DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS
7 June 2026-23:59-GMT+01:00 Central European Time (Rome)
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
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
The Food Safety and Quality Assurance Service ensures that every food item WFP provides to the people we serve is safe and nutritious, thereby supporting WFP’s work to save lives and change lives. SCDF focuses on instilling a culture of food safety assurance across the organization and ensures that standards, policies, and procedures are embedded across the full length of WFP’s supply chain - from programme design to distribution.
The position is based in Rome and reports to Deputy Director of Supply Chain.
THE ROLE
This role provides strategic leadership and expert oversight for WFP’s global Food Safety and Quality systems, ensuring the highest standards of safety, quality, and compliance across all operations.
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive, within delegated authority):
Lead the global development, implementation, and continuous improvement of Food Safety and Quality (FSQ) role and systems for WFP. This includes also Scientific and Regulatory Affairs, Food and Packaging Research and Development.
Lead the setting and regular update of FSQ policies, standards, FSQ Manual and procedures in line with international benchmarks and organizational objectives.
Oversee the integration of FSQ systems into all operations to ensure robust governance, risk management, and compliance; drive cross-functional collaboration with internal and external stakeholders to ensure systems are contextually relevant and effective.
Lead digital innovation, including FSQ-related IT solutions implementation, and data-driven enhancements; and ensure that FSQ systems are embedded across all food modalities and supply chain activities, with clear accountability and capacity building for staff worldwide.
Manage partnerships with public partners (Other UN agencies, governments…) and technical partners from the private sector, and to leverage those partnerships to enhance WFP food safety and quality processes based on industry best practices.
Lead operational FSQ support and guidance to the field - this role directly manages key FSQ Global HQ positions in all regional offices and in Rome, which supports and ensures Country offices implement, expand and improve the Food Safety and Quality systems
Lead the oversight and governance role for FSQ implementation in WFP.
Lead the food incident management program for WFP, including: investigation and communication of food incidents management, technical research, field visits, advice and decision making liaising with internal and external stakeholders, maintenance of updated repository of incidents. Produce lessons learned reports and implementation strategy to continuously improve FSQ within WFP's operations.
Prepare and deliver FSQ reports, updates and indicators to WFP Management, represented by the DSC and Risk Committee.
Act as the key FSQ subject matter expert in WFP, representing the organization in related technical forums as a participant and/or speaker.
Lead workstreams related to food fraud prevention, including implementation of mitigation measures to improve controls and avoid food fraud within WFP's operations.
Lead FSQ supplier management program including: definition of the standards for suppliers/product type, management of the audit program and external partner that conducts audits, define risk matrix, audit strategy and ensure fulfillment of the annual audit plan, act as a mediator in cases of conflict or disagreement related to audit outcomes, act as the focal point for supplier audit related topics with stakeholders;
Perform critical review of supplier related information, analyse trends and implement technical improvements according to opportunities identified.
Serve as the FSQ lead focal point for Procurement, Insurance and Legal on product deviation occurrences, incidents and liability cases linked to FSQ providing technical recommendations.
Lead product traceability related improvements through development of procedures, upgrading of practices and IT links.
Lead IT implementation for FSQ, including FOSTER, DOTs and other related platforms for implementation or integration of systems and data management.
Supervise FSQ staff in Global HQ including management of daily work, guidance, troubleshooting, PACE and overall development and performance.
Lead and oversee all financial management activities within the FSQ unit, including the development, monitoring, and optimization of cost recovery rates, budget planning and execution, expenditure tracking, and comprehensive budget management to ensure effective allocation and utilization of resources in support of organizational objectives.
Lead all FSQ knowledge management activities for WFP globally, including the design and delivery of trainings, development and maintenance of learning materials, and oversight of FSQ-related repositories and resources to ensure consistent capacity building and knowledge sharing across the organization
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
Education: Advanced University degree in a food or science-related areas, such as Food Science, Engineering, Microbiology, or Food Technology. A PhD degree in a relevant discipline is considered an asset.
Experience: minimum of 11 years of progressively responsible experience in the development, implementation, and management of corporate food safety and quality systems and policies, including significant experience implementing FSQ, Regulatory Affairs and Food/Packaging R&D systems into humanitarian operations.
Training on internationally recognized FSQ auditing schemes (GFSI)
IT savviness for FSQ systems implementation
Technical knowledge in food science, contaminants, statistics, microbilogy and toxicology
Demonstrated expertise in risk management, incident management, and the application of international food safety standards is essential.
Hands-on experience with food safety audits, regulatory affairs, and food and packaging research and development.
Proven track record of leading cross-functional teams.
Ability to analyse complex food-related incidents and defects and create hypothesis on issue root causes based on food science knowledge.
Proven track record building technical partnerships with public and private sector stakeholders.
Strong analytical, communication, negotiation, and leadership skills are required, along with the ability to provide strategic guidance, mentor staff, and represent the organization in technical forums.
Experience with digital transformation of FSQ systems, advanced data analytics, and capacity building is highly desirable, as is a willingness to travel extensively and respond rapidly to operational needs.
Private sector food manufacturing operations experience is an asset.
Experience managing complex projects in emergency and non-emergency contexts is an asset.
Language: Fluency (level C) in English language. Intermediate knowledge (level B) of a second official UN language: Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish, and/or Portuguese (a WFP working language).
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
This is an International Professional position and is open to all nationalities.
Mobility is and continues to be a core contractual requirement in WFP. This position is however classified as “non-rotational” which means the incumbent shall not be subject to the regular reassignment process unless the position is reclassified as rotational.
The selected candidate will be employed on a fixed-term contract with a probationary period of one year.
This position is open to both internal and external candidates.
WFP offers an attractive compensation and benefits package in line with ICSC standards (http://icsc.un.org) including basic salary, post adjustment, relocation entitlement, visa, travel and shipment allowances, 30 days’ annual leave, home leave, an education grant for dependent children, a pension plan, and medical insurance.
The selected candidate will be required to relocate to Rome, Italy to take up this assignment.
WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK
WFP Leadership Framework guides to the common standards of behavior that guide HOW we work together to accomplish our mission.
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: [email protected]
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 [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.
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.
