Project Officer

Overview

Join WFP as a Project Officer to manage the Global Innovation Hub for Regenerative School Meals.

You have:

• Advanced University degree in International Affairs, Economics, Nutrition/Health, Agriculture, Environmental Science, Social Sciences or other field relevant to international development assistance, or First University Degree with two additional years of related work experience and/or trainings/courses.
• At least two years of postgraduate professional experience managing complex, multi-country development projects within the UN system or international organizations.
• Experience in coordinating projects in Africa, Asia or Latin America/Caribbean.
• Strong background in School Feeding, Food Security, Nutrition and/or sustainable agriculture value chains.
• Demonstrate experience managing budgets, including planning, monitoring and reporting responsibilities.
• Fluency in oral and written communication in Portuguese and English. Working Knowledge of French is an advantage.
• Knowledge in a full project lifecycle, from ideation to financial accountability.
• Experience in South-South Cooperation frameworks.
• Knowledge of agroecology and/or sustainable agriculture.
• Skilled in nurturing multi-stakeholder partnerships and engaging with national governments to promote policy and safety nets agenda.
• Experience managing multidisciplinary teams and coordinating networks of national focal points is an asset.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

22 February 2026-23:59-GMT-03:00 Brasilia Standard Time (Sao Paulo)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).

Title: Project Officer

Contract Type****: Service Contract

Level: SC8

Duty station: Brasilia, Brazil

Duration: 12 months

Work Modality: Hybrid

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Background

Are you interested in international organizations and humanitarian work? Do you have experience with Project Coordination? Do you want to know how can you contribute to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030?

If yes, this opportunity is for you.

At WFP Centre of Excellence against Hunger in Brazil, we are looking for a talented and experienced professional to join our team in Brasilia. As Project Officer you will be responsible for the day-to-day execution and management of the Global Innovation Hub for Regenerative School Meals Project. This role involves overseeing the production of all technical deliverables and ensuring the project meets its milestones within the 18-month implementation window. In this position you are also expected to provide support to policy and programme activities that effectively meet the Project needs.

About the Global Innovation Hub for Regenerative School Meals

The Hub accelerates climate-resilient, nutrition-smart and locally inclusive school meal systems by combining field validation, agile technical assistance across multiple countries, and an open knowledge repository.

School meal programs represent one of the world's most extensive social safety nets, reaching approximately 466 million children globally. Governments are investing in school meals as multi-benefit public goods: safety nets, nutrition and learning, climate adaptation, and stimulus for local economies. Gaps persist in scaling validated regenerative practices, building technical capacity rapidly, and institutionalizing peer-to-peer learning. The Hub addresses these gaps by linking:

• Knowledge sharing of validated regenerative approaches.

• Technical capacity for climate-smart school meal implementation.

• South-South learning mechanisms and field-level validation.

• Gender-integrated food system transformation.

About the Centre of Excellence against Hunger in Brazil

WFP Centre of Excellence against Hunger in Brazil is a global hub for South-South Cooperation and capacity development in the areas of school feeding, food security and nutrition. It is an innovation that seeks to respond government demands for technical support to strengthen their national capacities and knowledge on sustainable school feeding and other food security programme and to support them in the design and implementation of these programmes. For more information, visit https://centrodeexcelencia.org.br/en/.

Supervision: Under the general supervision of the Director, the Project Officer reports to the Head of Programme.

Accountabilities: Within delegated authority, the Project Officer will be responsible for the following duties:

• Oversee the daily execution of the project to ensure knowledge products, including manuals, toolkits, and diagnostic reports, are produced on schedule.
• Manage the project team and liaise with internal counterparts to ensure effective collaboration.
• Ensure the timely achievement of disbursement-linked milestones, including the delivery of pilot methodologies in Brazil and Kenya, and diagnostic reports for additional countries.
• Supervise the development and launch of an Open Knowledge Repository Platform.
• Coordinate the delivery of Technical Assistance Packages and roadmaps for the pilot countries.
• Manage project risk register, identifying and mitigating potential delays in knowledge product development or policy shifts.
• Support the Advisory/Steering mechanism to validate plans and remove operational bottlenecks.
• Prepare narrative and financial reports, including the Mid-term and Final Evaluation Reports.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum qualifications:

Education: Advanced University degree in International Affairs, Economics, Nutrition/Health, Agriculture, Environmental Science, Social Sciences or other field relevant to international development assistance, or First University Degree with two additional years of related work experience and/or trainings/courses.

Experience:

• UN & International Leadership: At least two years of postgraduate professional experience managing complex, multi-country development projects within the UN system or international organizations.
• Geographic Expertise: Experience in coordinating projects in Africa, Asia or Latin America/Caribbean.
• Thematic Depth: Strong background in School Feeding, Food Security, Nutrition and/or sustainable agriculture value chains.
• Financial Oversight: Demonstrate experience managing budgets, including planning, monitoring and reporting responsibilities.

Knowledge:

• Knowledge in a full project lifecycle, from ideation to financial accountability.
• Experience in South-South Cooperation frameworks.
• Knowledge of agroecology and/or sustainable agriculture.
• Skilled in nurturing multi-stakeholder partnerships and engaging with national governments to promote policy and safety nets agenda.
• Experience managing multidisciplinary teams and coordinating networks of national focal points is an asset.

Language: Fluency in oral and written communication in Portuguese and English. Working Knowledge of French is an advantage.

Functional Capabilities

Programme Lifecycle & Food Assistance - Demonstrates ability to identify key variables and contextual factors that affect food assistance problems and programmes throughout the lifecycle to inform quality programme design or re-design.

Transfer Modalities (Food, Cash, Voucher) - Demonstrates ability to analyse and consolidate quantitative and qualitative information from different sources (e.g., market studies) to inform transfer modality selection and programme development.

Broad Knowledge of Specialized areas (i.e. Nutrition, VAM, etc.) - Demonstrates the ability to interpret basic data in the context of WFP specialised fields to contribute to technical programme design, implementation and monitoring.

Strategic Policy Engagement w/ Government - Develops thorough recommendations using multiple inputs (e.g., government counsel, research, own experience) to strengthen national or subnational entities and government owned food and nutrition security progmmes.

The candidate must have Brazilian Nationality or be legally authorized to work in the country.

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: [email protected]

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 recruitment system. We do not accept CVs or spontaneous applications by email.
• If you experience challenges while submitting your online application, please contact us at [email protected] for technical support only.
• Please note that applications sent to this email address cannot be considered.
• 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.
• 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
• 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.

Apply now

Potential interview questions

Added 6 months ago - Updated 6 months ago - Source: wfp.org