DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

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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).

ABOUT THE JOB

Job Title: Programme Policy Officer (Project Manager: School Meals)

Grade:  CST II

Type of contract: International Consultancy    

Duration: 11 months (renewable)       

Duty Station: Karachi, Pakistan

Date of Publication: 10 February 2026

Deadline of Application:  24 February 2026

This Vacancy Announcement is Open to Non-Pakistani Nationals Only

TERMS & CONDITIONS

WFP offers a competitive benefits package including salary, medical insurance among other applicable benefits.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT:
Out of the 71 million school aged children in Pakistan, 26 million are out of school. In response to this staggering number, and the associated widespread deficiencies in learning outcomes, the Government of Pakistan declared an education emergency in 2024, and a number of provincial governments, who hold the responsibility for school meals, are slowly beginning to launch school meals pilot projects. Sindh is one of these provinces. The World Food Programme (WFP) is launching a five-year school meals program to target 100,000 children from 614 government schools in the impoverished and peri-urban districts of Melir and Keamari in greater Karachi, starting in 2026. The programme will provide daily hot cooked meals while also providing complementary literacy and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions. Based on lessons learned from previous attempts at setting up school meal programs using the approach of cooking meals at schools, WFP will use the central kitchen modality where the meals are prepared in commercial kitchens and then lunchboxes are dispatched to schools on a daily basis. This method controls food safety and quality, ensures consistency.

This project’s objectives are twofold: at the school level, it focuses on improved enrollment and attendance, increased literacy, improved access to safe drinking water, safe sanitation and hygiene practices, and improved health and nutrition of primary school children. At the provincial government level, the project provides targeted capacity strengthening aimed at process and systems strengthening and ultimately, creating an adaptable and scalable school meals program which can be financed and managed by the Government of Sindh.

JOB PURPOSE:

The Project Manager will be based in WFP Sindh Provincial Office in Karachi. This position is vital for ensuring the operational excellence of the McGovern-Dole School Meals programme with a focus on overall management, operational planning, implementation and supporting monitoring and evaluation and reporting functions. The incumbent will be reporting to the Head of Programme in WFP Country Office in Islamabad and will be supported by a team of qualified national staff in Karachi.

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide program leadership, direction, and supervision, including oversight of project staff, consultants, and partners, monitoring and evaluation, and program implementation.

• Collaborate effectively with WFP teams in Islamabad, Rome and Washington DC to provide regular updates, request support and notify of challenges.

• Ensure implementation of technical interventions, resulting in concrete and specific outcomes.

• Lead regular work plan, budget, and implementation reviews to facilitate the cost-effective and timely achievement of contract deliverables.

• Be responsible to finalize Field Level Agreements with cooperating partners, including respective budgets and ensure they implement according to the agreement. Also ensure completion of annual partner performance evaluations in a timely manner.

• Lead, manage and mentor team members, including highly specialized technical staff, to ensure that the project is implemented according to the workplan. Make adjustments as needed.

• Ensure with the cooperating partner the project's methodological coordination of activities related to its three main objectives: literacy, health and school feeding.

• Ensure project activities maximize impact and are completed in compliance with WFP, government, and donor rules, regulations, local laws, and donor agreement requirements.

• Working with the Country Office and Washington DC office, ensure that technical and financial reports are prepared, approved and submitted on time.

• Work with the project Monitoring & Evaluation team and Country Office evaluation manager to ensure that baseline, midline and endline evaluations are completed on time and that they meet the corporate DQAS requirements.

• Ensure central kitchens are constructed according to schedule and that they meet required WFP standards, in coordination with the WFP Engineering teams.

• Ensure implementation of food safety and quality protocols in the central kitchens, in cooperation with WFP Food Technologists and the Sindh Food Authority.

• Lead risk analysis activities in partnership with Risk and Compliance Unit and ensure that all issues are reported according to WFP rules and regulations.

• Ensure that WFP’s community feedback mechanism number is posted at all schools and take the lead in reviewing, addressing and closing all feedback received through the system in partnership with the Protection and Accountability Unit in the Country Office.

• Any other task in line with the position level and expertise.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education:

Advanced University degree in Political Science, International Development, Development Economics, International Relations, Law, Marketing, Communications or other relevant field, or First University degree with additional 2 years of related work experience and/or trainings/courses.

Experience:

• 8 years of post-graduate professional or managerial experience working in a government ministry or department.

• Experience as a project manager; experience working in urban settings a plus.

• Experience of working in the education sector, school meals, field operations and working with host governments.

• Previous experience of working for UN or another international agency in south Asia is desirable.

Knowledge & Skills:
Excellent writing skills and ability to lead the preparation of reports and other documents and guidelines; be diplomatic, tactful and a skilled negotiator.

Languages:
Fluent in written and spoken English.

HOW TO APPLY

To be considered, interested candidates are invited to apply via (https://www.wfp.org/careers/job-openings). Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

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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.