Retail and Market for Nutrition Specialist
Retail and Market for Nutrition Specialist
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Job Description
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS
20 August 2025-23:59-GMT01:00 Central European Time (Rome)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 worlds 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 WFPs values (Integrity Collaboration Commitment Humanity and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves.
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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:Retail and Market for Nutrition Specialist
TYPE OF CONTRACT:Regular Consultant
UNIT/DIVISION:Nutrition & Food Quality Service PPGN Food System and Nutrition Team
DUTY STATION (City Country):HQ Rome Italy
DURATION:4.5 months (21 Aug-31 Dec 2025)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:
The current prevalence of malnutrition in children is alarming. Over 50 million children suffer from acute malnutrition and over 150 million suffer from stunting. Currently there are 800 million people that live below the poverty line. Food systems today do not produce affordable or adequate nutritious foods. As a result three billion people are currently unable to pay for even the cheapest locally available healthy diets (SOFI 2020) thereby contributing to multiple forms of malnutrition
Making food systems work for healthier diets has become a priority given the range of political social economic health and environmental challenges. The World Food Programme (WFP)s unique comparative advantage is to work across the food system and to improve both the supply of and demand for more nutritious foods as a key route to reducing all forms of malnutrition.
As the leading humanitarian agency in delivering food assistance and nutrition WFP leverages its expertise in logistics and supply chain to build efficient resilient and sustainable markets for healthier diet. WFPs cash footprint has substantially increased over the past 10 years reaching 36 million people with cash transfers in 69 countries. With its increasing cash & voucher programming the food choices made by beneficiaries/consumers becomes critical. Low-income populations are spending more in markets than ever before and forecasts estimate that from growth in consumer spending in emerging markets will be three times faster than in developed markets. It is therefore essential to link institutional demand national social protection programs and individual consumer demand to strong food systems that deliver nutritious and affordable food ensuring that local communities can access markets services and healthy diets in a sustainable way.
OBJECTIVE:
One of the goals of the Nutrition and Food Quality Service (PPGN) of WFP is to contribute to the increased availability accessibility affordability and demand of foods for a heathy diet in formal and informal markets through improved shock-resilient and nutrition-sensitive food systems. Our goal is to leverage WFPs footprint in institutional demand (particularly related to improving households purchasing power through cash social protection school-based programming) in food production and value chain development and on demand creation. We aim to combine our work to better connect supply and demand at market level to influence food value chains retail and procurement strategies to support more healthier diets of the most vulnerables.
ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:
The incumbent will report directly to the Nutritious Foods for Healthy Diets (NF4HD) Team Lead under the general leadership of the Chief of Food Quality and Strategy Team working closely with other colleagues of the Nutrition and Food Quality Service and colleagues in the Food system Supply Chain Procurement teams to:
Define operational guidance to harness markets aiming to improve affordability availability and access to healthy diets by building a Market/Retail Systems approach for Nutrition. This Guidance will be in support of the pathway 2 of the Nutrition strategy and will support two large agenda items of the quality pilar: improving access to fortified commodities at market level and improving access to local nutritious food solution. The guidance should reflect a balance of policy recommendations and in-field implementation strategies across different food systems components aiming to provide direct support to country offices.
- Based on global best practices and WFPs comparative advantage strengthen nutrition program design (Cash Social protection Food system) by providing clear recommendations on market related nutrition sensitive assessments undertaking food systems landscaping of other healthier food retail initiatives including assessing the environment within which they operate and their impact on demand creation towards healthier diets
- Support development and expansion of the analytical toolbox to be able to inform nutrition programming and leveraging markets for healthy diet. This includes reviewing internal WFP tools (MFI MSA MDA) and also benchmarking external tools.
- Provide inputs to the M&E framework for nutrition in retail system related programming and linking it to Healthy Diets
- Ensure reporting on progress achievements challenges and successes on market approaches for Nutrition
- Support fundraising opportunities and concept note development as and when needed
Under the umbrella of Local Food solution develop a roadmap with Country Offices to strengthen market-based approaches multistakeholder approach and identify clear entry points for interventions involving producers aggregators buyers wholesalers and market facilitators to build joint understanding of food and market system needs within WFP that encourage improved uptake of nutritious foods by beneficiaries and consumers.
- Provide oversight technical coordination and capacity building support to global HQ and country level colleagues to achieve the goals and objectives outlined in the market retail approach for Nutrition
- Lead joint program planning and implementation in priority countries with Nutrition Supply Chain Retail and Markets team to roll out / strengthen nutrition-sensitive retail systems programming.
- Support 2-3 COs as part of the local food solution agenda to develop market approaches including market development activities able to improve access and affordability of nutritious diet adapted to the context (urban fragile settings etc.).
- Identify opportunities for nutrition mainstreaming in all stages of the food and market systems development (production strategies agro-processing transport storage post-harvest processing marketing and public messaging) within WFP programs (SAMS food fortification Local Food Solutions Social Protection School Meals HGSF etc.)
Build and grow effective and meaningful partnerships both internally and externally with key divisions academia sister agencies NGOs and private sector in particular to link retail initiatives with our SUN Business Network field initiatives as appropriate.
- Collaborate with the different streams in the PPGN Service (Learning and Innovation SBCC Food Systems Local Food solution food fortification MIMI SUN Business Network) and broadly within WFP (Supply Chain APP CBT Programme Partnerships) to support synergies where applicable for a shared focus on the Nutrition and Food Quality Services objectives for retail.
- Partner with governments private sector and other relevant actors to strengthen the enabling environment for nutrition including through the design enforcement and implementation of laws regulations policies and positive support programmes.
Support the knowledge management and learning agenda for food system and markets for healthy diet workstream.
- Work closely with supply chain Food system HQ colleagues and with regional nutrition advisors to support learning and knowledge management from ongoing nutrition sensitive retail interventions.
- Support the development of a plan to capture stronger evidence of different approaches for nutrition sensitive retail programs.
- Provide synthesis and summaries of latest available evidence/articles related to market and nutrition for dissemination to WFP global nutrition community.
DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT:
- Market and retail for Nutrition Guidance developed approved and shared to all relevant stakeholders internally and externally. Listing of potential entry points for an approach including key activities objectives outputs and outcomes.
- Plan developed for global roll out of MFI for Nutrition developed with RAM and SC and define the connect towards programming
- Development and finalization of other market tools that provide more in-depth assessment than the MFI-N (e.g. MSA and others) and monitoring of activities adapted for Nutrition (RPME)
- Continuous CO support as requested with market assessment activity implementation staffing needs and strategy/planning
- Lessons learned and case studies have been captured for this specific approach and workstream
- Strengthened collaboration/relationships with key stakeholders within and outside the Nutrition and Food Quality Service including Food Systems CBT PPF Supply Chain Retail & Markets field-based staff and selected external partners.
- Supported the development of proposal/ opportunities for market and retail approaches for Nutrition potentially jointly with other divisions and services e.g. LDS funding proposal: Retail and Market proposed activities. Outreach to COs coordination identify opportunities
- Support and integrate Retail and Markets within the Local Food Solutions piloting phase including finalization of Scoping Tool landscaping analysis and exploring potential Market Development Activities implemented.
- Support and integrate Retail and Markets within the food fortification workstream including integration within the fortification vision exploration of innovations and solutions support COs in developing models and activities to increase fortification through markets and support training modules from guidance note.
QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:
Education:
Advanced University degree in Food Sciences Business Development International Development Development Economics Marketing Communications or other relevant field OR First University degree with additional years of related work experience and/or Training/courses.
Experience:
- 10 of relevant professional experience ideally working within the food industry with markets consumer goods engagement experience or related. Ideally with an experience with NGO UN agency in similar initiatives.
- Experience in engaging on coordinated relevant initiatives and the management of external partner relationships.
- Proven track record working with the private sector in particular experience in consumer marketing or brand-building.
- Experience in resource mobilization and ability to build productive relationships with representatives of donors.
Knowledge & Skills:
- Relationship management communications and networking skills.
- Writing skills.
- Ability to convene and manage inputs from diverse teams
Languages:
Fluency (level C) in English language. Intermediate knowledge (level B) of a second official UN language: Arabic Chinese French Russian Spanish and/or WFPs working language Portuguese.
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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:
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 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.
Required Experience:
Unclear Seniority
Employment Type
Full-Time
