partnerships with relevant government ministries and other relevant stakeholders including the private sector to ensure alignment, harmonization, and synergy on nutrition-sensitive social protection programmes. 4. Contribute to the development of a systematic plan for capacity strengthening of large-scale food fortification including promoting and establishing Public Private Partnerships and private sector engagement strategy. 5. Facilitate and contribute to the development, dissemination and implementation of communication/advocacy plan and materials aimed at improving commitment, knowledge and understanding of decision makers, private sector, public sector, and people benefiting from nutrition sensitive social protection including rice/food fortification. Country office support 6. Support the implementation of the WFP Nepal country strategic plan by ensuring cross-cutting efforts such as nutrition-sensitivity, gender and diversity inclusion, protection and accountability, and linkages with other activities, including resilience and capacity development are integrated, as deemed relevant. 7. Coordinate with field office, field-based nutrition staff and the Partnerships, Communication, and Advocacy team to develop success stories, fact sheets, information packets, social media posts, mass media pieces, and other advocacy and information materials related to nutrition and fortification. 8. Support the nutrition team in developing relevant social and behaviour change communication activities targeting communities in relation to understanding the benefits of consuming fortified foods. 9. Oversee budget implementation and expenditure plans for the WFP Nepal nutrition activity, tracking actual expenditures, and provide updates through the resource management committee, highlighting shortages and status of progress, and providing recommendations. 10. Liaise with technical units for providing technical assistance and support the monitoring and evaluation of nutrition-related activities, providing analysis, interpretation, and information as required to support the assessment of impact. 11. Support with activities relevant to internal WFP processes and procedures in accordance with all deadlines (such as potential partner proposals, field level agreements, and service provision processes and contracts; invoice/transfers clearances; corporate systems such as WINGS/COMET; monthly deliverables such as mission plans, country brief inputs and responding to official letters requesting support or information). 12. Support WFP in identifying, building capacities, and establishing convergence between local academic & research institutes and the Government on fortified rice to enable provision of technical assistance and ensure sustainability and handover strategy. 13. Maintain, strengthen and develop new partnerships on food fortification with different stakeholders, including civil society, research institutions, private sector and development partners. Coordination 14. Represent WFP in technical fora with key government officials involved in nutrition sensitive social protection at the federal level, establishing and strengthening linkages as required with the Ministry of Health and Population; Ministry of Industry Commerce and Supplies; Food Management and Trading Company Limited, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Development and Department of Food Technology Quality and Control. 15. Provide overall coordination among the WFP technical teams, UN agencies, international financial institutions, non-governmental organizations, development partners and private sector stakeholders to ensure synergies with WFP's nutrition sensitive social protection are incorporated in project implementation and to engage in joint or complementary initiatives where possible. Qualifications & Experience Required: Education: Advanced University (Master) degree in food science and technology, nutrition, agriculture, public health related field of study or First University Degree with additional years of related work experience and/or training/courses. Experience: • At least 3 years of post-graduate (Master degree) professional experience in food processing, nutrition and public health policy and programming. • Has gained experience in supporting the government on implementing technical programs such as rice or food fortification, and others relevant to health and nutrition portfolios. • Has implemented nutrition or food systems programmes and provided input into designing policy and operations. • Strategic thinking: analyses and evaluates data and considers the impact of decisions; designs new and innovative ways of doing things. • Has strong communication and information-gathering skills; ability to engage with various stakeholders with maturity and tact, proven diplomacy, and cultural sensitivity. Conversant with food quality and safety and food production standards. Knowledge & Skills: • Excellent analytical, writing and communication skills. • Good computer knowledge and skills and good knowledge on statistical software for nutrition analysis. • Ability to work with minimum supervision and under strict deadlines. • Ability to engage effectively with a wide range of colleagues and partners. • Proactive, takes initiative, courteous, tactful, and ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with people of different national and cultural backgrounds. • Ability to handle additional tasks. Language: Excellent communication skills in both written and spoken English and Nepali languages. Knowledge of other local languages will be an added advantage. Nepali typing skill is an asset. 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 All applications must be submitted exclusively through our online recruiting system. We do not consider CVs or applications sent by email, LinkedIn, or any other channel. We strongly recommend that your Workday profile is accurate and complete, and that all sections are filled in, including your employment history, academic qualifications, language skills, and UN grade (if applicable). Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application. If you experience technical issues while submitting your application, you may contact us at global.hrerecruitment@wfp.org. Please note that this email is only for technical issues with an application - unsolicited applications or documents sent to this inbox will not receive a reply. At the application stage, the only required documents are your CV and Cover Letter. Additional documents (passport, certificates, recommendation letters, etc.) may be requested later in the process. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the recruitment process. 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. If you used to have an account on our previous platform, please note that you will need to create a new account for future applications. However, this change will not affect any ongoing recruitment processes. To ensure that WFP is able to deliver on its mandate, a range of contract types exist depending on the duration and nature of work. Find out more here. These guidelines are here to help you use AI tools responsibly throughout WFP’s recruitment process. We also want to be transparent about how we use AI on our side. Curious? Find out more here. Our greatest strength is the people working around the world providing access to nutritious food and promoting lasting solutions to those we serve. WFP provides its staff with meaningful and impactful careers, continuous learning and training, and a multicultural and stimulating work environment. 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, physical or mental disability. The United Nations World Food Programme is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. We are 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. Read more about WFP’s history here, and WFP’s mission here Want to hear what it’s like working for WFP? Check out our newsletter highlighting the career stories of our passionate staff here: Pathway to WFP | LinkedIn Integrity, collaboration, commitment, humanity, inclusion. These values inspire everything we do every day, allowing us to work towards a world with zero hunger. You can read more about the values here. Our behaviour guides us in how we accomplish our mission. All WFP employees are expected to demonstrate the standards of behaviour described in the WFP Leadership Framework. Learn more about the WFP Leadership Framework here. WFP is aware of fictitious employment offers being circulated via email or originating from online job boards. Many of these schemes consist of an alleged offer of employment or contract with WFP in return for the payment of fees or providing personal or banking information. Read more.

Responsibilities

The incumbent will lead WFP Nepal’s nutrition portfolio, focusing on rice fortification and nutrition-sensitive social protection initiatives aligned with the Country Strategic Plan. Key duties include strengthening government capacity, supporting evidence-based program design, coordinating partnerships, and developing capacity strengthening plans for large-scale food fortification.