DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

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).

BACKGROUND:

Kenya, a lower-middle-income economy is transforming rapidly. However, deep social and economic inequalities persist, and more than one third of Kenyans live below the poverty line. WFP in Kenya is engaged with the Government and Counties across the full spectrum of saving lives and changing lives interventions, from emergency responses to resilience programmes, to social protection and safety nets strengthening, and refugees transition.

In July 2023, WFP started the implementation of Kenya Country Strategic Plan (CSP) 2023-2027. Through this new CSP, WFP’s approach shifted to a “changing lives to save lives” agenda, delivering immediate and ongoing support to boost food access and availability and medium- to long-term action to build climate-resilient food systems. This shift in approach has required special focus to identify sustainable and innovative options to sustain changing lives initiatives.

Following the shift in development funding and reprioritization in 2025, and in preparation to the development of the next CSP, WFP in Kenya is looking at strategic opportunities to support Government to boost the scale-up of the school meals programme, through School Feeding 2.0, and continue supporting refugees transition towards self-reliance.

In order to lead the shift towards School Feeding 2.0 and to continue coordinating the implementation of the Changing Lives Transformation Fund (CLTF) on refugees transition towards self-reliance, WFP Kenya is seeking an experienced programme policy officer.

Purpose of the Assignment

The main purpose of this PPO position is to 1) lead the School Meals team in Kenya Country Office, coordinating the transition towards School Feeding 2.0, 2) to coordinate the implementation of the Changing Lives Transformation Fund (CLTF) initiative in Kenya, and 3) to contribute to strategic programme priorities across the portfolio.

In performing his/her duty, the PPO will work in close coordination with relevant leads and experts in the CO; provide direct supervision to the School Meals Team; represent WFP Kenya in technical discussions internally and with partners; and perform as officer in charge for the Social Protection and School Feeding Strategic Outcome 3 team, as required.

The PPO is expected to coordinate the preparation of new programmatic proposals contributing to partnership engagement in the context of transition, climate-resilient food systems and social protection and safety nets, among others.

Accountabilities/ Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Head, Strategic Outcome 3, and in coordination with the Head of Programme and other functions, the Policy and Programme Officer will perform the following tasks:

Lead School Meals Programme implementation

• Provide strategic coordination for Kenya’s transition to School Feeding 2.0 and provide technical support to high‑level engagement with Government, donors, UN agencies, private sector and National School Meals Coalition (NSMC) partners.

• Oversee the full School Meals Programme (SMP) portfolio, ensuring strategic alignment, quality implementation, compliance, and effective grant and budget management.

• Lead and supervise the SMP team, drive innovation, and integrate climate resilience, gender, protection and digitalization across programme design and delivery.

• Oversee the implementation of Climate‑Resilient Home‑Grown School Meals projects and ensure coherent field‑level implementation and provide ad hoc coordination to grants, as needed.

• Steer evidence generation, reporting, and knowledge‑sharing across country, regional and global school meals networks.

Lead the CLTF Coordination in Kenya

• Lead overall coordination and oversight of CLTF implementation in Kenya, ensuring coherent delivery across units and field offices, and effective grant and reporting management.

• In close coordination with CO and Field teams, oversee the implementation of the Changing Lives Project in support of refugee transition within the overall framework of differentiated assistance.

• Drive joint planning with the Partnerships team to mobilize catalytic funding and advance advocacy efforts in support of transition towards self-reliance of both refugees and local communities.

• Oversee implementation of the evidence and learning agenda in collaboration with CO M&E, HQ and external research partner.

Strategic engagement and dialogue

• Represent WFP Kenya Country Office at technical level in UN and other partners planning and programming discussions pertaining to School Meals, Social Protection and transition agenda (linked to CLTF).

• Make strategic contributions to key programme priorities, including developing adaptive social protection and climate-resilient initiatives and proposals with partners such as Government, donors, and UN agencies.

• Coordinate lessons learnt exercises with WFP staff and partners and contribute to the organization of high-level advocacy events.

Programme and knowledge management

• Identify opportunities to improve policy, plans, programme design, implementation and effectiveness, coordination, institutional capacities, and resourcing.

• Take the lead in drafting selected projects and funding proposals, particularly in the context of IFIs and innovative finance.

• Provide technical support to the development of next Country Strategic Plan.

• In partnership with a core team of experts, contribute to shaping and implementing the Climate Resilient and Inclusive Food Systems flagship programme, aligning with environmental and social safeguards.

Others

• As needed, act as Officer in Charge for the Strategic Outcome 3 team and undertake deputy head of outcome duties.

• Undertake any other task within areas of technical expertise, as required and assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education:

Advanced university degree in International Affairs, Economics, Social Sciences, or other field relevant to international development assistance

Experience:

• At least ten years of professional experience in international development, with strong field exposure.

• Brings in a combination of policy experience (Headquarters) and field experience in middle-income countries on climate-resilient food systems and adaptive social protection and safety nets.

• Solid understanding of strategic pathways towards transitioning refugees and vulnerable communities to self-reliance, and how safety nets can promote transition.

• At least 7 years of relevant experience in facilitating country capacity strengthening initiatives to change lives processes and leading work across social protection, safety nets and resilient food systems in middle-income country settings, including through delivery of technical assistance and system strengthening activities.

• Prior working experience on resilience building and social protection issues with the three Rome-Based UN Agencies is an asset.

• Familiarity with Kenya’s political context in social protection and safety nets, resilience building, and refugee transition is an asset.

• Relevant experience in engaging donors on innovative financing opportunities to attract catalytic funding for changing lives.

• Prior working experience implementing environmental and social safeguards, including Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) for indigenous peoples.

• Experience designing and undertaking community participatory processes and M&E for project development and implementation of resilience and social protection programmes, including with focus on women, youth and small ethnic communities/ indigenous peoples.

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.