Programme Policy Officer – Production & Market Systems Development, NOB FT at WFP Tanzania

24 September 2025-23:59-GMT+03:00 East Africa Time (Dar es Salaam)

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).
  

PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

Under the direct supervision of the Head of the Smallholder Farmer (SHF) Unit and the general guidance of the Head of Programme, the incumbent will be responsible to lead Activity 5 under WFP’s Country Strategic Plan, which aims to provide technical assistance to support men and women smallholder producers to diversify livelihoods, reduce post-harvest loss and improve access to information, technologies and markets. The incumbent will be responsible to ensure the successful implementation of activities, coordinate and oversee partners, and develop and foster internal and external partnerships. This position will oversee the work of the Activity 5 team and implementing partners, and provide technical advice on agribusiness, agriculture extension and post-harvest management, enterprise development agriculture marketing and agriculture policy engagement, and ensure the linkages and integration with government policies and to nutrition and supply chain outcomes. In addition, the incumbent will be expected to engage with different line ministries and other strategic stakeholders to advocate for policy alignment to the needs of the smallholder farmers. This position will support the Head of the SHF Unit to also build and strengthen partnerships between WFP and government, local and international, public, and private organizations and institutions working in market-focused agricultural development, post-harvest handling, good agricultural practices for the overall goal to improve access to resilient livelihood and markets for smallholder farmers/farmers’ organizations.

The staff member will be based in Dodoma, with frequent travel to other regions of implementation in Tanzania.

REPORTING

The Programme Policy Officer – Activity 5 Manager - Production and Market Systems Development will report to the Head of the SHF Unit (Strategic Outcome 3).

DUTY STATION: Dodoma, Tanzania

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Closely oversee the implementation of all projects, to ensure that they are on track as per WFP and donor project and budgetary requirements, providing technical guidance and support to the team, and identifying and addressing any challenges, building capacity of WFP staff and partners in the process, utilizing M&E data to inform and improve programming.
• Manage a team of specialised staff, supporting successful performance, ensuring deliverables are met and facilitating strong coordination and communication across SOs, sub-offices and country office;
• Ensure high quality and timely project reporting;
• Support the development and successful implementation of government, public and private sector stakeholder engagement, including policy and strategy support as required;
• Provide technical expertise and backstopping in the development of market-based business interventions and strategies for the WFP’s Smallholder Farmer Support (SO3) Unit across selected value chains.
• Create opportunities for collaboration between the different workstreams to promote integration and a broad food systems approach with the cross-cutting lens on gender, youth (Youth-in-Work), disabilities, social protection & resilience.
• Provide professional and technical guidance support on areas of MSMEs, financial institutions, bank guarantee schemes including insurance products linking to existing collaboration with partner institutions in scaling up smallholder farmers interventions.
• Work in close coordination across SOs and with relevant internal units to foster the engagement of other stakeholders and partners (farmers groups, aggregators, off-takers, business service providers/MSMEs, insurance providers and credit providers).
• Work with country office teams to support a pipeline of private sector buyers and identify various associated risks and issues concerning their procurement engagement in Tanzania and propose possible solutions to CO management.
• Organize strategic regular meetings (preliminary and follow up) and attend workshops and seminars at the national, regional and district level on behalf of WFP, including reviews and improvements of the smallholder sourcing strategies.
• Lead the expansion of aggregation networks leveraging the Farmers Service Centre (FSC) model in rural areas to improve access to agricultural input and output markets for smallholders and other value chain players, especially women and young people.
• Coordinate across teams regarding the use of digital and e-commerce platforms to enhance equity and inclusive access to various agribusiness services including financial services, markets, logistics, weather and market information, insurance products and mechanization services.
• Provide the lead in ensuring aggregators adhere to commodity standards that meet market requirements including volumes and grade.
• Support resource mobilisation efforts, including liaison with donors.
• Perform any other related duties as required.
  

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Education: University degree or postgraduate in one or more of the following disciplines: Business Administration, Economics (Agriculture or General), Agribusiness Management, Agriculture Science, Project Management and administration, or a field relevant to agricultural value chain and market systems development would be an asset.

Desired experience for entry into the role:

• At least 3-5 years of working in postgraduate experience, with proven experience in planning and implementing smallholder farmer projects.
• Experience in supporting and capacity building of partners at national or sub-national levels.
• Strong writing and communication skills.
• Demonstrated experience in government, private sector and donor liaison.
• Experience in implementing agribusiness projects and conducting of value chain analysis with a strong focus on the private sector.
• Strong project management and marketing within public or private sectors using market systems development approaches.
• Field level experience with smallholders and pro-smallholder procurement, and MSMEs development work.
• Demonstrated knowledge of gender responsiveness to the agriculture sector.
• Strong knowledge and experience in market access approaches that work for smallholder farmers.
• Competencies in problem solving, negotiation skills and ability to travel extensively in remote areas.
  

Language: Fluency in both oral and written communication in English and Swahili and any other official UN language would be an asset.

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

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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

• 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 [email protected] 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.

Desired Skills and Experience

Policy Advocacy; Partnership Management; Program Management; Policy Interpretation; Innovation; Data Visualization; Government Relations; Customer-Oriented; Data Analytics; Learning Agility; Technologically Savvy; Emergency Programs; Teamwork; Communication; Policy Analysis; Strategic Thinking; Partner Relationship Management (PRM); Results-Oriented; Capacity Development; Negotiation; Waterfall Model; Professional Integrity; Analytical Thinking; Broad knowledge and application of specialised areas and transfer mondalities; Diversity and Inclusion (D&I)