Food Safety and Quality Assurance Officer

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

31 August 2026-23:59-GMT+03:00 Arabian Standard Time (Aden)

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).

GENERAL INFORMATION
JOB TITLE: Food Safety and Quality Assurance Officer
TYPE OF CONTRACT/LEVEL: Fixed Term NOA
SUPERVISOR: Head of Supply Chain
UNIT/DIVISION: Supply Chain
DUTY STATION (City, Country): Aden, Yemen

DURATION: 12 Months, renewable

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT:

United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the world's largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger and food insecurity. WFP's mission is to help achieve Zero Hunger by ensuring that vulnerable populations have access to adequate, safe, and nutritious food. Every day, WFP works globally to support people affected by conflict, disasters, climate shocks, and economic crises, with particular attention to women, children, and other vulnerable groups.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE APPOINTMENT:
Food safety and quality assurance (FSQA) is a pillar of WFP Yemen’s end-to-end supply chain, ensuring that food safety standards, policies, and procedures are embedded from programme design through sourcing, storage, transport, and final distribution. The function requires collaboration with internal and external stakeholders to manage quality risks and uphold compliance. FSQA activities are aligned with broader supply chain strategies to safeguard beneficiary health and support the integrity of food assistance delivery.
The FSQA Officer reports to the Head of Supply Chain and supports analytical work and the implementation of the corporate FSQA approach to meet the Yemen Country Office’s operational needs. The incumbent provides support to the collection, analyses and reporting of information relevant to the implementation of WFP food safety and quality initiatives, policies and procedures. The job holder liaises with Supply Chain, Programme, Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation, Field Offices, Communications, and Global Headquarters functions to improve an integrated approach that supports WFP’s strategic objectives in food assistance.

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide technical inputs to assist with the implementation of policies and procedures that align WFP’s FSQA approach with FSQA and supply chain strategies, and support compliance with FSQA regulations.

• Draft specific inputs related to the design and implementation of WFP food assistance programmes, ensuring that food safety and quality is embedded in all food-related WFP operations.

• Implement corporate FSQA incident management and emergency response protocols by gathering information for drafting of documentations for risk and incident management, assist with investigations to support rapid response to food safety concerns, and share lessons learned to reduce re-occurrences.

• Follow WFP FSQA regulations in the organization of field operations systems for the prevention and mitigation of FSQA issues, including participating in drafting product specifications, support communication with regulatory authorities, and contribute to the implementation of processes for supplier assessment and compliance testing.

• Provide technical inputs to supply chain colleagues, within the area of assignment, to support maintaining and monitoring food safety and quality throughout the WFP supply chain.

• Liaise with counterparts across UN agencies, NGOs, governments, and the private sector to identify and compile relevant sources of data for operational collaboration.

• Participate in FSQA assurance and packaging research required for implementing WFP FSQA guidelines and regulations. This includes sample collections, compiling and reviewing data and literature, and organizing consultations.

• Liaise with WFP staff, partners, and governments to contribute to efforts aimed at strengthening the capacity of local food producers. This may include supporting quality assurance in food production, organizing information related to food processing facilities, compiling data on food processing machinery needs and collecting information for product stability studies in line with regulations.

• Assist the country office’s operations to build the capacity of food and food control systems. This may include supporting quality assurance in food production, laboratory testing, inspection, and strengthening local food standards and control systems.

• Assist FSQA-related initiatives in the country office, such as strengthening food systems, improving food diversity for nutrition interventions, supporting home-grown school feeding, pro-smallholder farmers procurement, and post-harvest losses reduction, under the guidance of Global Headquarters FSQA.

• Strengthen the capacity of WFP staff, Cooperating partners, suppliers/service providers, government and other stakeholders to enhance compliance with food safety and quality requirements/protocols and standards through capacity strengthening initiatives in form technical guidance, training and knowledge transfer.

• Collect and organize data to support the preparation of reports that inform planning and decision making, contributing to a knowledge base that supports improvements in FSQA and overall Supply Chain.

• Act in an assigned emergency response capacity as required to meet emergency food assistance needs.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education: Advanced university degree in Food Technology, Food Sciences, Nutrition or other related field, or First University degree with two additional years of related work experience.

Experience:

• Total relevant 5 years of experience including 1 year of professional experience in food safety and quality.

• Experience in procurement, logistics, and/or supply chain management is desirable.

Knowledge & Skills:
Required:

• Knowledge of and experience with the Yemen food safety and quality regulatory environment and protocols.

• Experience or training in food safety and quality protocols, with basic exposure to implementing tools or procedures within operational contexts.

Desirable:

• Experience with data collection and analysis, using insights to monitor trends and support decision-making or operational activities.

• Worked in collaborative team environments, contributing to tasks across different functional areas and supporting emergency or time-sensitive operations.

Languages: English - Arabic

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.