Nutrition Engagement Specialist

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 AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

The current prevalence of malnutrition in children is alarming. Over 45 million children suffer from acute malnutrition and over 149 million suffer from stunting. Maternal and child undernutrition is the underlying cause of approximately 45% of all mortality in children under 5. Not only does undernutrition levels remain stubbornly high, but numbers of overweight persons are growing exponentially, even in poor countries.

As the United Nations frontline agency in the fight against hunger and malnutrition, the World Food Programme (WFP) is adapting to meet the current and emerging global nutrition challenges. This includes enhancing organizational capacity to reach vulnerable populations affected by acute malnutrition, as well as expanding our portfolio to find lasting solutions for populations affected by poor diets and chronic malnutrition.

Nutrition, School Meals and Social Protection Service (PRGS) in Rome is seeking an experienced strategic engagement and communications professional to lead WFP’s internal and external efforts with the objective of positioning the organization as a trustworthy partner of choice to governments, donors, and beneficiaries.

The role serves the organization as focal point on nutrition communications and engagement efforts, and reports to the Nutrition Outreach and Advocacy (NOA) Team Lead.

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

Implement the Develop a nutrition communications and strategy strategic engagement work plan to maintain and enhance the visibility for and reputation of WFP in nutrition for effective advocacy, engagement, and fundraising in line with WFP’s new Strategy to Improve Diets and Address Malnutrition. Develop key messages and sound bites that promulgate WFP’s corporate nutrition strategy and position the work of the PPGN Service internally and externally. Continuously scan the horizon for the most importantIdentify communications and engagement opportunities and ensure effective interventions. Provide strategic communications and engagement support and advice to WFP and PPGN Service leadership and substantive Heads of Teams to enable high-impact engagement with key partners and donors and advise on policy and programmatic goals to make them effective. Ensure corporate engagement strategies and communications produced by other functional areas are aligned with the nutrition corporate strategic direction, work and messaging. Build engagement and communications capacity, including by providing advice and support to HQ, RB and CO staff on nutrition strategy engagement, ensuring alignment with wider WFP strategy and taking into account the specific context and audience Manage and cCoordinate the engagement and communications efforts linked to the Nutrition Strategy through a variety of events, products and partnerships that increase visibility of WFP's nutrition operations. Work with relevant WFP teams to ensure nutrition-related work is adequately represented in news/information about WFP’s work (internally and externally), and related reputational risks are identified and managed. Work in close collaboration with counterparts across relevant divisions, regional offices, and country offices to align activities and ensure a coherent approach to nutrition strategy engagement within WFP.

DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT:

• Implementation of the strategic The development of an operational communications and engagement work plan for nutrition.

• Assure that WFP’s nutrition work is adequately reflected across WFP corporate engagements, events.

• Guidance and support provided across PRGS to enable high-impact engagement with key partners and donors.

• Assure that WFP nutrition globally speaks with one issue on key thematic issues, as linked to the nutrition strategy.

• A coherent set of nutrition messages and narratives are produced, shared and utilized for engagements.

• Give visibility to WFP’s nutrition work locally, regionally, and globally

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QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education:

Advanced university degree in communications, international relations, public health, nutrition, or other relevant field.

Experience:

Has 6 to 8 years of relevant professional experience with at least 3 years of At least eight years of progressively responsible professional experience in communications, journalism, or other relevant field, with at least three years in a food/nutrition-related context and nutrition.

Has gained substantial experience in specialized communications practices and knowledge of the external context to which these apply.

Has effectively managed small teams of staff in the delivery of innovative communications projects.

Knowledge & Skills:

• Proven ability to create and execute effective communication strategies.
• Ability to produce high-quality communication materials.
• Professional knowledge of nutrition.
• Knowledge of WFP corporate and nutrition objectives and operations.
• Ability to prioritize and manage workload independently.
• Ability to build and manage collaborative relationships.
• Proven proficiency in long-form content writing and short form social media.
• Excellent written communication skills: writing, editing, and proofreading.
• Has motivated team spirit and contributed to a gender-balanced, inclusive, and sound working environment

Languages:

Excellent oral and writing skills in English (proficiency/level C). Proven ability to write highly concise documents in English. An additional UN language is considered an asset: Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish, and/or Portuguese.

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

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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.