Job Description

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

16 August 2026-23:59-GMT+03:00 East Africa Time (Nairobi)

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).

JOB TITLE: Food Fortification Specialist
TYPE OF CONTRACT: International Consultant, CST II
UNIT/DIVISION: PRGS - Nutrition
DUTY STATION (City, Country): GHQ Outposted Hub, Nairobi, Kenya
Reporting to Food Tech Coordinator, PRG-S Nutrition, Rome GHQ
DURATION: 11 months with possibility for extension subject to funding availability

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) is the frontline humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. On average, WFP reaches more than 130 million people with food assistance in around 80 countries. In 2024, WFP approved a new Nutrition Strategy, which focuses on supporting countries to achieve zero hunger through improved nutrition, with prevention and treatment of all forms of malnutrition, a central part of this strategy. In support of this shift in programming, WFP will play a bigger role in addressing micronutrient deficiencies around the world through its food assistance programmes. Food fortification is one strategy to increase vitamin and mineral intake among the general population and has proven to be effective in prevention and control micronutrient deficiencies.

Food fortification has been central to WFP’s global food systems agenda since 2004. WFP works across the fortification value-chain. This includes providing technical assistance to farmers and millers, using WFP’s vast purchasing power and to increase demand for fortified foods by working with governments and academic institutions to develop standards and advocating for fortification.

Micronutrient deficiencies remain a serious public health issue across Eastern and Southern Africa, affecting millions of people especially women and children. At the regional level, the WFP Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) supports 21 countries. Many of these countries have initiated food fortification programs, but gaps remain in policy, regulation, and technical capacity. As part of the regional efforts, a recent landscape analysis in selected countries has identified challenges and opportunities to inform programming and policy decision in the region. This landscape analysis has informed the development of a regional food fortification strategy, including an implementation plan that would need to be implemented.

This position will lead the implementation of WFP ESARO’s food fortification strategy implementation and provide continuous technical support to Country offices on the planning, design, implementation and monitoring of food fortification programmes.

The consultant will report to the Food Technology Coordinator based in the PRG-S Nutrition service of GHQ in Rome, Italy with extensive collaboration with GHQ outposted programme hub ESARO in Nairobi, Kenya.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Lead and oversee fortification landscape analysis for Eastern and Southern Africa in line with the deliverables agreed upon with the donors

• Review the fortification scoping tools and propose adjustments from the experiences from completed analysis and in discussion with nutrition team at GHQ.

• Conduct the scoping exercises on fortification-related information such as national policies, guidelines, strategies, work plans, private sector engagement and the key stakeholders in 5 priority countries.

• Identify key programmatic entry points both internal (Supply Chain, procurement, partnerships, programme) and external (government, donors, technical agencies) opportunities.

• Conduct validation interviews and workshop in the priority countries based on information gathered.

2. Lead the implementation of WFP ESARO’s food fortification strategy in line with WFP’s vision for improving diets and nutritional adequacy through fortification

• Enable successful implementation of WFP ESARO’s food fortification strategy and country operational plans for food fortification.

• Oversee continuous capacity strengthening of key technical human resources on food fortification.

• Drive strategic positioning of WFP as a key technical agency in food fortification in ESARO.

• Lead regional advocacy and support resource mobilization and reporting efforts to advance and sustain WFP’s food fortification portfolio in Eastern and Southern Africa.

• Monitor progress of strategy implementation across ESARO and identify bottlenecks and solutions.

3. Oversee the provision of continuous technical guidance to ESARO country offices on food fortification

• Provide technical guidance in the planning, design, implementation and monitoring of fortification programmes.

• Provide technical support to country offices in designing and conducting formative studies such as landscape studies and others to inform WFP’s programme design.

• Provide technical support for capacity building of government stakeholders as well as development/revision of regulatory frameworks and relevant policy instruments including standards, monitoring guidelines, etc.

• Provide technical support to Country offices in creating an enabling policy environment for integration of fortified foods into WFP operations and government-led programmes.

4. Contribute to shaping regional and country-level decision-making by influencing programme design, supply chain choices, and policy engagement to increase the share and quality of fortified foods across WFP and Government humanitarian operations

• Lead the implementation of WFP’s roadmap for increasing the use of fortified maize meal/flour and other fortifiable staples in WFP operations.

• Provide technical support on evidence generation, research and other activities related to integrating and/or scaling up fortified foods into WFP operations and government-led programmes.

• Participate and contribute, as required, in internal cross-functional committees, working groups and task-forces to further the integration and scale up of fortified foods into WFP operations and government-led programmes.

• Strengthen collaboration with Supply Chain Units such as Food Safety and Quality Assurance, Local and Regional Procurement, Logistics as key collaborators in enhancing nutritional adequacy of WFP food assistance.

5. Provide technical and coordination support for WFP’s engagement with regional partners in Eastern and Southern Africa

• Provide strategic coordination and technical backstopping for WFP’s engagement with regional institutions, networks, and initiatives relevant to food fortification across Eastern and Southern Africa.

• Contribute to regional advocacy and thought leadership on food fortification by supporting policy dialogues, regional forums, technical working groups, and knowledge-sharing events.

6. Perform other tasks as requested and required.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education: An advanced degree related to Food Fortification, Food Processing, Food

technology/ Food science, Nutrition, Public Health or a related field.

Experience:

• Minimum five (5) years of experience preferably including food fortification,food technology, food science, food-value addition, food value chains for fortified foods, food security, project planning and management, partnership engagement, advocacy.

Demonstrated experience in providing technical support preferably on food fortification.

• Experience working with national governments, private sector and fortification stakeholders.

• Demonstrated experience of directly/indirectly working in ESARO region would be key.

Knowledge & Skills:

• Knowledge and awareness of fortification strategies, technical expertise in food fortification country capacity strengthening approaches, and food systems frameworks.

• Excellent writing and presentation skills.

• Ability to develop and maintain productive relationships with a variety of stakeholders.

• Ability to work independently, handle multiple tasks, work under pressure and deliver assignments on time, while also working collaboratively and cross-culturally.

Languages: Fluency (level C) in English language. Additional good working knowledge of French is preferred.

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

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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.