The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in its lifetimes. Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need.

VACANCY NOTICE
World Food Programme

Title of Post: JPO Programme Policy Officer (School Meals and Food Systems)
- Grade: P2
- Supervisor: Head of Programme
- Unit: Programme
- Division/Country Office: Nepal
- Duty Station: Kathmandu, Nepal
- Duration of assignment: Two years

CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND
The 2021 UN Food Systems Summit positioned food systems at the heart of achieving all 17 Sustainable Development Goals, breaking down sectoral silos and prompting governments to adopt a whole-of-society approach with food systems transformation as one of the six key transition areas to deliver on the 2030 Agenda. As part of its five-year Country Strategy Plan (2024-2028), WFP Nepal supports the government in developing a food systems transformation strategic plan including providing technical assistance in localization of the plan through piloting it in selected local governments. WFP’s work also includes promoting nutrition-sensitive social protection through supporting the government in scaling the home-grown approach under the national Mid-Day Meals programme and supporting the production and distribution of fortified rice in chronically food-insecure districts through the nascent Rice Fortification programme.

The Government of Nepal provides school meals to nearly 3 million children nationwide making it the largest social safety net in the country. The government allocates an annual budget of US$75 million in 2025/2026, which represents over 5 percent of the total education sector budget. In 2021 the Government joined the global School Meals Coalition, focused on improving the quality, adequacy, coverage, and sustainability of an integrated school meals programme. To support advance these objectives, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology with technical assistance from WFP developed a Home-Grown School Feeding Framework in December 2024 that aims to support local agriculture and markets while improving the health, nutrition, and education of children. WFP is supporting the development of operational guidelines for the framework and is supporting government gradually scale up in selected local governments with aims to fully roll it out throughout the country by 2032. Similarly, as the Government of Nepal has emphasized in its School Education Sector Plan, the implementation of programmes and campaigns on green schools, climate change, sustainable development, and other initiatives aimed at mitigating natural disaster risks, WFP Nepal has expanded its work in clean cooking and renewable energy, supporting the use of cleaner technologies and preserving trees as an effective strategy for both climate adaptation and mitigation.

Despite the federal government’s increased investment, local governments continue to face capacity gaps that hinder the planning, financing, monitoring, and implementation of high-quality, nutrition-sensitive social protection programmes, including the Mid-day Meals programme. From a food systems perspective, gaps remain, and WFP’s work aims to leverage programmatic integration to ensure a stronger food systems approach in its support to national programmes.

WFP’s technical assistance, among other, includes provision of an integrated package of services such as support to local governments in operationalizing home-grown school feeding; strengthening the public distribution system of government to ensure regular supply of fortified rice (including for the national Mid-day Meals programme); and, sensitizing smallholder farmers on climate-resilient and nutrition-sensitive agriculture, as well as promoting production of local food commodities to meet schools’ demands.

In 2026 and beyond, on food systems and school meals, WFP’s technical assistance aims to address the gaps in up to 250 local governments jointly identified with the government with the goal of enhancing local government capacity to deliver nutritious school meals sourced from local smallholder farmers and linking with the network of Fair Price Shops that sell fortified rice. Specific priorities include operationalizing the new Home-Grown School Feeding Framework, supporting the development of procurement and food safety guidelines, strengthening multisectoral coordination, and training school-based staff, the school community and farmers’ cooperatives in food handling and management through nutrition education.

This technical assistance will be a crucial cornerstone to ensure that the local governments continue to build on systemic improvements in policy, financial, institutional capacity, and transforming local food systems.
In 2026, WFP Nepal has resources from several sources, including the Government of Finland, all of which are essential to rolling out the Home-Grown School Feeding Framework and operationalizing it at local levels.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
- Age limit: Be not older than 32 years as of the closing date of the application.
- Education: Advanced university degree in Public Health, International Development, Education, or any other relevant field.
- Experience for entry into the role:
- Minimum of two years relevant working experience in the development sector or relevant field, preferably focusing on food security, School Meals, Public Health, and Nutrition.

Qualifications:
- Candidates must hold a Master’s degree
- Proficiency in Windows MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)
- Behavioural competencies: leads by example with integrity, drives results and delivers on commitments, fosters inclusive and collaborative teamwork, applies strategic thinking, builds, and maintains sustainable partnerships.

Language:
- Fluency (level C) in the English language.
- Spoken and written knowledge of either Finnish or Swedish.

Application Deadline: 19 March 2026

HOW TO APPLY
click [ HERE ] to view original vacancy for more details and application procedure.