Programme Policy Officer

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

23 September 2026-23:59-GMT+03:00 East Africa Time (Djibouti)

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).

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT:

This position is based in the Djibouti Country office and reports to the Head of Programme. The job holder operates with a high degree of independence, manages more junior staff to ensure that programme and policy objectives are achieved in full. They are usually involved in a wide variety of programme and policy activities and analytical work, some of which may be of a considerable complexity. At this level the job holder is expected to contribute to performance improvement.

JOB PURPOSE:

To provide support to policy and programme activities that effectively meet food assistance needs.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive, within delegated authority):

1.Contribute towards the development of a wide variety of projects, plans and processes, ensuring alignment with wider programme policies and guidance.
2.Provide project management support to specific and defined programmes and projects of considerable size/complexity, ensuring a coordinated approach with wider programmes that complies with WFP standards and procedures.
3.Develop and coordinate data gathering and monitoring systems ensuring that rigorous quality standards are maintained.
4.Research and analyse a range of policy and operational issues to inform the development of policies, programmes and activities.
5.Contribute to the preparation of accurate and timely reporting on programmes and activities that enable informed decision making and consistency of information presented to stakeholders.
6.Engage with other UN agencies, local partners and Authorities in identification of strategies, as well as programs and projects that will respond to the immediate needs of the community;
7.Liaise with internal and external counterparts to ensure effective collaboration, monitor ongoing projects and highlight potential risks to project delivery.
8.Support the identification, development and management of potential partnerships to collaborative working leading to improved food assistance packages.
9.Contribute to resources mobilization efforts for WFP projects, including clearly articulating the need for food assistance and related programme opportunities, and follow up on the resource situation of projects;
10.Support the capacity building of WFP staff, partners and national government to prepare for and respond to food assistance needs, e.g. through providing inputs into training materials.
11. Lead, motivate and develop staff to enable high performance.
12.Other as required.

OTHER SPECIFIC JOB REQUIREMENTS:

The incumbent should have:
•A proven track record in the design and management of emergency and development programmes with effective social protection components;
•Strong general analytical skills;
•Proven experience of working in partnership with government departments and/or humanitarian and development actors while building their capacities in project management and strategies design
•Strong oral and written communication skills

4Ps CORE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES

Purpose
•Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives: Understands WFP’s Strategic Objectives and the link to own work objectives.
•Be a force for positive change: Flexibly adapts individual contributions to accommodate changes in direction from supervisors and internal/external changes (such as evolving needs of beneficiaries, new requirements of partners).
•Make the mission inspiring to our team: Recognizes and shares with team members the ways in which individual contributions relate to WFP’s mission.
•Make our mission visible in everyday actions: Sets own goals in alignment with WFP’s overall operations, and is able to communicate this link to others.

People
•Look for ways to strengthen people's skills: Assesses own strengths and weaknesses to increase self-awareness, and includes these in conversations on own developmental needs.
•Create an inclusive culture: Participates in open dialogue, and values the diverse opinion of others, regardless of background, culture, experience, or country assignment.
•Be a coach & provide constructive feedback: Proactively seeks feedback and coaching to build confidence, and develop and improve individual skills.
•Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit: Participates in accomplishing team activities and goals in the face of challenging circumstances.

Performance
•Encourage innovation & creative solutions: Shows willingness to explore and experiment with new ideas and approaches in own work.
•Focus on getting results: Consistently delivers results within individual scope of work on time, on budget and without errors.
•Make commitments and make good on commitments: Commits to upholding individual accountabilities and responsibilities in the face of ever-changing country or functional priorities.
•Be Decisive: Makes rational decisions about individual activities when faced with uncertain circumstances, including in times of ambiguity regarding information or manager direction.

Partnership
•Connect and share across WFP units: Seeks to understand and adapt to internal or cross-unit teams’ priorities and preferred working styles.
•Build strong external partnerships : Demonstrates ability to understand and appropriately respond to and/or escalate needs of external partners.
•Be politically agile & adaptable : Portrays an informed and professional demeanor toward internal and external partners and stakeholders.
•Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships: Provides operational support on analyses and assessments that quantifies and demonstrates WFP’s unique value as a partner.

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE:

•Has deepened technical knowledge through exposure to technical teams.
•Has taken leadership of implementing programmes.
•Has provided input into policy discussions and decisions.
•Has experience and skills in livelihoods analysis, social protection and programme development.
•Has a good understanding of household livelihoods strategies and their support
•Has contributed to strengthen capacities of national counterpart
•Has provided input into policy discussions and decisions.
•Has some exposure in field operations.
•Has a good understanding of household livelihoods strategies and their support;
•Has familiarity with resilience and social protection frameworks, and their translation into practice;
•Gained broader exposure across areas within a function (i.e. policy, programme etc.).
•Has gained experience managing small to mid-size financial budgets, balancing priorities effectively.
•Has experience leading a small to mid-size team to ensure the effective delivery of objectives.
•Participated in a government/ partner negotiation within area of focus.
•Has strong general analytical skills

STANDARD 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 additional years of relevant work experience and/or trainings/courses.
Language : Fluency (level C) in English and French language. Proficiency in Djibouti’s local languages is an asset.
Experience : A least 5 years of experience is desirable

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 [email protected]. 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.