Smallholder Agricultural Market Support Intern - Programme Division

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

26 November 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 extreme weather shocks.

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).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DIVISION

Support to smallholder farmers and agricultural markets (SAMS) is a critical element to end hunger and achieve food security and reduce humanitarian needs. In the past years, WFP increasingly consolidated its support to smallholder farmers under the Smallholder Agricultural Market Support (SAMS) framework.

The SAMS team, within the Climate and Resilience Service (PRGR), provides strategic and technical support and guidance to Country Offices (COs) and Regional Offices (ROs) to design and implement programmes that facilitate smallholder farmers' access to markets, contributing to the development of resilient agri-food value chains.

Under the direct supervision of the SAMS Programme Policy Officer, the incumbent will provide technical support on knowledge and data management in coordination with staff from the Climate and Resilience service (PRGR) team, ROs and COs. The incumbent will support the SAMS team in capturing, creating, managing and sharing the knowledge, data and stories created around SAMS programmatic area.

GENERAL INFORMATION

• Type of assignment: Internship
• Number of available positions: 1
• Country of assignment: Italy
• City of assignment: Rome
• Hiring Unit: Climate and Resilience Service
• Supervisor: SAMS Programme Policy Officer
• Working arrangement: In person
• Duration of assignment: 6 months
• Expected Starting Date: January 2027

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Programme Guidance: Support the maintenance and dissemination of the SAMS programme guidance manual and accompanying tools, hosted in the WFP Programme Guidance Manual (PGM) platform.
• Capacity strengthening: Support the organization of webinars and training sessions to train country and regional staff on the revised SAMS guidance and tools.
• Knowledge Management and Corporate Reporting:
  • Support the team in mapping SAMS interventions in the field, through review of 2025 Annual Country Reports and consolidation of information in a global matrix, to support analysis and country briefs.
  • Support the 2026 Annual Country Reports exercise, by contributing to ad-hoc technical review to requesting countries.
  • Support Eastern and Southern Africa Region SAMS portfolio review, based on past achievements and 2026 plans.
  • Support the regular management of SAMS and PHL-related contents on WFP’s knowledge management platforms (e.g. WFPgo, PGM, GoDocs, Viva Engage Community, SAMS KM platform).
• Communication products: Support the update and/or development of communication and advocacy products (factsheets, infotech, briefs, reports, country success stories etc.).
• Liaising with WFP offices and partners: Support team members in setting up regular and occasional meetings and/or webinars with ROs, COs and other partners and in developing presentations and/or writing note for the records for such events, regularly updating the contact details for CO and RB focal points.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Be currently enrolled in an undergraduate programme in the field of international affairs, development studies, agricultural economics, environmental studies or other related fields, from a recognized university and have completed at least two years of the programme; OR
• Be currently enrolled in a graduate programme in the field of international affairs, development studies, agricultural economics, environmental studies or other related fields; OR
• Be a recent graduate from an undergraduate or graduate programme in the field of international affairs, development studies, agricultural economics, environmental studies or other related fields (within six months prior to the application to the internship programme);

• Classes attendance in the last 12 months of enrolment in a recognized university.

• Excellent written and spoken English is required (proficiency/level C). Working knowledge of another official UN language (French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Russian plus Portuguese) is an asset.

TRAINING COMPONENTS

Throughout their assignment WFP interns have access to an industry leading learning platform, weLearn.  Depending on opportunities and availability of funds, he/she may participate in WFP workshops or seminars, as appropriate.

LEARNING ELEMENTS

At the end of the assignment, the Intern should:

• Have a good understanding of WFP’s smallholder agricultural market support programmes, contributing to the development of agricultural value chains in multiple countries all over the world.
• Have a general understanding of what resilience building means within WFP and what are the key priorities for the humanitarian and development sector to address recurrent crisis.
• Have a broad understanding of the work of an action-oriented UN organization such as WFP, its key corporate processes and main longer term development
• Have experienced working as part of a multi-cultural team including field-based colleagues.
• Be acquainted to the challenges and opportunities of interacting and working with multiple country offices and regional offices.  

INTERNSHIP TERMS AND CONDITIONS

• Interns receive a monthly stipend from WFP up to the maximum amount of US$1,000 per month depending on the duty station of assignment.
• WFP is not responsible for living expenses, arrangements for accommodation, VISA requests and related costs.
• WFP will reimburse travel ticket for candidates who are nationals of developing countries and are pursuing their studies in their home country.
• WFP will recognize candidates’ educational credentials from recognised institutions that have been certified by competent international or national authorities such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) or Ministries of Education.
• Sons, daughters, brothers, or sisters of current WFP employees are not eligible to apply.

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:  [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.