Programme Policy Officer (School Meals) - NOA - Islamabad

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS 21 January 2026-23:59-GMT+05:00 Pakistan Standard Time (Karachi) 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.
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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
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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)

ABOUT THE JOB Job Title: Programme Policy Officer (School Meals) Grade: NOA Type of contract: Fixed Term Duration: 12 Months (with possibility of extension) Duty Station: Islamabad, Pakistan Date of Publication: 7 January 2026 Deadline for Application: 21 January 2026 This Vacancy Announcement is for Pakistani Nationals Only Note: This vacancy announcement will also be used to build a roster of prequalified applicants for future opportunities for the same job profile at the current or lower grade in Pakistan TERMS & CONDITIONS
WFP offers a competitive benefits package including salary, pension, medical insurance, annual leave, parental leave, among other benefits Important: All educational documents must be verified/attested by the Higher Education Commission (HEC). Appointment will be subject to submission of HEC-verified degrees 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 Programme Policy Officer will be based in WFP Country Office in Islamabad. This position is vital for ensuring the operational excellence of the McGovern-Dole School Meals programme with a focus on supporting provincial level operational planning, ensuring timely implementation and supporting monitoring and evaluation and reporting functions to WFP Headquarters and WFP Washington offices. The incumbent will be reporting to the Programme Policy Officer/Head of School Meals in the WFP Country Office with regular interactions with the Project Manager and the Programme Policy Officer (School Meals) in Karachi KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive, within delegated authority):
1. Support the Project Manager and the Head of School Meals in CO towards the development of plans and processes around school meals, ensuring alignment with WFP and USDA programme policies and guidance.
2. Provide project management support to the Head of School Meals for all school meals activities, ensuring alignment and complementarity of approaches and for reporting their results.
3. Support the Karachi and Country Office M&E teams to develop data gathering and monitoring systems for the school meals programme, ensuring that rigorous quality standards are maintained and there is harmonization across the different school meals programmes.
4. Support the research and analysis of a range of policy and operational issues to inform the development of policies and governance documents to support the governments to manage their school meals programmes.
5. Contribute to the preparation of accurate and timely reporting on programmes and activities that enable informed decision making and consistency of information presented to stakeholders such as the School Education and Literacy Department, the US Department of Agriculture (UDSA) and WFP global offices.
6. Liaise with the WFP Country Office Supply Chain teams for call forward, commodity tracking, procurement requests, etc.
7. Support the identification, development and management of potential partnerships at the CO level for school meals work.
8. Support the capacity building of WFP staff, partners and provincial government to develop policies, guidelines and governance mechanisms to manage provincial school meals programmes.
9. Any other task in line with the position level and expertise DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE:

• 1 year of post-graduate professional or managerial experience working in a government ministry or department.
• Experience of preparing technical documents such as MoUs, SOPs and guidance materials.
• Previous experience of working for UN or other international agency in Pakistan is desirable.
• Excellent writing skills and ability to lead the preparation of documents and guidelines; be diplomatic, tactful and a skilled negotiator.

STANDARD MINIMUM ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS:
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.
Language: Fluent in English and Urdu 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 WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK
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REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION
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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 [email protected] 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.