DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS
20 May 2026-23:59-GMT+03:00 East Africa Time (Addis Ababa)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).
CONTRACTUAL INFORMATION
Position: Food Safety and Quality Assurance Officer
Grade: Consultant Level 2
Type of Contract: Regular Consultant
Unit: Supply Chain
Duty Station (City, Country): Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Duration:11 months
Only Open to Non-Ethiopian nationals
ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT:
Ethiopia’s Country Strategic Plan (CSP 2026–2030) aims to tackle conflict, climate shocks, poverty, and food insecurity while supporting the nation’s ambition of becoming an “African beacon of prosperity” by 2030. WFP’s systems approach integrates humanitarian and development interventions to save lives, build resilience, and strengthen national capacities, with cross‑cutting priorities in nutrition, protection, accountability, and sustainability.
Within this framework, Food Safety and Quality Assurance (FSQ) is critical to ensuring safe, nutritious, and compliant food assistance. FSQ contributes directly to CSP outcomes by safeguarding beneficiary health, embedding nutrition‑sensitive quality assurance in programmes, strengthening resilient food systems, and enhancing government and stakeholder capacities in risk management and food governance.
JOB PURPOSE:
To implement WFP food safety and quality initiatives, policies and procedures. Job holders collaborate with supply chain and programme functions to ensure an integrated approach that supports WFP’s strategic objectives in food assistance.
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES:
1. Adapt and implement policies and procedures to align WFP’s FSQA approach with WFP and supply chain strategies and coordinate the implementation of FSQA regulations to ensure compliance.
2. Provide technical guidance and input to Ethiopia Country Office (ETCO) in the design and implementation of WFP food assistance programmes, ensuring that food safety and quality is embedded in all food-related WFP operations.
3. Implement field operations protocols for risk and incident management to enable rapid response to food safety concerns.
4. Establish and/or support the establishment of field operations systems for the prevention and mitigation of FSQA issues, including. creating product specifications, advising ETCO to engage with national and regional food authorities regarding national food regulations, and implementing risk-based systems for supplier assessment and compliance.
5. Collaborate with supply chain and other relevant functions to establish standard operating procedures, protocols and tools that maintain, monitor and verify food safety and quality throughout the WFP supply chain.
6. Build relationships with stakeholders across UN agencies, NGOs, governments, and the private sector to leverage opportunities to incorporate industry best practices enhancing WFP’s capacity to operate effectively.
7. Coordinate and facilitate WFP’s involvement in research related to FSQA assurance, packaging, and principles, enabling the organization to provide safe, quality foods and achieve desired programme impacts.
8. Provide advice and technical guidance to WFP staff at all levels, partners and governments, supporting country operations to build the capacity of local food producers. This may include enhancing quality assurance in food production, establishing suitable food processing facilities, acquisition of food processing machinery, and conducting product stability studies in line with regulations.
9. Guide and provide technical support to enhance national food systems by strengthening the capacity of local and regional quality infrastructure institutions. This includes food standards agencies, control systems, laboratory testing facilities, certification, and inspection bodies and Fortification support
10. When required by operational structures exceptionally, staffing limitations hinder full segregation of duties between FSQA management and capacity building, coordinate on FSQA-embedded initiatives in COs, such as strengthening food systems or improving food diversity for nutrition interventions, in close collaboration with Global HQ FSQA.
11. Prepare accurate and timely accounting, data collection and reporting, to inform decision making and contribute to a knowledge base that supports continuous improvement of WFP’s FSQA approach and overall Supply Chain.
12. Facilitate cross-functional collaboration and knowledge sharing across supply chain functions for an integrated approach to food safety and operational effectiveness.
13. Guide and motivate a small team providing coaching, training and guidance as required to enable professional development and high performance.
14. Act in an assigned emergency response capacity as required to meet emergency food assistance needs.
15. Other as required.
QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:
Education: Advanced University Degree in Food Technology, Health Sciences, Food Control, Nutrition or other related field, or First University degree with two additional years of related work experience.
Experience: Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in Food Safety and Quality and/or experience in procurement, logistics, and/or supply chain management with additional relevant training in food safety and quality.
DESIRED EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS:
• Experience managing and implementing food assistance programmes.
• Experience preparing reports and presentations for senior leadership or partners.
• Experience collaborating across functions and building professional relationships.
• Experience operating in emergency contexts.
• Experience monitoring and assessing food safety and quality issues.
• Negotiation skills with high regulatory authorities on matters related to quality.
• Perfect understanding of food import and export requirements, with the ability to align donors’ in‑kind food quality with national regulations.
Language: Fluency in both oral and written communication in English.
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.