Programme Policy Officer - Enabled Government and Partner Programmes, Strategic Outcome 3 Manager

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

16 November 2026-23:59-GMT+02:00 Central Africa Time (Lusaka)

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).

BACKGROUND:

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Zambia Country Office is implementing its Country Strategic Plan (CSP) 2023–2028, aligned with Zambia's Vision 2030, the Eighth National Development Plan and the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework. The CSP places strong emphasis on strengthening national institutions, systems and capacities to address food insecurity, malnutrition and vulnerability, while progressively supporting sustainable, nationally owned solutions.

WFP's Strategic Plan (2026–2029) reinforces this direction through a more focused and integrated approach centred on three Strategic Outcomes: effective emergency preparedness and response; reduced needs and enhanced resilience to withstand shocks; and enabled government and partner programmes. Under Strategic Outcome 3, WFP will leverage its technical, operational and institutional expertise to strengthen nationally owned programmes and systems, particularly in school meals, social protection and national safety nets.

The new Strategic Plan recognizes that sustainable reductions in food insecurity and malnutrition require investments beyond direct assistance, including stronger government institutions, effective policies, sustainable financing, integrated delivery systems, evidence-based decision-making and institutional ownership. It also emphasizes WFP's increasingly catalytic and enabling role, working through national systems and supporting governments and local partners to progressively assume greater responsibility for programme delivery.

In line with this strategic direction, WFP Zambia is repositioning its programme portfolio to strengthen its role as a trusted technical and strategic partner to the Government of Zambia. Strategic Outcome 3 (SO3) focuses on enabling government and partner programmes through country capacity strengthening, policy and technical assistance, institutional development, systems strengthening and strategic partnerships.

The portfolio is organized around two mutually reinforcing thematic pillars:

• School-Based Programmes and Home-Grown School Meals: Supporting the Government to institutionalize and sustain nationally owned school meals programmes through policy and regulatory frameworks, institutional capacity development, sustainable financing, programme management systems, decentralized procurement and food systems integration, nutrition-sensitive programme design, and evidence-based planning.

• National Social Protection and Safety-Net Systems: Supporting government-led efforts to strengthen social protection policy and institutional frameworks, delivery systems, targeting and beneficiary management, shock-responsive and adaptive social protection, productive and nutrition-sensitive social protection, and sustainable financing.

Across these thematic areas, WFP's support seeks to strengthen the capacity of national and subnational institutions to independently plan, finance, coordinate, implement, monitor and continuously improve programmes that contribute to food security, nutrition, resilience and human capital development.

The Country Office therefore seeks an experienced Programme Policy Officer to provide strategic leadership for its Government Capacity Strengthening and National Systems portfolio under SO3. The incumbent will lead WFP's engagement with government institutions and development partners, guide the design and implementation of institutional and systems-strengthening interventions, and ensure coherence between technical assistance, national priorities, sustainable financing and measurable institutional results.

JOB PURPOSE

Under the direct supervision of the Head of Programme, the incumbent will provide overall strategic leadership, programme management and technical oversight for WFP Zambia's Government Capacity Strengthening and National Systems portfolio under Strategic Outcome 3.

The position will lead the development and implementation of integrated country capacity-strengthening approaches, working with government institutions and partners to identify institutional and systems-level gaps, develop practical and sustainable solutions, and strengthen national ownership of school meals and social protection programmes.

The incumbent will provide strategic direction across the two thematic portfolios, ensuring that WFP's technical assistance is coherent, evidence-based, demand-driven, results-oriented and aligned with national priorities and the WFP Strategic Plan (2026–2029).

A central responsibility will be to translate WFP's evolving enabling role into concrete institutional improvements, stronger delivery systems, sustainable financing arrangements and measurable capacity outcomes, while facilitating coordinated engagement across government, UN agencies, development partners and WFP technical teams.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES 

• Provide strategic leadership for SO3, leading WFP's engagement with government institutions to strengthen national systems and programmes, while positioning WFP as a trusted partner in policy development, institutional reform, and sustainable national ownership of school meals and social protection programmes.

• Lead institutional capacity assessments and oversee the design and implementation of government-owned capacity-strengthening strategies, ensuring strengthened governance, systems, operational effectiveness, accountability, and sustainability of national programmes.

• Provide strategic and technical oversight for WFP's support to the National School Meals Programme, including policy and institutional strengthening, SABER-informed capacity development, sustainable financing, programme costing, nutrition-sensitive programme quality, decentralized procurement and home-grown school feeding linkages with smallholder farmers and local food systems, while promoting innovative, scalable delivery models and long-term government ownership and sustainability.

• Lead WFP's technical support to national social protection and safety-net systems, including social registries, targeting systems, programme delivery mechanisms, shock-responsive social protection, and institutional strengthening to improve coverage, effectiveness, resilience, and sustainability

• Develop and maintain strategic partnerships with government ministries, UN agencies, development partners, financial institutions, civil society, academia, and the private sector to promote coordinated investments, policy dialogue, and harmonized support to national systems.

• Facilitate coordinated technical assistance and programme integration across WFP Strategic Outcomes and technical functions, while promoting South–South and triangular cooperation, regional learning and exchange of institutional good practices.

• Lead resource mobilization efforts and strategic partnerships to secure financial and technical support for SO3 priorities, while supporting government efforts to strengthen sustainable financing mechanisms for school meals and social protection programmes.

• Promote evidence-based programming, innovation and knowledge management through assessments, evaluations, research and learning initiatives, while establishing results frameworks to measure improvements in institutional capacities, system performance, government ownership and programme sustainability, and translating evidence into policy and programme improvements.

• Provide overall accountability for programme planning, implementation, monitoring, reporting, resource utilization, compliance, risk management, and results achievement, ensuring efficient delivery of SO3 objectives and adherence to WFP policies and standards.

• Lead, supervise, and develop multidisciplinary programme teams, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, inclusion, continuous learning, and high performance to achieve strategic programme objectives.

• Ensure that gender equality, disability inclusion, protection, accountability to affected populations, environmental sustainability, climate resilience, and risk management are systematically integrated into programme design and implementation, promoting sustainable and inclusive development outcomes.

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QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

• Advanced university degree in Social Sciences, Development studies, Public and Social Policy, Public Administration, Economics, International Development, or a related field.

• At least seven years of progressively responsible professional experience in international development, programme policy, government capacity strengthening, institutional development, education, social protection, food security or related areas, subject to the applicable WFP contract requirements.

• Demonstrated experience providing strategic leadership and technical assistance to government institutions, including institutional capacity assessments, policy support, systems strengthening and development of capacity-strengthening strategies.

• Proven experience managing complex, multi-stakeholder or multisectoral programmes, including programme planning, implementation oversight, monitoring, partnership management and reporting.

• Experience supporting national systems, school-based programmes, social protection or other government-led social sector programmes.

• Experience engaging government institutions, UN agencies, development partners and regional organizations in policy dialogue, coordination and technical cooperation.

• Demonstrated ability to translate assessments, evidence and institutional analysis into practical programme strategies, technical assistance priorities and measurable results.

• Experience supervising teams, coordinating multidisciplinary technical expertise and managing programme resources.

• Experience in Southern Africa or comparable development and humanitarian contexts is desirable.

Knowledge and Skills

• Strong understanding of country capacity strengthening, institutional development, systems thinking and government-led programme approaches.

• Knowledge of school feeding systems, social protection systems, national safety nets and shock-responsive programming.

• Strong strategic planning, policy analysis, programme integration and results-based management skills.

• Excellent stakeholder engagement, negotiation, facilitation and partnership-building abilities.

• Ability to lead institutional change processes, identify implementation bottlenecks and develop practical solutions.

• Strong analytical, communication, report-writing and presentation skills.

• Ability to work effectively across technical disciplines and coordinate complex institutional partnerships.

• Knowledge of sustainable financing, digital delivery systems, evidence generation and South–South cooperation is an advantage.

Languages:

Fluency (level C) in English.

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.