Programme Policy Officer (Protection and Risk Management) CST I Islamabad Pakistan

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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.

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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).

ABOUT JOB

Job Title: Programme Policy Officer (Protection & Risk Management)

Grade: CST I

Type of contract:Consultancy

Duration:11Months

Duty Station: Islamabad Pakistan

Date of Publication: 17th March 2026

Deadline of Application: 20th March 2026

Note: This vacancy announcement will also be used to build a roster of prequalified applicants for future opportunities within same job profile at the current or lower level in Pakistan.

TERMS & CONDITIONS

WFP offers a competitive benefits package including salary pension leave plus a medical insurance.

BACKGROUND:

WFP Pakistan is finishing the second year of its Country Strategic Plan 2023-2027 which focused on transitioning from responding to the 2022 floods to positioning WFP as a partner of choice for the Government of Pakistan for capacity strengthening and with a new focus on supporting their development priorities. WFP Pakistan also implements one of the largest stunting prevention programmes in the world for the Government of Pakistan which provides nutritional and financial support through the first 1000 days targeting pregnant and breastfeeding women and children less than 2 years of age.

Throughout 2024 WFP has established a team for Protection and Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP). One of the major achievements in 20224 was to strengthened the Country Office community and feedback mechanism (CFM) and continues to work towards integration/complementing CFM systems established by the Government and WFPs cooperating partners.

As outlined in the WFP Protection and Accountability Policy and the WFP Strategic Plan 2022-2025 the organization puts people at the center of its programmes and operations ensuring engagement with affected populations and key stakeholders ultimately and benefiting from their views preferences and priorities. This requires dedicated expertise in community engagement accountability and protection.

Closely linked to the Protection and AAP function is that of Risk Management. The CO has a Risk Management Advisor but due to the number of follow ups required based on feedback from the CFM and other sources additional support is needed by the Risk Management Advisor. This position will focus on providing strategic and technical support to the Protection and AAP team and to provide technical and administrative support to the Risk Management Advisor

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT:

The staff member will have dual reporting to the Head of Programme and the Head of Risk Management. S/he collaborates closely with all relevant CO units Field Offices UN/NGO partners and Government departments on CBT and social protection.

JOB PURPOSE:

To strengthen and support the Protection and Risk Management functions of the WFP Pakistan office in line with corporate guidance and requirements. Strengthen the protection portfolio including interagency coordination and linking WFPs CFM to that of Government and partners. Support the Head of Corporate Risk Management Unit to document and follow up on risk raised from missions and internal reporting systems.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES:

The Consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

1. Provide strategic and technical support to the CO for the implementation of corporate protection and accountability policies and procedures and for integration into WFP operations.

2. Work with relevant teams to develop discussion papers concept notes for research and special studies focusing on protection and/or accountability.

Contribute to analysis reporting and use of findings related to above for improved people-centered programming and advocacy.

3. Support capacity development including development or update of resource material for knowledge transfer on elements of protection and accountability.

Advise on the development or update of practical documents including standard operating procedures checklists and tools to integrate protection and accountability where relevant.

4. Represent WFP as alternate for relevant colleagues at interagency technical groups and coordination mechanisms around protection and accountability.

5. Advance on review of key partner protection and accountability initiatives and systems (Government and CPs) preparation of resource material for integration or complimentary of exiting partner systems and WFP system requirements and collaboration with partners to improve initiatives and systems.

6. Contribute to preparedness actions such as contingency planning for rapid scaling up of protection and accountability mechanisms in the event of another large scale emergency including the CFM system.

Cross-functional support Risk Management Unit

1. Contribute to embedding risk management in planning and decision-making across the office and all aspects of WFP operations through monitoring of key risk appetite metrics and risk indicators and regular updating of risk registers including progress towards implementing the risk mitigation actions.

2. Collect information/training needs and contribute to the preparation of training programmes or information sessions for colleagues and partners to enhance understanding of risk management and compliance with WFP policies rules regulations and procedures.

3. Contribute to management accountability across functional units including through the preparation of comprehensive reports summarizing the status of compliance of internal controls key oversight themes and using risk information (e.g. risk indicators incident reporting) to highlight areas out of risk appetite and contribute ideas on required actions in areas of risk and compliance vulnerability.

4. Oversee and maintain the centralized governance space regularly updating the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and the Committees Compendium.

Other duties as required including potentially serving as Business Continuity Management (BCM) and Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCI) focal point (e.g. supporting OCI avoidance plans and procedures).

MINIMUM ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS AND DESIRED EXPERIENCE FOR THE ROLE:

Education:

Advanced University degree in Gender Development Studies Economics Political Science Law Anthropology or any other relevant Social Science discipline or First University Degree with additional two years of related work experience and/or trainings/courses.

Experience:

A minimum of three years of relevant postgraduate professional-level work experience in community engagement protection gender and/or accountability to affected populations. Some experience in Risk Management.

• Experience in using a variety of quantitative and qualitative analytical tools methods and approaches.
• Excellent report writing analytical and communication skills with experience preparing and tracking budgets and advanced facilitation skills.
• Previous experience working with WFP or broad understanding of WFPs mandate. Experience with program and project lifecycle tools including implementation monitoring and evaluation is considered an asset.
• Proven expertise in preparing high-quality analytical proposals and reviews with strong ability to analyse quantitative and qualitative information.

Language:

Fluency (level C) in English language. Intermediate knowledge (level B) of a second official UN language: Arabic Chinese French Russian Spanish and/or Portuguese (a WFP working language) is desirable.

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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:

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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.

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