Full-Time
Business Innovation Consultant
Posted on 5/9/2026
World Food Programme
UN food assistance and humanitarian relief
No salary listed
Italy
In Person
 Consulting (1) |
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- Preference for a degree in business, economics or engineering.
- About 2 years of progressively responsible national and/or international experience in a business or international relations related position.
- At least 2 years experience in management consulting or innovative finance required.
- Ability to contribute to developing new strategies and innovative projects.
- Good analytical abilities, both quantitative and qualitative: ability to perform advanced analysis in excel and produce high-quality written materials, including powerpoint presentations as well as text documents.
- Experience with optimization processes (e.g. optimization of strategic planning, sourcing, logistics, finance processes, performance management, etc.).
- Collaborative spirit to liaise with a wide range of people at all levels and across different cultures, with credibility and diplomacy.
- Time management skills with an ability to plan ahead, anticipate requirements, problems and obstacles, and an ability to juggle competing priorities successfully, and to work on tight deadlines.
- Self-motivated and able to work with a certain degree of autonomy and/ or in team.
- Fully committed and motivated to achieve the aims of the UN World Food Programme.
- Languages: In addition to a high proficiency in written and spoken English, knowledge of a second UN language is a plus.
- Execution of Business Innovation projects
- Overall BIU/UNAA priorities
- Other activities
- Degree in economics, business or engineering (education preference)
- Additional work experience desirable
- Knowledge of a second UN language is a plus (if not already included in requirements)
The World Food Programme (WFP) is the United Nations’ food assistance arm and the world’s largest humanitarian organization focused on fighting hunger. It delivers food aid and nutrition support to people in emergencies and in food-insecure areas around the world. WFP works by providing direct food deliveries, cash-based transfers, and logistical support to reach communities in need; it also runs programs like school meals and nutrition initiatives to improve health and resilience. What makes WFP different from its peers is its scale and global logistics network—having a mandate from the UN to operate in many countries and coordinate large, rapid-response relief efforts, often moving food, supplies, and aid through complex supply chains. The program’s goal is to save lives by preventing hunger and to help people achieve longer-term food security and resilience, so communities can recover from crises and build sustainable access to food.
Company Size
N/A
Company Stage
N/A
Total Funding
N/A
Headquarters
Rome, Italy
Founded
1961
Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- ADB partnership unlocks large-scale climate-resilient agriculture investments across Asia-Pacific's 69 million food-insecure people.
- Sudan office return and UNHAS flight resumption enable expanded emergency assistance and resilience programming.
- Green School Armenia competition links youth innovation to climate-smart agriculture and circular school-yard design.
What critics are saying
- Somalia funding shortfall forces WFP to suspend operations by October 2026, reaching under 10 percent.
- Sudan's conflict and depleting food stocks collapse WFP's famine-prevention gains within six to twelve months.
- Donor fatigue amid global humanitarian crisis exhausts WFP resources as climate extremes intensify food insecurity.
What makes World Food Programme unique
- WFP integrates nutrition into primary health systems, scaling MAM treatment through Ethiopia's Health Extension Program.
- WFP catalyzes local food-processing SMEs and women's cooperatives, strengthening domestic supply chains and food safety.
- WFP leverages athlete ambassadors and skills-based volunteering to mobilize youth engagement in school feeding programs.
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Benefits
Health Insurance
Paid Vacation
Relocation Assistance
Professional Development Budget
Company News
UN allocates $48m for air service in Nigeria, seven others. Discover more The Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, has allocated $48 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund for urgent support to the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS). The new funding will keep the UN Humanitarian Air Service operating in eight countries: Nigeria, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan and Syria. This will allow thousands of humanitarian workers, from the UN, NGOs and civil society, to continue their work. Discover more UN spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric told journalists at the UN headquarters in New York on Thursday that UNHAS was a lifeline, helping aid workers and critical supplies reach people in need, according to World Food Programme (WFP). He, however, said that with humanitarian funding shrinking, UNHAS could be forced to suspend flights. Dujarric said allocation was made possible by the recent U.S. contribution of $2 billion to UN-managed humanitarian funds. The UN had in September, 2025, halted its fixed-wing operations in Nigeria after running out of funds, cutting off a critical lifeline for aid workers in the country's conflict-hit northeast. Discover more The suspension comes amid a worsening funding crisis that has already forced WFP to warn of possible cuts to emergency food and nutrition aid for 1.3 million people in Northeast Nigeria. In 2024, the UN service transported over 9,000 passengers, and in 2025, over 4,500 humanitarian staff depended on the flights to reach communities cut off by conflict in northeast Nigeria. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Video Player
WFP Sudan Country Office to return to capital Khartoum after three years of war, as record hunger persists. KHARTOUM, Sudan - The World Food Programme (WFP) today announced the return of its Sudan Country Office to the capital Khartoum. The announcement was made by Carl Skau, WFP's Deputy Executive Director, following a meeting in Khartoum with Kamil Idris, Prime Minister of Sudan. In attendance, was Abdallah Al Wardat, WFP's new Country Director in Sudan. The agency's planned return to the capital comes three years after WFP's former premises were looted and destroyed at the beginning of the war in 2023. "Conditions in Khartoum have clearly changed since my last visit less than six months ago. I found more life and activity in the city, the airport operational, and people returning to their homes and starting to rebuild their lives," said Skau. "Our return to Khartoum is part of wider efforts of the United Nations to move back to the capital. As the largest UN agency in country, we are ready to support partners to deliver vital assistance." WFP's return is pre-empted by the resumption of the WFP-managed United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) flights to Khartoum since February. Currently, UNHAS flies three times a week to Khartoum. While conditions have improved in some locations of Sudan, conflict continues unabated in large swathes of the country. An estimated 19 million people are acutely food insecure, making Sudan the largest humanitarian hunger crisis in the world. "WFP is ready to do more, but we urgently need the funding to do so," said Skau. "We want to reach more people with lifesaving food assistance and ensure children and mothers struggling with malnutrition can access critical nutritional supplements. And in safe and accessible areas, we feel we can help communities to rebuild their lives, get farmers back out into their fields, and enable children to return to school." Last year, WFP reached 12 million people with assistance in Sudan and successfully pushed back famine in several locations. The unprecedented humanitarian funding crisis impacting WFP and other agencies puts these fragile gains at risk. Food stocks in the country are depleting and are expected to run out within weeks. WFP urgently requires more than US$600 million to sustain life-saving operations for the next six months. The United Nations 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. Follow World Food Programme on X, formerly Twitter, via @wfp_media @wfp_sudan Topics. Contact. Philippe Kropf, WFP/Sudan, Tel. +249 912 174 385 Mohamed Elamin, WFP/Sudan, Tel. +249 91 212 8974
Snack bar boosts nutrition in Congo. World Food Programme support increases efficiency of nutritious mbala pinda snack bar production in the Republic of the Congo. Miranda Grizio Food Technology Magazine The World Food Programme's rapid development of food processing and supply chain infrastructure for a children's nutrition bar in the Republic of the Congo highlights a new approach to humanitarian relief - one that lays the foundation for long-term food security. Already active in the country, the World Food Programme (WFP) expanded its support to schools in 2019, just ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic reaching Africa, with a program to boost the production of mbala pinda - a savory peanut and cassava bar made with local ingredients. Situated just west of its larger neighbor, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo is a Central African nation that straddles the equator, with 65%-70% of its land covered in dense tropical rainforest. As part of the Congo Basin - the world's se cond-largest rainforest - this biodiversity hotspot is known for its unique wildlife, including the bongo antelope, okapi (the zebra giraffe), and African forest elephant. With an estimated 70% of its food imported, the country felt pandemic-related food supply disruptions acutely: food prices rose and household incomes plunged, particularly for farmers, as markets closed. The WFP aimed to improve children's nutrition and strengthen local food systems by providing schools with cash vouchers to purchase mbala pinda from local producers, mainly women's cooperatives. Making mbala pinda. A traditional Congolese snack, mbala pinda is made by mixing peanut paste and cassava flour in roughly equal proportions, adding salt, chili pepper, or fish, and forming the dough into handheld portions that are wrapped in the leaves of the Marantochloa purpurea plant and steamed for 30 minutes. The leaves, which are tear-resistant and retain moisture well, serve as biodegradable packaging. Produced with locally grown peanuts, cassava, and Marantochloa leaves, each 50 gram mbala pinda bar contains about 210 calories, 6 grams of protein, and 15% of the Daily Value for magnesium, with a shelf life of up to one week. The WFP received funding from Stop Hunger, Sodexo's philanthropic foundation, and collaborated with Canadian nonprofit Tailored Food to adapt traditional, labor-intensive mbala pinda production to efficient commercial methods - including the introduction of mechanical grinders - while building on current systems rather than replacing them. With insights from Tailored Food, WFP also developed a food safety guide for mbala pinda. Key steps include reducing the risk of aflatoxin contamination by hand sorting peanuts to remove moldy or damaged nuts and ensuring thorough sun drying, and lowering naturally occurring cyanogenic compounds in cassava through soaking, fermenting, and drying. In June 2020, the project provided training on food safety, new equipment, and operations management to 160 women in 16 co-ops (Kazaks and Ho 2025). By October 2020, about 3,400 children were regularly receiving nutritious mbala pinda bars at school, amounting to more than 33,000 mbala pinda bars by 2021 (Kazaks and Ho 2025). Although the WFP intended funding for the program to be a short-term, pandemic-relief effort, its strategic, future-oriented approach has raised the bar on production efficiency, food safety, and logistics in the Republic of the Congo - supporting improved food access, nutrition, health, and income opportunities. * Miranda Grizio miranda Grizio, MS, is a member of IFT and a case study writer for ift's food science for relief and development program ([email protected]). * Food Security * New Product Development * Diet and Health * Food Technology Magazine * Innovation
Students in Armenia to present sustainable school ideas: "Green School: Armenia" Competition announced. The UN World Food Programme (WFP), the Social and Industrial Foodservice Institute (SIFI), the School Feeding and Child Welfare Agency (SFCWA), and the Armenian National Agrarian University (ANAU) announce the launch of the student competition "Green School: Armenia". The competition is intended for students of the Armenian National Agrarian University and the Agricultural College after A.Kochinyan. Participants are expected to develop projects that will make the school environment in Armenia more sustainable, healthy, and attractive from an educational perspective. The initiative is implemented within the School Feeding Programme in Armenia and its Transformative Home-Grown School Feeding component. The winning projects are planned to be implemented in partner schools and presented on the international stage at the COP17 UN Biodiversity Conference that will be held in Armenia in October 2026, giving students the opportunity to become key participants in the global dialogue. Competition nominations * Green Design: a Nature-Inspired School Yard Transform the school yard or school garden/greenhouse into a sustainable learning platform, with a focus on biodiversity, outdoor education, and environmental awareness. * Artivism: a Visual Message for COP17 Create an art installation or visual presentation related to the themes of food, agriculture, or climate change. * School Feeding System Plan: a School-Farm Improve the existing school feeding system so that it incorporates locally produced food and ingredients grown in school gardens, while ensuring the active participation of students.
WFP and ADB forge strategic partnership to transform Food Systems in asia-pacific. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a landmark Cooperation Arrangement at the Asia and the Pacific Food Systems Forum 2026, committing to work together on food systems transformation, emergency assistance, and nutrition-sensitive policies to address food insecurity and build resilience across the region. The agreement underscores a shared commitment to transform food systems, enhance climate resilience, and protect vulnerable communities from the growing threats of conflict, climate shocks, and economic volatility. This partnership comes at a critical time as Asia and the Pacific account for over one in five of the world's hungry population, with 69 million people facing acute food insecurity, according to WFP's latest Global Outlook on food insecurity. The collaboration will focus on five key areas: food systems transformation, emergency assistance, analytical and knowledge products, policy support and dialogue, and capacity development. These efforts aim to diversify agricultural production, strengthen value chains, improve access to safe and affordable nutritious food, and promote sustainable, climate-resilient food systems. "This cooperation agreement with the World Food Programme strengthens ADB's growing collaboration with global partners to accelerate food systems transformation in Asia and the Pacific", said Fatima Yasmin, ADB Vice-President for Sectors and Themes. "By combining ADB's investment capacity with WFP's operational reach, we can scale solutions that improve food security and nutrition, particularly for the most vulnerable communities." Through this collaboration, WFP and ADB will work together to design and implement policies and investments that integrate nutrition objectives into national strategies, while promoting behaviour change and awareness to improve diets and health outcomes. The partnership will also prioritize emergency relief and livelihood recovery in fragile and conflict-affected settings, combining immediate food assistance with medium-term resilience-building measures to protect vulnerable populations. "This partnership with ADB marks a pivotal step in our shared mission to end hunger and malnutrition in Asia and the Pacific. By combining WFP's operational expertise with ADB's financial and policy leadership, we can drive transformative change in food systems, build resilience, and ensure that no one is left behind," said Rania Dagash-Kamara, WFP Assistant Executive Director for Partnerships and Innovation. The agreement also emphasizes the generation of evidence-based knowledge products and operational tools to guide policy and programme design. By fostering policy dialogue and coherence across agriculture, climate, and rural development agendas, WFP and ADB aim to create an enabling environment for nutrition-sensitive food systems. Capacity development initiatives will further strengthen the institutional and technical capabilities of governments and local stakeholders to scale up impactful interventions. The United Nations 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. Follow World Food Programme on X, formerly Twitter, via @WFPAsiaPacific, @WFP_Philippines Topics. Contact. Elise Gibergues Newton, WFP/Bangkok, Mob. +66 081 130 1966 Dale Rivera, WFP/Philippines, Mob. +63 917 830 9761