DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS
16 April 2026-23:59-GMT+02:00 Israel Time (Jerusalem)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).
📌 Type of Contract: International Consultancy Level 2
➡️ Unit / Division: HMI Unit / WFP Palestine
📍 Duty Station: Gaza or East Jerusalem
➡️ Duration: 11 months (renewable)
🔄 Roster: Upon the completion of a competitive selection process, successful candidates will be placed on the roster and rostered applicants may be contacted in the future on an as-needed basis, for immediate opportunities.
❗You are required to fill in all mandatory fields on Workday in English and upload your English CV. Your application would be otherwise disqualified.
ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT:
Humanitarian access is critical to enable effective response to food security and nutrition crises in complex and conflict-affected environments. Due to its mandate, operational presence, and size, WFP is more regularly operating in complex contexts where humanitarian access poses a challenge to operating efficiently. Thus, the demand on WFP to strengthen its corporate and field level capacities to negotiate, maintain and improve access is increasing.
WFP Palestine is operating in areas where armed actors, non-state armed groups and other stakeholders are present Operating in the same space in a highly dynamic and militarised environment has resulted in the unavoidable sharing of space between these entities and the humanitarian community. The current WFP operations in Gaza are scaling up throughout 2024 and 2025, with a corresponding uplift also required in WFP’s HMI and Access capacity amidst the many challenges that currently exist on humanitarian access. Thus, the demand for WFP to strengthen its corporate and field level capacities to negotiate, maintain, and improve access is increasing.
Background and Purpose:
The HMI & Access Officer will be charged with identifying, analyzing, advising and potentially leading on the resolution of access challenges/impediments to/from Gaza and across the Gaza Strip; while ensuring - as far as reasonably possible - that WFP’s humanitarian space is respected and contain the interference by military/armed actors. This role is critical in working to ensure the successful fulfilment of WFP’s operational goals in Gaza.
Based on WFP's operational need, this post will be based either in Jerusalem or Gaza (Deir al Balah) with sporadic travel between Jerusalem and Gaza, to support all field offices across the Gaza strip. Should the role be Jerusalem based, it will be placed under the direct supervision of the Head of HMI and Access Unit. Should the role be Gaza based, it will be placed under the direct supervision of Gaza Emergency Coordinator with technical supervision from the Head of HMI and Access Unit.
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive, within delegated authority):
The HMI & Access Officer will focus on the following core capabilities:
Engagement:
- Manage the WFP Gaza Office in devising and implementing a conflict-sensitive community engagement strategy.
- Support the engagement and negotiations with relevant stakeholders in Gaza.
- Support to Decision Making Advice: As requested, inform and advise the WFP management decisions on topics and contextual shifts linked to operational conflict dynamics that may impact WFP’s critical operations in Gaza.
- Coordinate with OCHA, other UN agencies, INGOs and LNGOs with conflict-sensitive approaches, access and negotiations strategies.
- Participate in the OWG (Access Working Group) and report on trends, outliers and factors that could influence WFP’s access.
- Supervise and manage junior staff as required.
- Provide support to the Gaza Emergency Coordinator and the Head of Unit on all HMI and Access matters as required.
Operational Access:
- Oversee the efforts to expand WFP’s humanitarian access to/from/within the Gaza Strip.
- Advise on the contextual understanding, actor mapping and tracking access-related trends, dynamics, and the impact of access restrictions/ constraints on the humanitarian situation and WFP’s Response in Palestine.
- Policy, Strategy and Advice: Support in the provision of access-related policy recommendations and guidance to WFP on how to improve operational access.
- Access Coordination: Coordinate with key stakeholders to ensure secure, expanded, and principled access for WFP.
- Support Relationship Management: Strengthen and invest in key access-related relationships.
- Any other duties as required.
DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE:
- Professional experience related to humanitarian, development, civil work, community engagement, humanitarian coordination, logistics, or operational management.
- Experience with international crisis response is required, preferably in humanitarian operations planning and implementation. Familiarity with international humanitarian architecture and policy frameworks, project planning and activity management is highly preferred.
- Demonstrated experience in humanitarian access negotiations and interaction with the military.
- Demonstrated conflict and security analytical competency.
- Strong knowledge of organized violence, in particular working with armed gangs and civilian entities.
Education:
Advanced university degree in one or more of the following disciplines: international relations, political/social science, law, economics or other relevant discipline is required.
Experience:
Minimum five (5) years of postgraduate professional experience in a field related to HMI and Access is required.
Language:
Fluency (level C) in English language is required.
WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK
WFP Leadership Framework guides to the common standards of behavior that guide HOW we work together to accomplish our mission.
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.