HR Consultant

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

ABOUT THE SCHOOL MEALS ACCELERATOR

School Meals Accelerator (the Accelerator) is the fifth and newest initiative under the School Meals Coalition, operating as an independent initiative while being hosted by the World Food Programme (WFP). It is designed to support governments to scale and strengthen their national school meal programmes and turn their ambitions into real impact. Acting as a network catalyst and convenor, the Accelerator mobilizes resources and expertise from the right partners to deliver strategic technical assistance where it matters most.   

The Accelerator’s mission: unlock the full potential of national school meal programs by improving design, scaling investment, and fostering collaboration across education, health, and food systems. It embraces a systems-thinking approach, adapts to country priorities, and thrives in deep collaboration among global, regional, and local actors. The Accelerator’s ambition: to help low- and lower-middle-income countries reach an additional 100 million children by 2030, making school meals a cornerstone of human capital development and a global standard of care.  

The Accelerator operates in conditions of high complexity. Because it operates as a network facilitator rather than a traditional organization, its work spans multiple countries, organisations and institutional logics, and seeks to support system-level change rather than the delivery of predefined solutions.  
 

For this reason, the Accelerator has adopted a systemic leadership approach, which accepts that pathways to change are non-linear, and progress depends on learning, adaptation and collaboration across boundaries. Working in this way places ongoing demands on those involved and requires leaders who are able to work productively with uncertainty, difference and incomplete authority while maintaining accountability for results. Joining the Accelerator team therefore means being part of a first-of-its-kind development enterprise: a systems-focused effort to drive lasting, country-led change that requires a willingness to learn, adapt and be shaped by the work as it evolves.

JOB TITLE:                                                                                              HR Officer

TYPE OF CONTRACT:                                      Consultancy (full-time)

UNIT/DIVISION:                                                  School Meal Accelerator

DUTY STATION (City, Country):                    Rome, Italy or Remote

DURATION:                                                            11 months 

ABOUT SMA

The School Meals Accelerator (SMA) is a new independent initiative with a mandate to support governments in scaling up sustainable, national school meal programmes. It contributes to the goals of the School Meals Coalition, a network of over 100 governments committed to expanding and improving school meal programmes.  The initiative will be hosted by WFP.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

SMA is in its start up phase. The immediate priority is recruiting a talented and diverse team to deliver the mandate. The consultant will therefore focus primarily on recruitment for international professionals and consultants, ensuring timely and high quality selection processes that are inclusive and compliant with WFP HR policies and procedures. As SMA operations mature, the portfolio may expand to include selected contracting tasks and other HR projects that strengthen SMA’s people operations. Familiarity with WFP HR processes is essential. Experience with contracting is a strong asset.

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

Recruitment delivery and advisory

·       Lead end to end planning and recruitment for SMA positions across multiple functions and duty stations, including international professional levels P1 to P5 and consultants.

·       Act as a trusted talent acquisition adviser to SMA leadership, hiring managers and staffing coordinators, providing guidance on workforce planning, role design, job profiling and market insights.

·       Ensure each recruitment adheres to WFP procedures and integrity standards, including planning, attraction, screening, assessment, interviews, reference checks and offer management.

·       Draft clear and compelling vacancy announcements that reflect role requirements and SMA mission.

Sourcing and talent pipelines

·       Design and execute targeted sourcing strategies to attract qualified and diverse candidates, using professional networks, communities of practice, talent pools, referrals and digital platforms including LinkedIn Recruiter and the applicant tracking system.

·       Build and nurture proactive pipelines for critical and scarce profiles, maintaining accurate pipeline data for future hiring needs.

Diversity and inclusion

·       Review the composition of longlists and shortlists at key stages, applying corrective measures to maintain balance in gender and geographic representation in line with organizational targets.

·       Promote equitable assessment methods and accessible candidate experiences throughout the selection process.

Candidate management and experience

·       Manage candidate communication with professionalism and timeliness, ensuring transparency on timelines, steps and outcomes.

·       Coordinate logistics for assessments and interviews and provide clear feedback where appropriate.

Contracting and HR operations

·       As the initiative scales, progressively support selected contracting activities for consultants and short-term personnel, including document preparation, data accuracy checks and liaison with relevant WFP HR and administrative units to ensure compliance and timely processing.

·       Maintain organized records and documentation required for audit readiness.

Data, insights and continuous improvement

·       Track and report recruitment metrics such as time to fill, pipeline diversity and candidate conversion, and use data to propose process improvements.

Other HR projects

·       Support additional HR initiatives as needed, for example onboarding design, induction and orientation, HR process mapping, vendor management for talent tools, and HR analytics dashboards.

DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT:

• Successful completion of assigned recruitments within agreed timelines, with documented adherence to WFP HR procedures.
• Shortlists that demonstrate quality and diversity, including representation by gender and geography for priority roles.
• Candidate and hiring manager feedback evidencing a professional and timely process.
• Organized recruitment and, where applicable, contracting files that meet compliance and audit standards.
• Periodic recruitment reports with insights and recommendations that inform SMA workforce planning.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education:

University degree in Business Administration, Human Resources, Social Sciences or other relevant area. 

Experience:

• At least three years of hands-on recruitment or talent acquisition experience in an international context, covering a variety of functions and specializations.
• Experience working within or alongside WFP HR processes is essential for success in this role.
• Experience with contracting of consultants or short term personnel is a strong asset.

Knowledge and skills

• Strong ability to design and execute sourcing strategies, and to engage passive candidates.
• Proficiency with applicant tracking systems, LinkedIn Recruiter and other attraction and selection tools.
• Excellent written and oral communication in English, with the ability to tailor messages to different audiences.
• Ability to draft clear vacancy announcements based on job requirements and competency profiles.
• Solid interviewing capability, including competency based and behavioral techniques.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, including the ability to navigate complex scenarios with senior managers.
• Project management discipline, with the ability to manage multiple requisitions and timelines, and to prioritize under time pressure.
• Data literacy for monitoring pipelines and process efficiency, and for producing actionable insights.
• Demonstrated understanding of diversity, equity and inclusion principles and how to apply them in recruitment.
• Problem solving orientation, collaboration and a continuous improvement mindset.
• Ability to work effectively in a multicultural environment and across virtual teams.

Languages

• Fluency in English is required.
• Intermediate knowledge of another UN language French, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Arabic or Portuguese is desirable.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

The School Meals Accelerator is committed to ensuring an inclusive, accessible, and supportive recruitment process for all candidates. If you require a reasonable accommodation at any stage of the recruitment process, please reach out to: global.inclusion@wfp.org. We will be happy to assist you.

NO FEE DISCLAIMER

The School Meals Accelerator does not charge any fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, processing, training, interviewing, testing, or any other). If you receive a solicitation requesting payment, please disregard it.

Please note that emblems, logos, names, and addresses may be misused for fraudulent purposes. We encourage you to exercise particular caution when submitting personal information online.

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.

OUR WORK ENVIRONMENT

As the School Meals Accelerator is generously hosted within the World Food Programme’s facilities and administrative systems, we benefit from—and uphold—WFP’s strong commitment to integrity, inclusion, safety, and respect.

All hiring decisions are based on role requirements, merits, and the strengths each candidate brings, including their alignment with the Accelerator’s core mindsets and behaviors as per its Systemic Leadership Framework. In line with WFP—our hosting organization—the Accelerator is committed to fostering an inclusive, respectful, and safe work environment, free from discrimination, harassment, abuse of authority, and any form of sexual exploitation or abuse. As part of this commitment, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Lastly, 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.