Nutritionist

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

18 December 2025-23:59-GMT+06:00 Bhutan Time (Thimphu)

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.

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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).

Job Title: Nutrition Officer

Type of Contract: Service Contract (SC 08)

Unit/Division: Programme

Duty Station: Thimphu, Bhutan

Duration: 12 Months (Renewable)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

The World Food Programme (WFP) has been inBhutan since 1974. After 50+ years of support to school meals in Bhutan, WFP, through the country strategic plan(2024–2028), aims to strengthen and support government efforts to deliver equitable and inclusive economic growth and support human capital development. Key contributions will include expanding investments and capacities in resilient food systems, integrating food security and nutrition considerations into social protection, and strengthening systems for emergency preparedness and response. All WFP activities will continue to operate with and through WFP’s partnerships with the Government. A prominent feature of the country strategic plan is to expand WFP’s capacity strengthening of government institutions and engagement of private sector partners while adopting a sharper gender focus.

WFP’s work will contribute to human capital development by strengthening the Government’s implementation of national food and nutrition policies, standards and processes for the effective provision of nutrition-sensitive and shock-responsive social protection. Improved access to nutritious diets throughout Bhutan’s national school feeding programmes will underpin a “whole-of-society” approach to nutrition education that empowers citizens to produce and consume healthy, nutritious food. The resilience of national food systems will be promoted through capacity strengthening initiatives that enhance Bhutan’s emergency preparedness and its response to disasters and their differing impacts on women, men, girls, boys, persons with disabilities and people living in remote areas. This package of activities will contribute to SDG target 17.9 as well as SDG targets 1.3, 1.5 and 2.2.

Key areas of WFP Bhutan’s nutrition work include:

•     National school feeding and nutrition programme: WFP supports the government in improving the health and diets of school children by assisting in menu design, developing a nutrition curriculum, and advocating for healthier diets to address the triple burden of malnutrition (undernutrition, overnutrition, and micronutrient deficiencies).

•     Linking Farmers to Schools: A core initiative involves connecting local smallholder farmers, especially women and youth, to schools as a market for their nutritious, locally grown produce. This boosts dietary diversity in school meals while simultaneously providing farmers with market access and income opportunities.

•     Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture (NSA) and Food Systems: WFP integrates nutrition goals into agriculture and food system projects. This includes promoting the cultivation of diverse, nutrient-rich crops and establishing nutrition model gardens for education and behaviour change at the household level.

•     Capacity Strengthening and Policy Advocacy: WFP works to build the capacity of government ministries (Health, Education, Agriculture) in nutrition-sensitive planning and implementation.

This also involves developing national strategies and action plans, such as the National Nutrition Strategy and Action Plan, and social and behaviour change communication strategies to promote healthy eating habits across the general population.

Therefore, WFP seeks a suitable national nutrition officer for a period of 12 months, renewable on an annual basis. The nutrition officer will work in close collaboration with implementing partners and agencies.

The annual work plan and budget will guide the main areas of work and activities.

Reports to: WFP Programme Manager:

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES (not all-inclusive, nor exhaustive):

1. Support to vulnerable groups to improve income and nutrition status, by targeting vulnerable households to promote nutrition-sensitive agriculture interventions such as, home gardens, small-scale poultry production, selected on-farm and off-farm activities, and awareness raising on food-based nutrition.

2. Lead the development and implementation of a quantitative baseline, mid-term and endline survey methodology and questionnaires to ensure it covers assessment of the minimum dietary diversity of women (MDD-W) and other key nutrition indicators.

3. Collaborate with relevant experts to develop a detailed social behavior change (SBC) action plan for WFP projects including interpersonal communication activities and development of accompanying information, education, and communication (IEC) materials. The action plan should be based on the results of the baseline quantitative survey, the qualitative behavioral research and in keeping with strategies developed by relevant programmes and government agencies.

4. Collaborate with the relevant officials and MOH’s district nutritionists to develop a nutrition-sensitive agriculture SBC training package for gewog extension agents and community champions to train youth, women and people with disabilities on nutrition, promotion of cultivation, processing and consumption of healthier foods and effective communication techniques. The package may include nutrition awareness, integrated homestead food production, cooking demonstrations of low-cost nutritious recipes from garden produce, backyard farms, food combinations, and small-scale household level agro-processing aiming at enhancing micronutrient content of foods. SBC outputs will include manuals, field-based materials and messaging for social media.

5. Lead the Training of Trainers (TOT) of district nutritionists/dietitians, extension workers and community champions who will train youth, women and people with disabilities on the SBC package to enhance household consumption of more nutrient-dense foods.

6. Participate in development and implementation of a monitoring plan to ensure the SBC package is rolled out in target Dzongkhags as planned and that messages are effectively communicated at the gewog level.

7. Build the capacity of the MOH district level nutritionists and other government staff on nutrition-sensitive agriculture and SBC. Identify needs and develop and share resources through formal and informal activities.

8. Develop the nutrition garden model in collaboration with district nutritionists and agriculture extension officers, organize demonstration at selected venues. Identify and organize the tools and equipment to be supplied for the home garden activity.

9. Lead WFP activities on improving social protection provision, including linking national school feeding programmes to farmers and suppliers, to facilitate the consumption of safe, healthy and nutrient-dense diets

10. Provide technical assistance, including in relation to social behaviour change, in support of government and private sector efforts to promote fortified food products, and ensure that all school feeding programme beneficiaries and the public consume safe, healthy and nutrient-dense diets.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education:

• Master’s or bachelor’s degree in the field of nutrition, dietetics, or public health preferred. Bachelor’s in other related social sciences will be considered.

Experience:

• At least 1 year of professional experience for master’s degree and 3 years of professional experience for bachelor’s degree in implementing or supervising nutrition interventions, especially those involving nutrition-sensitive agriculture.
• Experience planning and implementing SBC programs in nutrition or public health including advocacy and interpersonal communication.
• Experience in designing and conducting research and monitoring and evaluation related to nutrition, nutrition-sensitive agriculture and rural development programs.
• Experience developing and implementing a training package for extension agents working with farmers.
• Exposure to the nutrition and / or health environment in Bhutan would be an asset.
• UN working experience would be an asset.

Knowledge & Skills:

• Excellent interpersonal skills required, including strong professional communication skills.
• Understanding of food systems and drivers of the triple burden of malnutrition in a nutrition transition context
• Knowledge of research methods, including qualitative and quantitative methods
• Strong analytical and report writing skills.
• Ability to work within tight deadlines and manage multiple tasks simultaneously independently.
• Proven ability to conceptualize, develop, plan, and manage small to medium sized projects.
• Excellent      leadership      and      teamwork      skills,      good      analytical, communication, negotiation, and advocacy skills
• Ability to work in a team and establish effective working relationships with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
• Advanced computer skills with mastery of Windows and Microsoft Office •      General knowledge of UN programs is an advantage.
• Experience in producing and delivering quality results on time.

Languages:

• Fluency in both oral and written communication in English (Level C) and Dzongkha

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.

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.

• 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.