International Consultant – Programme Policy Officer (Head of Gender, Protection and Inclusion) CST II
Kabul
- Organization: WFP - World Food Programme
- Location: Kabul
- Grade: Consultancy - International Consultant - Internationally recruited Contractors Agreement
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Occupational Groups:
- Legal - Broad
- Political Affairs
- Poverty Reduction
- Women's Empowerment and Gender Mainstreaming
- Project and Programme Management
- Managerial positions
- Disability Rights
- Closing Date: 2025-12-25
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS
25 December 2025-23:59-GMT+04:30 Afghanistan Time (Kabul)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 post is based in the Afghanistan Country Office, as part of the Programme team, and will manage a team of existing gender, protection and inclusion staff. The purpose of this assignment is to support the Country Office and six Area Offices by providing:
technical guidance to overall programming (i.e., relief assistance, human capital development, resilience building) to ensure that gender, protection and inclusion considerations are appropriately integrated into programme adjustment planning and implementation.
assistance to facilitate the safe continuation of inclusive humanitarian assistance, with consideration of WFP’s commitment to supporting full enjoyment of human rights including gender equality and disability inclusion.
strategic and analytical support on gender and inclusion for programmes, with a future focus.
support to Management on gender and disability inclusion within WFP’s own teams.
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)
Under the supervision of the Head of Programme, the Head of Gender, Protection and Inclusion (GPI) will lead the integration of gender equality, protection, safeguarding, disability inclusion, and accountability to affected populations across WFP Afghanistan’s programmes and operations. The role entails providing strategic and technical guidance to ensure safe and inclusive programming aligned with WFP policies and Zero Hunger objectives, while overseeing protection assessments, gender analysis, risk mitigation, and progress towards gender equality and disability inclusion outcomes. The incumbent will represent WFP in interagency coordination, strengthen community engagement and feedback mechanisms, support data privacy, and supervise GPI staff. A key responsibility includes building capacity of WFP teams and partners, fostering partnerships with civil society and coordination platforms, and supporting implementation of PSEA and environmental and social safeguards. Based in the Country Office, the position requires significant travel to field locations to provide hands-on support and engage with communities, and demands a self-driven leader capable of working strategically and independently in a dynamic and evolving context
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Strategic Leadership: Develop and implement the Country Office Gender, Protection, and Inclusion strategy in alignment with WFP’s global policies and Afghanistan’s operational context, ensuring integration of gender, protection, AAP, disability inclusion, and safeguarding principles across all programmes and operations.
Risk and Outcome Analysis: Conduct comprehensive gender and protection analyses to identify risks and opportunities related to food and nutrition security, propose mitigation measures, and design programme adjustments that contribute to equitable and measurable gender and protection outcomes.
Environmental and Social Safeguards: oversee Environmental and Social Safeguards implementation in line with WFP and donor requirements, including in relation to incident response and reporting.
Accountability and Community Engagement: Lead the implementation of WFP’s Complaints and Feedback Mechanisms and supervise the rollout of a Community Engagement Action Plan to enhance transparency, participation, and responsiveness.
Gender Mainstreaming: Drive systematic gender integration across all WFP programmes, including gender analysis and policy advice on gender issues impacting operations, ensuring sustainable gender equality objectives.
Capacity Building: Build the capacity of WFP staff, partners, and third-party monitors on gender, protection, AAP, disability inclusion, and safeguarding through training, mentoring, and technical support to enable culturally appropriate risk mitigation and inclusive programming.
Partnerships and Representation: Represent WFP in interagency fora on gender, protection, and accountability; foster partnerships with civil society, I/NGOs, and sister UN Agencies.
Policy, Reporting, and Compliance: Provide technical input to strategic and policy processes at CO, RB, and HQ levels; contribute to donor reporting and briefings; support PSEA implementation; and ensure compliance with WFP’s protection and accountability standards.
MINIMUM QUAIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
Education: Specialized education with master`s university degree in one of the following disciplines: law, international relations, political science, human rights or other relevant fields or bachelor's degree plus 2 years of relevant experience
Experience: At least eight years of postgraduate progressively responsible professional experience in development projects or humanitarian assistance, of which at least four years international field experience. This should include experience working in crisis or post-crisis contexts. Demonstrated field and policy-oriented experience working on gender and protection/safeguarding is required.
Knowledge & skills
Demonstrated knowledge of humanitarian programming in the area of Gender, Protection and AAP.
Able to supervise and support diverse teams.
Knowledge of, or the ability to quickly assimilate, UN/WFP specific processes and systems.
Capacity to engage in strategic conversations at senior levels.
Demonstrated strong analytical and writing skills, including the ability to write in an engaging and informative manner, and conceptualise and clearly synthesise information.
DESIRED/REQUIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE
Knowledge and/or experience working in broader inclusion (social, economic, other identities) consideration in humanitarian and development programming are desirable.
Understanding of food assistance programming with previous experience from WFP or any of its cooperating partners is highly desirable.
Experience managing or working with Grievance Redress Mechanisms (Community Feedback Mechanisms) and Environmental and Social Safeguards implementation.
Knowledge of subsidiary and other cross-cutting issues including disability, access, gender, conflict sensitive programming, protection from sexual exploitation and abuse, and the humanitarian, development and peace nexus is highly desirable.
Experience working in Afghanistan is highly desirable
LANGUAGE:
Excellent command of English (written and spoken) is essential for this role. Working knowledge of Dari, and/or Pashto is an advantage.
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 recruitment system. We do not accept CVs or spontaneous applications by email.
If you experience challenges while submitting your online application, please contact us at global.hrerecruitment@wfp.org for technical support only.
Please note that applications sent to this email address cannot be considered.
We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete, and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, language skills and UN Grade (if applicable).
Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.
Please make sure you upload your professional CV in the English language
Kindly note the only documents you will need to submit at this time are your CV and Cover Letter
Additional documents such as passport, recommendation letters, academic certificates, etc. may potentially be requested at a future time
Only shortlisted candidates will be notified
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.
Applications from non-qualifying applicants will most likely be discarded by the recruiting manager.