Programme Policy Officer (Refugee Response)

Programme Policy Officer (Refugee Response) Job based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Deadline: 11 September 2025

Job Description

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 climate change.

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).

Job title: Programme Policy Officer- Refugee Response
Type of Contract: Fixed Term NOA

Unit: Programme – Relief
Duty Station: Addis Ababa
Duration: 12 Months

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT:

The World Food Programme is providing food assistance to refugees in 30 camps and sites in Ethiopia, in collaboration Government of Ethiopia, UN Agencies and in partnership with various non-governmental organization (NGOs). Through a coordinated approach, nearly 850,000 refugees are receiving monthly assistance from WFP and its partners, through in-kind food distributions or cash transfers. This support has ensured that the most vulnerable people are provided with emergency assistance, including through nutrition, school feeding, general food assistance and resilience activities. The response is supported by WFP Area and Sub offices; that are strategically located in the country, close to the refugee camps. The Country office, which is in Addis Ababa, provides overall oversight of the refugee response; and coordinate with various organizations and national authorities, to ensure smooth provision of food assistance to vulnerable populations.

JOB PURPOSE:

To provide support to policy and programme activities that effectively meet food assistance needs of refugees in Ethiopia.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive, within delegated authority):

Coordinate with relevant national authorities; cooperating partners and UN agencies for a smooth refugee response in Ethiopia, including through monthly coordination meetings.

Provide technical support to the Area and Sub offices, that are implementing refugee activities (general food assistance, nutrition, school feeding and resilience activities).

Liaise with technical units that provide technical support to the refugee response, including budget and programming (BPU), Supply Chain, Procurement, Monitoring and Evaluation, Resilience, Nutrition and School feeding.

Prepare and timely share the food and cash distribution plans, which are required on quarterly basis; and update the monthly plans if there any changes.

Support in preparing funding proposals; and project documents including country strategic plan (CSP) and budget revisions; ensuring alignment with wider programme policies and guidance.

Contribute to various internal and external reports that are prepared to update on implementation of refugee activities, including donor reporting (weekly, bi-annual and final reports), Annual Country Reports.

In collaboration with relevant units, prepare monthly plans to allocate available resources, based on analysis of the best before use dates; terminal distribution date (TDD) of the resources.

Liaise with partners on observations from WFP field mission findings; findings from WFP monitoring and evaluation observations and any issues that require attention of partners.

Assist the programme management on matters related to delivery of assistance to refugee and bring to their attention any constraints arising from rapidly evolving emergency/ refugee response.

Assist in preparation/update of the early warning, risk and contingency planning to order to response to any refugee crisis.

Support on capacity building of WFP staff, partners and national government to prepare for and respond to food assistance needs of refugees.

Provide guidance to support staff, acting as a point of referral and assisting them with analysis and queries.

Perform other related duties as required.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

Education:

Advanced University degree in International Affairs, Economics, Nutrition/Health, Agriculture, Environmental Science, Social Sciences, or other field relevant to international development assistance, or First University Degree with additional years of related work experience and/or trainings/courses.

Experience:

At least one year of experience in emergency humanitarian response in a refugee context, coordinating with national and international partners, working with national authorities.

Experience supervising a team with the ability to establish effective working relations with persons of different national and cultural backgrounds.

Extensive experience in funding proposal writing, donor reporting, and monitoring of resource allocation.

Has gained experience in implementing technical programs (i.e. nutrition, school feeding, and resilience etc.).

Knowledge and Skills

Knowledge of UN system policies, rules, regulations, and procedures governing administration.

Ability to negotiate and maintain strong partnerships with field-focused approaches.

Demonstrated skills in managing complex portfolios.

Strong analytical skills; resourcefulness, initiative, maturity of judgment, tact, negotiating skills.

Ability to communicate clearly both orally and in writing.

Knowledge of using MS Office suite package (Word, Excel, Teams)

Language:

Fluency in English language and the local language.

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: global.inclusion@wfp.org

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

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.
Please make sure you upload your professional CV in the English language
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
Please contact us at global.hrerecruitment@wfp.org in case you face any challenges with submitting your application
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.